-
ADD TIME NEWS
- MOBILE APPS
- NEWSLETTERS
Legends of the NFL's "Greatest Game Ever"
On the fiftieth anniversary of the historic Colts Giants NFL Championship game, TIME takes a look at the roster of players, coaches, referees and announcers who helped turn pro football from a niche sport into the true national pastime
The Game: The 25-year-old Baltimore Colts quarterback, who had toiled as a weekend semi-pro player just two years earlier, cemented his legend in the greatest game. With less than two minutes left in regulation, the Colts trailed 17-14, and were pinned to their own 14-yard-line. "When we got in the huddle," said wide receiver Raymond Berry, "I looked down the field and the goal posts looked like they were in Baltimore." Unitas completed four passes, three to Berry, for 73-yards to set up the game-tying field goal. In overtime, he led the 80-yard drive that ended with Alan Ameche's game-winning touchdown run. Unitas, who threw for 361 yards that day, was named the game's MVP.
Post-Game: Johnny U, arguably the greatest football player of all-time, was a three-time NFL MVP, and still holds an NFL record for throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games. That feat, much like Joe DiMaggio's 56-game winning streak, is unlikely to ever be repeated. Asked to describe what it was like to play with Unitas, Colts tight end John Mackey said: "It's like being in the huddle with God." Late in life Unitas, who essentially lost use of his mangled right throwing hand, brought attention to the crippling disabilities that plagued many football players from his era. He died of a heart attack, at 69, in 2002.
View the full list for "Legends of the NFL's "Greatest Game Ever""Latest Lists
Most Popular »
- Parents' Sex Talk with Kids: Too Little, Too Late
- Did Amanda Knox Get a Fair Murder Trial?
- The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
- How Strong Is the Evidence Against Amanda Knox?
- Let Down by a Tiger We Never Knew
- Campus Smoking Bans? Some Saying 'Lighten Up'
- Astronomers Spy a New Planet-Like Object
- Obama Shrinks the War on Terrorism
- Many Mutual Funds Are Up 50% in '09 but Beware
- Is California Sold on Governor Meg Whitman?
- Sex, Television and Berlusconi's Path to Power
- The Road on Film: Beautiful, Bleak
- Bernard Kerik
- Dubai: 10 Things to Do in 24 Hours
- Can an Eagle Hug a Panda?
- Protecting Jungles: One Way to Combat Global Warming
- Let's Bail Out the Pot Dealers!
- Rome: 10 Things to Do in 24 Hours
- Can China's Backwaters Save the Global Economy?
- Before Obama's Visit, a New Clash Between Koreas











RSS