N.Y. Giants player and radio analyst

Dick Lynch, 72, who starred at cornerback for the New York Giants during their glory years in the late 1950s and early ‘60s and was a longtime radio analyst for the team, died Wednesday in New York, family members told the Associated Press. He had been treated for leukemia.

Lynch played in the National Football League from 1958 to 1966 -- his first season with Washington and the last eight with the Giants. He had 37 interceptions overall, including a league-high nine in each of the 1961 and 1963 seasons. In 1963, he also led the league with 251 return yards and three touchdowns, and was named to the Pro Bowl.

A 6-foot-2, 195-pound defensive back who often was assigned to cover the opposing team’s best receiver, Lynch appeared in four NFL championship games while playing with teammates including Frank Gifford, Sam Huff and Dick Nolan. After his playing days ended, Lynch turned to radio and was the Giants’ color commentator through the last football season, capped by a Super Bowl victory over New England. He had not been on the air this season because of his failing health.

Born in Oceanside, N.Y., on April 29, 1936, Lynch played both offense and defense at Notre Dame. In 1957, he had a 3-yard touchdown run that gave Notre Dame a 7-0 victory over Oklahoma, ending the Sooners’ 47-game winning streak. Lynch’s son, Richard, a bond trader, was killed in the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.