The Football Team That Broke Baltimore's Heart

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Learn more at howlifeunfolds.com slash papertarian. This is our American stories, and we love bringing you stories about history and about sports. And today we bring you a combination of the two. Here's Mike Gibbons, director emeritus and historian at the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, also located in Baltimore. To tell us more about the legendary Baltimore football team that helped the NFL become what it is today.

Today we're going to be talking about the Baltimore Colts, one of the NFL's storied franchises, a team that helped put the NFL on the mat for a variety of reasons, but also helped to give Baltimore a new identity. During World War II, Baltimore was one of the industrial centers of the United States, producing ships and aircraft for the war effort. But at the conclusion of World War II in 1945, the industries really lost their market.

They didn't have to produce ships and aircraft in the numbers that they did during World War II. And so many of the plants in and around this area closed down and Baltimore lost its manufacturing capability. The town gradually slipped and declined and became known really as nothing more than a pit stop between Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. The Baltimore Colts arrived on the scene in 1953, and though in the beginning they were not very good at all, it gave Baltimoreans and Marylanders something to look forward to on Sunday afternoons in the fall. The team in 1956 had started to get a little bit better under head coach Weeb Eubank, and he started a quarterback by the name of George Shaw.

In the fourth game of 1956, Shaw was injured. And to replace him came a rookie quarterback by the name of Johnny Unitas. Johnny went to the University of Louisville, where he was a star quarterback, and he was drafted in 1955 by the Pittsburgh Steelers. But he lost out in the competition for quarterback to a fellow who would later show up on the Baltimore landscape, a guy by the name of Ted Marchibroda. So Unitas played semi-pro ball in his hometown of Pittsburgh and waited for a phone call that ultimately came before the start of training camp in 1956. And that call came from Colts general manager Don Kellett.

For the price of a 90-cent long-distance phone call, Kellett was able to secure Unitas and bring him to Baltimore. He played well enough in training camp and in exhibition games to make the roster and was George Shaw's backup. So now we go forward to game four. The Colts did not play well under their rookie quarterback, who threw an interception for a touchdown return. And the Colts fumbled four times, losing badly to the Chicago Bears that day. But over the last eight games in 1956 with Unitas at the helm, the team went four and four, and there was hope for a brighter future. I went to my first game in 1957, the home opener against the Detroit Lions.

I was, let's see, 11, 10 years old at the time. And what a spectacle it was to go out there on a Sunday afternoon, beautiful day. And I remember squinting my eyes because the Colts wore white helmets and you could see the sun glitter off of those helmets. The team the Colts faced in that home opener, Unitas' first home opener, by the way, as a starter, were the world champion Detroit Lions. While the Colts, under Unitas' leadership and strong arm, put a lickin' home in Detroit that day, winning the game and propelling to a pretty good season for the Colts, they finished with a record of 7-5 with a lot of burgeoning stars, guys like Gino Marchetti, Lenny Moore, Raymond Berry, Unitas, Artie Donovan, all future Hall of Famers. There they were in Baltimore, and we knew that we had something special. In 1958, the Colts went 9-3 and captured the Western Conference crown. That took them to the championship game at Yankee Stadium in New York, where the Colts would face the Giants. Weeb Eubank, in the visitors locker room at Yankee Stadium that day, gave a pregame speech to his team, referencing every one of them, walking around to all 33 players, addressing them, and saying, you wouldn't be in the NFL if it wasn't for your Baltimore Colts.

You really never had it together until you got here. So go out there, play your best, and give it all you've got. The 1958 game is often referred to as the greatest game ever played, and the reason is Johnny Unitas and what he was able to do to pull out the game in what turned out to be the NFL's first sudden death over time. Late in the fourth quarter, with the Colts trailing by three points, Unitas gets the ball back on his own 14-yard line, 86 yards from the Giants goal line, and Johnny, at that moment, invented the two-minute drill. He took his team down to the 13-yard line with about 10 seconds left on the clock. Steve Meyer, the place kicker, came in, kicked a 19-yard field goal to tie the game and send the game into overtime. In overtime, the Colts stopped the Giants on a contested, controversial placement of the ball.

The Giants swear that they got a first down on Frank Gifford's third down run, but the referees said, nope, you didn't make it. And they punted to the Colts, and the Colts, under Johnny Unitas, took the team down the field and into the end zone, Alan Nimichi scoring the game-winning TD for a 23-17 victory. So that game was witnessed by the largest audience ever to see an NFL game on television.

TV was still pretty new at that time, and the high drama that played out that afternoon was never forgotten by the fans who watched it. The game is often said to be responsible for putting the NFL on the map. It certainly put Johnny Unitas and his Baltimore Colts on the map. They went on to become one of the premier franchises in the history of the league. In Unitas' 16 seasons as a starting quarterback from 1957 through 1972, they suffered only one losing season, and that was their last season, 1972, John's last season in Baltimore.

But up to them, they had the best record in the NFL for 15 years under Unitas, and they were tied with the Cleveland Browns for most wins over that period in the NFL, so a pretty successful team. Now, other things to think about when we're talking Baltimore Colts football is a series of firsts that took place at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, better known as the largest outdoor insane asylum. I remember going to my third game in 1960. My father and I got season tickets, and we sat in the end zone where the Colts came out for pregame introductions, and I'll tell you, when Unitas took the field and was introduced to the crowd in the closed end of this horseshoe-shaped stadium, it was the loudest sound I've ever heard to this day, the biggest noise I've ever heard. That stadium, just by its architecture and by the enthusiasm of the fans, 60,238 every weekend that they played, just was almost unimaginable to comprehend. And we've been listening to Mike Gibbons tell the story, not just of the Baltimore Colts, but in the end, a story of Baltimore itself, especially post World War II. And by the way, Mike Gibbons is the director emeritus and historian at the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum, which is in Baltimore. And by the way, if you're ever there, go.

When we come back, more of the story of the Baltimore Colts, of Johnny Unitas, and more with the sports historian of the city of Baltimore, here on Our American Story. A cocktail maker that automatically makes more than 60 seasonal and classic cocktails, each in under 30 seconds at the push of a button. And right now, Bartesian is having a huge site-wide sale. You can get $100 off any cocktail maker or cocktail maker bundle when you spend $400 or more. So, if the cocktail lover in your life has been good this year, or the right kind of bad, get them Bartesian. At the push of a button, make bar quality cosmopolitans, martinis, manhattans, and more. All in just 30 seconds. All for $100 off.

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That's Upfaithandfamily.com. And we're back with our American stories and the story of the Baltimore Colts, the football team that helped put Baltimore and the NFL in the spotlight. Here's Mike Gibbons again to tell us about this historic team and the presence that they had in the world of professional football.

Vince Lombardi from the Green Bay Packers, the legendary Hall of Fame coach, said that he hated coming to Memorial Stadium, the worst place on the road for his team to visit. And it wasn't just the sound. The Colts had cheerleaders. They were the first team in the NFL to have cheerleaders. They were the second to have a marching band. And they had a great fight song and which, you know, the town just loved.

And every time they the band played it, we all stood as though it was our national anthem. The Colts had a mascot, a live horse, Dixie, who with Dixie's rider would go around the outside of the playing field every time the team scored. And this really pretty much unnerved the opposing teams as they came to Baltimore and contested the Colts. That's one of the reasons we think that the Colts had such a great record over all the years. Another profound memory for me was 1959.

So the year after the Colts had beaten the Giants in the greatest game ever played in New York, the Colts and the Giants repeated the exercise by playing the NFL championship game in Baltimore. And I was there with my dad. The Colts win the game and fans ran onto the field.

Everybody was so excited. They didn't know what to do. And I kept saying to my dad, let me go down there. And he was like, no, you're not going down there.

You might get hurt. What they were trying to do was to dissemble the the goalpost down in the closed end of the playing field, not really understanding that the NFL had changed from a wooden goalpost the year before to an all metal goalpost in 1959. So they they were able to knock the goalpost down, but not much more than that. Let me take you up to 1965. The Colts and the Packers were vying for the league championship. The Colts have won it the year before 1964, and now they're vying with Green Bay for the conference title in 1965. The teams finished the regular season with identical 10, three and one marks, and that forced a playoff game in Green Bay. And the Colts headed out there at a severe disadvantage. The Colts number one quarterback, Johnny Unitas, had been injured earlier in the year. His replacement, Gary Quaso, was injured in the second to last game of the year, and that forced running back Tom Matty to come in and play quarterback. Tom had played quarterback at Ohio State, but it was a running offense. And so they didn't throw the ball a lot.

And Tom was not an elite passer by any means. But Tommy came in and the Colts took a lead of seven to nothing early on in the game. And as the game came to a conclusion, the fourth quarter winding down, the Colts were clinging to a 10 to seven lead over the Green Bay Packers. And at that point, Packer kicker Don Chandler came in. He booted a field goal that was ruled good by the referees, even though it appeared to sail wide.

It was a high kick, went way up over the goalpost and seemed to veer to the left. But the referees allowed the points, thereby tying the game, and the Packers went on to win in the second overtime game ever played. Of course, the Colts participated in as well in 1958 in New York. Now we move up to 1971.

The Colts, under Unitas, make another postseason appearance, losing to the Miami Dolphins. But nevertheless, they made it as they headed into the 1972 season. Problem with this team at that point was that they were getting old. A lot of the veteran players were just kind of running out of gas. So it was up to Unitas to try and carry them forward one more time.

But he couldn't do it. He was replaced about midway through the season by Marty Domrays. Domrays guided the Colts to a five and nine record that year. In the last home game, something profound happened. And Baltimoreans will never forget it. The last home game, the Colts were hosting the Buffalo Bills.

Not a very good team either. Midway through the fourth quarter, Domrays had taken his squad to a 28 to 7 lead over the Bills. At that point, he was on the field and he feigned an injury and hopped off the field. And, you know, the head coach said to Unitas, get in there. Johnny went in and as that was happening, a small biplane flew over Memorial Stadium, carrying a banner that said, Unitas, we stand. And the sellout crowd stood as one and started cheering as the fabled legendary Unitas made what many knew would be his last appearance on Memorial Stadium turf. Unitas went out, took a snap from center, dropped back and threw a 67-yard touchdown pass to Eddie Hinton. And then he ran off the field for the last time. The crowd sobbing, cheering, just going out of their minds, having witnessed one of the great moments in Colts and maybe in NFL history.

Storybook stuff you just can't make up. Unitas and many of the veterans were let go or traded after the 72 season. And something had happened after 71 that was not a good thing for our Colts.

Colts owner, Carol Rosenblum, one of the greatest in NFL history, sold his team to Bob Irsay. And Irsay was not a good owner. And he brought in a general manager by the name of Joe Thomas who wanted to run things his way.

And Joe was responsible after 72 for cleaning house, getting rid of the players. So the next couple of years, 73 and 74, under Joe Thomas and a variety of head coaches, the Colts were terrible. But in 75, they brought in a guy who Unitas had dealt with before back in Pittsburgh when he lost the quarterback job to who would become the Colts new head coach, Ted Marchibroda.

So Marchibroda comes to town. He takes second year quarterback Bert Jones and says, Bert, let's make this thing go. Jones had a lot of great players with him and they returned the Colts to the path of glory. As the team captured Eastern Conference championships in 75, 76 and 77. Unfortunately, they had three postseason births and lost them all. First two to Pittsburgh and the final one, an historic game at Memorial Stadium to the Oakland Raiders, which the Colts lost to in double overtime, 37 to 31, I believe. That game played on Christmas Eve that year turned out to be the last playoff game that Baltimore fans would ever see their Colts participate in.

In the summer of 1978, Bert Jones was hurt in an exhibition game, hurt his shoulder and was out for a while, tried to make a comeback and it just wasn't the same. And the team floundered without Bert's generalship out there and had a losing season. The Colts would never have a winning season again as they lost six years in a row. The final six years in Baltimore, they were losers. And that coupled with Irsay's unpredictable behavior as an owner and Joe Thomas as the GM just tearing that squad apart led to a real drop in attendance. I think the last game they played in 1983, they drew 32,000 people.

Remember that they had been drawing 60,000 sellouts every game for years and now they were doing barely half of that. That led to Irsay shopping around the team and ultimately moving them out of town to Indianapolis on a dark night in late March 1984. Word got out, people saw that the Colts had moving vans backed up to their training facility and Bobby Irsay, under the cover of darkness, snuck them out of town as they headed to Indy. Now something profound and good happened to the city regarding its Baltimore Colts.

Shortly after that, Baltimore Mayor William Donald Shaffer instructed Tom Matty to go to Indianapolis and negotiate with Irsay to try and get the Baltimore Colts archives to come back to Baltimore. He was successful, so Shaffer got a moving van of the Baltimore Colts archives delivered and that day we became the Baltimore Colts official archives and museum. In 2005, our museum opened another museum called Sports Legends Museum at Camden Yards and it featured, among other things, a major display on the history of the Baltimore Colts.

It turned out to be one of the most popular exhibits in that museum. People would go in there and get tears in their eyes just thinking about their great Baltimore Colts teams. They really, as I said before, were more than just an NFL franchise. They were part of the fabric of this community and part of what made the NFL what it has become today. We called that exhibit Almost Religion because, in fact, that's what the Baltimore Colts were to the city of Baltimore.

An excellent job as always to Robbie and a special thanks to Mike Gibbons, director emeritus and historian at the Babe Ruth Birthplace and Museum. The story of the Baltimore Colts here on Our American Stories. I'm Pastor Mike Novotny, and these are just some of the topics I tackle in my new podcast, Taboo Questions with Pastor Mike Novotny.

I answer questions for people just like you on essential topics that are not often discussed in church. To listen, just search Taboo Questions with Pastor Mike. I don't know if you know this, but when you don't have time to read The Washington Post, you can listen to it. Almost every article has a listening option. And right now, you can become a Washington Post subscriber for just 50 cents a week. It's an incredible deal. Stay on top of what's happening by signing up at washingtonpost.com slash pod.

That's washingtonpost.com slash p o d. Hey, I'm here to tell you about Upfaith and Family, the leading streaming service for uplifting entertainment. This Christmas, cozy up with the ones you love and experience movies that not only inspire, but bring people together. Enjoy Festival of Trees, where holiday competition brings unexpected friendships, and the heartwarming family movie, A Bluegrass Christmas, starring Shawn Johnson from the popular series Heartland. Discover the magic of the season in Baby in a Manger, a touching story about finding hope in the most unexpected places.

Looking for something cozy and romantic? Christmas in Rockwell brings small town charm and holiday romance to life. It's all commercial free and you can stream anywhere.

Plus, it's just a fraction of the cost of other streaming services. Start your free trial today and experience the magic of Christmas. Go to Upfaithandfamily.com.

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