Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
My Profile
Holiday Gift Guide
Gift ideas & reviews for this holiday season
Start Browsing
You are here:
Home
>
News
>
Entertainment
>
Article
Home
Business & Finance
News
U.S.
Politics
International
Technology
Entertainment
Film
Music
People
Television
Arts
Industry
Sports
Lifestyle
Oddly Enough
Environment
Health
Science
Special Coverage
Video
Pictures
The Great Debate
Blogs
Weather
Reader Feedback
Do More With Reuters
RSS
Widgets
Mobile
Podcasts
Newsletters
You Witness News
Make Reuters My Homepage
Partner Services
CareerBuilder
Affiliate Network
Professional Products
Support (Customer Zone)
Reuters Media
Financial Products
About Thomson Reuters
Fifty years since "Greatest Game Ever Played"
Sun Dec 21, 2008 8:00pm EST
Email | Print |
Share
| Reprints | Single Page
[-]
Text
[+]
By Larry Fine
NEW YORK (Reuters) - Fifty years ago the New York Giants and Baltimore Colts took the NFL title game to sudden death and launched pro football on a ride to the top of U.S. sports with what came to be known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played."
The golden anniversary of that 23-17 upset win on December 28, 1958 by a Colts team led by young quarterback Johnny Unitas has inspired a passel of books this holiday season, a television retrospective and musings on how far football has come.
"A crowning moment at the right time," Pro Football Hall of Fame spokesman Joe Horrigan told Reuters about the 1958 title contest in a telephone interview from Canton, Ohio. "It lifted the game to new heights."
Television networks saw football's potential as entertainment on the small screen, entrepreneurs figured there was room for expansion and the game went on a dizzying growth spurt that matured into a business with $7 billion in revenues last year.
"That was the game that definitely put professional football on the map," Super Bowl champion coach Tom Coughlin of the Giants said in an ESPN show in which modern-day Giants and Colts reflected on the game with men who played in it.
That contest showcased 15 future Hall of Famers, including Baltimore's Unitas, wide receiver Raymond Berry and running back/receiver Lenny Moore, and New York halfback Frank Gifford, linebacker Sam Huff and defensive end Andy Robustelli.
Baltimore coach Weeb Ewbank, who later led the underdog New York Jets to a 1969 Super Bowl triumph over the Colts, also ended up in the Hall, as did the Giants' offensive and defensive coordinators Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry.
The see-saw struggle at Yankee Stadium produced the first "fifth quarter" in pro football, which ended with fullback Alan Amache's one-yard plunge into the end zone, and coincided with the blossoming of television.
Network rights to broadcast the 1958 game fetched $100,000. The NFL now gets some $3.7 billion a year from TV contracts.
Despite a slew of fumbles, the game had drama, controversy and a unique ending, grabbing attention at a time when baseball ruled and pro football was secondary to the college game.
"Sometimes things just align," Horrigan said. "It just brought everything into alignment."
NEWSPAPER STRIKE
The NFL brought Moore, Berry, Gifford and New York placekicker team mate Pat Summerall together to reminisce about the game in a conference call.
"More TV sets turned on to see a football game played in the fifth quarter," Gifford said. "All the New York newspapers were on strike that week so it got more attention nationally. More national papers sent reporters."
Unitas drove the Colts 86 yards in the closing minutes, throwing repeatedly to Berry to set up a 20-yard field goal with seven seconds left that tied the game 17-17. Continued...
View article on single page
Share:
Del.icio.us
Digg
Mixx
My Web
Facebook
LinkedIn
Next Article:
FEATURE-Asia tech firms cut costs with forced leave for workers
Also on Reuters
Video
Video: New U.S troops for Afghanistan
Retailers pushing holiday sales as storm looms
Bush: auto plan only way to stave off collapse
Editor's Choice
Slideshow
A selection of our best photos from the past 24 hours. Slideshow
Most Popular on Reuters
Articles
Video
Recommended
Japan recession deepens, Ireland bails out banks
China goes on the road to lure "sea turtles" home
Suspected U.S. drones kill 7 in Pakistan: agents
Warner Music pulls videos from YouTube
WRAPUP 1-Japan exports collapse as yen, world recession bite
Downturn hits vacation enclave of New York elite
Madoff scandal stuns Palm Beach Jewish community
China fights "Mafia-style" gangs as crisis bites
Winter storms hit western, eastern U.S.
Obama raises job target, taps Biden to help workers
Most Popular Articles RSS Feed
Video
Mumbai hotels reopen
Nokia enrages Hindu nationalists
New U.S troops for Afghanistan
20th anniversary of Lockerbie
Violent clashes in Athens
Rebel leader evades Uganda search
Snowstorm chaos in China
Australian frigate rescues yachtsmen
Illinois Governor arrested
Blast rocks Moscow market
Most Popular Videos RSS Feed
Reuters Deals
The global destination for corporate leaders, deal-makers and innovators
Knowledge to Act
Reuters.com:
Help and Contact Us |
Advertise With Us |
Mobile |
Newsletters |
RSS |
Interactive TV |
Labs |
Reuters in Second Life |
Archive |
Site Index |
Video Index
Thomson Reuters Corporate:
Copyright |
Disclaimer |
Privacy |
Professional Products |
Professional Products Support |
About Thomson Reuters |
Careers
International Editions:
Africa |
Arabic |
Argentina |
Brazil |
Canada |
China |
France |
Germany |
India |
Italy |
Japan |
Latin America |
Mexico |
Russia |
Spain |
United Kingdom |
United States
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.