On This Date in Sports September 30, 1973 Unitas in San Diego
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
Playing out the final season of his career with the San Diego Chargers, Johnny Unitas tosses the final touchdown of his career. It is an eight-yard pass to Bob Thomas in the fourth quarter as Chargers are beaten by the Cincinnati Bengals 20-13, as he became the first quarterback to pass for over 40,000 yards. It is the 290th touchdown of Unitas’ career, the record at the time. Johnny Unitas would play in just two more games, before ending his career.
Johnny Unitas was born in Western Pennsylvania on May 7, 1933. After playing at Louisville, was drafted in the ninth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955 but did not make the team out of training camp. That year Unitas played semiprofessional football for a team in suburban Pittsburgh. A year later, he got another shot with the Baltimore Colts. This team he made the roster and would become the starter by the end of the year.
By 1958, Johnny Unitas was the best quarterback in the NFL, setting new standards in passing as he led the Colts to the first of two-straight NFL Championships. Unitas won the first of three MVP awards in 1959, becoming the first quarterback to have 30 touchdown passes in a single season. During this period, Johnny Unitas had a streak of 47-straight games with a touchdown pass. A record that stood for more than 50 years when it was topped by Drew Brees with the New Orleans Saints in 2012.
Johnny Unitas was the face of the Baltimore Colts up until the 1968 season when he missed most of the season with an injury. Earl Morrall went on to lead the Colts to Super Bowl III, when the Colts were upset by the New York Jets 16-7, but not before Unitas got in the game and tried to lead a late comeback. Two years later he would start Super Bowl V, a game the Colts won beating the Dallas Cowboys 16-13. However, it was clear that the best years were behind Johnny Unitas, despite holding most NFL passing records as he was benched in 1972 and traded to the San Diego Chargers after the season.
The Chargers motivation for acquiring Johnny Unitas was two-fold, hoping there was some magic left in his arm while tutoring Dan Fouts, whom they picked in the third round of the NFL Draft out of Oregon. However, the magic was gone for Unitas as the Chargers coached by Harland Svare began the season with a 38-0 loss to the Washington Redskins. They would bounce back to beat the Buffalo Bills 34-7 in their home opener. Though the numbers were not good, against the Cincinnati Bengals, Unitas had a pair of interceptions before his eight-yard touchdown pass to Bob Thomas. However, it was too little too late as the Bengals won in San Diego 20-13. A week later, Johnny Unitas made his final start against the Pittsburgh Steelers, in his hometown throwing two more picks before he was benched in favor of Fouts as the Chargers lost 38-21. Johnny Unitas would make just one more appearance at the end of the season in the final game against the Kansas City Chiefs.
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Johnny Unitas at the time was considered the greatest quarterback of all-time, holding records of 290 touchdowns and 40,239 yards at the time of his retirement.