1958 NFL Championship Game
The 1958 NFL Championship Game was the 26th NFL championship game, played on December 28 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It was the first NFL playoff game to be decided in sudden death overtime. The Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants 23–17 in what soon became widely known as "the Greatest Game Ever Played". Its legendary status in the pantheon of historic NFL games was again confirmed by a nationwide poll of 66 media members in 2019, who voted it the best game in the league's first 100 years.
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| Date | December 28, 1958 | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Yankee Stadium, The Bronx, New York City | |||||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Johnny Unitas (Quaterback; Baltimore) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Colts by 3½ points | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Ron Gibbs | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 64,185 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Hall of Famers | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Colts: Weeb Ewbank (coach), Raymond Berry, Art Donovan, Gino Marchetti, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, Johnny Unitas Giants: Tim Mara (owner), Wellington Mara (vice president/secretary), Rosey Brown, Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Don Maynard, Andy Robustelli, Emlen Tunnell | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Chris Schenkel, Chuck Thompson | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Radio in the United States | ||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC (national) WBAL (Colts) WCBS (Giants) | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Joe Boland, Bill McColgan (NBC) Bob Wolff, Bailey Goss (WBAL) Les Keiter, Bob Cook (WCBS) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Stadium
It 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. Baltimore receiver Raymond Berry recorded 12 receptions for 178 yards and a touchdown. His 12 receptions set a championship record that stood for 55 years until it was broken by Denver Broncos wide receiver Demaryius Thomas in Super Bowl XLVIII.