The 1960's were an extremely formative decade in the United States. It was a clash of many different things, namely the old world values of late 40's and 50's suburban postwar boom culture, and the new era of freewheeling young baby boomers and hippies that represented the first new generation post Golden age. They were also a formative, tumultuous, successful, and volatile decade for the Baltimore Colts. Still led by mainstay Johnny Unitas under the watchful eye of owner Carroll Rosenbloom, they were poised to take on the football world after making the addition of wunderkind head coach in Don Shula. But it was Shula's frayed relationship with Unitas that dated back to his days as a player, as well as some difficulty with winning big games that put his relationship with Rosenbloom to the test. Meanwhile, the dawn of a new league that deliberately ran counter to the NFL simmered for years, until finally culminating in a merger that would allow for the age old debate of "old vs. new" decided on the gridiron in an entirely new championship format that raised the stake for all parties involved. One of those parties was the old guard Colts, and another one, a team in this new league that was led by a scrappy, long haired quarterback who could talk a big game. Could he win a big game though? As the decade came to a close, the world of sports (and the greater one at large) came to find out in dramatic fashion.
Thanks for listening to Forgotten Dynasty: An Oral History of The Baltimore Colts - stay tuned next week for episode three.
This podcast is produced by Jake Louque (@Jakelouque) as a Baltimore Beatdown Podcast Limited Series, presented by SB Nation's Baltimore Beatdown.
Special Thanks to:
Jack Gilden
Bill Curry
Keith Mills
Sourcing and supplemental audio for today's show, in order of appearance:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=14XyZakrE28
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkShwZvxTU0
https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-2005-12-25-0512240186-story.html
https://www.buffalorumblings.com/2011/5/17/2175149/pete-gogolak-afl-nfl-merger
https://www.sportingnews.com/us/nfl/news/super-bowl-name-origins/avzjxlevvvvu1lfanb9yz5mik#:~:text=Hunt%20said%20later%20that%20at,obviously%20can%20be%20improved%20upon.%22
https://www.inquirer.com/eagles/earl-morrall-baltimore-colts-miami-dolphins-johnny-unitas-bob-griese-backup-quarterback-20190110.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IfD5JgYZ6CY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcls3YDNRXE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riMTb36G84A
https://vault.si.com/vault/1970/11/09/the-rosenbloomrobbie-bowl
https://vault.si.com/vault/1970/11/09/the-rosenbloomrobbie-bowl
https://www.baltimoresun.com/sports/ravens/bal-sp.shula01feb01-story.html
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