On This Date in Sports December 28, 1958: The Greatest Game Ever Played
In “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” the Baltimore Colts defeated 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 tremendous two-minute drive by Johnny Unitas led to a 20-yard field goal by Steve Myhra.
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 game kicked off at Yankee Stadium at two, and both teams fumbled 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 become a nightmare for 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.
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 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, which set up a 15-yard touchdown pass to Frank Gifford.
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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 ties until the 1974 season. Besides a few preseason experimental games, 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 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 23-17 on a plunge by Alan Ameche.
The game had a significant impact, as a record audience on NBC television viewed it 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. Professional football would begin its climb to surpass baseball as the most popular sport in America.