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People of Note - Obituaries
GenealogyBuff.com - Johnny Unitas, Hall of Fame Quarterback
Posted By: GenealogyBuff.com
Date: Sunday, 4 September 2016, at 4:34 p.m.
System Mechanic - Clean, repair, protect, and speed up your PC!Johnny Unitas, Hall of Fame Quarterback
May 07, 1933 - September 11, 2002
NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas, died Wednesday, September 11.2002, in the Baltimore suburb of Timonium of a heart attack. He was 69. Unitas had an 18-year career during which he led the Baltimore Colts to three championships and broke nearly every NFL passing record. Unitas was born in Pittsburgh on May 7, 1933, and grew up in a working-class section of Pittsburgh. When he was four his father, who had a small coal delivery business, died of pneumonia. His Lithuanian-born mother Helen went to night school to become a bookkeeper to support her four children. At St. Justin's, a small Catholic high school, Unitas played halfback and end until he replaced the injured starting quarterback early in his junior year. As a senior he drew some interest from colleges. After being dismissed by Notre Dame as too small. He finally accepted a scholarship from Louisville, where as a freshman he became a starter in the sixth game and led the Cardinals to four wins. He gained 40 pounds in his first two college seasons, threw for 21 touchdowns and also played safety. Slowed by injuries and sub-par teams his junior and senior seasons, he finished his college career with 27 touchdown passes and 3,139 yards passing. The Steelers drafted him in the ninth round, but he saw little action in the pre-season and was cut just before the season-opener. The Colts signed him the following season. Unitas retired after the 1973 season with 22 NFL records, among them marks for most passes attempted and completed, most yards gained passing, most touchdown passes and most seasons leading the league in TD passes. Unitas completed 2,830 of 5,186 passes for 40,239 yards and 290 touchdowns. He completed at least one touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games, a record not challenged since it was set from 1956-60. He was most valuable player twice and played in 10 Pro Bowls. He led Baltimore to the NFL championship in 1958 and 1959 and the Super Bowl in 1970. Unitas, who had undergone emergency triple-bypass surgery in March 1993 after a heart attack, was working out with a therapist when he suffered the fatal heart attack.
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