The Baltimore Colts: The Team that Helped Shape the NFL and Broke a City's Heart

This is Lee Habib and this is our American stories we tell stories about everything here on the show in the arts to sports and business to history and everything in between.

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Some of our favorite Mike Levin was president and chief operating officer of Las Vegas Sands Corporation, one of the great hotel years of all time a legend in his business also happens to be a friend who almost every time I talk to him. I learned something about him myself and life is what you would call a wise man and we need more wisdom in this country and we love bringing with them today show up next is a story Mike tells about his time in law school. Micah graduated from Tufts is a Boston guy die hard patriots fan will forgive them for that and then we end this is a story about empathy and about life and he's a businessman talking about empathy and ordinarily wouldn't think that would happen. Let's hear my story – is a really great experience in preparing and illogical, so I applied to law school and I took the LSAT stand and never great test-taker I scored in those years, 75 to 78th percentile; so I decided I'd applied all the best law schools except Avenue so I applied to a Columbia applied to Stanford, I applied to Michigan applied to NYU and University Chicago which at that time, those highest-rated schools I get into all of those schools in law school and the evening with my LSAT test leaves you then and I got a scholarship to University of Chicago because they were they would try to recruit from the East Coast and Tufts had the right to pick a student who was getting in to take scholarships.

I got a scholarship.

I did get into Columbia but how fate works. I was supposed to go to Columbia with a good friend of mine from Tufts igniting Robert Fields and he, his father had a law firm was part law firm in New York City and he should go to law school with me and then we can work in the firm together so she has a ready-made job. I said great will go to school together with heating get in the Columbia and I did so I decided not to go to Columbia and take a scholarship to go to Chicago that change my life to and I work my butt off in Chicago. I was lonely was the first time I do, other than summer camp that I was away from home that far but II really put my nose the grindstone. I took my my Latin school study habits into law school.

We had five courses in the first it was a trimester. We took the exams.

I went home for Christmas and when I got back I got my marks.

I did very well and for the courses.

One course I got 41. It was a contracts course and have all the courses to get a 41 on. You would think that no one in the world and contracts could possibly get a lousy market contracts. I mean it's really a relatively simplistic course compared to criminal law in real estate and a few of the other things I was taking anyway the profession of the course was a guy named Malcolm Sharp. All I knew what Malcolm shouted was his book that we were using and that he had been one of the criminal lawyers defending the Rosenberg trial with two spies who were eventually executed for treason in the United States to live a fairly famous guy and he started the class and he said if anybody had any questions about their exam.

Please come and see me well. I'm now this admin. This is 1959, 1960 are now 21 of 22 and I never stopped with teacher ever.

I never went about a mark now teachers were authority figures may week I grew up with teachers and policemen and firemen like a rabbi or priest of anybody else any authority figure. As you know yes sir yes that's the way I was taught and so I said well I guess I better go see the sky because I think I'm gonna flunk so I went to see Malcolm's job and I'm terrified. I go in and I in the civil why you hear Levin I said I'm here because I don't understand why got a 41 and he said to me I'll never forget he said to me you don't understand contracts and I don't think he ever will. And I left and I went back to my room. I got my books and went to the bookstore. I sold my books back to the bookstore.

My roommate was a guy named Richard Bogosian with the tops of me a terrific.

I formally became ambassador to Nigeria. It was foreign service and wonderful guy said I'm leaving I'm get in my car and 59 Volkswagen that night I got the graduation was $1565 and the thing to get my car back up and go home. And so Lisa don't go don't go. It's an ongoing so my books. I got a call from the Dean Edmund Leavy we came.

Eventually Atty. Gen. United States.

So like to say I went to see Emily told the story should please don't go. He said you finish the year you gonna be fine. Don't worry about it, he knew a country of all the course of the contract was probably taught that you know I mean you don't have to be a genius to pass a contracts course I'm in the way they did itso I I I should know, I'm going I wrote a letter to my parents so the letter would arrive before I got there, but this is an interesting story because if I could we do what I would've finished the first thing was a bad decision on my part was emotional.

It was just so difficult to think that I could do gets get such a lousy park so III drove home. I was about a 19 Hour Dr.

At the time I had a sing on the way home in the car to keep myself from falling asleep. I got home I had no idea what my parents with an essay of the first graduate student personnel to get a professional degree. You can imagine what that means to first generation Americans in heaven and when we come back more of what happens next is Mike returns to his family. No diploma in hand by putting story continues here on our American story. You love the great American stories we tell and love America like we do, or asking you to become a part of the L American stories family. If you agree that America is a good and great country.

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University of Chicago is a got a wickedly bad grade from a very tough and in the end mean contracts professor saying and speaking over somebody will never do better.

It's just ugly. It's just mean.

Mike's returning home. Let's listen to what happens next. So I am walked up the door. The door was open. My father was standing at the door and he said welcome home and after a tearful greeting when we had dinner that night. They said what he going to do and I said well I said Boston University's down the street. Finally, take a look at some graduate programs and maybe I'll get a degree in something and that's how everything else started them at the Boston University get in the Masters in public relations and communications is a year-long program with a thesis and a lot of time on my hands. I've been at camp counselor over the summers and a director of athletics and assistant head counselor has some administrative job and as a part-time job posted and I thought I could make some money and pay as I was going and it was at the Morgan Memorial home for boys and it was sort of like an assistant social worker, so I had to be close to being a counselor at Camp Inoue same kind of thing. I went down there and I get greeted by a guy whose name was John Moreland. He was about 65 must've gone to 50, is a former football player for Grambling all black college and he was a PhD student in social work, took my resume generally talk to me.

So come and give you the job and he said to me you never worked for black guy the whole ice to make a difference to me. I didn't care anyway. I had a nice experience there for the year and at the end of the year. Dr. Moreland calls me in the office and I should look on there be looking for job satay what it should hire you here wanted to become permanent and I should not pay for you to get a Masters degree in social work. I said I need to make mom.

I am getting married in May and I don't know if I could afford to be married. The situation decisively write me a letter of recommendation, and he said sure and I saved the letter I committed to you. Yeah and it says to whom it may concern. It gives me a great deal of pleasure to recommend to you Michael 811.

The young man came to work with us about a year ago and during this period has contributed a great deal to the efficiency of value. However, there are several intangibles beyond efficiency which have accrued to us in consequence presence.

He is jovial, personable and intelligent fellow. He is been found to be circumspect is dealing with all members of the organization he is made up for lack of experience by initiative desire and a short heart and thoughtful work. He put his heart into his job at all times. This 11 will be an asset to anyone, whether in employment or social situation. Lastly, I can only say Miss Levens present will be very much missed. This young man has an excellent future in store for him is executive potential is paramount.

Thank you. Sincerely yours, JB Moreland. To this day. Every time I look at that letter. I don't understand how he possibly could've known in one year with the exposure had working 30 hours a week that that description of me could be written I don't I don't ever remember being jovial. I don't remember. I know I know I know I worked hard. I know I read all the files I know about I live. I wanted to learn about the kids that were in the home, so I kept pulling the file so and understand their 15 or so. Resident kids and I remember that one was a descendent of Ulysses S Grant the present United States family and and in the troubled kids and that his his parents are all military and they made him sit at attention at the table when he was one or two years old was in the stuck in my head and ended there was it was a very racially mixed group no one cared them it was very integrated and and the the ability to be able to project yourself into the into the into someone else's position and emphasize with them like I talk a lot about when you have to terminate somebody and I covered terminations of fire is the most hideous thing you have to do unless the person is a thief or a rapist or something like that but for the lack of being able to perform the job.

When I would put myself in a situation of thinking about what you think it feels like when somebody tells you you can't perform anything and I think that the experience with Malcolm shot was really one that that always stayed with me. How could the guy do that to me when all he had to do was to say this 11 let me let me explain to you how you could've done from 41 to 60.

I want to help you my whole life would've changed on that date. Now, none of them know it will change favorably or not, but it would've changed so when you have when you're in a position and authoritative position your responsibility with people and customers has to be how do you help them not, how do you hurt them and and I and I and I and I know some think it's any different with two children.

When you bring up your children. I mean nobody has experience being apparently Mr. parent need and get you learning from day one. What's the difference between a child and your employee. What's the difference between a child and your customer. It's the same thing is to being able to say can you project yourself into what it feels like. So when I began to develop a termination technique to save look. I made a mistake in the person with missing. I said I don't think the job fits I should've thought better of that. I want to take some responsibility. But you have to go and that given the Savior fails you're out, I'm disappointed in your performance and I know when I was a high school basketball player was pretty good player in the state tournament. I play 30 seconds.

The last 30 seconds I was on the floor last minute so just put me in my parents at the game. I was I was in sixth man basically so the next season and alumni game and I came back from Tufts, whereas plan suppression basketball and I improved a lot. I scored 22 points in the alumni can and it didn't cost him. Only after this he said Mike said when we last year I took my thing on. I pointed to the corner with a bench. I was there so so II think after all is said and done with all this we can walk through job after job after job, but you know when I know people don't change. They are who they are and we many years later. You know I ran into a guy with Prof. Law school at Duke was on board with me and I happen to know Malcolm Sharp was a pseudo-I can understand and to behave that way with everybody and you been listening to Mike Levin and now you know why we tell you. He's one of the wise men and we like bringing voices from every walk of life. You are on the show, Mike obviously running the Las Vegas Sands no small feat, helping move and create holiday and worldwide. One of the great hotel years, but in the end it's his human nature and humanity that always comes to the four talk to anybody about Mike will tell you and by the way, if you have a leader in your community. Somebody in the business world, a church leader wherever of education person. My dad was a great leader at that school system where he was a superintendent for 20 years.

We'd love to hear their voice bring wisdom across the airwaves in love, and Mike epitomizes both words Mike Levin storytelling is wisdom here on our American schools. This is our American stories and we love bringing you stories about the street and about sports and today we bring you a combination of the two beers, Mike Gibbons, director emeritus and historian at the Babe Ruth birthplace Museum also located in Baltimore. Tell us more about the legendary Baltimore football team that helped the NFL become what it is today. Today were to be talking about the Baltimore Colts. One of the NFL's story franchises a team that helped put the NFL on the mat for a variety of reasons, but also help to give Baltimore a new identity during World War II.

Baltimore was one of the industrial centers of the United States producing ships and aircraft for the war effort. But, at the conclusion of World War II in 1945 the industries really lost their market.

They didn't have to produce ships and aircraft in the numbers that they did during World War II and so many of the other plants in and around this area close down in Baltimore lost its manufacturing capability.

The town gradually slipped and declined and became known really is nothing more than a pitstop between Philadelphia and Washington DC the Baltimore Colts arrived on the scene in 1953. And though in the beginning they were not very good at all gay Baltimore inns and Marylanders something to look forward to on Sunday afternoons in the fall. The team in 1956, had started to get a little bit better under head coach Wiebe Eubank and he started a quarterback by the name of George Shaw in the fourth game of 1956 Shaw was injured in to replace him came a rookie quarterback by the name of Johnny Unitas.

Johnny went to the University of Louisville where he was a star quarterback and he was drafted in 1955 by the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he lost out in the competition for quarterback to a fellow who would later show up on the Baltimore landscape guy by the name of Ted March Broda so Unitas played semipro ball in his hometown of Pittsburgh and waited for a phone call that ultimately came before the start of training camp in 1956 Nicole came from Colts general manager Don Kelly for the price of a 90 sent long-distance phone call Cal it was able to secure Unitas and bring them to Baltimore. He played well enough in training camp and exhibition games to make the roster and was George Charles backup. So now we go forward to the game for the Colts did not play well under their rookie quarterback who threw an interception for a touchdown return and the Colts fumbled four times, losing badly to the Chicago Bears that day. But over the last eight games in 1956 with Unitas at the helm. The team went four and four and there was hope for a brighter future.

I went to my first game in 1957 the home opener against the Detroit Lions. I was, let's say 1110 years old at the time, and what a spectacle it was to go out there on a Sunday afternoon beautiful day and I remember squinting my eyes because Colts were white helmets and you could see the sun glitter off of those helmets the team.

The Colts faced in that home opener. Unitas's first home opener. By the way is a starter where the world champion Detroit Lions of the Colts under Unitas leadership and strong arm put a lichen on Detroit that day. Winning the game and propelling to a pretty good season for the Colts. They finish with a record of seven and five with a lot of burgeoning stars guys like Gina Marchetti Lenny Moore Raymond Berry Unitas Aarti Donovan all future Hall of Famer's there. They were in Baltimore we we knew that we had something special in 1958 the Colts went 93 and captured the Western Conference crown that took them to the championship game at Yankee Stadium in New York where the Colts would face the Giants Wiebe Eubank in the visitors locker room at Yankee Stadium that day gave a pregame speech to his team, referencing every one of them walking around all 33 players addressing them and saying he would be in the NFL. If it wasn't for your Baltimore Colts really never had together until you got here, so go out there. Play your best give it all you've got the 1958 game is often referred to as the greatest game ever played and the reason is Johnny Unitas and what he was able to do to pull out the game in in what turned out to be the NFL's first sudden death overtime late in the fourth quarter with the Colts trailing by three points. Unitas gets the ball back on his own 14 yard line 86 yards from the Giants go line and Johnny at that moment invented the two-minute drill.

He took his team down to the 13 yard line with about 10 seconds left on the clock Steve Meyer, the placekicker came in kicked in 19 yard field goal to tie the game and send the game into overtime in overtime. The Colts stop the Giants all all on a contested controversy. Placement of the Giants where the got first down on Frankfurt's third third down run, but the referee said nope you did make it and they pointed to the Colts in the Colts under John Unitas took the team down the field and into the end zone. Ellen Ameche scoring the game-winning TD for 23 to 17 victory so that was that game was witnessed by the largest audience ever to see an NFL game on television. TV was still pretty new at that time and the high drama that played out that afternoon was never forgotten by the fans who watched it. The game is often said to be responsible for putting the NFL on the map certainly put Johnny Unitas and his Baltimore Colts on the map they went on to become one of the premier franchises in the history of the league. Unitas is 16 seasons as a starting quarterback from 1957 through 1972 they suffered only one losing season and that was their last season 1972. John's last season.

Baltimore, but up to then they had the best record in the NFL for 15 years under Unitas and they were tied with the Cleveland Browns for most wins over that. In the NFL. So a pretty successful team now other things to think about what were talking Baltimore Colts football is a series of firsts that took place at Baltimore's Memorial Stadium, better known as the largest outdoor insane asylum. I remember going to my 13th 1960. My father and I got season tickets and we sat in the end zone where the Colts came out for pregame introductions and tell you when Unitas took the field was introduced to the crowd in the closed end of this horseshoes shaped stadium. It was the loudest sound I've ever heard it. To this day. The biggest noise I've ever heard that that stadium just by its architecture by the enthusiasm of the fans 60,238 every weekend at the plate just was almost unimaginable to comprehend and we been listening to Mike Gibbons told the story, not just of the Baltimore Colts but in the end of story of Baltimore itself, especially post-World War II, by the way Mike Gibbons is the director emeritus and historian at the Babe Ruth birthplace and museum which is in Baltimore by way if you're ever there go when we come back more of the story of the Baltimore Colts of Johnny Unitas and more with the sports historian of the city of Baltimore on our American story and will back with our American stories and the story of the Baltimore Colts football team that helped put Baltimore in the NFL in the spotlight. Here's my Gibbons again to tell us about this historic team in the presence that they had in the world of professional football. Vince Lombardi from the Green Bay Packers legendary Hall of Fame coach said that he hated coming to Memorial Stadium with the worst place on the road for his team to visit.

It wasn't just the sound. The Colts had cheerleaders. They were the first team in the NFL to have cheerleaders. They were the second to have a marching band and they had a great fight song and which the unit of the town just logged in and every time they the band played we all stood as though it was our national anthem the Colts had a mascot alive course Dixie, who with Dixie's writer would go around the outside of the playing field.

Every time the team scored and this really pretty much unnerved the opposing team since he came to Baltimore and that contested the Colts. That's one of the reasons we think that the Colts had such a great record over all the years that another profound memory for me was 1959, so the year after the Colts had beaten the Giants greatest game ever played in New York, the Colts and Giants repeated the exercise by playing the NFL championship game in Baltimore and I was there with my dad.

The Colts win the game and fans ran onto the field.

Everybody was so excited they didn't know what to do and I I kept saying to my dad let me go down there and he believes like no you not going down there. You might get hurt what they were trying to do was to dissemble the goalpost down in the closed-end of the playing field, not really understanding that the NFL had changed from a wooden goalpost beer before to an all metal goalpost in 1959 city they were able to knock the goalpost down but not much more than that. Let me take you up to 1965 the Colts and the Packers were vying for the league championship. The Colts have one at the year before 1964 and now there vying with Green Bay for the conference title in 1965. The teams finished the regular season with identical 10 three and one marks and that forced a playoff game in Green Bay and the Colts headed out there at a severe disadvantage. The Colts number one quarterback Johnny Unitas had been injured earlier in the year's replacement, Gary Collazo was injured in the second to last game of the year and that forced running back Tom Mattie to come in and play quarterback Tom had played quarterback at Ohio State, but it was a running offense and so they didn't throw the ball a lot and Tom was not an elite pastor by any means, but Tommy came in and the Colts took a lead of seven to nothing. Early on in the game and as the game came to a conclusion. The fourth quarter winding down. The Colts were clinging to attend the seven lead over the Green Bay Packers at that point Packer kicker Don Chandler came in.

He booted a field-goal that was ruled good by the referees, even though it appeared to sale wide. It was a high kick went way up over the goalpost and seemed to veer to the left, referees allowed the points, thereby tying the game and the Packers went on to win in the second overtime game ever played the first of course the Colts participated in as well. 1958 in New York. Now we move up to 1971. The Colts under Unitas make another postseason appearance losing to the Miami Dolphins but nevertheless they made it as he headed into the 1972 season problem with this team. At that point was that they were getting old. A lot of the veteran players were just kind of running out of gas so it was up to Unitas to try and carry them forward one more time, but he couldn't do it. He was replaced. About midway through the season by Marty Dom raise Dom raise guided the Colts to a 59 record that year. In the last home game.

Something profound happened.

Baltimore inns will never forget it. Last home game, the Colts were hosting the Buffalo Bills. Not a very good team either midway through the fourth quarter. Dom raise head taken his squad to a 28 to 7 lead over the bills at that point he was on the field and he feigned an injury and hopped off the field and you know the head coach said to Unitas get in there, so Johnny went in and as that was happening. A small biplane flew over Memorial Stadium carrying a banner that said Unitas. We stand in the sellout crowd stood as one and started cheering as the fabled legendary Unitas made what many new would be his last appearance on Memorial Stadium turf Unitas went out took a snap from center dropback and through a 67 yard touchdown pass to Eddie Hinton and then he ran off the field for the last time the crowd sobbing, cheering, just going out of their minds. Having witnessed one of the great moments in Colts and maybe in NFL history storybook stuff you just can't make up Unitas and many of the veterans were let go or traded after the 72 season and something had happened. After 71, and that was not a good thing for our Colts Colts under Carol Rosenblum, one of that one of the greatest in NFL history sold his team to Bob your say and your say was not a good owner and he brought in general manager by the name of Joe Thomas who wanted to run things his way and Joe was responsible after 72 for cleaning house, getting rid of the players so the next couple of years.

73 and 74 under Joe Thomas and a variety of head coaches. The Colts were terrible but and 75 they brought in a guy who Unitas had dealt with before, back in Pittsburgh when he lost the quarterback job to who would become the Colts new head coach Ted Marge Broder so Marge Broder comes to town he takes second year quarterback Bert Jones and says Bert let's make this thing go Jones had a lot of great players with them and they returned the Colts to the path of glory as the team captured Eastern conference championships and 75 7677. Unfortunately, they had three postseason births and lost them all first two to Pittsburgh, and the final one and historic game at Memorial Stadium to the Oakland Raiders which the Colts lost two in double overtime, 37 to 31.

I believe that game played on Christmas Eve that year turned out to be the last playoff game that Baltimore fans whatever cedar Colts participated in the summer of 1978 Bert Jones was hurt in an exhibition game hurt his shoulder and was out for a while try to make a comeback and it just wasn't the same and the team floundered without without birds of generalship out there and had a losing season.

The Colts would never have a winning season again as they lost six years and wrote the final six years. Baltimore they were losers and that coupled with your say's unpredictable behavior as an owner and Joe Thomas as the GM just tearing the squad apart led to a real drop in attendance. I think the last game they played in 1983 they drew 32,000 people remember that they had been drawing 60,000 sellouts every game for years and now they were doing barely half of that. That led to hearsay shopping around the team and ultimately moving them out of town to Indianapolis on a dark night in late March 1984. Word got out the soul that the Colts had moving vans backed up to their training facility and Bob your say under the cover of darkness snuck him out of town as they headed to Indy out something profound and good happen to the city regarding its Baltimore Colts shortly after that Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer instructed Tom Mattie to go to Indianapolis and negotiate with your say to try and get the Baltimore Colts archives to come back to Baltimore. He was successful. So Schaefer got a moving van of the Baltimore Colts archives delivered and that day we became the Colts official archives and Museum in 2005 are Museum opened in another museum called sports legends Museum at Camden yards and it featured, among other things, a major display on the history of the Baltimore Colts turned out to be one of the most popular exhibits in that Museum that people would go in there and get tears in their eyes just thinking about their great Baltimore Colts team. They they really as I said before, were more than just an NFL franchise. They were part of the fabric of this community and part of what made the NFL what it has become today we call that exhibit almost religion because in fact that's what the Baltimore Colts were to the city and excellent job is always the Robbie and a special thanks to Mike Gibbons, Dir. emeritus and historian of the Babe Ruth birthplace and Museum. The story of the Baltimore Colts here on our American stories