The Best Game Ever: Giants vs. Colts, 1958, and the Birth of the Modern NFL

<p><p>on December 28, 1958, The New York Giants And Baltimore Colts Met Under The Lights Of Yankee Stadium For The Nfl Championship Game. Played In Front Of Sixty-four Thousand Fans And Millions Of Television Viewers Around The Country, The Game Would Be Remembered As The Greatest In Football History. On The Field And Roaming The Sidelines Were Seventeen Future Hall Of Famers, Including Colts Stars Johnny Unitas, Raymond Berry, And Gino Marchetti, And Giants Greats Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, And Assistant Coaches Vince Lombardi And Tom Landry. An Estimated Forty-five Million Viewers&#8212at That Time The Largest Crowd To Have Ever Watched A Football Game&#8212tuned In To See What Would Become The First Sudden-death Contest In Nfl History. It Was A Battle Of The League's Best Offense&#8212the Colts&#8212versus Its Best Defense&#8212the Giants. And It Was A Contest Between The Blue-collar Baltimore Team Versus The Glamour Boys Of The Giants Squad. <i>the Best Game Ever</i> Is A Brilliant Portrait Of How A Single Game Changed The History Of American Sport. Published To Coincide With The Fiftieth Anniversary Of The Championship, It Is Destined To Be A Sports Classic.<p></p> <h3>the Washington Post - Jonathan Yardley</h3> <p>early In His Career Bowden Covered Professional Football For The <i>philadelphia Inquirer</i>, An Experience That Serves Him Well Here. His Explanations Of Shifts In The Teams' Offensive And Defensive Strategies Are Lucid, And He Knows Enough About The Extreme Physical And Mental Demands The Game Exacts To Convey A Strong Sense Of The Players' Exhaustion And Determination As The Contest Ground Toward Its Conclusion. He Isn't Entirely Immune To Journalistic Cliche And At Times Overwrites, But Generally His Prose Is Competent And Clear. Whether The Book Will Be Of Interest To Readers Who Aren't Football Fans Is A Question I Can't Answer, But <i>the Best Game Ever</i> Is Sure To Become An Instant Sacred Text In Baltimore.</p>