good evening I'm Mike Norris and you're watching tune in news TV tonight we bring you an unprecedented story from the world of professional football where the New York Giants have made a remarkable decision to unretire a jersey number for their promising rookie wide receiver the Giants have announced that they will unretire the iconic number one Jersey which has been out of circulation since 1935 for their first round draft pick Malik Neighbors this number holds a special place in football history as it was the first jersey ever retired in professional football belonging to Hall of Famer Ray flirty neighbors who was selected sixth overall in this year's NFL Draft received permission from the flirty family to Dawn the legendary number this decision comes after careful consideration and discussions between the Giants ownership the flirty family and neighbors himself in a statement released by the team neighbors expressed his gratitude saying thank you to the FLIR family for allowing me to wear number one for the New York Giants I understand the responsibility and I will do everything in my power to honor the flirty family and this organization I will wear the number with great pride the journey to this decision was not straightforward neighbors who were number eight during his college career at Su found himself in a number crunch with the Giants quarterback Daniel Jones already wears number eight and neighbors temporary number nine belongs to veteran kicker Graham Gano this led to discussions about potential number changes including talks with backup quarterback Drew lock and punter Jamie Gillan which ultimately didn't pan out it was Giants co-owner John Mara who took the initiative to approach the flirty family about the possibility of un retiring the number Ray flirty jrb son of the late Hall of Famer gave the family's blessing after careful consideration and discussions with his own children this move is not without precedent for the Giants in 1962 they allowed yah TI to wear number 14 which had been retired for Ward cough since 1946 however the UN retiring of number one carries special significance given its status as the first ever retired number in pro football Ray flir's Legacy with the Giants is story he played for the team from 1928 to 1935 helping them secure the NFL Championship in 1934 flirty is credited with suggesting the team where sneakers during the famous sneakers game a pivotal moment in Giants history he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1976 for his contributions as both a player and a coach for Neighbors wearing number one comes with Great Expectations the Su standout was one of the top wide receiver prospects in recent drafts drawing comparisons to Elite talents like Marvin Harrison jrb and audin in his Junior season at Su neighbors amassed an impressive 1,569 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns earning unanimous All-American honors as the Giants prepare for their season an opener against the Minnesota Vikings on September 8th all eyes will be on neighbors as he steps onto the field wearing the historic number one Jersey this decision by the Giants not only honors their Rich history but also signals their faith in Neighbors potential to create a legacy of his own we'll be keeping a close watch on this developing story and neighbors performance in the upcoming season thank you for joining us on tune in news TV stay tuned for more updates from the World of Sports and Beyond [Music]