Average guy turns into hero for fans
by John Byrns, reporter

    Many years ago, I saw Johnny Unitas beat the Dallas Cowboys in its first preseason game.

   The Cowboys led most of the game, giving me reason to believe that the upstart Cowboys had a chance to beat the world champion Baltimore Colts.

   That was before Unitas was sent in late in the fourth quarter.

   He threw only four passes that game, the last one to Lenny Moore for the winning touchdown.

   Even to a teenager rooting for his home team, there was something about Johnny Unitas.

   Raised in a single parent home, Unitas’ mother taught him that family always comes first. It was his mom who worked jobs outside the home so Unitas and his brother and sister had what they needed.

   She showed Unitas how to beat the “you can’t” with “I can.”

   His mother taught him that life’s rewards are not given, but earned through hard work, determination and courage.

   Unitas learned early how to use his mother’s lessons to overcome his fears and failings. These lessons would serve him well all his life.

   Unitas played in the golden days of football, when playing both offense and defense was the only way to make the team. The easily injured found it impossible to make the team. Team members played hurt or not at all.

   In high school, Unitas tried out for the football team. He made the team, even though his coach thought he was too small.

   To improve his chances of playing, Unitas practiced at home drilling over and over until he was confident in his skills.

   In a backyard tree, Unitas put up a tire swing so he could practice throwing a football. Sometimes for a challenge, he would have his little sister swing on top of the tire while he practiced.

   In his high school junior and senior years, he started. He was a good offense and defense player, but not great.

   After high school, he chose Notre Dame. But, the college rejected him for being to small. His college search ended with the only scholarship offer from the University of Louisville.

   Again he started on defense and had to work his way into the quarterback’s position, where he set a few school records.

   To him, his accomplishments were nothing big, but to the alumni, he was the greatest football player ever.

   Then Unitas was ready for his dream job: quarterbacking a pro football team. The chance to fulfill that dream came when the Pittsburgh Steelers drafted him.

   Unitas moved his wife to Bloomfield, Pa., and went to training camp. He was cut from the team before the Steelers broke training camp.

   Unitas was fired from his dream job before proving himself. With a pregnant wife waiting at home, he had responsibilities; the dream would have to wait.

   He returned home and took a job as a crane operator. Weekends would find him playing for the semipro Bloomfield Rams football team.

   Once again, he started on defense and worked his way to starting at quarterback. Reportedly, a Baltimore Colt fan saw him play and wrote the Colt organization about him. However, some believe that Unitas wrote that letter himself.

   Just before the Game of the Century (1958 championship between the New York Giants and the Baltimore Colts), Colts coach Weeb Ubanks, on finishing his speech to the team, asked if Unitas wanted to say anything.

   Unitas looked at his teammates and said, “Talk’s cheap; let’s play the game.”

   After he retired from pro football, Unitas tried sport announcing for one of the major networks. He was released after half a season because he was too bland for a color commentator.

   Unitas made one movie and several guest appearances on TV shows. As with most legends, he quickly faded from the public’s view after retirement.

   Unitas was as bad in business as he was great in football. He tried pizza parlors and bowling alleys, which all led to bankruptcy.

   As his businesses failed, so did his health. Two artificial knees, hands twisted from arthritis and many minor aliments filled each day with pain.

   With bankruptcies to pay off and a family to support, he kept working.
Unitas would spend hours signing autographs at sport shows and made appearances at minor events.

   In order to avoid becoming wheelchair bound or bed ridden, he went through physical therapy sessions.

   During one of his therapy sessions on Sept. 11, Unitas died of heart failure, working to the end to overcome his failings.

   Johnny Unitas was an average guy, with average abilities, but through hard work, determination and courage, he became a legend.