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ESPN to Re-Broadcast 'Greatest Game Ever Played' In Color

Posted: Dec 10th 2008 7:00AM by Sportz Assassin (author feed)
Filed under: Colts, Giants, NFL Media Watch

Remember back in the last 1980s and early 1990s when Ted Turner spent his fortune buying up old films and "colorizing" them?

ESPN plans to do the same thing when they re-broadcast the "Greatest Game Ever Played" this Saturday. The "Greatest Game" was the 1958 NFL Championship game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants.

The game will celebrate its 50th anniversary on December 28th (not sure why ESPN is deciding to show the game two weeks earlier) and is credited with turning the NFL into a national passion. It was nationally televised on NBC and was the league's first ever sudden-death overtime game.

Fifteen members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame were in that game: Johnny Unitas, Sam Huff, Gino Marchetti, Frank Gifford, Don Maynard, Raymond Berry, Art Donovan, Rosey Brown, Lenny Moore, Andy Robustetti, Emlen Tunnell and Jim Parker. Hall of Famer Weeb Ewbank was head coach of the Colts; Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry were coordinators for the Giants.

Continue Reading ESPN to Re-Broadcast 'Greatest Game Ever Played' In Color

Manning Surpasses Unitas Yet Again

Posted: Nov 22nd 2007 11:00PM by David J. Warner (author feed)
Filed under: Colts, AFC South, Indianapolis

11 COMMENTS

Y'know, it's a good thing the NFL isn't like baseball, or else we'd have to see endless camera shots of Johnny Unitas' family sitting in the stands and watching Peyton Manning break all of his records. Nobody wants that, do they?

Tonight against the Atlanta Falcons, the Colts' current quarterback surpassed the Colts' former quarterback on the all-time passing yards list. Unitas finished his career with 40,239 passing yards. Manning came into the game needing 105 yards to pass Unitas and jump into 10th place, which he easily had by the second quarter -- thanks in no small part to rookie Anthony Gonzalez, who looks like he's going to have a really, really good career in this league.

Earlier this season, Manning surpassed Unitas to become the Colts' all-time leader in touchdown passes. Last season, Manning topped Unitas on the franchise's all-time pass completions list. I suspect these aren't the only Unitas records Manning will break before it's all over. Look for him to pass another great QB, Joe Montana, on the all-time passing yards list (40,551) at some point next week.

Peyton Manning Approaches Another Record

Posted: Oct 22nd 2007 11:00AM by David J. Warner (author feed)
Filed under: Colts, AFC South, Indianapolis

1 COMMENT

While Tom Brady looks poised to break Peyton Manning's single-season touchdown pass record, Manning looks poised to break another record of his own -- Johnny Unitas' franchise record for total touchdown passes. Coming into tonight's Colts-Jaguars game, Manning has 285 touchdown passes with the Colts, two short of the 287 touchdown passes Unitas threw while the franchise was still in Baltimore.

As Michael Marot of AP notes, many old players see a lot Unitas in Manning, but they stop short of saying the two are equals.

"I'm happy for Peyton and I mean that in all sincerity," said (Lenny) Moore, a Hall of Fame running back who played with Unitas in Baltimore. "As a former player, I truly admire his ball playing.

"But Peyton Manning is no Johnny Unitas. The game has changed tremendously over the years, and if the game was played the way it is now, what Johnny U. would have done is unbelievable."

Indeed, Unitas did a lot to change the way the game is played, and Manning is a great admirer of Unitas. When Johnny U. passed away in 2002, Manning wanted to honor his memory by wearing Unitas' trademark black socks. Naturally, the NFL threatened to fine Manning for uniform violations. For a league that prides itself on its history, it seems perfectly willing to ignore much of its pre-Super Bowl history. No wonder so few young fans know who Johnny Unitas was.

Manning Passes Unitas On Colts' All-Time Completion List

Posted: Sep 17th 2006 10:35PM by Eric Conner (author feed)
Filed under: Colts

0 COMMENTS

Peyton Manning set yet another mark in the Colts week 2 victory over the Texans. With 8:17 left in the first quarter, Manning completed a pass to Joseph Addai which put him on top of the Colts' all-time completions list. He passed the great Johnny Unitas. The reception, which led to a 21-yard touchdown by Addai, put Manning at 2,797 completions in 130 games with the Colts. Unitas had 2,796 completions in 206 career games with the Colts. Very impressive Peyton.

According to NFL.com...