Johnny Unitas
Sacks, Lies and Videotape
According to Mark Bowden, the 1958 NFL Championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants was more than a great game; it was a watershed moment that ushered in a new era of professional sports in America. The game, a thrilling overtime victory for the Colts, led by quarterback Johnny Unitas, marked the beginning of professional football’s advance from the dregs of American sport to its current position as the most popular and financially lucrative game in the richest country in the world.
In the early and mid-’50s kids wanted to be Mickey Mantle, but by the late ’50s and early ’60s, everyone was trying to be like “Johnny U,” the man with the “Golden Arm.” And nothing, Mr. Bowden notes, is more responsible for football’s surge than television: “Baseball,” he writes, “seemed made for radio,” while football “seemed made for television.” read more »
