Acknowledgments
I would like to thank Morgan Entrekin, my editor and publisher, who had the idea for this book. In the summer of 2006, soon after the publication of my book Guests of the Ayatollah, we were discussing future projects, and Morgan suggested that I might consider supplementing my longer books, which usually took three to five years to research and write, with shorter ones that would not require such extensive legwork. As an example he cited David Halberstam, the great former New York Times reporter and author of such books as The Best and the Brightest and The Powers That Be, who in recent years had adopted just such a pace, writing smaller books on subjects he enjoyed, often concerning sports, beyond the weighty matters of war, history, and state that formed the bulk of his life’s work. I had met David, had long admired him, and had read many of his books, both the short ones and the long ones.
“Why don’t you consider a book about the 1958 NFL championship game?” Morgan suggested. “The fiftieth anniversary is coming up in two years, and I would love to publish a book to coincide with it.”
As those who have read the book now know, I had grown up for the latter part of my childhood in Baltimore, and remembered the great Colts teams and players. I am a lifelong football fan, and played the game as a boy. Football was a part of my writing past, too. For three years at The Philadelphia Inquirer I had been the paper’s football reporter, and the second of my books, Bringing the Heat, was about the 1992 Philadelphia Eagles. The idea immediately appealed to me.
It wasn’t until I was months into the project that I heard about David’s tragic death in a car accident on April 23, 2007 in Menlo Park, California. I was shocked to read that he had been killed researching a book on the same topic, not the least of which because Morgan and I had him so much in mind when we decided to undertake it. None of the players I had interviewed had been contacted by David, so I assumed that he must have just begun. I had been inspired by him from the days when he exposed the lies of American officials in Vietnam to his work as one of the great synthesizers of modern history. I had favorably reviewed his book War in a Time of Peace for The Washington Post, and he had very generously praised my book Black Hawk Down on numerous occasions. Indeed, after that book was published, he had sought me out to congratulate me personally, and we became friends. I had found him to be a warm and dynamic intellect, someone who embodied the highest values and traditions of journalism, and someone who fully understood the sheer fun of this kind of work. He would have done a great job with this story, and as much as I enjoyed working and writing it myself, I would like to have read his version. Indeed, if I had discovered that he was at work on the same story, I would have stopped. I discovered it only after he was killed. So, in a sense, I completed this book only because David could not, and have presumptuously dedicated it to him.
I was greatly assisted by Terrence Henry of The Atlantic, who helped find old newspaper stories, locate the players, and who even conducted several of the interviews for me. I would like to thank all of the players who consented to be interviewed for the millionth time about a game most of them only dimly remember, but most particularly Raymond Berry, whose memory of the game is as complete and precise as it was the week after it was played. Indeed, Raymond’s insights shaped this book, and it is, in large part, about him. Few people can be said to have left such an impact on their chosen field. His just happened to have goal posts at either end.
Andy Reid, head coach of the Philadelphia Eagles, sat with me for hours reviewing the coaches’ film of this game. I approached the Eagles’ public relations chief, Derek Boyko, for help in finding a coach familiar with the pro game to help me analyze the film of the game. Initially Derek said he thought the team’s coaches would all be too busy to help me, but they might be able to recommend someone who could. When he called me back, he said that all of the team’s assistant coaches were eager to review the film with me themselves, but they would have to first get permission from Reid. Then Boyko called to say that Andy wanted to do it himself. I was originally scheduled to spend an hour with the head coach, but Andy asked his video staff to convert the DVD I brought with the old game film into a format that he could use on his own computer system, and then spent four or five hours with me breaking down the game play by play. It was tremendous fun, a fantasy for any lifelong football fan like myself, and his insights informed much of my understanding of what was happening on the field. I remain grateful.
I would also like to thank Meg Nakahara of the NBC News archives for providing me with a copy of the complete radio broadcast of the game, and my thanks go out to the late Joe Boland and Bill McColgan for their exciting, superb commentary, which spices my narrative throughout. I am grateful to Chris Willis of NFL Films, who dug out for me the old coaches’ film of the game, along with the excellent documentaries prepared by that organization. My brother-in-law, Milt Horn, put me in touch with some fans who attended the game. Al Brennan helped set up a delightful lunch with Art Donovan and Alex Sandusky. The memoir written of this game by my late friend and colleague John Steadman, from the Baltimore News-American, was an invaluable source. John was a dogged and careful reporter, and he not only provided his own thorough account of the day, but with characteristic professional generosity included verbatim the stories of nearly every reporter in the press box. Paul McCartle at The Baltimore Sun’s library pulled together a rich trove of that newspaper’s reporting and clips. I found William Gildea’s delightful When the Colts Belonged to Baltimore, a very rich source of insight and anecdote, and I recommend his book to anyone curious about the special relationship between the city and the team broken by Robert Irsay’s unforgivable decision to ship the franchise to Indianapolis.
Many thanks to all of the folks at Grove/Atlantic, particularly Michael Hornburg and Andrew Robinton, for their help in shepherding this book into print.
Index
Accorsi, Ernie, 2
African Americans, 114–15
All-America Football Conference (AAFC), 35, 49, 54, 59, 89
Cleveland club, 52–59
Ameche, Alan “The Horse,” 6, 57, 118, 228
awards and honors
Heisman Trophy, 36
NFL Rookie of the Year, 36
Pro Bowl, 57
Marchetti and, 124, 228, 235
mobbed by fans, 208
Mutscheller on, 235
option play, 16
performance, 9, 10, 150, 156–58, 161, 198, 202, 206–8
personality, 56–57
Raymond Berry and, 211
salary, 121
Unitas and, 57, 207, 208
Weeb Ewbank and, 57, 148, 235
American Football League (AFL), 219–20, 233
American Professional Football Association, 47
athletic ability, 27–28, 39
Baltimore, 59, 112–13
Baltimore Colts, 59. See also specific topics
coaches, 6
defense, 8
finances, 69–70
vs. New York Giants, 1958, 1–6, 8, 10–18, 83–84
preparation, 135–49
first quarter, 149–56
second quarter, 156–61
halftime, 165
third quarter, 1–2, 8–10, 16–18, 165–69
fourth quarter, 169–87, 191, 213, 218–19
sudden-death overtime, 187, 191–207
aftermath, 207–8, 211–19
cultural and historical context, 6–8
most important three plays, 181–86, 213
players, 6
black, 114–15
relentless front four, 16
struggles, 69
vs. Washington Redskins, 1956, 74
Barnes, Erich, 223
Barry, Al, 126–27, 151, 192
baseball, 109
football in the shadow of, 13
Beck, Ray, 100–101
Bednarik, Chuck, 31
Bell, Bert, 14, 174, 187, 193–94, 208, 214–15
background, li
fe history, and overview, 11–13
death, 220
finances, 12
personality, 11–12
rulings, 13
television and, 15
Berry, Charley, 176
Berry, Raymond, 6, 72, 135, 142–43, 193, 196, 206, 212–13
Al Brennan and, 21–23, 227
Ameche and, 211
approach and methods, 21–25, 28, 37, 80–82
Art Donovan and, 25, 140
Art Donovan on, 25, 64, 230–31
Arthur Daley on, 219
background, life history, and overview, 21–28, 32–34, 37–38, 83
Bell and, 216
as “big target,” 33
Bowden and, 238
coaching and, 27
contracts, 121
drafted, 25–26
drive, 239
employment, 113
family, 68, 143
finances, 121–22
George Shaw and, 41
Hall of Fame and, 238
innovations in football and, 30
inspecting turf, 142–43
Karilivacz and, 9
Marchetti and, 196
Moore and, 68
performance, 9, 22–23, 71, 83, 157–58, 160–61, 166–67, 180, 181, 196, 198–200, 238
fumbles, 80, 83
most important plays, 181–86
skills/abilities, 32–33, 35–37
speed, 32–33, 35–36
personality, 22–28, 67, 117, 158
physical appearance and characteristics, 26–27, 32, 33, 37–40, 135
retirement, 238–39
rookie season lagging, 36
Rusty Russell and, 33–34
Sandusky on, 230
selection by Colts, 34
at Southern Methodist University (SMU), 26, 33–35
Svare and, 181–84, 199
techniques, 238–39
tips based on film study, 140–42
training camp in Westminster, 23, 35, 39, 45
Unitas and, 41, 45, 66–68, 75, 80–83, 184, 200, 203, 213, 231
Weeb Ewbank and, 45, 57, 82
Weeb Ewbank on, 147–48, 216, 238–39
wide receivers and, 36–37, 40
“Best Football Game Ever Played, The,” 219
Bighead, Jack, 65
black players, 114–15, 119. See also racism and racial issues
limiting the number of, 119
Blaik, Red, 86–87
blocking, 87
Blue Gray Game, 60
Boland, Joe, 10, 18, 144–45, 149, 166, 173, 174, 177
bombs, 29
Braase, Ordell, 6, 234
Brady, John, 146
Braman, Norman, 220
Brennan, Al, 21–23, 227
Brown, Jim, 79, 128–30
Brown, Paul, 71, 80, 89
background and overview, 51–53
Charley Winner and, 60
draft program, 69
Huff and, 130, 131
passing game and, 87
personality, 55–56, 60
playbook, 52, 62
Ray Renfro and, 56
school of coaching, 86
strategy and approach, 52–54
system, 60–61
Weeb Ewbank and, 54–56, 60–62
Brown, Raymond, 17, 169, 170, 211
Brown, Roosevelt, 6, 115, 159
Bruchley, Don, 214
Carter, Toni J., 186, 187
catches, 81
Chandler, Don, 97, 99, 128, 152, 159, 178, 179, 196
Chaney, Ed, Jr., 3, 194
Chesler, Lou, 218
Chicago Cardinals, 126, 127
Clark, N. P. “Swami,” 171
Cleveland Browns, 52, 54, 56, 127, 147
vs. Baltimore Colts, 131, 139
vs. New York Giants, 1–3, 128–31, 144
Cleveland club. See under All-America Football Conference
Cleveland grading system, 61
Collier, Blanton, 53
Coltsaphrenia, 111, 221
Concourse Plaza Hotel, 111, 135–37
Conerly, Charlie, 148, 150
in advertising, 110
criticism of, 111
Gifford and, 112, 192
Lombardi and, 149–50, 155
newspaper column, 212
Pat Summerall and, 129
performance, 11, 16, 18, 129, 155, 156, 160, 161, 166, 169–72, 177, 191, 196
physical appearance, 11
Rote and, 127
voted Most Valuable Player of the Game, 171
Conerly, Perian, 217
Crow, Lindon, 152–53, 197, 206
Cuminskey, Frank, 69, 74
D’Alesandro, Tommy, Jr., 59, 215
Daley, Arthur, 92, 219
Dallas Cowboys, 221
Davis, Milt “Pops,” 16, 70, 115, 117, 118, 121, 127, 147, 160
DeCarlo, Art, 140, 226
diet, 37, 38, 137–38
Donovan, Art “Fatso,” 6, 25, 38, 64, 65, 70, 84, 128, 216
background, 136–37
on Carl Taseff, 228
Charley Winner on, 236–37
difficulty retiring, 236–37
on Don Joyce, 225–26
employment, 113
first championship game, 171–72
John Brady and, 146
kicked man in face for hitting Hawkins, 229
Marchetti and, 225–26, 228
on Moore, 229
Mutscheller and, 235
Parker and, 121
as part of relentless front four, 16
performance, 154–55, 174–76, 229
in retirement, 225–29
on Unitas, 231
vomiting ritual, 140
Donovan, Arthur, Sr., 136, 146
Donovan, Mike, 136
Dunlap, Orrin E., Jr., 14–15
Dupre, L. G. “Long Gone,” 10–11, 36, 122, 151, 181, 185, 197–99, 202
Ed Sullivan Show, The, 7, 93, 216
Effrat, Louis, 208
Eisenhower, Dwight D., 2, 7
Emrich, Barbara, 186
Emrich, William S., 186
Enke, Fred, Jr., 58
Ewbank, Wilbur “Weeb,” 146–47, 150, 184, 196
Ameche and, 57, 148, 235
apprenticeship in Cleveland, 55–59
Art Donovan on, 58, 167, 227, 237
attitudes and values, 86
background and overview, 54–55
Charley Winner and, 60, 116
coaching Baltimore Colts, 6, 61, 63, 64, 66, 67, 69, 71, 74
coaching New York Jets, 232–33
Colts performance and, 35
Don Kellett and, 60–61, 69, 70
efforts to keep team together on the road, 137–38
hired by Colts, 54
hit with water by Taseff, 228
Huff and, 128, 167
Jackie Simpson and, 159
Jim Parker and, 71, 120, 148
John Sandusky and, 228
Moore and, 148, 157, 235
Mutscheller on, 235
Myhra and, 154, 203, 207
old-school approach to hydration, 64
Paul Brown and, 54–56, 60–62
personality, 55–56, 82
physical appearance, 54–55
promise of NFL championship, 36
Royce Womble and, 62
strategies and plays called by, 207
style of coaching, 135–36
violent behavior, 167
Filchock, Frank, 49
Finnin, Tom, 62
flankers, 82, 83, 87
football (ball), 30
football (game), 27–28. See also specific topics
history, 28–32, 47–48, 50–51
innovations, 28–32, 50–51
love of, 72
football players, 48
separate vs. same offense and defensive, 30–31
weight, 96
football teams, 47–48. See also specific teams
o
wners, 48
“Four-Three,” 100, 101
free substitution, 13, 31–32
fumbles, 17, 151, 160, 161, 172
by Gifford, 159–60, 165, 168
Raymond Berry and, 80, 83
“game shape,” 39–40
Gibbs, Ron, 194, 215
Gifford, Frank, 6, 111, 124–27, 178, 215
Al Barry and, 126
background and overview, 88
Chicago Cardinals, 126, 127
Conerly and, 112, 192
drafted by Wellington Mara, 91
elected to seven Pro Bowls, 221
Ernest Hemingway and, 109
Huff and, 103, 168–69
interviews, 124–25
Marchetti and, 176–77
performance, 155, 156, 160, 168–71, 175–78, 196, 218–19
fumbles, 159–60, 165, 168
retirement, 221
Ron Gibbs and, 215
salary, 109–10
Gildea, William, 4, 204
Graham, Otto, 54, 90
Greatest Football Game Ever Played, The (Steadman), 214
Green Bay Packers, 126, 220
Grier, Rosey, 6, 91, 104
injuries, 158–59, 197
Landry and, 159, 222
as Milken Foundation community director, 222
performance, 158
personality, 91
race and, 115
retirement, 222
Robert Kennedy and, 222
traded to Los Angeles, 222–24
weight, 96, 158
Groza, Lou, 154
Hall of Fame, 6
Hapes, Merle, 49
Hawkins, Alex, 229
Heinrich, Don, 150, 151, 155
Heisman Trophy, 36
Hemingway, Ernest, 109
Hersh, Abe, 5
Hersh, Marcia, 5
Hill, Harlan, 37
Hirsch, Elroy “Crazy Legs,” 28–30, 87
Horn, Milt, 227
Hornung, Paul, 94
Howell, Jim Lee, 96, 178
background and overview, 85–86
death, 220
fired, 220