Colts-Giants the 'Greatest Game Ever?' You can decide

ESPN is airing a documentary on the 1958 New York Giants-Baltimore Colts NFL championship game that has been called the greatest game ever played. Not coincidentally, that's the name of the ESPN program that will be broadcast at 6 p.m. PT on Saturday.

The game was played 50 years ago, on Dec. 28, 1958, at Yankee Stadium. It was the first, and only, NFL championship game to go into overtime. Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas led a score-tying field-goal drive at the end of regulation to make the score 17-17. Unitas then threw often to Raymond Berry while moving the Colts 80 yards. Alan Ameche scored the game-winning touchdown on a one-yard run.

There were 12 future Hall of Famers playing on a field that was covered in ice. Fans' breath on the cold day almost formed fog. It was a Sports Illustrated headline that first dubbed the game as the greatest ever.

It seemed like championship football the way it was meant to be played: raw, hard-hitting, wintry, tingling and filled with adversity for players and fans.

The game was watched by 45 million viewers on NBC, and witnessed live by 65,000 at the stadium.

Here's some of what Giants tight end, kicker and future broadcaster Pat Summerall had to say during an ESPN conference call this week.

To call it the greatest game ever played? I don't think any of us realized it would be labeled that way. The first time I heard it called that, it was a week later. But I was still dejected because we lost.

The documentary is two hours long and well worth setting the DVR to record.

-- Diane Pucin

Photo: The Colts and Giants during the "Greatest Game Ever Played." Credit: ESPN

Comments

[Bond Brady]

ESPN is intentionally distorting history with this documentary and their lack of journalist integrity regarding this program is clearly demonstrated. ESPN minimizes and practically denies that it was Baltimore vs. New York for the 1958 World Championship of Professional Football. ESPN is trying to make the people who view this program think that the Indianapolis Colts won this game by having Indianapolis Colts in this documentary instead of the Baltimore Ravens who have the lineage to the Baltimore Colts players and Baltimore's NFL History. When the Colts and Ravens played who did Johnny Unitas actively root for? The Ravens. What city has the Baltimore Colts who played in the 1958 Championship game in their Ring of Honor ? Baltimore. What city has a statute of Johnny Unitas in front of their stadium? Baltimore. What city is hosting the Official NFL 50th Anniversary Celebration of "The Greatest Game Ever Played?" Baltimore. In the future ESPN would be wise to steer clear of revisionist history.

[John James]

Uh, Bond Brady, it sounds like you are a Ravens fan, or just still upset at the Colts leaving. Get over it. That has nothing to do with the program and calling out ESPN's integrity over your preference in teams is a complete and utter joke. Like it or not, it was the Colts and the Giants. It was a heck of a game and the documentary highlights the important parts, not the grudges that some still hold over petty drivel.

[darth pole]

i agree...bond brady,get over it,and just enjoy ot as a great game and a part of american history....stop crying..there's no crying in sports...

[JimInIndiana]

John James....tell it like it is....I'm from Indiana and the Colts are the Colts !!!

I'm actually surprised that anyone with the last name of "Brady" would have the nerve to comment on a Colt's game anyway !!!

Believe in Blue, baby !!

JimInIndiana

[Dan Rumbley]

jiminindiana is a clown. The Colts are not the Colts. I was born and raised in Baltimore in the 40's and 50's, and I still cringe when I hear "Indianapolis Colts". Indianapolis took the team, but it never should have taken the name that was then, and still is all-Baltimore. Would not "Indianapolis Hoosiers" be more appropriate?

[Kevin Wolf]

While I agree that Mr. Brady may have viewed this excellent program in an over-emotional frame of mind, he has correctly stated that it was the BALTIMORE Colts, not Indianapolis, who won the game. Any affinity felt by the good people of Indiana is purely delusional. Colts lineage ceased on a cold March night in 1984 when Irsay the Reprobate skulked out of town at the head of the only parade ever thrown in his honor - several Mayflower moving vans.

[Brian Sims]

Bond Brady is absolutely correct. If Brooklyn ever got another baseball team any specials concerning the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers winning the World Series should include current Brooklyn players and coaches and not LA Dodgers people. A team takes the character of the city it plays in and any real fan and great sportswriter understands this aspect of sports. It was wrong of ESPN to intertwine Baltimore and Indy's NFL heritage. As I recall, on ESPN's Roy Firestone's Up Close Johnny Unitas publicly requested that Indy remove all mention of his records from their history and Mr. Unitas actively rooted for the Ravens to beat Indy. You can't disagree with Johnny U, after all as Sports Illustrated put on its cover after he died, "He was the best there ever was."

[loulor]

No one who watched this game, and saw Unitas perform at that same high level throughout his career, can seriously doubt that he is the greatest QB EVER, and without too much discussion, the greatest football player ever. The clincher is that he called ALL his own plays!

Better than Favre, better than Montana, better than Marino, and more versatile than Jim Brown, Gayle Sayers or Walter Payton. I grew up under Lombardi near Green Bay, and I saw all the great ones. Johnny U heads the list.

[bill]

You guys in Indianapolis have no idea how it felt to have this great franchise ripped form your hearts. Have a little respect for how it could have been. Imagine your beloved Indy Colts yanked out of there and sent to Houston or some other place. You wouldn't know what hit you.

The BALTIMORE Colts MADE this league. It's the truth, and yet the NFL allowed the name, logo, uniforms, etc. to leave.

So back off and be happy you have what you didn't earn and don't deserve.

Bill

[Marc]

The greatest NFL game ever was the 1974 AFC Divisional Playoff game between the Oakland Raiders and the Miami Dolphins. The Raiders 28-26 win stopped Miami's bid to make it to four consecutive Super Bowls and ended their reign as Super Bowl Champions.
Oakland QB Ken Stabler threw a desperation pass just as he was being tackled and the ball fluttered into the hands of running back Clarence Davis who managed to hang onto it even though he was surrounded by Miami defenders.
The game was full of heartstopping plays and is the greatest football game I have ever seen.

[Patrick]

I completely agree with Bond Brady. As a Sonic fan I'm still smarting. It would be like an Oklahoma Thunder fan celebrating our 1979 championship.

It's offensive and pathetic.

[IRISHJACK]

At the time of the move I was a sports editor for a small Indianapolis newspaper and got the opportunity to interview Johnny Unitas and the thing I found interesting was that the only concern he had was what the effect would be at the bar he owned across from the stadium in Baltimore. I believe it was called the Golden Arm. It might be because of the rather unceremoniously -way Baltimore dealt Unitas off to the San Diego Chargers late in his career or just pragmatism. After all if you follow Mr. Brady’s line of logic why should members of a team that has the DNA of the Cleveland Browns have greater standing than members of the Colts?

[Jason Sevean]

The bottom line is that Johnny Unitas actively rooted for the Baltimore Ravens to beat Indianapolis when they played. Lenny Moore attends every Baltimore Ravens home game and publicly tailgates and poses for photos and signs autographs for free. Jim Parker owned a retail establishment in Baltimore for many years before he died. Jim Mutschellar sells insurance to his fellow Baltimoreans. Ordell Braase still lives in Baltimore. Art Donovan owns a country club in Baltimore with the coolest Baltimore Colts memorabilia in the bar. A team is about the people on it working together for a common goal. A sports teams takes on the character of the city it represents. Only real sports fans understand this and agree that ESPN was utterly wrong in not including current Baltimore personnel. If you don't agree you just don't get it.

[Leon Clemons]

"Greatest game ever played" C'mon people, can't we let that madness go after 50 years! The best thing I can say is at least there was no penalty for excessive celebrating. Maybe this penalty would have been more appropiate for that time of play. The game was not truly fantastic yet. It was 1958. 80% of the players on both teams couldn't make a team today. The rest might manage to secure a back up roll and that includes your prescious Johnny U. Its evolution folks, of the players as well as the game. People make a big deal out Johnny U calling his own plays, well he couldn't do it today because the game has come too far. Most of these players were the best athletes allowed to participate but they clearly were not the best avaiable because of the times. These phoney sportscasters like Berman and some others are always treating these old timers like their word is law. Well what else would you expect from Boomer, the biggest suck-up on sports TV. Hell Frank Gifford couldn't beat most of these 350lbs linemen in a 40 yard sprint, how could they produce a greater game than the athletes today. Jealous sports reporters practice hating Terrell Owens and others like him regularly these days. Those old boys couldn't even touch him. C'mon fellas, it was a bad choice of words even back then. Today its just plainly a lie !

[Paul S.]

I wish people posting their comments about 'GETTING OVER IT", "it's been fifty years" etc., were able to put things into perspective. On the football end, imagine if the owner of the Pittsburg Steelers moved the club to, let's say, Louisville, Kentucky, taking with it all memorabilia, keeping the name of the club in tact, etc. How would Pittsburg fans from the Pittsburg area react? Loosing a loved one is something you never get over. Robers Irsay was and is a JERK! The only thing he was interested in was money, new stadium, and fame. He got all three plus one more, death. The Baltimore Colts set trends that carry on to this day. It set the opportunity for the Dallas Cowgirls. The two minute drill, something every Baltimore fan took for granted with Unitas at the helm. Look at the list of Hall of Famers. The loss was devastating to the Baltimore Colt fans. Yeah, the team was going downhill, the front office at the time made sure of that. Thing is, they left a town that sold out every seat at every game, and that puts money in someones pocket. What was Irsay after? We may never know the truth. Don't forget the fact that the then commissioner, Paul Tagliabu, did nothing to ease the pain, say it was all based on market value, AKA greed.
All I am saying is, give respect. I personally believe that ESPN did that by bringing players from the present day Colts and Giants into the mix. I just wish Chris Berman would take a hike. To quote a Baltimore sports commentator (Charlie Eckman), "Call Chris a cab"! He is not my favorite sports commentator. While your are on the phone, call a cab for Tagliabu.
One last thought, if you are negative about the situation, let everyone know which city or town you spent your formative years. I would not be surprised if you grew up in a city that had no NFL team.

[Jon]

It's the BALTIMORE Colts that were 1958-59 world champs and who played the greatest game ever played. I firmly agree, that the Indy players had no business playing any part of that program. I enjoyed the colorzed game film, but cringed whenever I saw Indy players commenting. The Colts logo, records and memorabilia belong in BALTIMORE. They were stolen from us in the middle of a snowy March night in 1984. I agree with the comment made to the folks who say "get over it"....they just do not have a clue about the strong relationship BALTIMORE had with the Colts. Colts players and fans were one community and there was nothing like going to Memorial Stadium (aka The World's Largest Outdoor Insane Asylum") to see them.