Ann Mara, a Rye resident and the matriarch of the family that founded the NFL”™s New York Giants, died Sunday at the age of 85.
John Mara, Ann”™s son and the team’s president and CEO, announced her death in a statement on the team”™s website.
“I am sad to say that our mother has passed away,” he said. “She has been the leader of our family in every way, and we will miss her dearly. She slipped in front of her home ”¦ during the ice storm two weeks ago. She had been in the hospital since the following day, initially due to a head injury she suffered in her fall. After a few days, we were hopeful for her recovery, although we knew it would be a long road back. Unfortunately, there were complications.”
Ann Mara and her 11 children inherited 50 percent ownership of the Giants when her husband, Wellington Mara, died in 2005. The couple met at mass at St. Ignatius of Loyola Church in Manhattan.
The team, which was founded in 1925 by Wellington Mara”™s father, Tim, was owned solely by the Mara family until 1991, when Robert Tisch bought 50 percent of the team from Wellington”™s nephew, also named Tim.
According to the statement on the Giants website, Mara attended nearly every home game for the past 60 years and was an ardent supporter of the team.
Following the Giants victory in the 2012 NFC championship game, she famously chided Fox Sports analyst and former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, telling him pointedly, “You never pick the Giants!” as he tried to interview Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz.
As Mara walked away smiling, Bradshaw looked at the camera and smiled, saying, “I”™m sorry, ma”™am! I”™m getting hammered for not picking the Giants!”
Ann Mara was born to George and Olive Mumm in Manhattan on June 18, 1929, and was a prominent philanthropist, supporting Convent of the Sacred Heart, Inner-City Scholarship Fund, Boys Hope Girls Hope, the Ronald McDonald House and Life Athletes. She was presented the Paul J. Tagliabue Award of Excellence last year, awarded to an NFL league or team executive who demonstrates the integrity and leadership Tagliabue exhibited in career development opportunities for minority candidates and advocacy for diversity on the league and club levels when he was NFL commissioner.
“She loved her family, and all of us were able to spend time with her in these final days,” John Mara said in the statement. Â “All 11 of her children and our spouses and numerous grandchildren were with her when she passed away.”
