Lombardi used to sleep on their spare couch

Ann Mara, the widow of former New York Giants co-owner Wellington Mara, sat down with New York Daily News columnist Mike Lupica to reminisce about the 1950s, the last time the Giants were the toast of New York:

In so doing, she shared a story about Vince Lombardi, who was an assistant with the Giants before he became the Packers' coach in 1959:

"'Let me tell you about Green Bay,' she said (Wednesday). 'This is before we even got to the stadium on Lombardi Avenue, before it was Lombardi this and Lombardi that. This was at the hotel the night before (in Appleton). They even had a Lombardi steakhouse, with a letter from my husband framed on the wall. All this Lombardi around you, no matter where you turned, and all I could think was, Vinny used to sleep on our couch!'

"It was the middle 1950s, after she and Well Mara had married. Vince Lombardi, Mr. Mara's old Fordham classmate, was an assistant coach with the Giants and still living over in Jersey. When he would work late, and he would work late in those days, he would just spend the night at the Maras' apartment.

"'1040 Park Ave.,' Ann Mara said. 'We didn't know at the time we had an immortal sleeping on the hideaway.'"