Johnny Unitas leaves a legacy of extraordinary achievement and unforgettable moments

Johnny Unitas, the legendary quarterback whose cool demeanor and pinpoint passing brought championships to the Baltimore Colts and popularity to the National Football League, died yesterday of a heart attack. He was 69.

The Hall of Famer was exercising at the Kernan Physical Therapy center in Timonium, Md., when he collapsed at about 3 p.m. Doctors and nurses at the center attempted to resuscitate him but he died at the scene, according to a statement released by the St. Joseph Medical Center, where his body was taken.

"This is stunning, sad, sad news. He was a good friend, my contemporary. He helped make me love this game more," said Ravens owner Art Modell. "This is a sad day for the NFL community and an even sadder day for Baltimore."

Known as "The Golden Arm," Unitas owned virtually every NFL throwing record at the time of his retirement in 1973, from career attempts to most 300-yard games.

Many of those marks have since been eclipsed, but still standing is his string of 47 consecutive games with a touchdown, from 1956-60. It is, along with Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak, considered one of the most unbeatable records in sports.

"He was absolutely the best quarterback who ever played pro football," said Jim Mutscheller, a retired Colts receiver who caught many Unitas passes.

In 2000, Unitas was selected one of four quarterbacks for the NFL's All-Time team.

Born John Constantine Unitas to a working class family in Pittsburgh, be became the ultimate Cinderella story. He was an unheralded and undersized passer at the University of Louisville, and the 102nd pick in the NFL's 1955 draft. The team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, cut him before the season began.

He took a construction job in Pittsburgh and signed with the semipro Bloomfield Rams, who paid him $6 a game.

In 1956, he was signed as a backup by the Colts. On Oct. 21., in a game against the Chicago Bears, Unitas took over for an injured starter. His first pass was intercepted for a touchdown. In his next play, he fumbled a handoff that the Bears recovered for another touchdown. The 20-14 lead he had inherited dissolved into a 58-27 loss.

But he persevered, displaying the grit that would, along with his crew-cut haircut and black high-top shoes, become his trademark.

In 1958, he led the Colts to their first championship, an epic match against the New York Giants that has been called "the greatest game ever played."

The Colts were underdogs playing the NFL's most glamorous franchise. But Unitas' fearless manner and unorthodox play-calling kept the score even and took it into the first and only overtime in NFL championship history, which the Colts won 23-17.

"It was his field generalship that won that game," said Joe Horrigan, a historian and vice president of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio. "He was cool in the huddle and cool in the game."

Unitas was inducted into the hall in 1979.