SN 140 Moments No. 95 - Colts edge Giants in OT for 1958 title NFLs popularity takes of

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SN 140 Moments No. 95 - Colts edge Giants in OT for 1958 title NFLs popularity takes of

Profe sional football was Kendall Morris Jersey not a nationally beloved sport in the 1950s, with baseball and its all-time greats making it Americas pastime. NBC, well before enjoying the NFL on Sunday Night Football, aired the league title tilt between the Baltimore and , when 64,000-plus fans packed into Yankee Stadium on Dec. 28. The Colts had a modern explosive pa sing game, headlined by two Hall of Famers, QB Johnny Unitas and wide receiver Raymond Berry. Unitas threw for a pre-Super Bowl record 349 yards. Berry accounted for a then championship record 178 yards with 12 catches and a TD. Giants QB Charlie Conerly hung in there battling Unitas, but Unitas led the Colts on a late field-goal drive to tie the score at 17. The made-for-TV thriller became the first NFL championship to go into sudden-death overtime, when running back Alan Ameche powered in for the game-winning one-yard TD. The NFL was set in motion to become a sport that could captivate casual and diehard fans alike with its star power, action and excitement. Pro football would have never surpa sed the popularity of baseball to become the most-watched sport in America, without The Greatest Game Ever Played preceding the Super Bowl. MORE: SN COVERS: SN ARCHIVE: Anthony Pandy Jersey
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