1958 Colts Had Better Team--and a Big Edge

Bob Shaw had been an All-America end at Ohio State, an outstanding pass receiver in the National Football League and later a coach. Finally, a general manager in the Canadian league.

But what happened prior to the Baltimore Colts playing the New York Giants in 1958 for what was then called -- in the era of pre-Super Bowl madness -- the world championship of professional football evolved into a bizarre scenario. Shaw’s unusual involvement has never been told. It is known only to his family and a few close friends.

Shaw, who coached the ends for the Colts in 1958, actually found a way to watch the Giants practice. He wasn’t in the end-zone trying to resemble a pole nor was he walking around the stands disguised as an electrician. But, unknown to them, Shaw studied the Giants in a mid-week workout from atop an apartment building near Yankee Stadium.

The location actually provided an “inside look” at the Giants. Shaw observed the upcoming foe from the roof of a high-rise complex that offered a view of the field. He was equipped with binoculars and noted that the Giants were not going to revamp their defense nor were they readying any surprises on offense -- except the embellishment of a halfback-reverse involving Frank Gifford.

The information was comforting to the Colts. It meant that they could prepare for the game as planned, which added appreciably to their confidence. The ironic twist is Coach Weeb Ewbank of the Colts, now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, always lived in fear of other teams stealing a glimpse of his practices -- to a point of paranoia.

Shaw feared that if he got caught and indicted as a football spy it would end his coaching career. But club owner Carroll Rosenbloom promised if that happened he would “give him a job for life in one of my other businesses.” The only one to detect Shaw during his clandestine New York mission was a young boy, who used the roof for a play-area and innocently asked, “What are you doing, Mister?”

The information Shaw brought back to Ewbank and shared with the rest of the coaching staff was helpful. It didn’t shape the result, but it certainly didn’t hurt or hamper the Baltimore cause. Now, Shaw, after more than 30 years in coaching, has retired and the team he scouted, the Giants, will know for the first time how he previewed their every move.

It became a game of controversy, one the Giants’ Andy Robustelli and Gifford insist that they should have won. They believe, as do some teammates, that Gifford made a first down with only a little over two minutes left to play in regulation. Gino Marchetti, the Colts’ all-pro end, tackled Gifford and, under the pile, his ankle was broken.

“The officials were so concerned in getting to an injured man they forgot where the ball should have been marked,” says Robustelli. “They moved it back from where Gifford advanced it. If we would have gotten the first down, we wouldn’t have had to punt and would have won by the score of 17-14 and then John Unitas and Raymond Berry wouldn’t have gotten a chance to beat us.”

But Art Donovan, the first Colt voted to the Hall of Fame, says he was “in on the tackle with Gino and I know for a fact the Giants never got the necessary yardage”. Gifford says that he questioned referee Ron Gibbs about the placement of the ball as they left the field, after the Colts won, 23-17, in what was an unprecedented overtime finish, and didn’t get an explanation, only a quizzical expression.

It became a critical decision because, once the Colts got possession, John Unitas, the sport’s premier quarterback, raced the clock , getting downfield where Steve Myhra could kick a tying 19-yard field goal with only nine seconds remaining in regulation time.

That set the stage for the overtime period, or what became known as “sudden death.” The Colts were equal to the challenge there, too, and won on a 13-play drive orchestrated by Unitas. It ended with Alan “The Horse” Ameche driving off-tackle for the winning touchdown at 8:15 of the overtime, or “fifth period.”

“When the gun went off to end 60 minutes of play, I started to walk towards the locker room because I didn’t know there was going to be any more of the game,” said safety Andy Nelson. “And most of our players believed the same thing. It was an emotional day and late in my career I was traded to the Giants and found them still upset over the way we beat them.”

There has never been any serious argument that the Colts weren’t the best team. They had Unitas, excellent receivers in Raymond Berry and Jim Mutscheller and a decided edge in all the statistics. As Tom Landry, then an assistant coach of the Giants, always said, “You go out to play the Colts realizing they already have seven points. Lenny Moore meant that much to Baltimore.”

Gifford calls Moore “the best.” And will get no argument here. Yes, better than O.J. Simpson, Tony Dorsett or any other ball carrier you might want to name. “The strange thing,” says Moore today, “is we were so good as a team we didn’t honestly realize it.”

Jack Kemp, the only player who didn’t get in the game, believes that the drama of the event set it apart, but is surprised that 30 years later it is still being talked about. Kemp, yes the same Jack Kemp who was named to head the Department of Housing and Urban Development, was the Giants’ third-string quarterback -- like Unitas a castoff of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Commissioner Pete Rozelle says no game had the influence on professional football as the Colts and the Giants produced three decades ago. It has had lasting impact. The sport is better for it. And so is Baltimore. It has the precious memories.