1958 NFL Championship Game GREATEST GAME EVER In 1958 professional football was still not a very popular popular sport Many sports fans considered it something to fill the gap between the end of Major League Baseball season and the start of spring training More people watched horse racing than National Football League NFL games But in 1958 CBS decided to televise the championship game It would be shown nationwide The New York Giants hosted the game They had been in the NFL for more than 30 years They already had four NFL titles The Baltimore Colts were fairly new to the league They had joined in 1953 This was just their second winning season 9
Indianapolis Colts Baltimore took an early 14 3 lead But the Giants stormed back New York led by three points late in the fourth quarter Less than two minutes remained in the game The Colts had no timeouts When we got in the huddle said end Raymond Berry I looked down the field and the goal posts looked like they were in Baltimore Quarterback Johnny Unitas and Berry connected three times Just seven seconds were left Steve Myhra trotted onto the field to attempt a game-tying field goal He had missed more than half of his field goals during the season The Giants had blocked his 27-yard attempt in the first quarter I told myself I better not miss it or it would be a long cold winter back on the farm in North Dakota Myhra said He didn’t miss For the first time in league history the championship game went into overtime The Giants won the coin toss But they couldn’t score The ball went to the Colts They reached the Giants 1-yard line Unitas called 16 power Blockers opened a gaping hole in the line Hard-charging fullback Alan The Horse Ameche wrapped both hands around the ball He lowered his head Then he plowed into the end zone The photo of him crossing the goal line is one of most famous in NFL history It was probably the shortest left 1958 NFL Championship 10
Indiana Colts Baltimore Maryland March 28 29 1984 GRIDIRON GREATS MIDNIGHT MOVE During the late 1970s and early 1980s the Colts suffered several losing seasons Fan attendance was low The once-proud franchise hoped for a new stadium But owner Robert Irsay pictured couldn’t convince the city to fund it He threatened to move the team On March 28 1984 the state of Maryland passed an eminent domain law It could have allowed the city to claim ownership of the team Irsay was afraid that his franchise was in danger He quickly decided to move the Colts to Indianapolis That very night all team property was loaded into moving trucks When Baltimore fans awoke the next morning their team was gone 11
