Unitas Leads the Charge 4 Cowboys and Packers Battle in The Ice Bowl 6 Harris Hauls In an Immaculate Reception 8 Winslow Guides Chargers to Epic Victory 10 Montana Finds Clark for The Catch 12 Elway Engineers The Drive 14 Bills Do the Unthinkable 16 Dyson Falls a Yard Short 18 Brady Tucks It Away 20 Big Plays Rule Super Bowl XLIII 22 Brother Faces Brother on the Big Stage 24 Seattle Suffers a Stunner 26 Fun Facts and Stories 28 Glossary 30 For More Information 31 Index 32 About the Author 32 TABLE OF CONTENTS
The 1958 National Football League NFL Championship Game was between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants It has been called The Greatest Game Ever Played The star was 25-year-old Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas Trailing 17 14 with just 1 56 to go the Colts started a drive from their own 14 yard line Unitas led Baltimore down the field with one long pass after the next Three in a row went to star Baltimore Colts fullback Alan Ameche runs into the end zone for the winning touchdown in the 1958 NFL Championship Game UNITAS LEADS THE CHARGE 1 4
wide receiver Raymond Berry With just seven seconds left the Colts booted the game-tying field goal The game was headed to overtime It would be the first overtime game in the history of the NFL Championship It was sudden death That meant the first team to score would win The Giants won the coin toss The Colts defense forced a quick punt On came Unitas The young star called all his team’s plays The result was an unforgettable 13-play 80-yard drive Fullback Alan Ameche finished it off He blasted through the defense for a 1-yard title-winning touchdown run Final score Colts 23 Giants 17 THE GREATEST NFL fans love to debate which quarterback is the greatest in history Was it Joe Montana John Elway Brett Favre What about modern stars such as Peyton Manning and Tom Brady Many old-school fans say it was Johnny Unitas It’s hard comparing quarterbacks who played in different eras Passers today enjoy a lot more protection from officials Defenders are limited by new rules Players like Unitas never got to play under such passer-friendly rules Yet he remains one of the most productive passers of all time 17 People including players and coaches in the game who are now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame The score was close but the Colts dominated They outgained the Giants 460 yards to 266 Unitas completed 26 of 40 passes for 349 yards He threw one touchdown and one interception The game was played at Yankee Stadium in New York and was on national television 5
