Review of "When the Colts Belonged to Baltimore: A Father and a Son, a Team and a Time," by William Gildea

 Review of

When the Colts Belonged to Baltimore: A Father and a Son, a Team and a Time, by William Gildea, ISBN 0801853796

Five out of five stars

Autobiography of a boy/man and a biography of a team

 The author grew up in Baltimore in the 1950’s, when the Baltimore Colts of the NFL went from being a very poor team into a champion. While the Colts had many great players, the main reason for their rise to a powerful team was due to one man, Johnny Unitas. The rise of the Colts also coincided with the rise of the NFL from what was a secondary professional sport into a national pastime watched by millions.

 Unlike most other sports, it is possible to cite one game as the inflection point. It was the championship game of 1958, the first game to go into sudden-death overtime and is still considered by many to be the greatest game of all time. The teams were the New York Giants and the Colts, quarterbacked by Unitas. Many say that the guts he demonstrated when making his play calls in that game made him the greatest quarterback of all time.

 In the 1950’s the players were part of the community, they interacted with the fans and there were significant emotional bonds between the two. There is also the father-son bond, which was a strong one. This is in keeping with many parents and children where they may not get along anywhere else, but they love their team.

 Unfortunately, this delightful tale has a terrible ending. In 1983, Colts owner Robert Irsay suddenly brought in moving vans and loaded all the Colts materials for shipment to Indianapolis. It was a completely unexpected move, devastating the Baltimore area, breaking the hearts of Colts fans. Demonstrating that NFL owners have no real emotional attachment to the community where their teams are located. It is simply a matter of revenue dollars and flat-out bribery, where another city will offer enormous tax breaks to entice an existing team to relocate.

 This is about growing up while watching a team and league grow up. Sports was not the mega-business that it is now, team loyalties went both ways. It is an excellent look at childhood and a look back at was in some ways a better sports environment.

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