The 1958 Baltimore Colts: Profiles of the NFL's First Sudden Death Champions

by George Bozeka (Editor)

Overview

The 1958 Baltimore Colts were one of the greatest teams ever in professional football. Owned by the controversial Carroll Rosenbloom and led by head coach Weeb Ewbank and six future Hall of Fame players--Johnny Unitas, Raymond Berry, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, Art Donovan and Gino Marchetti--they won the NFL title that season, defeating the New York Giants in the first sudden death championship game in NFL history. The Colts laid the foundation for the ultra-popular spectacle football would become with the American public.

They were a talented group of players. Many had been rejected or underappreciated at various points in their careers though they were loved and respected by the blue collar fans of Baltimore. This book tells the complete story of the '58 Colts and the city's love affair with the team.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476671451
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	06/26/2018
Series:	Great Teams in Pro Football History
Pages:	340
Sales rank:	631,168
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.90(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Retired attorney George Bozeka is the president and assistant publications director of the Professional Football Researchers Association. He has written numerous articles in the association’s publication The Coffin Corner and was the recipient of the PFRA’s Bob Carroll Memorial Writing Award in 2011 and the Jack Clary Award in 2020. He lives in Akron, Ohio.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface (George Bozeka)
Part 1: The City and the Organization
Baltimore in the Fifties (Patrick Gallivan)
Owner Carroll Rosenbloom (George Bozeka)
Head Coach Weeb Ewbank (Lee Elder)
Assistant Coaches (John W. Lesko, Bert Gambini)
Building the 1958 Colts (Matthew Keddie)
The 1958 Draft (Bert Gambini)
Part 2: The 1958 Season
1958 Training Camp and Preseason (Mark L. Ford)
1958 Regular Season Game Summaries (Rich
Shmelter, Rupert Patrick and Simon Herrera)
1958 NFL Championship Game (Rupert Patrick)
Final 1958 NFL Standings
1958 Colts Statistics (Rupert Patrick)
1958 Colts Superlatives (Rupert Patrick)
Part 3: The Team
Alan Ameche (Rick Schabowski)
Raymond Berry (John Vorperian)
Ordell Brasse (Jay Zahn)
Ray Brown (Rick Gonsalves)
Jack Call (David Standish)
Milt Davis (Nick Ritzmann)
Art DeCarlo (Rick Schabowski)
Art Donovan (Neal Golden)
L.G. Dupre (Greg Selber)
Dick Horn, Avatus Stone and Gary Kerkorian (Mark L. Ford)
Don Joyce (Neal Golden)
Ray Krouse (Bill Lambert)
Gene Lipscomb (George Bozeka)
Lenny Lyles (Ed Gruver)
Gino Marchetti (Neal Golden)
Lenny Moore (Rich Shmelter)
Jim Mutscheller (Joseph Wancho)
Steve Myhra (Rick Gonsalves)
Andy Nelson (Joshua M. Anderson)
Buzz Nutter (Randy Snow)
Jim Parker (George Bozeka)
Bill Pellington (Nick Ritzmann)
Sherman Plunkett (John W. Lesko)
George Preas (Rick Schabowski)
Billy Pricer (John Maxymuk)
Bert Rechichar (Rick Gonsalves)
Johnny Sample (Greg Selber)
Alex Sandusky (David Standish)
Leo Sanford (Joshua M. Anderson)
George Shaw (Jay Zahn)
Don Shinnick (Nick Ritzmann)
Jackie Simpson (John Maxymuk)
Art Spinney (Bill Lambert)
Dick Szymanski (David Standish)
Carl Taseff (Joseph Wancho)
Fuzzy Thurston (Rick Schabowski)
Johnny Unitas (George Bozeka)
Part 4: The Stadium
Memorial Stadium (Matthew Keddie)
The Baltimore Colts Marching Band (Randy Snow)
Part 5: The Press
Joe Croghan and Ernie Harwell (Joe Marren)
Cameron Snyder and John Steadman (Joe Marren)
Chuck Thompson and Bailey Goss (Joe Marren)
Sam Lacy (Ed Gruver)
Bob Wolff (John Vorperian)
About the Contributors
Index

Editorial Reviews

Excellent history...highly recommend”—Gridiron Greats.

From the Publisher