On This Date in Sports December 28, 1958: The Greatest Game Ever Played
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
In what is called “The Greatest Game Ever Played”, the Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants 23-17 in the first sudden death overtime game in NFL history for the NFL Championship. The Colts get the winning score on a one-yard run by Alan Ameche, completing a 13-play 80-yard drive. The Colts had tied the game after a great two-minute drive by Johnny Unitas led to a 20-yard field goal by Steve Myhra.
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The New York Giants came in seeking their second title in three years, with a historic coaching staff, as Vince Lombardi was the offensive coordinator and Tom Landry the defensive coordinator under head coach Jim Lee Howell. The Giants had finished the season with a 9-3 record, beating the Cleveland Browns 13-10, on a dramatic field goal by Pat Summerall to close the season and force a tiebreaker for the Eastern Conference, where they would beat the Browns again 10-0 to reach the NFL Championship Game.
The Baltimore Colts led by Weeb Ewbank also finished the season with a 9-3 record, as they had a breakout season, winning their first six games on the way to a 9-1 start. It was the first Western Conference Championship for the Colts after entering the NFL in 1953. The Colts were hoping to avenge a 24-21 loss to the Giants at Yankee Stadium in Week 7, that spoiled their unbeaten start.
The game which kicked off at Yankee Stadium at two, saw both teams fumble on their first possession Sam Huff stripped Johnny Unitas, while Gino Marchetti stripped Don Heinrich. The Colts next drive ended with Unitas getting picked off by Lincoln Crow. After the Giants punted, Unitas gave Baltimore a chance to get their first score with a 60-yard pass to Lenny Moore. However, Steve Mhyra had a 26-yard field goal blocked by Huff. Charlie Conerly came on to relieve Heinrich and drove the Giants down to the Baltimore 30, setting up Pat Summerall for a 36-yard field goal to give New York a 3-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter would turn into a nightmare for the New York, as the Colts scored 14-unanswered points. Things were especially bad for Giants star Frank Gifford who had two fumbles leading directly to the Colts two touchdowns. The first fumble set up a two-yard touchdown run by Alan Ameche. The second one led to a 15-yard touchdown pass from Johnny Unitas to Raymond Berry.
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Leading 14-3 at the half, the Colts looked to bury the Giants in the third quarter, when Cliff Livingston stopped Ameche on fourth down at the New York five-yard line. The Giants took the reprieve and quickly took advantage, going 95 yards in just four plays sparked by an 86-yard pass play from Conerly to Kyle Rote. The Giants completed the drive on a one-yard run by Mel Triplett. The Giants would surge in front in the fourth quarter as Charlie Conerly completed another long pass play to Bob Schnelker for 46 yards, that set up a 15-yard touchdown pass to Frank Gifford.
Now trailing 17-14, the Colts had two chances in Giants territory, but Bert Rechichar missed a 46-yard field goal, while Johnny Unitas was sacked on consecutive plays knocking the Colts out of field goal range on the next drive.
The Giants had a chance to run out the clock, but Frank Gifford was ruled short on a third down play, leading to a Giants punt. On the play Colts star Gino Marchetti suffered a broken ankle but refused to medical attention, watching the rest of the game on a stretcher on the sideline. The Colts took over at their own 14-yard line, with just over two minutes left. The drive started poorly for Baltimore as Johnny Unitas’ first two passes were incomplete, before a critical 11-yard pass on third down to Lenny Moore. Unitas would complete three straight passes to Raymond Berry to get the ball down to the Giants 13. From there Steve Myhra would nail a 20-yard field goal to tie the game 17-17 with seven seconds left.
The NFL adopted the overtime rule in 1946. However, it was only reserved for use in the postseason as all games tied at the end of regulation would end as tie until the 1974 season. Other than a few experimental games in the preseason, nobody knew of the rules of sudden death overtime. The Giants would win the coin toss to get the first crack at winning the game. Disaster nearly struck for New York when Don Maynard muffed the overtime kickoff. The Giants recovered the ball but could not get anything going and were forced to punt. Baltimore would get the ball at the 20, and once again were able to move the ball on a tired defense. The Colts would drive 80 yards in 13 plays. On third and goal from the one, the Colts would win the game 23-17 on a plunge by Alan Ameche.
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The game had a big impact, as it was viewed by a record audience on NBC television, despite being blacked out in the New York market. This is when the NFL after nearly 40 years finally had its breakthrough and helped lead to the creation of the American Football League one year later. As professional football would begin its climb to surpass baseball as the most popular sport in America.