In the gloomy fourth-quarter shadows of Yankee Stadium, America discovered the NFL. Millions of viewers tuned in for the first time, and they witnessed a clash between two powerhouses: the Baltimore Colts, led by Johnny Unitas, considered by most to be the best quarterback of all time, faced off against the New York Giants and their great defense.

     It appeared that the Colts were about to turn the game into a rout. Leading 14-3 in the third quarter, they had a first down on the Giants' one-yard line. But a dramatic goal-line stand turned the game around: the fired-up Giants responded with a 95-yard drive, with the key play being Charlie Conerly's pass to Kyle Rote, who gained 62 yards before fumbling at the Colts' 25; fortunately, Alex Webster picked up the ball and ran it to the one. Mel Triplett scored on the next play.

     In the fourth quarter, the underdog Giants took a 17-14 lead on Conerly's touchdown pass to Frank Gifford, whose fumbles had set up Baltimore's two touchdowns. Late in the quarter, Gifford was tackled a foot short of a first down on third down, forcing the Giants to punt. The Colts were backed up on their own 14 with 1:56 left when Johnny Unitas went to work. He confidently hit four passes, the last three to Ray Berry for 62 yards, to set up Steve Myhra's 20-yard field goal with seven seconds left.

   In the first overtime period, the Giants won the coin toss for the first possession, but the Colts forced another punt when Conerly was tackled inches short of a first down. Again, the great Unitas set to work. Masterfully moving Baltimore 80 yards, he completed his second great drive of the day when fullback Alan "The Horse" Ameche pushed in over from the 1-yard line to end the game.

     The game was a hit with the fans, but it was almost a disaster when NBC lost it's feed just before the finish. Fortunately for the network, a drunken spectator wandered onto the field, delaying play just long enough to allow the network to regain it's picture feed. It was later discovered that the "drunken spectator" was NBC statistician Stan Rotkiewicz - his crafty antics might have saved NBC from missing the historic finish.