Game of the Century

On December 28, 1958, the Colts met the Giants in the NFL Championship Game at Yankee Stadium. In a rare occasion, NBC televised the game nationally, a fact that changed the future of the sport and turned Johnny Unitas into an instant legend. Forty-eight years later, this showdown is still referred to as "the greatest game ever played," and cited as the beginning of pro football's boom in popularity.

The game also features prominently in Frederick Exley's epic tale of personal dissolution, A Fan's Notes, a memoir/novel that, although it is far more than a football book, still may be the best football book ever written. The narrator is obsessed with Frank Gifford, and identifies his own fortunes with the Giants' star to the point of insanity.

Of course, this particular game devastates Exley's drunken hero, as two Gifford fumbles figure prominently in the outcome, allowing the Colts to score their two first-half touchdowns.

Down 14-3 at the half, however, the Giants staged a comeback, scoring a touchdown in the third and then another in the fourth quarter (on a Gifford reception). With two minutes to go, New York led by a field goal, and the Colts had the ball on their own 14-yard-line.

That's when Johnny U. went to work on becoming a household name. He deftly led the Colts down the field, connecting three times to his favorite target Raymond Berry to set up a game-tying field goal with seven seconds remaining.

In what was the first sudden death overtime in NFL history, the Giants punted on their first possession and Johnny U. and crew took over at their own 20. Once again, Unitas marched Baltimore down the field, an eighty-yard scoring drive capped off by a one-yard touchdown run by Alan Ameche. The Colts had their first of two consecutive NFL Championship victories over the Giants, although the 1959 affair would be a 31-16 romp, breaking the hearts of Giants' fans like Exley once again.