Watchdog

Dick Lynch, a former Giants defensive back and radio broadcaster for the team whose association with the organization spanned 50 years, has died at age 72, several people familiar with Lynch's situation said Wednesday morning.

Lynch had been absent from work throughout the preseason and the first three games of the regular season battling a long illness.

The Oceanside native played at Notre Dame and was a Pro Bowler for the Giants in 1963, when he led the NFL with nine interceptions. After spending 1958 with the Redskins, he was a Giant from 1959-66, and became a favorite of co-owner Wellington Mara.

He began as a radio analyst in 1967.

One of Lynch's sons, Richard, died in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center, a blow after which he never was quite the same, friends said.

Lynch had an unorthodox style in the booth that annoyed many purists but endeared him to many fans, particularly older ones.

His exuberant reactions in big moments often could be heard in the background as play-by-play man Bob Papa made his calls, including during the team's dramatic run to a Super Bowl victory this past winter.

"He was the Giants' version of Phil Rizzuto; there's no other way to describe him," Papa said after hearing the news. "He knew the game inside and out. He really had a unique understanding for what he was watching, but sometimes in the communication, it'd be funny the way it would come out."