Sports

Baltimore Sports History: Johnny Unitas

Thursday, 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.

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Baltimore Sports History: The Colts

Thursday, November 21st, 2024 by The Professor

by Andrew Ciofalo, host of After The Whistle

The Indianapolis Colts we’re once Baltimore’s beloved football team. For 40 years the Colts pranced Old Memorial Stadium where legends like Johnny Unitas and Gino Marchetti. From being a championship contender regularly in the first 18 years to barely sniffing playoffs in the ladder half of the Colts’ stay in Baltimore, where did it all go wrong? That can be chalked up to one name: Robert Irsay. Let’s explore the good times before the extremely distasteful ending.

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Baltimore Sports History: The Dayton Triangles

Tuesday, November 12th, 2024 by The Professor

by Andrew Ciofalo, host of After The Whistle

This year marks the 104th season of NFL play and it’s lining up to be as exciting as ever. Here in Baltimore, the Ravens only have existed for the last 28 years of the NFL, when the franchise came from Cleveland in 1995 and played in its first season a year later. Many people in Baltimore still remember the Baltimore Colts and their beloved Johnny Unitas. Afterall, that’s where Baltimore’s football fandom began. But before they were the Colts, the franchise can trace its origins back to one of the charter teams of the NFL.

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Baltimore Sports History: Celebrating The Life of Brooks Robinson

Thursday, September 26th, 2024 by The Professor

by Andrew Ciofalo, host of After The Whistle

Every major sports team has a shortlist of its best players of all time. And out of all of them, there’s usually less than a handful that stand out among the rest. The Baltimore Orioles have been around since 1954 and had its own handful, the Iron Man Cal Ripken, Frank Robinson and Jim Palmer. But there was only one Mr. Oriole: Brooks Robinson.

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Baltimore Sports History: The Orioles

Wednesday, May 15th, 2024 by The Professor

by Andrew Ciofalo, host of After The Whistle

The last time Baltimore had a Major League Baseball team was in 1902 when the Oriole franchise was transferred to New York. What followed was over 50 years without another Major League Baseball team in the city. That was until the failing St. Louis Browns franchise owned by Bill Veeck sold his Browns to a group headed by a Baltimore attorney, Clarence Miles.

A quick rewind and brief history of the St. Louis Browns, the franchise started life as the Milwaukee Brewers in 1894 and played in the Western League. At the time it was considered a minor league and played in it until 1899. In 1900 the Western League, under control of President Ban Johnson, was renamed the American League and converted to a Major League in 1901. Before the first season, Ban Johnson wanted the franchise to move to St. Louis as it was a much bigger city and didn’t believe a team would survive in Milwaukee. Team owner Matthew Killilea was able to convince Johnson to a one-year prove-it year in Milwaukee. This one year was a complete failure as the Brewers finished in dead last in the league. The team would be moved to St. Louis and would get new ownership as well as a new name: the St. Louis Browns. (more…)

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Baltimore Sports History: Oriole Park 4 & 5

Thursday, April 11th, 2024 by The Professor

by Andrew Ciofalo, host of After The Whistle

Today we all know and love Oriole Park at Camden Yards, its revolutionary design, the inclusion of the warehouse and much more make this Oriole Park feel like the great ballpark that it is. This isn’t the first Oriole Park however… It’s the sixth. The name Oriole Park has a great history and legacy that is often overshadowed.

In the 1880s, the Baltimore Orioles played in the American Association, the league most competitive with the National League. Commonly known as the AA, the winner of both leagues would play in a sort of World Series style championship. That was until the AA folded in 1891 after four of its teams moved to the more competitive National League, including the Orioles.

The Orioles first season in the National League was also their first season in their new home, Union Park. Naturally the park took the nickname of Oriole Park, becoming the third host of the club. The Orioles would find its greatest success to date at Union Park and in the National League. The first two years were rough though, finishing in last and 8th out of 12 teams. In the 1894 season, the Orioles would turn their 8th place finish from the previous year into a pennant win. It was the franchises’ first pennant win and the first of three in a row in a dominant run in the National League from ’94 to ’96. In the ’97 and ’98 seasons, the Orioles would finish 2nd to Boston. In their 8th and final season in the National League, the Orioles finished in 4th before they fell victim to the National Leagues cutdown from 12 teams to 8.

After leaving the National League, the Orioles Franchise had a short hiatus while there wasn’t a league for them. In came a gentleman named Ban Johnson who was the president American League, formerly a minor league called the Western League. Johnson became president of the Western League in 1894 with the goal of making his league a Major League. When the National League had its cutdown, the 4 teams were left to join this new American League.

When joining the American League, of course the Orioles needed a new field. Enter American League Park, or Oriole Park IV. The American League experiment didn’t go well for the Orioles as they only played 2 seasons. The first season was plagued by barely .500 play along with debate between then Oriole manager John McGraw and league president Ban Johnson. Arguments stemmed from the fact that Johnson originally wanted to place the team in New York City, but the New York Giants denied them from doing so. In the second season there was rumors that McGraw was wanting to try again to re-locate the team to New York but ultimately ended up leaving the team mid-season to join the Giants of the NL. Many players went with their manager to the Giants, leaving the Orioles very empty handed and leading Johnson to step in and take control. Safe to say baseball in Baltimore was not in good shape and that was evident when the club disbanded at the end of the season. Eventually the franchise would be re-located to New York as originally intended and the team’s name was changed to the Highlanders and then to what we know them today as; The New York Yankees. You’re welcome, Yankee fans.

After the Oriole major league franchise folded, the Oriole name was used for a new minor league team of the Eastern League. The minor league Orioles played at Oriole Park IV, where baseball legend Babe Ruth got his start. The minor league Orioles would continue to play at Oriole Park IV till 1914. The next Oriole Park was first called Terrapin Park where shortly a team called the Baltimore Terrapins played. After only 2 seasons, the Terrapins and the Federal League folded, and the minor league Orioles took over in Terrapin Park. The Orioles would continue to play there until 1944 when a fire destroyed all of the Park. The team would play the rest and future games at Municipal Stadium. The Stadium was known as other names such as Venable Stadium and Baltimore Stadium. It was renovated and reconstructed to be able to host baseball and football and was renamed to Memorial Stadium. Memorial Stadium would be the host of two teams that were new to Baltimore, the incoming St. Louis Browns and Dallas Texans.

Memorial Stadium wouldn’t be the sixth Oriole Park because it was a shared facility, the sixth wouldn’t come until after Memorial Stadium had been past its prime and heyday. The building of Camden Yards for the sole purpose of baseball caused it to inherit and bring back the Oriole Park name.

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Baltimore Sports History: Oriole Park 1-3

Thursday, April 4th, 2024 by The Professor

by Andrew Ciofalo, host of After The Whistle

Oriole Park at Camden Yards has been home to the Baltimore Orioles since its creation in 1992. When naming the stadium, Oriole Park and Camden Yards were the favorites. Owner at the time Eli Jacobs wanted Oriole Park to be the name when Governor William Schaefer wanted the name to be Camden Yards. The compromise is what we still see today: Oriole Park at Camden Yards. It is a classy name, but I also can’t help but think that the name is an ode to the previous Oriole Parks.

Previous Oriole Parks? 5 of them to be exact. The Oriole name has been used in Baltimore for teams and their playing fields since the 1880s. There were 5 different ‘Oriole Parks’ from 1883 to 1944. Today we’ll look at the original Oriole Park and its short-lived successor, Oriole Park II. (more…)

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Baltimore Sports History: Frank Robinson

Tuesday, March 19th, 2024 by The Professor

In 1950, Baltimore was left without any baseball team when the Baltimore Elite Giants of the Negro Leagues folded. Baltimore went through a short 4-year stint without having a baseball team until The St. Louis Browns were sold to a group of Baltimore Businessmen. The team moved to Baltimore and went on to be renamed The Orioles.

The Baltimore Orioles have a rich history of talented players, including 17 MLB Hall of Famers. Among them was Baseball legend Frank Robinson who played for the Orioles for 6 seasons. Although he only played in Baltimore for a short time, his accomplishments will never be forgotten among Oriole fans. Robinson’s statue stands tall in Orioles Legends Park, in left center field at Camden Yards. (more…)

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Baltimore Sports History: Leon Day

Thursday, February 29th, 2024 by The Professor

by Andrew Ciofalo, host of After The Whistle

In celebration of Black History Month this year, I’d like to look back at the history of Negro League Baseball in Baltimore and some of the stars that helped break the color barrier to the MLB alongside of Jackie Robinson.

It is sad to see the records of Negro League Baseball players who barely missed out on the chance to play in the Major Leagues. There were so many talented players who had the skill to play that were a year or two away from the MLB color barrier being broken.

Leon Day played in the Negro Leagues for 10 years and like many others, never got his chance to show the rest of the country his skill. Day was a pitcher that some say was as good as, if not better than, Satchel Paige in his prime. I covered Paige in last week’s column in case you missed it! Paige got all the attention while he was playing, partly because he wanted it. Day was a more soft-spoken player and not one to seek the limelight. His focus was on his play, at which he excelled. (more…)

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Baltimore Sports History: Satchel Paige

Thursday, February 22nd, 2024 by The Professor

by Andrew Ciofalo, host of After The Whistle

In celebration of Black History Month this year, I’d like to look back at the history of Negro League Baseball in Baltimore and some of the stars that helped break the color barrier to the MLB alongside of Jackie Robinson.

Whenever Negro League Baseball comes into conversation, not far behind is the name Leroy “Satchel” Paige. After all, the right-handed pitcher might be the greatest player to ever play in the Negro Leagues. Satchel Paige played in the Negro Leagues for 20 years before he got a chance to play in the Major Leagues. His stats will vary depending on the source, but his story goes much deeper than just the numbers. (more…)

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