during the 1969 preseason, the giants lost their first meeting with the jets, 37–14, in front of 70,874 fans at the yale bowl in new haven, connecticut. three weeks later, wellington mara fired sherman, and replaced him with former giants fullback alex webster. sherman was a lax disciplinarian, who gifford later said "wanted to be loved and that's deadly for a coach." the firing was welcomed by fans: a writer from "the new york times" commented, "[t]he giants last winning season was 1963 and since then the fans's sing-song chant "good-by allie!" has mounted to a crescendo." on opening day of the 1969 regular season, tarkenton led the giants to a 24–23 victory over his former team, the vikings, by throwing two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter. new york finished 6–8 in the 1969 season under webster.