3 Lessons from one of Football's Greatest Players (You May Not Have Heard of)

One of my personal sports heroes is Johnny U also known as The Golden Arm.

John Constantine Unitas was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Following a career that spanned from 1956 to 1973, he has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL players of all time.

Here is a quick look at some of his stats:

• 18 seasons
• 10 Prof Bowls
• 6 time All NFL winner
• 40,239 passing yards
• 290 touchdown passes

He helped lead the Colts to four championship titles, three pre–merger era, in 1958, 1959, 1968, and Super Bowl V. His first championship victory is regarded as one of the league's greatest games and credited with helping popularize the NFL.

 "I came into the league without any fuss. I’d just as soon leave it that way. There’s no difference I can see in retiring from pro football, or quitting a job at the Pennsy Railroad. I did something I wanted to do and went as far as I could go.”

But what stands out about Johnny U isn’t just his accomplishments on the field, but his character of determination and believing in himself.

Lesson #1 Never Give Up

Few, if any, sports stories are more dramatic or more complete than the story of Johnny Unitas. A ninth-round draft choice of the1955 Pittsburgh Steelers, Unitas was cut before he even threw one pass in a game. Still determined, he played semi-pro football for $6 a game.

After the season, the Baltimore Colts coach Weeb Ewbank learned of the "outstanding prospect" on the Pittsburgh sandlots. Ewbank signed Johnny for $17,000 on a make the team basis. Programmed strictly as a backup, Unitas got his chance in the fourth game when the Colts’ starter was injured. Unitas’ first pass was intercepted for a touchdown but from that moment on, he never looked back. For the next 18 seasons, "Johnny U'' ran up a ledger of game winning exploits seldom matched in NFL history.

Lesson #2 Stay Cool and Keep Your Eye on the Ball

Without a doubt, it was his last-second heroics in the 1958 NFL title game, often called "the greatest game ever played," that turned Unitas into a household name. The New York Giants, with two minutes to play, were leading, 17-14, when the Colts started a last-gasp drive at their own 14. “Mr. Clutch” went coolly to work with seven straight passes that set up a game-tying field goal with seven seconds left. Unitas then engineered a textbook perfect 80-yard march to win the game in overtime. The game, played before a national television audience, gave Unitas his chance to demonstrate all of his marvelous attributes – confidence, courage, leadership, play calling genius, and passing skill.

Lesson #3 Be a Game Changer

Johnny Unitas is amongst the greatest quarterbacks of all time because of the records he set, the way he was a game changer, and because of his revered stature.

Johnny U, as he has been affectionately known, was the father of modern quarterbacking. Unitas effectively pioneered the passing game and was ahead of his time. He invented the three and five step drops that are so ingrained in the game now that people tend to overlook them as basics.