Johnny U: The Life and Times of John Unitas

by Tom Callahan

In a time “when men played football for something less than a living and something more than money,” John Unitas was the ultimate quarterback. Rejected by Notre Dame, discarded by the Pittsburgh Steelers, he started on a Pennsylvania sandlot making six dollars a game and ended as the most commanding presence in the National Football League, calling the critical plays and completing the crucial passes at the moment his sport came of age.

Johnny U is the first authoritative biography of Unitas, based on hundreds of hours of interviews with teammates and opponents, coaches, family and friends. The depth of Tom Callahan’s research allows him to present something more than a biography, something approaching an oral history of a bygone sporting era. It was a time when players were paid a pittance and superstars painted houses and tiled floors in the off-season—when ex-soldiers and marines like Gino Marchetti, Art Donovan, and “Big Daddy” Lipscomb fell in behind a special field general in Baltimore. Few took more punishment than Unitas. His refusal to leave the field, even when savagely bloodied by opposing linemen, won his teammates’ respect. His insistence on taking the blame for others’ mistakes inspired their love. His encyclopedic football mind, in which he’d filed every play the Colts had ever run, was a wonder.

In the seminal championship game of 1958, when Unitas led the Colts over the Giants in the NFL’s first sudden-death overtime, Sundays changed. John didn’t. As one teammate said, “It was one of the best things about him.”

Genres: Sports, Football, Biography, Nonfiction, History

304 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Scott · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Sister Theresa Marie [of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's now-defunct Saint Justin's High School] was the first person to read inspiration into John's last name. 'Unite us,' she said when they met. 'You must be a leader.' From the second day of football practice onward, he was." -- on page 18

John Constantine Unitas (7 May 1933 - 11 September 2002) was part of the inaugural batch - preceded only by George Blanda of the Raiders - of notable superstar quarterbacks hailing from the Pittsburgh region in western Pennsylvania. (Other 'hall of famers' include Joe Namath, Joe Montana, Jim Kelly, and Dan Marino.) A child of the Great Depression, from a hardscrabble and devoutly Catholic working class family, Unitas was a ninth round draft pick by the Pittsburgh Steelers in 1955 . . . only to lose the spot after mere months. He was picked up by the then-nascent Baltimore Colts in 1956 - where the golden arm of #19 was to make a home making and/or breaking records for the next seventeen (!) seasons - and the rest is a deserved chapter in American sports history. Author Callahan - a sports columnist for the Washington Post newspaper - examines the life and NFL career of John Unitas (and it was always 'John' to his family, friends, and teammates) in the highly enjoyable bio Johnny U. Perhaps smartly and shrewdly, Callahan gives much page time to other colorful characters populating the Colts - such as Gino Marchetti, Raymond Berry, Alan Ameche, John Mackey, and Lenny Moore (a Reading, PA native - woot woot!) - who took to the gridiron alongside Unitas during the 1950's and 60's. Because of them - and this was a now-bygone era where players would reside in the city where their franchise was located, work off-season blue-collar jobs, and actually be members of the community - the bio is brimming with humorous, zany and/or touching anecdotes and stories, strategically bypassing the tired angle of simply getting bogged down in encyclopedic stats. Although somewhat quiet and reserved, the-often unflappable Unitas was a true leader among his men, and I'm quietly envious that millions of folks regularly got to watch his talent in action week after week, either at the stadium or on their TV screen.

[B. R. Reed · Rating 4 out of 5]

John Constantine Unitas just may have been the greatest quarterback in the history of the NFL. You'd get no argument from me. Born into a poor family of Lithuanian descent in Pittsburgh in 1933 Unitas went on to star for the Baltimore Colts in the 50s and 60s. What impressed me most about him was his leadership abilities. One did not talk in a Unitas huddle. He called his own plays, imagine that? Of course he could also really hurl a football. I think he played in the golden age of the NFL and it was not a time of million dollar contracts. The players were more like "regular guys" and had off-season jobs. These were men of the "Greatest Generation." Many had been in the military before the NFL. One could rub shoulders and shake hands with these guys in a Baltimore bar. The Colts had leadership on the offensive side of the ball with Unitas and a great defensive leader in Gino Marchetti. (Both men are in the Hall of Fame along with several other Colts from that era.) When Unitas's younger adult sister lost a child Johnny was at his sister's door with tears in his eyes. (It was the first time she had ever seen him cry.) That says a lot about the man to me. There is not a whole lot of detail in the book about his family but there is plenty about the Colts family. I think this is an excellent sports bio about a great subject. Highly recommend.

[Neal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obviously, this rating is biased as I am a native Baltimorean just old enough to remember the waning heyday of the Baltimore Colts before Robert "Darth" Irsay took over the team. Johnny Unitas was past his prime when I became aware of football, but he could still generate some excitement on a Sunday afternoon and send my parents into hysterics with a long pass. Despite the fact that I didn't see Unitas play during his best years, the man cast a long shadow over Baltimore, choosing to make the city his home until his death. For those of us who only had a glimpse of the glory past, this biography provides a wonderful picture of the Pennsylvania native who became one of the first icons of the fledgling NFL during the 50s and 60s. The book also gives you a sense of the excitement and pride that Baltimoreans felt for this team and their star quarterback. All the key surviving players are interviewed for the book, and probably just in time since many are quite old at this point. The book is so carefully researched and lovingly written, you can't help but get caught up in the nostalgia of it, even if you didn't live through that time.

[Straker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pretty good bio of the late football great. Callahan doesn't get bogged down in dreary play-by-play recaps of long-forgotten games - only the famous 1958 championship contest gets the full treatment. The book is heavily weighted toward reminisces from former teammates and published comments from Unitas himself, who died in 2002. The focus is on his on-field career and there's little about his personal life until the very end. Unitas's surviving siblings and the children of his second marriage cooperated but apparently not the children of his first wife, Dorothy. A good read overall but I wouldn't class it with the best sports biographies I've read.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the book was very good and gave good insight into Johnny U. And obviuously he is one of the all-time greats at QB, there are a ton of men from my grandfathers generation that will tell you he is the greatest they ever saw. But I've been a little surprised to study him and see how little his teams really won. They did win a championship game that is considered to be perhaps the greatest game ever played. But that was a function of the way the game was played and that they won (if it had gone the other way it wouldn't necessarily be considered that - nor was it billed as the biggest game ever). His second most significant game was the Superbowl he lost. He did win one Superbowl, but he was the backup by then and didn't really play. His college teams were bad, and so were half his NFL teams. I can't see how he compares to Montana.

[Mark · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's probably better biographies of Johnny Unitas. Hopefully. A lot of focus on the Colts and Unitas' teammates, and not always as to how Unitas related to them. For large stretches, Unitas is not even mentioned and Callahan goes into great detail about characters like Johnny Sample.

More so, Callahan virtually ignores Unitas' first wife, Dorothy, who he briefly addresses as being a highly controversial character, with whom Unitas had five children. To my memory, none of the five are mentioned by name. He also almost ignores Unitas' second wife, with whom he had three other children.

Unlike Jane Leavy's biography of Mickey Mantle, Callahan keeps the "life" of Unitas out of "The Life and Times of John Unitas." Very disappointing.

For a better book about the Baltimore Colts, try "The Greatest Game Ever Played" about the 1958 Championship game, which covers all you need to know.

[Glenn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was an easy and informative read. The chapter on the 1958 NFL Championship describes the game in detail. Makes you feel like you were there. At the end of the book there is some details about Johnny U’s 2nd wife and there 3 kids - suddenly made me realize his first wife and 1st 5 kids were hardly mentioned. Seemed very odd to me. The “ Times “ of Johnny U. Were covered in great detail with a lot of great informative details about his teammates. “The Life” of Johnny u. - not so much.

[Bob Seaby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Comment: I grew up with the Baltimore Colts and Johnny Unitas was a real sports hero. Not only is this an enjoyable story about Unitas but it also provides some interesting details about the early days of the NFL. Johnny U. takes you back to the time when football was a game and not yet a business.

[Mark Bunch · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. Ok reporting- Johnny U was a fairly straight shooting son of a gun.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this is a second reading for me, as a lot of it seems familiar. This book is okay, but it's done in a strange way that makes it surprisingly flat at times. The author apparently never spoke to Johnny Unitas, who died before this book was started. So all the anecdotes told by Unitas come from newspaper and magazine stories that are notoriously unreliable -- with Unitas even saying at one point about a biography written by him that he didn't even read what the ghostwriter put together.

Therefore, the book is a look at the life and career of Unitas through third parties, including dozens of teammates and coaches. Some of those were first-person interviews, with the author then doing fact-checking and multiple interviews to try to line up the truth. I like that effort, and it's fun when he takes a tale that's been told over and over, and gets as close to accurate as he can. In one case, for example, there's a hilarious moment during practice when a rookie is asked three times to block a defensive lineman. The lineman first knocks him backwards, then he jumps over him, and then he grabs his jersey and throws him to the side. When the lineman asks Unitas and the coach, "What do I do now?" someone who's been watching says, "Applaud." This story is told beautifully, and the research is to uncover who said it -- and three people who were there are given credit. Close enough, as the punchline is more important than who said it.

The story is about way more than Unitas. It's about the Baltimore Colts heyday with him at QB and also about the era in which he played. It's unimaginable today, with rosters of 33 players, many of whom played on offense and defense. That phased out by the middle of his career, but he played as a defensive back in college at Louisville, and that two-way play was common.

There are hundreds of stories of dirty and vicious play, and I have no idea if they are true. It seems unimaginable that guys could play through broken noses, smashed teeth, being pushed into cement walls, etc., week after week. And also in practice, according to them ... There's no way to know. I think it helped that they were a lot lighter than they are today, so the force of a collision was a lot less. And it helped that seasons were 12 games, so that's a lot less wear and tear. And also the interviews are with the guys who survived, not the ones who dropped out after a few practices in college or were the final cut in the pros or who hurt their knee in an exhibition game and never returned. These guys made it and were stars, so maybe they are compressing 10 years of the worst plays into a few well-worn stories that made it seem like every play and every player was crazy.

Speaking of being cut, the book does a nice job on the details of the early career of Unitas. Famously, after having a great college career on a terrible Louisville team, he was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers. He never got a chance in training camp and got in one play in an exhibition game, and was cut by a crusty old coach who didn't like to throw the ball. Unitas didn't look like a player -- skinny, gangly, slow runner -- but the way he threw was special. This coach didn't bother to find that out. So, Unitas went home to Pittsburgh, worked on a pile driver, and played weekend football. When a teammate was offered a tryout by Baltimore, Unitas was invited too, given his college credentials. Pretty quickly this coach, Weeb Ewbank, realized that his new QB was more accurate than what he had in the starting lineup. When that starter was hurt, Unitas came in, had a very good rookie season, and was a star for a decade. Totally improbable, but it happened.

Best part of the book is probably the back stories to all the guys. The Colts had characters, wild guys who were sweethearts at their core (mostly). They also had more black players and in prominent positions than other teams, so there's writing about their experience. In fact, there's a chilling anecdote about Alan Ameche, the fullback, opening a restaurant in Baltimore in 1960 and having to turn away his Black teammates. Ameche apologized a decade later, but I can't help but imagine that's a slight that will never be forgiven. It was a different world racially (or have we really moved ahead?).

Ultimately, if you're a pro football fan you should read this book. It covers a great team during a seminal period, basically 1956-1970, and it's fun as well as serious. But if you want real insight into Johnny Unitas or even insights from him about how he understood football -- what he saw on the field, how he prepared for games, how he improvised, how much it hurt -- you'll get none of it. Unitas was one of the most mysterious players in the game when he was active, and he remained that was. This is not like the tell-all bio of Joe DiMaggio that raised such controversy 20 years ago.

[RICK "SHAQ" GOLDSTEIN · Rating 4 out of 5]

RICK “SHAQ” GOLDSTEIN SAYS: JOHNNY “U”… A TOUGH GUY… FULL OF GRIT… WHO NEVER GAVE UP… AND WENT FROM A NOBODY TO A HALL OF FAMER!”
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This book, is more than the life story of one of the greatest all-time quarterback’s, Johnny Unitas. It’s a story, of the mythical character, that is intertwined, with the history of the United States, and within every single one of us, who attempted a dream; failed, and believed, that if they didn’t give up, if they kept trying, even harder, they would succeed. Not just succeed, but triumph, and be a star in their chosen field. Well, this is that true story! Johnny Unitas came from the rough and tumble areas in western Pennsylvania, that seemed to spew out great quarterbacks, like the steel mill’s oozed smoke from their smokestacks! (Joe Montana, Joe Namath, Dan Marino, Jim Kelly, George Blanda Babe Parilli, Johnny Lujack, Marc Bulger.) The consensus from these quarterbacks, credit two things, for the unmatched proliferation of successful quarterbacks from this region: “the beer”, and the fact that, “all of western Pennsylvania is built on – a work ethic that says, “What you get out of something, depends on what you put into it!” This biography dwells, just as much on Johnny’s failures, as it does on his triumphs, and to me that’s very important. The fact that Johnny never quit, he just kept trying harder. Unlike today’s “gilded” players, who sit out games with a hang nail, Johnny played with blood oozing, from multiple parts of his body, and cracked ribs, and broken bones. The fact, that Johnny never blamed his teammates, for a drop passed, or a loss, in addition to playing as a poster boy for the “walking wounded”, made him the greatest leader to get behind center in the NFL. The list of Hall Of Famers, mentioned in this book, would make the long list of quarterbacks listed earlier, pale in comparison. And all of these Hall Of Famers', not only respected “Johnny U”, but they were in awe of him, and would run through a brick wall for him. That’s the true impact of this story. That’s more important than the statistics, and the description, of what experts, have called the “greatest game in professional football history, the 1958 sudden death victory, by Johnny’s Baltimore Colts, over the New York Giants for the World Championship. This is the story of an everyday, working man, with a flat top haircut, high top shoes, and the proverbial lunch bucket, who never changed, on his trip from western Pennsylvania, to Canton Ohio, as he was enshrined in the National Football League Hall Of Fame!

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book contained many great interviews and very detailed facts of football history back then. Although, if you know nothing about football, I wouldn't recommend this book because it does contain score charts and descriptions in which one should already be familiar too. Personally, I've just entered interest in football, so I knew nothing about this "legend" some people have referred Johnny as. The author describes Johnny Unitas as a very ambitious man, who cared more for the things in surrounding than himself. What really struck me the most, was the leadership and loyalty he had towards his profession, starting from the hands of his father, Francis Unitas, on to his son, Johnny Unitas. In the book, there were parts where they would cut off the middle of an interview and merge onto a football scene which bothered me a bit because they did not continue the subject with the person being interviewed. In otherwise, it contained many memorable moments that marked NFL history, in his life, and the life of his teammates. The actions played back then majorly show the difference in the football they play today, the relationships, and the attitudes of each player presented out to the world.

[Derrick · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Unitas We Stand"

Hagiography? Perhaps. But all I can say is I knew nothing about Unitas beyond his name as an important quarterback, and I ended up reading the last 30 pages through tear-blurred eyes. Plus, this book has got me scouring YouTube for every scrap of footage I can find about the 1950s-70s Colts.

While this book is primarily about Johnny U, it's as much about the players and people from his life, as well as the cities of Baltimore and Pittsburgh -- and a non-flattering but amusing bit about San Diego at the end of John's career.

Don't skip the Acknowledgements at the end. I usually blow them off, but that last 10 pages is delightful. And the last line?

"Thank you, John."

I need a minute.

[Trae Stratton · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think a better title for this would have been The Legacy of Johnny U and the 1958 Colts. I say that because this book is about so much more than the life of John Unitas. Certainly it starts and ends there, but it goes on for stretches of pages about those he played with as well. The writing style left me a little lost sometimes, but it still paints a great picture of Johnny U, his impact and his era without losing your attention in minutia.

The play by play account of the 1958 Championship Game alone makes this worth the cover price.

John Unitas is a legend, that makes this book a must for every Self Described Football Historian, and Colts fans in particular.

[Luke Koran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gosh, what is up with some of these authoritative biographies centered on iconic sports heroes? Tom Callahan definitely missed a golden opportunity here to make The Golden Arm of John Unitas truly shine. Even if you lower your pre-reading expectations - and also prepare yourself that Johnny U is simply MIA during large swaths of this biography, this simply is an average read and look into a legend. If Callahan had simply covered Unitas’ career, accomplishments and legacy more thoroughly, I would’ve been satisfied. Instead, I’m disappointed. All I am left with is the feeling of needing to read a new book on the original G.O.A.T. …

[Bob O'G · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great biography of Johhny Unitas provides as much of a feel for the the early Baltimore Colts as it does Unitas's life, perhaps even more so. Author Callahan dedicates chapters to Colts legends such as Gino Marchetti, Raymond Berry, and Jim Parker, who were interviewed and provide much needed insight into the tight lipped football legend. This book makes you pine for the days of the NFL when players worked side jobs in the off season so they could make ends meet. They were people and not stars. A must read for any football fan.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Callahan gives the reader a glimpse into a bygone era of professional sports, showing how these athletic superheroes (especially on many of the Colts teams of Unitas’s day) were also regular guys who held mundane day jobs during the offseason and were not constantly hounded by fans and the media the way atheletes are today. The description of significant games was fascinating to someone like me who grew up in Baltimore and heard stories from my parents and grandparents, Colts season tickets holders, of the glory days of the team.

[Chris Dean · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent biography, a very quick read. Covers all the highlights expected but not a tremendous amount of depth covered in the subject, especially throughout the second half of his career and retirement. Doesn't detract though, from the enjoyment of this book as you really understand who Unitas, the man, was.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was enjoyable to get to know the person of Johnny U better, having remembered him as a kid growing up. I admired his toughness and humility as the book described, making it clear that his character was acquired during his early years growing up in Pittsburgh. Also enjoyed reading about the players/coaches that Johnny worked with throughout his career.

[Joe Seliske · Rating 5 out of 5]

As it says on the dust jacket, this is not only a book about John Unitas, but it is book about football in the 1950s and 1960s and the men who played it. Johnny Unitas is inseparable from football and these men. Well-written, it is a page turner. The names stirred up many memories - goog me memories.

[Ellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

this shares the life of a hall of fame quarterback. shares his humble beginnings and struggles to get into college. not a big school he is drafted by the steelers but released with very little knowledge of his skills. he plays backyard ball with a semi- pro team and is signed by the colts. he eventually rises to the heights of nfl stardom. swearing, examines his team mates. b/w pictures. rip.

[Jason Vicknair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just ok. There wasn’t really anything that stood out or grabbed you and I just caught myself not really zoned in on a book for the first time in a very long time. Not sure if it was just the older storylines or the frequency of dropping big names or just wear the stories tailed off sometimes - just the overall flow of the book didn’t really grab and keep my attention.

[Tim · Rating 1 out of 5]

Every kid has (or ought to have) heroes. For me, Johnny Unitas was one of the first. Unitas first achieved fame as the quarterback for the NFL's Baltimore Colts when I was too young to know football was, helping lead the Colts to the 1958 NFL championship in a game that is still called "The Greatest Game Ever Played." But by the time I was old enough to know what football was, there was no doubt who my favorite player was. Unitas ranked right up there with the astronauts.[return][return]That's why I picked up Johnny U: The Life and Times of John Unitas with such anticipation when I saw it. It was about time, I thought, that someone write a Unitas biography. Yet the book, written by award-winning sportswriter Tom Callahan, epitomizes sports biographies and, more important, what I dislike about sports biographies. Perhaps not surprisingly, they tend to be far too heavy on the sports and far too light on the biography.[return][return]The book clearly has potential, given the significant number of interviews Callahan conducted (although his recurring reference to himself as "the sportswriter," such as in "Shula told the sportswriter," goes beyond annoying). But in the end the book is far more about the times than the life of Johnny U. Callahan revisits the 1958 championship game play by play, with a more detailed recounting of some of the more significant plays that led to the sudden death victory. He introduces us to plenty of the stars during the time the Colts were amongst the NFL elite. While they talk about Unitas, we learn as much about them and their backgrounds as we do Unitas. And while it's kind of fun to read about Raymond Berry and Gino Marchetti and the tale of John Mackey is sad, what we learn about Unitas tends to be his skills, his attitude, his reserve and his toughness on the football field.[return][return]For example, while we meet his mother, brothers and sisters early on and get a fair recounting of Unitas' childhood and college years, the first Mrs. Unitas is mentioned early on and disappears entirely until virtually the end of the book. In fact, it isn't until the final two chapters that we really meet any of the family Unitas started as an adult. Even then, it is almost exclusively his family with his second wife. From his beginning in the NFL until some some of his post-career business failures, we don't really learn much about Unitas other than what he did on the practice field and in the stadiums and, as noted, how his teammates viewed him. Granted, we learn why Unitas wore the black hightops that, along with his crewcut, set him off from virtually all other football players in the 1960s and 1970s. We learn the respect he earned from teammates and opponents for his fairness, toughness, and determination. We learn that when Unitas won a Corvette for being the most valuable player in the 1958 championhip game, he traded it in for a station wagon. This is all consistent with what his fans probably already knew or, if they didn't, could have picked up in one of the sports magazines of the era.[return][return]This might be all well and good if a glimpse of how football changed during the Johnny Unitas years is your primary focus. But if you're interested in learning about the man himself, it doesn't cut it. Admittedly, I may be asking too much from a biography that is, after all, about a sports figure. But I wanted to learn not only about Johnny Unitas the football player but the man outside the stadium lights. What did he do in the off-season? What things outside football did he enjoy? How did he and his family cope or attempt to cope with his fame given Baltimore's adoration of its Colts? How did the failure of his first marriage and whatever caused it affect his playing or vice versa? I'm not looking for dirt or gossip. I simply want to know about his life outside the spotlight. None of this information is really here. As a result, the book tends to make Unitas one dimensional, that he was a football player and little or nothing else.[return][return]In fairness to Callahan, he admits in the preface that the book isn't just about Unitas. Although Johnny U begins and ends with the title subject, Callhan writes that the book "is as much about a certain time as a single player. It is less about a specific place in the country than a place where the whole country used to be." As such, the book is more a biography of the Baltimore Colts and professional football in general during the Unitas years. And in that respect Callahan succeeds in educating us about how the NFL was different then and the internal dynamics of the Colts. He also does a fine job of exploring various social issues that existed at the time, such as the color line in pro football.[return][return]In the end, as a sports biography, the book could make almost any starting lineup. Drop the modifier "sports," though, and Johnny U underperforms.[return][return]Originally posted at http://prairieprogressive.com/2006/12...

[Jason Hintze · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was tough to get into this book at the beginning due to my unfamiliarity with the era Johnny U grew up in. However, towards the middle and end of the book I found myself much more interested. It’s a good book portraying what football was like back then, and Johnny U’s impact on the game.

[Tim Fox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting and enjoyable book. Not so much a biography as it is a collection of snapshots, memories of Unitas from teammates, family, and friends with a lot of the book focused on the 50s and 60s Colts.

[Frank Gantz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved reading about Johnny U., and an earlier generation of football. However, it was poorly written. Not sure how an author with credits of Time magazine and the Washington Post could write in such a manner.

[Bob · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Good story about football in the 50’s and 60’s.and of course my childhood football hero, JohnnyUnitas

[Brian Callahan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting read. Insight was provided on what the players were like back then and how the game was played.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

a good biography

[C Baker · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love reading about football, football history, and great players of the past, so I very much enjoyed this biography of John Unitas (1933-2002), one of the best quarterbacks in professional football history.

First a little bit about Johnny U. Unitas grew up in a hard scrabble environment in Pittsburgh. His father died when he was five and his mother and older brother worked hard to keep the family intact. Unitas was a bit light for a football player but was the starting quarterback for his high school. His dream was to play for Notre Dame but he couldn't get in so he went on to play at the University of Louisville in the early 1950's. While the team didn't do very well, Unitas did and his jersey number (#16) is the only one retired by that school. In 1955 Unitas was drafted in the 9th round by the Pittsburgh Steelers of the NFL but was soon cut and ended up playing in a semi-pro league around Pittsburgh. Through the football grapevine the Baltimore Colts brought Unitas in for a tryout in 1956 and was signed to back up starter George Shaw. Shaw went down in the forth game and Unitas held on to the starting job, except when injured, from 1956-1972.

Unitas won 3 NFL championships in his career - the first which many consider to be the most pivotal professional football game ever played - the 1958 NFL Championship where the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants 23-17 in the first overtime game in NFL history. The game was televised nationwide and many credit the game for drawing the public's attention to the National Football League and as the launching pad for today's lucrative television contracts and the sport's wide popularity. Some still refer to this game as the "Greatest Game Ever Played." Unitas was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979 and is one of four quarterbacks on the NFL's 75th Anniversary All Time Team. (Note I am counting the 1958 and 1959 NFL Championships, which preceded the creation of the Super Bowl, and Super Bowl V as the Colts 3 NFL Championships. I am not counting the 1968 NFL Championship as the Colts lost to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III and Unitas was hurt that year and rarely played.)

Callahan says in his introduction that he sets out to write not just a biography of John Unitas but also to give the reader a sense of what it was like to be a professional football player in the 1950's and 1960's. As a biography of Unitas, Callahan is quite successful. We see Unitas not only through his own eyes, but through the eyes of the players, coaches, family, and friends who knew him. He really brings to life the personality, toughness, smarts, and perseverance that made Unitas the great quarterback and team leader he was throughout his career. The biography also includes interesting short vignettes on other great players on those Colts teams like Gino Marchetti, Eugene "Big Daddy" Lipscomb, Art Donovan, and Jim Parker, to name a few.

Callahan is mostly successful at giving the reader an idea of what it was like to be a player in the 1950's and 1960's, although the way he does so is one of the biggest drawbacks of the biography. The structure and writing is sometimes rather disjointed and not well structured. There are too many asides, long parenthetical comments, or chapters that drift looking backward in time, or in the future, and then coming back to the main point, which was a little frustrating for this reader. While I do not expect a completely linear book - I felt the author could have done a better job of being a bit more seamless in the storytelling.

This drawback aside Callahan does provide one crucial insight - that the players of that era, unlike today, really were part of the community (at least the Colts' players were). Since players made much less money back then a lot of them worked in the off season. Thus they lived, and often worked, in the communities where they played football. Further, they often lived in modest homes among everyday citizens, not tucked away in mansions or high income neighborhoods. As a result, the community became very attached to the organization and the players, and often vice versa. The depiction of the long, historical, close relationship between the Colts and the city of Baltimore really brought home what an awful event losing the team was to the city.

Finally, I have to mention that probably the best chapter was the one dedicated to the 1958 Championship Game. It's told from the perspective of the Colts, not the Giants, and is a game that demonstrated Unitas' leadership in pulling out a victory.

Overall, despite the jumpiness of some of the chapters, I found the biography a worthwhile and interesting reading experience and would recommend it to those who want to know a bit more about Johnny U and his Baltimore Colts.

[Reviewer Note: Author Tom Callahan is a journalist and sportswriter. He has worked at both Time magazine as a senor writer and the Washington Post as a sports columnist.]