Johnny Unitas

Johnny Unitas
Date of birth	May 7, 1933
Place of birth	Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Date of death	September 11 2002 (aged 69)
Place of death	Baldwin, Maryland
Position(s)	Quarterback
College	Louisville
NFL Draft	1955 / Round 9 / Pick 102
Career highlights
Pro Bowls	1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1966, 1967
Awards	1959 UPI MVP 1959 Bert Bell Award 1959 Pro Bowl MVP 1960 Pro Bowl MVP 1963 Pro Bowl MVP 1964 UPI MVP 1964 Bert Bell Award 1964 AP NFL MVP 1967 AP NFL MVP 1967 UPI MVP 1967 Bert Bell Award 1970 Walter Payton Award
Honors	NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team NFL 1960s All-Decade Team
Retired #s	Baltimore Colts #19 Louisville Cardinals #16
Records	NFL Consecutive Games with a Touchdown Pass (47) Baltimore Colts Career Passing Yards (39,768), Baltimore Colts Career Passing TDs (287)
Stats
Statistics	Pro Football Reference DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1956-1972 1973	Baltimore Colts San Diego Chargers
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1979

John Constantine "Johnny" Unitas (May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was a professional American football player in the 1950s-70s, mostly with the Baltimore Colts. Widely regarded as the greatest professional quarterback of all time, he threw touchdown passes in 47 consecutive games, considered by many to be an "unbreakable" record.

After playing for the University of Louisville, Unitas was signed in 1955 by the National Football League's Pittsburgh Steelers, but was released before the season started. Later, he played semi-professional football before signing with the Baltimore Colts in 1956. By his retirement in 1974 (playing the last season with the San Diego Chargers), he held career records for attempted passes, completions, yards gained passing, and touchdown passes, among other achievements.

Although most of his marks were later eclipsed, he played in an era when the rules made passing more difficult. Noted for his ability to call plays from the line of scrimmage, Unitas was the Associated Press Player of the Decade (1960s); the NFL's most valuable player in 1959, 1964, and 1967; and was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1979.

Early life

Unitas was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 1933. His 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. His unusual surname was a result of a phonetic transliteration of a common Lithuanian last name Jonaitis.

Attending St Justin's High School in Pittsburgh, Unitas played halfback and quarterback. After high school, he looked for an opportunity to play college football. He was passed over by Notre Dame and Indiana. The Pitt then offered a scholarship, but Unitas failed the entrance exam. The University of Louisville finally came through with a scholarship, and Unitas left home for Kentucky. He played quarterback for Louisville during his college career.

College career

In his four-year career at Louisville, Unitas completed 245 passes for 3,139 yards and 27 touchdowns. It is recorded that the six-foot, one-inch Unitas weighed only 145 pounds on his first day of practice at the University of Louisville.

Unitas’ first start was in the fifth game of the 1951 season against St. Bonaventure. He completed 11 consecutive passes and three touchdowns to give the Cardinals a 21-19 lead. Though Louisville lost the game 22-21 on a disputed field goal, it had found a talented quarterback. As a freshman, Unitas completed 46 of 99 passes for 602 yards and nine touchdowns.

In 1952, the team switched to one-platoon football. Unitas played safety and linebacker on defense, quarterback on offense, and kick/punt returner on special teams. Unitas completed 106 of 198 passes for 1,540 yards and 12 touchdowns in his sophomore year.

The team won their first game in 1953, against Murray State, and lost the rest for a record of 1-7. Yet Unitas still excelled. One of the most memorable games of the season came in a 59-6 loss against Tennessee. Unitas completed nine of 19 passes for 73 yards, rushed nine times for 52 yards, returned six kickoffs for 85 yards, one punt for three yards, and had and an incredible 86 percent of the team's tackles. In his junior year, Unitas completed 49 of 95 passes for 470 yards and three touchdowns.

Unitas was elected captain for the 1954 season, but due to an early injury did not see much playing time. His first start of the season was the third game against Florida State. Of the 34-man team, 21 were freshmen. The 1954 Louisville Cardinals went 3-6, with the last win at home against Morehead State. Unitas was slowed by so many injuries his senior year that he did not lead the team in passing yards. He threw for 527 yards, second to Jim Houser’s 560.

Professional career

After college, Unitas was drafted in the nineteenth round by the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL, but was released before the season began. By then he was married with a child and did construction work in Pittsburgh to support his family. On the weekends, he played on a local semipro team called the Bloomfield Rams for six dollars a game.

In 1956, Unitas joined the Baltimore Colts of the NFL under legendary coach Weeb Ewbank, who appreciated Unitas' potential. The Colts won the NFL championship under Unitas' leadership in 1958 by defeating the New York Giants 23-17 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, beating the Giants again 31-16 in the title game.

Later in his career, although he was injured through most of the 1968 season, Unitas stayed on the bench to play in Super Bowl III, the famous game wherein Joe Namath guaranteed a New York Jets win. Sidelined virtually all season with a lame elbow, Unitas helped put together the Colts' only score, a touchdown late in the game. In 1970, Unitas led the Colts to Super Bowl V. He was knocked out of the game in the second quarter, after throwing a 75-yard touchdown pass (setting a Super Bowl record) that helped lift the team to victory. In 1971, Unitas brought the Colts to the AFC Championship game and lost to Miami 21-0.

Unitas was traded to the San Diego Chargers in 1973 and retired from football in 1974. He finished his 17 NFL seasons with 2,830 completions in 5,186 passes for 40,239 yards and 290 touchdowns, with 253 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,777 yards and 13 touchdowns.

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 today's 16-game seasons). He also threw a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games between 1956 and 1960, a record that still stands and is considered by many the Mount Everest-like football equivalent to Joe DiMaggio's 56-game baseball hitting streak.

Life After Football

After his playing days were finished, Unitas settled in Baltimore, where he raised his family while also pursuing a career in broadcasting, doing color commentary for NFL games on CBS in the 1970s. Unitas, Brooks Robinson, and Cal Ripken Jr. are generally considered the city's foremost sports icons.

After Robert Irsay moved the Colts franchise to Indianapolis in 1984, Unitas was so outraged that he cut all ties to the relocated team (though his #19 jersey is still retired by the Colts). Other prominent old-time Colts followed his lead. He asked the Pro Football Hall of Fame on numerous occasions to remove his display unless it was listed as belonging to the "Baltimore" Colts, not the Indianapolis Colts. The Hall of Fame has not complied with the request. Unitas donated his Colts memorabilia to the Babe Ruth Museum in Baltimore. These items are now on display in the Sports Museum at Camden Yards.

Unitas also actively lobbied for another NFL team to come to Baltimore. After the NFL returned to Baltimore as the Ravens for the 1996 season, Unitas and most of the other old-time Colts regarded the Ravens as the true successors of the Baltimore Colts. Unitas was frequently seen on the Ravens' sidelines at home games and received a thunderous ovation every time he was pictured on each of the JumboTrons at M&T Bank Stadium.

When the NFL celebrated its first 50 years, Unitas was voted the league's best player. Retired Chicago Bears quarterback Sid Luckman said of Unitas, "He was better than me. Better than (Sammy) Baugh. Better than anyone."

Personal life

Unitas was married to his high school sweetheart Dorothy Hoelle on November 20, 1954; they had five children. One hour after he divorced Dorothy in Reno on June 26, 1972, Unitas married Sandra Lemon; they had three children and stayed together until his death.

Toward the end of his life, Unitas brought media attention to the many permanent physical disabilities that he and his fellow players suffered during the early years of football, before padding and other safety features designed to prevent such injuries had been invented. Unitas himself lost near-total use of his right hand, which had become mangled by the end of his playing career, with the middle finger and thumb noticeably disfigured from being repeatedly broken.

On September 11, 2002, Unitas died suddenly while working out at a physical therapy facility in Baldwin, Maryland, of a myocardial infarction (heart attack).

Legacy

After his death, many fans of the Baltimore Ravens football team petitioned the renaming of the Ravens' home stadium (owned by the State of Maryland) after Unitas. These requests, however, were unsuccessful, since the lucrative naming rights had already been leased by the Ravens to the Buffalo, New York, based company, M&T Bank. However, a statue of Unitas was erected as the centerpiece of the plaza in front of the Stadium and the plaza was officially named "Unitas Plaza." Large banners depicting Unitas in his Baltimore Colts heyday now flank the entrance to the stadium. Many loyal Baltimore football fans observe the ritual of rubbing the shoe of the statue of Unitas prior to entering the stadium for a Ravens home game.

• Unitas holds the record for most Pro Bowl appearances (ten) by a quarterback.
• He was voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
• Since 1987, the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award has been awarded annually to the top senior quarterback of the current year in college football.
• In 1999, he was ranked No. five on "The Sporting News'" list of the 100 Greatest Football Players, behind only Joe Montana among quarterbacks. In 2004 a TSN special feature on the 50 Greatest Quarterbacks ranked Unitas number one and Montana number two.
• The football stadium at Towson University was renamed Johnny Unitas Stadium in 2002.
• Unitas set the record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass at 47 games. This record is currently regarded as one of sport's "unbreakable" records.

Career stats

Passing Stats

Year	Team	G	Passing Att.-Comp.	Yards	Pct.	TD	Int.	Sacks-Lost	Pass Rating
1956	Baltimore	12	198-110	1,498	.556	9	10	n/a-202	74.0
1957	Baltimore	12	301-172	2,550	.571	24	17	n/a-212	88.0
1958	Baltimore	10	263-136	2,007	.517	19	7	n/a-120	90.0
1959	Baltimore	12	367-193	2,899	.526	32	14	n/a-125	82.6
1960	Baltimore	12	378-190	3,099	.503	25	24	n/a-190	73.7
1961	Baltimore	14	420-229	2,990	.545	16	24	n/a-204	66.1
1962	Baltimore	14	389-222	2,967	.571	23	23	n/a-255	76.5
1963	Baltimore	14	410-237	3,481	.578	20	12	42-298	89.7
1964	Baltimore	14	305-158	2,824	.518	19	6	37-254	96.4
1965	Baltimore	11	282-164	2,530	.582	23	12	29-221	97.4
1966	Baltimore	14	348-195	2,748	.560	22	24	21-146	74.0
1967	Baltimore	14	436-255	3,428	.585	20	16	25-198	83.6
1968	Baltimore	5	32-11	139	.344	2	4	2-15	30.1
1969	Baltimore	13	327-178	2,342	.544	12	20	12-93	64.0
1970	Baltimore	14	321-166	2,213	.517	14	18	19-158	65.1
1971	Baltimore	13	176-92	942	.523	3	9	15-129	52.3
1972	Baltimore	8	157-88	1,111	.561	4	6	14-114	70.8
1973	San Diego	5	76-34	471	.447	3	7	14-96	40.0
Totals		211	5,186-2,830	40,239	.546	290	253	230-3,090	78.2

References

ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

• Bolus, Jim, and Billy Reed. Cardinal Football. Champaign, IL: Sports Masters, Inc., 1999. ISBN 978-1583820483
• Callahan, Tom. Johnny U: The Life and times of John Unitas. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2007. ISBN 978-1400081400
• Lazenby, Roland. Johnny Unitas: The Best There Ever Was. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2002. ISBN 978-1572435469

External links

All links retrieved August 3, 2022.

• "Johnny Unitas" Pro Football Hall of Fame
• "Johnny Unitas" IMDb