1958_nfl_championship_game

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For other uses of "The Greatest Game Ever Played", see The Greatest Game Ever Played (disambiguation).

1958 NFL Championship Game
Colts Giants 23 17 1 2 3 4 OT Total Colts 0 14 0 3 6 23 Giants 3 0 7 7 0 17
Date	December 28, 1958
Stadium	Yankee Stadium
City	New York City
Referee	Ron Gibbs
Attendance	64,185
TV/Radio in the United States
TV Network	NBC
TV Announcers	Chris Schenkel and Chuck Thompson
Radio Network	N/A
Radio Announcers	N/A

The 1958 National Football League Championship Game was played on December 28, 1958 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the first ever National Football League (NFL) game to go into sudden death overtime. The final score was Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17. The game has since become widely known as The Greatest Game Ever Played.Barnidge, Tom. 1958 Colts remember the \'Greatest Game\', nfl.com, reprinted from Official Super Bowl XXXIII Game Program, accessed March 21, 2007. The game was the 26th annual NFL championship game.Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)http://www.nfl.com/news/story/5706748 "Dec. 28, 1958: A legend is born", NFL.comhttp://espn.go.com/nfl/s/epstein/colts.html "Title game wasn\'t that great for \'58 Colts" by Eddie Epstein, espn.comhttp://www.ravensnests.com/1958game/turnngpt.htm "The Turning Point", RavensNest.com

The game marked the beginning of the NFL\'s popularity surge, and eventual rise to the top of the United States sports market. A major reason was that the game was televised across the nation by NBC . Colts receiver Raymond Berry recorded 12 receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown. His 12 receptions are a championship record that stands to this day.

Contents 1 Game summary 1.1 Scoring summary 2 Players in the Hall of Fame 2.1 New York Giants 2.2 Baltimore Colts 3 See also 4 References

Game summary

Baltimore Colts Fullback Alan Ameche scores the winning 1-yard touchdown run in The Greatest Game Ever Played.

	1	2	3	4	OT	Total
Colts	0	14	0	3	6	23
Giants	3	0	7	7	0	17

After the Giants scored first late in the first quarter with Pat Summerall\'s 36-yard field goal, a second quarter fumble by New York running back Frank Gifford set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Colts running back Alan Ameche. Gifford fumbled again later in the second quarter, and Baltimore converted that turnover into another touchdown with quarterback Johnny Unitas\' 15-yard pass to end Raymond Berry to make the score 14-3 by halftime.

Then early in the third quarter, the Colts reached the New York 1-yard line. But on third down, Ameche was stopped for no gain, and the Colts turned it over on downs after Ameche was tackled at the 5-yard line on a fourth down halfback option play. The Giants then marched 95-yards, scoring on a 1 yard touchdown run by Mel Triplett to cut the score, 14-10.

The Giants then went ahead early in the fourth quarter with Gifford\'s 15-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Charlie Conerly. But with about two minutes left in the game, the Colts took over at their own 14-yard line and moved the ball all the way to the Giants 13-yard line to set up a 20-yard tying field goal by kicker Steve Myhra with seven seconds left to send the game into overtime—the first overtime game in NFL History. As Unitas later stated, the players had never heard of overtime before the game. “When the game ended in a tie, we were standing on the sidelines waiting to see what came next. All of a sudden, the officials came over and said, ‘Send the captain out. We’re going to flip a coin to see who will receive.’ That was the first we heard of the overtime period.”

In overtime, the Giants received the opening kickoff but were forced to punt. On their ensuing drive, the Colts drove 80 yards in 13 plays and scored on Ameche\'s 1-yard touchdown run to win the game, 23-17.

Scoring summary

• NYG - FG Summerall 36
• BAL - Ameche 2 run (Myhra kick)
• BAL - Berry 15 pass from Unitas (Myhra kick)
• NYG - Triplett 1 run (Summerall kick)
• NYG - Gifford 15 pass from Conerly (Summerall kick)
• BAL - FG Myhra 20
• BAL - Ameche 1 run

Players in the Hall of Fame

As of 2007, 12 players and 3 coaches that were involved in this game are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/rosters.nsf/Annual/1958-nyg 1958 New York Giants roster http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/rosters.nsf/Annual/1958-bal 1958 Baltimore Colts roster They are:

New York Giants

• OL Rosey Brown
• HB Frank Gifford
• LB Sam Huff
• WR Don Maynard
• DE Andy Robustelli
• DB Emlen Tunnell
• Offensive Coordinator Vince Lombardi
• Defensive Coordinator Tom Landry

Baltimore Colts

• WR Raymond Berry
• DL Art Donovan
• DL Gino Marchetti
• HB/WR Lenny Moore
• OL Jim Parker
• QB Johnny Unitas
• Head Coach Weeb Ewbank

See also

• NFL playoffs, 1958

References

v • d • e New York Giants
East Rutherford, New Jersey
The Franchise	Franchise • History • Seasons • Coaches • Division
Stadiums	Polo Grounds • Yankee Stadium • Yale Bowl • Shea Stadium • Giants Stadium • New Meadowlands Stadium
Lore	Sneakers Game • The Greatest Game Ever Played • The Miracle at the Meadowlands • Wide Right • Manning to Tyree
Head Coaches	Folwell • Alexander • Potteiger • Andrews • Friedman • Owen • Howell • Sherman • Webster • Arnsparger • McVay • Perkins • Parcells • Handley • Reeves • Fassel • Coughlin
Key Personnel	Owners: John Mara, Steve Tisch • General Manager: Jerry Reese • Head Coach: Tom Coughlin
League Championships (7)	1927 • 1934 • 1938 • 1956 • 1986 • 1990 • 2007
Super Bowl Appearances (4)	1986 • 1990 • 2000 • 2007
Current League Affiliations	League: National Football League • Conference: National Football Conference • Division: East Division

Baltimore/Indianapolis Colts v • d • e

Franchise • History • Players • Coaches • Seasons • Division • Draft • First-round draft picks Culture - Robert Irsay • Jim Irsay • Relocation to Indianapolis • Blue • Patriots rivalry • Chiefs rivalry Stadiums — Memorial Stadium • RCA Dome • Lucas Oil Stadium Super Bowl Appearances – III • V • XLI Lore – The Greatest Game Ever Played • Ghost to the Post League Championships (5) 1958, 1959, 1968, 1970, 2006

v • d • e National Football League Championship Games (1933–present)
NFL Championship Game (1933–1969)	1933 • 1934 • 1935 • 1936 • 1937 • 1938 • 1939 • 1940 • 1941 • 1942 • 1943 • 1944 • 1945 • 1946 • 1947 • 1948 • 1949 • 1950 • 1951 • 1952 • 1953 • 1954 • 1955 • 1956 • 1957 • 1958 • 1959 • 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969
AFL Championship Game (1960–1969)	1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969
AFL-NFL World Championship Games[1] (1966–1969)	1966 (I) • 1967 (II) • 1968 (III) • 1969 (IV)
Super Bowl[2] (1970–present)	1970 (V) • 1971 (VI) • 1972 (VII) • 1973 (VIII) • 1974 (IX) • (1975) X • 1976 (XI) • 1977 (XII) • 1978 (XIII) • 1979 (XIV) • 1980 (XV) • 1981 (XVI) • 1982 (XVII) • 1983 (XVIII) • 1984 (XIX) • 1985 (XX) • 1986 (XXI) • 1987 (XXII) • 1988 (XXIII) • 1989 (XXIV) • 1990 (XXV) • 1991 (XXVI) • 1992 (XXVII) • 1993 (XXVIII) • 1994 (XXIX) • 1995 (XXX) • 1996 (XXXI) • 1997 (XXXII) • 1998 (XXXIII) • 1999 (XXXIV) • 2000 (XXXV) • 2001 (XXXVI) • 2002 (XXXVII) • 2003 (XXXVIII) • 2004 (XXXIX) • 2005 (XL) • 2006 (XLI) • 2007 (XLII) • 2008 (XLIII) • 2009 (XLIV) • 2010 (XLV)
1932 "Unofficial" NFL Championship • NFL Championship Broadcasters • AFL Championship Broadcasters • Super Bowl Champions • Super Bowl Most Valuable Players • Super Bowl Records • Super Bowl Broadcasters • Super Bowl Officials • Super Bowl Halftime • Super Bowl Advertising • Pre-Super Bowl NFL champions • NFL Playoffs (Results) • AFL Playoffs
1 – From 1966 to 1969, the first four Super Bowls were "World Championship" games played between two independent professional football leagues, AFL and NFL, and when the league merged in 1970 the Super Bowl became the NFL Championship Game. 2 – Season not the calendar year is placed in the list such that Super Bowl XLI was played in 2007 however it was for the 2006 season.

v • d • e NFL on NBC
Related programs:	Football Night in America · Kickoff Game · NBC Sunday Night Football · The NFL on NBC Pregame Show · NFL on NBC Radio
Related articles:	American Football League · Monday night NFL games prior to 1970 · NFL on television · Sunday Night Football results (2006-present)
Commentators	AFC Championship Game · AFL Championship Game · Commentator pairings · List of announcers · NFL Championship Game · Pro Bowl · Pregame Show panelists · Super Bowl
Lore televised by NBC:	"The Comeback" · "The Drive" · "The Epic in Miami" · "The Fumble" · "The Heidi Game" · "The Holy Roller" · "Ghost to the Post" · "The Greatest Game Ever Played" · "Immaculate Reception" · Red Right 88 · "The Snowplow Game"
Music:	Randy Edelman · John Tesh · John Williams
Super Bowls broadcasted by NBC	I · III · V · VII · IX · XI · XIII · XV · XVII · XX · XXIII · XXVII · XXVIII · XXX · XXXII · XLIII · XLVI

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