Athletes - Johnny Unitas

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	Athletes - Johnny Unitas

John Constantine Unitas (May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was a pro American football player in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. A product of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Unitas is considered by many to have been one of the best quarterbacks to ever play the game. He was the National Football League's most valuable player in 1957, 1959 and 1964.

Early life

Unitas was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1933. Johnny's father died when he was five years old and he was raised by his Lithuanian immigrant mother who worked two jobs to support the family. He attended St Justin's High School in Pittsburgh where Unitas played halfback and quarterback. After high school, Unitas looked for an opportunity to play college football. He was passed over by Notre Dame and Indiana. Pitt offered a scholarship, but Unitas failed the entrance exam.

The University of Louisville finally came through with a scholarship and Johnny left home for Kentucky. Unitas played quarterback for Louisville during his college career.

After the college career at U of L, Unitas was drafted in the ninth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL, but was released before the season began. By then he was married with a child and worked construction in Pittsburgh to support his family. On the weekends, he played on a local semipro team called the Bloomfield Rams for $6 a game.

Professional career

In 1956 Unitas joined the Baltimore Colts NFL team under legendary coach Weeb Ewbank. The Colts won the NFL championship under his leadership in 1958, by defeating the New York Giants in sudden death overtime. It was the first overtime game in NFL history, and is often referred to as the "greatest game ever played". The game, nationally televised by NBC, has been credited for sparking the rise in popularity of professional football during the 1960s. Unitas then led the Colts to a repeat championship in 1959.

Later in his career, although he was injured through most of the 1968 season, he came off the bench to play in Super Bowl III, which the Colts lost. This was a desperation move in an attempt to retrieve dominance of the NFL over the upstart AFL -- which was the famous game wherein Joe Namath guaranteed a New York Jets win despite the conventional wisdom. He helped put together the Colts' only score - a touchdown late in the game, when it was already out of reach. Unitas was also injured during Super Bowl V, but he did throw a key touchdown pass in the game that helped lift the team to victory.

Johnny Unitas was traded to the San Diego Chargers in 1972, and retired from football in 1974.

Unitas set many passing records during his career. He was the first quarterback to throw for more than 40,000 yards, despite playing during an era when NFL teams played shorter seasons of 12 or 14 games (as opposed to the 16 game seasons that are played today). He also threw a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games between 1956 and 1960, a record that still stands today.

After his playing days were finished, Unitas settled in Baltimore where he raised his family. and became a pillar of the community. After Robert Irsay snuck the Colts out of Baltimore in the middle of a snowy night in 1984 Unitas actively lobbied for Baltimore's return to the NFL. After the NFL returned to Baltimore as the Baltimore Ravens for the 1996 season, Unitas actively supported the franchise as the successor organization to the Baltimore Colts. Unitas cheered on the sidelines for the Ravens at their home games and received a thunderous ovation every time he was pictured on each of the stadium's Jumbotron scoreboards.

Unitas was fiercely loyal to the city of Baltimore and the fans of the city adored him like no other sports hero. Unitas was so upset with the move of the Colts out of Baltimore that he repeatedly petitioned the NFL Hall of Fame in private and in public (on Roy Firestone's Up Close) to remove his display from the Hall of Fame as long as it was not listed as belonging to the Baltimore Colts. Unfortunately, the NFL Hall of Fame still has not complied with his request. Unitas donated his Baltimore Colt memorabilia to the Babe Ruth Musuem in Baltimore and it is now on display in the Sports Musuem in Baltimore's Camden Yards Complex.

In December of 2005, the state of Indiana was caught trying to capitalize on the legacy of Unitas to help raise money for a new Indianapolis NFL stadium. However, the estate of Unitas has taken all legal measures necessary to ensure that the City of Indianapolis will not be able to profit from the NFL heroics that Unitas provided for the NFL fans of Baltimore.

Sudden death

He died of a myocardial infarction (heart attack). When Unitas passed away, the Baltimore Ravens football team, along with its fans, strongly petitioned the renaming of their stadium after Unitas. These requests, however, were unsuccessful since naming rights were leased to the Buffalo, New York based company, M&T Bank. Towson University, in Towson, MD (a suburb of Baltimore) named its football and lacrosse complex in honor of Johnny Unitas after his death. He was a major fund raiser for the university; in addition to his children also attending.

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Athletes - Johnny Unitas

Early life

Professional career

Sudden death

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