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Johnny Unitas Remembered
John Constantine Unitas was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania May 7, 1933, but it was Baltimore, Maryland he put on the football map. He died Wednesday, September 11, of a heart attack, but his impact and presence will not soon be forgotten. Whether it was leading the 1958 Baltimore Colts against the New York Giants for their first NFL Championship in what many call the greatest game ever played or simply strolling the sidelines the past few seasons with the Baltimore Ravens, the straightforward character of the man known nationwide as "Johnny U." remained a constant. The multitude of records tell you about Johnny Unitas the football player, the quarterback, the competitor, but listen to his fellow players, his friends and his fans about the man himself. "According to the dictionary the word 'legend' implies unverifiable statements reported as historical fact. So Johnny Unitas is the antithesis of legend because everything about him is so documented," former Colts All-Pro center Bill Curry wrote on ESPN.com. "It is in the record book." "Johnny Unitas was Baltimore - guts and grit. Nobody thought he could be a professional football player, much less the best quarterback who ever played the game. He believed that he and every member of his team were the best, and they went out on the field again and again and proved it," Baltimore's mayor, Martin O'Malley, told the Baltimore Sun. Diamond International Galleries was privileged to play host to Mr. Unitas on several different occasions, including the 40th reunion of the 1958 championship team. He had a ready smile, a gentle demeanor, and he was as gracious as you've been lead to believe. On one of his visits, he was particularly intrigued with a display of radio premiums - rings, decoders and manuals - and he talked about his childhood enthusiasm for old radio shows. He remembered racing home and running into the house to hear his favorites, including Jack Armstrong and Green Hornet, he said. He recounted one rain-soaked evening in the early '50s when he was driving and listening to The Mysterious Traveler on the radio. The storm and its static were playing havoc with his reception. When he passed through a brief clear spot, Mr. Unitas turned the car around, went back to the spot, pulled off the road and stayed there until the show was finished. Years later he could still vividly recall his frustration until he found that spot. Whether it was his upbeat recollections of those types of memories or signing yet another autograph decades after he stopped playing, he was an engaging fixture in the minds of Baltimoreans and football fans around the country. And that's how he's likely to stay. On the NFL's 50th anniversary in 1969, Unitas was voted the greatest quarterback of all time, the Associated Press reported, and he also was selected at quarterback for the NFL's All-Time team in 2000 by the 36 Pro Football Hall of Fame voters. The 40th anniversary of the 1958 Colts Championship was attended by many former Colts - Unitas among them. Following are some pictures from the event:
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