Baltimore Sports History: Johnny Unitas

November 28th, 2024 by Andrew Ciofalo

by Andrew Ciofalo, host of After The Whistle

There are a few names of legend here in Baltimore when it comes to its sports teams. Famous Oriole’s like Brooks and Frank Robinson, Cal Ripken Jr., Jim Palmar come to mind. In the football world, you have great Ravens like Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Jonathan Ogden. All of which are in their respective Hall of Fames. But among those names is an icon of Baltimore sports; Johnny Unitas. Also known as “the Golden Arm” and “Johnny U,” Unitas played for the Baltimore Colts from 1956 to 1972. An undersized boy in high school and college turned out to be the greatest choice the Colts could have made.

Johnny Unitas was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1933 and was one of four kids. His family was very hard working as his father owned a coal delivery business. Sadly his father passed away when Unitas was 5 and his mother took over the business as well as working as an office cleaner. Johnny Unitas’ upbringing is probably what lead to his very humble and down to earth character.

The interest and football playing career started in high school as he played Quarterback for St. Justin’s High School in Pittsburgh. His talent attracted lots of fans to their games, partly because of his ability to throw a 60-yard jump pass that would wow the crowd. In his senior year, Unitas was named the quarterback of Pittsburgh’s All-Catholic High School, further propelling his résumé as he looked to play college football.

However, big schools had a glaring problem with Unitas as he worked to try out in front of scouts, his figure. Johnny U graduated high school standing at 6’0” and around 140 pounds, not ideal for a football player. He dreamed of playing for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as a kid but when he tried out for quarterback, Notre Dame passed on him because head coach Frank Leahy thought he’d get hurt on the field at his weight. University of Pittsburgh also withdrew a scholarship offer for the same reason. In the end, Unitas went to University of Louisville on a scholarship. Unitas went through a lot of injury riddled seasons at Louisville, but again, his play spoke for himself. His play demanded respect when he was out there.

Unitas graduated from Louisville in 1955 and was drafted shortly after in the ninth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He entered a quarterback room that already had a veteran starter in Jim Finks and a second-year player in Ted Marchibroda. Unitas was familiar with Marchibroda, his first start in college was against Marchibroda’s St. Bonaventure University, Ted’s team came out on top 22-21. Because of the already packed quarterback room, and the fact that Steelers head coach Walt Kiesling said Unitas was “too dumb” to play quarterback. He was cut before the season started and wasn’t given a chance to see the field.

After being cut, Unitas played for a local semi-professional team in Bloomfield, New Jersey as he continued to try and stay ready and prove his worth. Finally in 1956 he was given that shot after he tried out for the Baltimore Colts and was awarded a contract to be the back-up quarterback. In his first season of backing-up George Shaw, he came into replace Shaw after he broke his leg in the Colts’ week 4 game against the Chicago Bears. Unitas ended the season throwing 9 touchdowns and a record of 3-4. Although he didn’t have the best stats or record, he earned the starting job for the 1957 season and beyond.

In his first season starting, Unitas lead the league in passing yards with 2550 and had 24 passing touchdowns. He was also awarded the Jim Thorpe Trophy at the end of the year for MVP of the National Football League. Unitas’ stellar play led the Colts to their first winning season, finishing at 7-5. The following 1958 season was the big breakout season for the Colts. Unitas finished the year with a 8-1 record, with the team finishing 9-3. Unitas was awarded to the leagues All-Pro team and finished second in MVP voting. The Colts were set to play the winner of the Eastern Conference championship. The game was played between the New York Giants and Cleveland Browns, both of which finished the regular season tied at 9-3 and needed the one game tiebreaker.

The 1958 NFL Championship Game went down in history and is known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played.” The Western Conference winning Baltimore Colts took on the Eastern Conference champions, the New York Giants. The game is so famous for the Colts’ drive late in the 4^th quarter to tie the game up at 17. Unitas led the Colts offense down the field with 2 minutes remaining, becoming known as the first ever 2-minute drill.  The Colts forced overtime with a field goal at the end of the drive and went onto win the game in overtime via an Alan Ameche 1 yard touchdown to cement the Colts’ first NFL Championship victory. The game was broadcasted nationally by NBC and gave professional football a major popularity boost going into the 1960s.

Johnny Unitas would go onto win 2 more NFL Championships in 1959 and in 1968. He’d also help the Colts win Superbowl V in 1970 against the Dallas Cowboys. Individually, he won the AP MVP award 3 times, awarded pro-bowl honors 10 times, and was named All-Pro 5 times. Unitas played 18 years in the NFL, 17 of those with the Colts. His final season he played on the San Diego Chargers and only appeared in 5 games.

Johnny Unitas’ legacy was cemented into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. When he retired, Unitas lead the NFL in career passing yards, passing attempts, passing completions, and passing touchdowns. Along with his illustrious playing career in Baltimore, Unitas ‘disowned’ the Colts when Robert Irsay moved the team to Indianapolis. When the Cleveland Browns came to Baltimore, he helped welcome the team and fans took to Unitas’ adoption of the new Baltimore Ravens. His statue stands tall outside of M&T Bank Stadium and he is in the Ravens’ Ring of Honor.

One of the greats, Johnny U will live in the hearts of Baltimore for years to come.