The Glory Game: How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever

As a long-time follower of Peter Richmond's brilliant cultural commentary -- from the pages of GQ to his countless NPR appearances -- I was thrilled to relive the details of this legendary game through his and Gifford's extraordinary retelling. This book is a must for sports fans, nostalgia buffs, lovers of American history and readers looking for a compelling read: if it's not in The Glory Game, it's not part of NFL history.

The 1958 NFL Championship Game is among the most documented, analyzed, and discussed sporting events in history. It is widely regarded as the end of one era in professional sports, and the beginning of the "modern" era. But leave it to one of the key participants in this game, Frank Gifford, to finally put the definitive stamp on that game and the people who played in it. Gifford has always struck me as a humble and classy man, and I really believe that those qualities are exhibited in this succinct - yet very descriptive and entertaining - account. Even though he is predisposed to favor his Giants team, on the whole he is very even-handed in the narrative. Mr. Gifford also excels at conveying the game through the thoughts of the surviving Giants and Colts. It is that combination of perspective and narrative that engages the reader and adds even more color to the story. Many of those players - notably Art Donovan of the Colts - are outright hilarious. Mr. Gifford also does well in describing what the life of a professional football player was like in those days. He effectively conveys that the players of that era were still deeply rooted in their communities, and even with a modicum of celebrity, were still scraping by to play a game they love. He also lets the reader peek behind the curtain into the locker room, the nightlife, and the sacrifices they had to make to keep playing. This helps add another effective layer of perspective into this seminal game. Mr. Gifford notes in his introduction that David Halberstam was planning to write about this game before his untimely death, so he was writing this in Mr. Halberstam's memory. Tragic events and Mr. Halberstam's reputation aside, it is fortunate that Mr. Gifford turned out to be the one to write this book. It really had to be him, because no one else could do the proper justice to the account of this game, and no one else would have been able to get the honest perspectives of the other players. Mr. Gifford should also be commended for deciding to write this now; as with other historical accounts, it is important to do so while the participants are alive, so that their memories can be properly recorded. Overall, this was a thoroughly engaging book and worthy to stand among the best of sports books in recent memory. I highly recommend it to all audiences, because it is one of the best and most enjoyable books I have read in this past year.

With all his years of outstanding media work, it may have been easy to forget that Frank Gifford was an outstanding running back on some of the best New York Giants teams in the history of the NFL. Gifford's account of the much-chronicled 1958 championship clash between the Giants and Baltimore Colts - though written under tragic circumstances - is an important addition to the history of pro football. Historian David Halberstam was killed in a 2007 car crash while being driven to a scheduled interview with Y.A. Tittle, as he was compiling material for a book on the game. Gifford took over the project and the introduction in this book is dedicated to Halberstam. Drawing on the oftentimes humorous memories of every living player from the game - as well as his own reflections - Gifford not only honors Halberstam through the work, but captures this special moment in time from a gridiron perspective. This is a tremendous look back to a game that reverberates with power and glory on any given Sunday some 50 years later.

If you love pro football, this is a must read. If you ever watched Frank Gifford on Monday Night Football, you know that he showed a respect and love for football that separated him from the others who shared the broadcasting booth with him. He was reticent and heart-felt in his comments. I always wondered what it would be like to hear him recount his playing days over a beer or two. Reading The Glory Game comes as close to having that experience as I can ever hope to reach. In The Glory Game, he takes you back into professional football in the fifties when the game was considered by most fans as little different from professional wrestling. The players were long on devotion and short on pay. They also had respect for themselves and others. They played more to honor their teammates than for accolades from the fans. Into the middle of this world, live television brought a mass audience who came, saw, and came back. One of the games that caught everyone's attention was the 1958 NFL Championship game between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants (for whom Mr. Gifford played). The book provides a virtual play-by-play recounting of that game, book ended by descriptions of the players and their origins, the owners, the coaches, and the social life of the teams on the one side and what happened to the people after the game on the other side. Frank Gifford was no second-stringer. He was one of the most highly regarded players of his era. His two fumbles and a missed first down (which maybe was mismeasured) had a major impact on the game's score and ultimate resolution. I didn't see the game played live, but I've seen highlights many times since then. I agree that it was the greatest game in pro football up to that point. I've seen more exciting games since then. You only have to go back to the Super Bowl in 2008 to see a game with a lot more significance and with better play throughout that also involved the New York Giants. If you don't mind the game itself being a bit over-hyped, the rest of the book will bring much satisfaction. The main writing weakness is that a number of the stories and examples are repeated a bit too much. An editor should have cut things down a bit more. Let's hear it for the Frank Gifford!

According to Frank Gifford, even those who played in the NFL championship game in 1958 did not realize that it would later be widely viewed as the greatest game ever played. He acknowledges that he made two critically important fumbles that proved costly to the Giants, for example, and asserts that the game was not even well-played until the fourth quarter and then during the first ever sudden-death overtime period before Alan Ameche scored from the one-yard line and the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium, 23 to17, on December 28, 1958. According to Gifford, David Halberstam, not he, had planned to write this account of the game but Halberstam died in a "horrific traffic accident" en route to meet with Y.A. Tittle. With some reluctance, duly acknowledging that Halberstam would have written an account that "would have beautifully captured our moment of history," Gifford then agreed to write his own with Peter Richmond, "in David's memory, and in the memory of those players who are no longer alive." The details of the game from beginning to conclusion are best revealed within Gifford's narrative. It seems appropriate, now, for me to note some of the background information that helps to create a frame-of-reference for what happened on the field. First of all, Gifford gives full credit to the Colts for their victory. They had more and better talent, were closer as a team, and led by arguably the greatest NFL quarterback ever, Johnny Unitas. When he and receiver Raymond Berry were clicking, they would not be denied. Gifford also indicates somewhat strained (if not adversarial) relations between the Giants' offensive players and their defensive counterparts led by middle linebacker, Sam Huff. On more than one occasion, after stopping an opponent from scoring or recovering a turnover, the Giants' defense would urge the Giants offense to "do your best to hold `em." Gifford asserts (and many others agree) that Charlie Conerly deserves to be in the NFL Hall of Fame. Wide receiver Kyle Rote was injured that day and, in effect, attempted to play on one leg until he could no longer continue. Then and thereafter, there was a great deal of mutual respect between and among members of both teams. At a reunion20 years later in New York's Central Park, those who were still alive and up to it played a "re-match" (of touch football) and the Colts won again. To me, some of the most interesting material is provided in Chapter 9, "Aftermath," as Gifford provides an update on what happened to most of the participants in the 1958 championship game. Several enjoyed great success in broadcasting (e.g. Gifford on Monday Night Football and Pat Summerall covering NFL games and other sports for CBS) or business (e.g. Gino Marchetti and Alan Ameche in the fast food industry); a sadder fate awaited others, however, notably Eugene ("Big Daddy") Lipscomb who never attended college but was drafted by the Los Angeles Rams and then was among the defensi