Ernie Accorsi, the former NFL general manager whose career stretched from the Baltimore Colts to the Cleveland Browns to the New York Giants, has died at 84, the Giants announced Sunday.
For all the places his work took him, Accorsi never really left Hershey. He was born there on Oct. 29, 1941, grew up playing on the fields across from the chocolate plant, and remained tied to central Pennsylvania throughout his life.
His connection to football started early. As a teenager, he spent $2.50 to watch an NFL preseason game in Hershey in 1956, when Johnny Unitas was making his pro debut.
Accorsi graduated from Hershey High School in 1959, then attended Wake Forest University in North Carolina. Before moving into sports management, he worked as a reporter for the Charlotte News, the Baltimore Sun and the Philadelphia Inquirer.
That reporting career included one of the big scoops of his era: he broke the news of Wilt Chamberlain’s trade from the Philadelphia 76ers to the Los Angeles Lakers. He later spoke with now-retired PennLive columnist David Jones about what it was like to watch Chamberlain play.
He also built a long friendship with former Penn State coach Joe Paterno, one that lasted more than 40 years. Accorsi worked at Penn State as an assistant sports information director from 1969 to 1970, before he was hired by the then-Baltimore Colts.
“I can tell you that there wasn’t a day that went by during my time at Penn State that I didn’t learn something from that man,” Accorsi told PennLive’s Bob Flounders after Paterno’s death in 2012.
From there, Accorsi climbed steadily on the NFL’s executive side. He became general manager of the Colts from 1982-1983, general manager of the Browns from 1985-1992 and general manager of the Giants from 1998-2006.
His imprint on the Giants was huge. He was the second general manager inducted into the team’s Ring of Honor, and he helped bring in coach Tom Coughlin while also brokering the draft deal that landed Eli Manning.
After he retired in 2006, the Giants tied him to their 2007 Super Bowl title and gave him a championship ring. Accorsi later told the Patriot-News’ Andrew Linker what he said to the team as he stepped away.
“I told them to trust each other and be good teammates, because there’s a championship in this room. Those are the last words I said to them. ... I just didn’t know it would happen this year.”
Across 16 years as a general manager, Accorsi’s teams won six division championships among the nine that reached the playoffs.
Back home, his accomplishments were recognized in 2009 with induction into the Capital Area Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, followed by the Hershey Hall of Fame in 2012.
Even in retirement, Hershey stayed central to his life. He served as a speaker for the John Travers Awards, and in 2009 he summed up his lifelong connection to the town this way:
“No matter where ever I lived, Hershey has always been home,” he said in 2009.
Accorsi’s son Patrick, in a joint Facebook post with his family announcing his death, also recalled a teenage exchange that captured the confidence he carried long before he became a football power broker.
“Ernie, what career would you like to pursue?” his Hershey High School guidance counselor asked.
“I am going to be the General Manager of the New York Yankees,” he responded.
The counselor tried to point him in another direction. Four decades later, when Accorsi was inducted into the Hershey High School Hall of Fame, he had a chance to set the record straight with that same guidance counselor.
In Other News...
Matvei Michkov Is Giving Flyers Fans Exactly What They Wanted To See
Matvei Michkov has looked every bit like the kind of young talent the Flyers hoped to see when training camp opened. He showed clear improvement in drills and scrimmages, with his passing, puck control and hockey sense standing out as he handled himself well around the ice. The work on his one-timer has been part of the early buzz too, another sign that he is not just relying on raw skill but trying to round out the details that matter at this level.
Michkov also checked another box by doing his first English interview, a small moment that still mattered in a camp where every step feels like part of the larger transition. With head coach Rick Tocchet and captain Kevin Hayes both involved in his development, the early read is encouraging, and the Flyers have every reason to keep watching how quickly his game keeps growing once the pace of camp really starts to sharpen. [Read more 🡒]
Flyers Finally Have A Goalie Story Fans Can Believe In
Dan Vladar spent the past season giving the Flyers something they have been chasing for a long time: stability in goal. After getting through the year pain-free, he handled a heavy workload, appeared in 62 games including the playoffs and helped push Philadelphia back into the postseason while steering the club through a run that carried beyond the first round.
The numbers back up the eye test, too, with a .906 save percentage and a 2.42 goals-against average in a season that ended with the Bobby Clarke Trophy as the teams MVP. For a franchise that has spent years searching for a reliable answer in net, Vladars rise has turned into one of the more encouraging storylines in the organization, and the next chapter is already set after his offseason extension. [Read more 🡒]
Former Flyer Kevin Hayes Brings A Frustrating Philly Chapter To An End
Kevin Hayes has officially closed the book on a long NHL career, announcing his retirement on Sept. 21, 2026 after 12 seasons that took him through New York, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh before one final stop overseas. For Flyers fans, it brings a familiar name back into the conversation, this time not as a roster question or trade chip, but as a former centerpiece of a chapter that never quite settled into the kind of impact the organization hoped for.
Hayes said physical limitations were keeping him from performing at the level he expects, a reminder of how quickly a players last stretch can become the one that defines the ending. His time in Philadelphia always carried a mix of hope and frustration, and even with his career now complete, the Flyers are left with the familiar aftertaste of what might have been, not just what was. [Read more 🡒]