One-of-a-kind Ernie Accorsi dreamed big and became an NFL titan

There was no one like Ernie Accorsi.He was an original in every sense.Everyone who ever was around him in any capacity has an Ernie story.An Ernie anecdote.

A favorite Ernie interaction.An Ernie moment.

Ask Ernie Accorsi a question and be prepared for a dissertation filled with historical perspective, personal touchpoints, wisecracking commentary all wrapped into the most interesting, humorous, factually accurate and entertaining few minutes you are going to have that day, or week.Accorsi, the former Giants general manager, passed Saturday night at the age of 84 following a brief bout with cancer, dims the light for anyone who flips a game on TV or walks through the turnstile into the stadium or arena.He was the epitome of the fan who pours blood, sweat and tears into the games and the players, agonizes over the defeats and embraces the fleeting moment after that precious victory is secured.

The difference was, he got to live it from the inside and what a sports life he led.Short in stature, the games and athletes ran through Accorsi’s veins and he became a titan in an industry as a one-of-a-kind throwback general manager who loved what he did and never lost the appreciation that this son of immigrant parents was able to live out childhood dreams.His dogged determination to save a franchise he cherished brought Eli Manning to the Giants.That is one of his Mount Rushmore achievements.

For someone born and raised in Hersey, Pa.he never lost his small-town sensibilities even though he grew to love living on the East Side of Manhattan before returning to his beloved Hershey, where he swore by his old-time Italian restaurants as he walked his dog among familiar streets.Bring up a quarterback and you would get a heavy dose of Johnny Unitas and John Elway but also Bert Jones and Bernie Kosar.

He worked in the NFL for so long but his rooting passion was baseball — baseball and golf — and the names he would throw out there when talking about the old Yankees sent y...