Sun archives: Gino Marchetti

Sun coverage of former Baltimore Colts player Gino Marchetti.

December 24, 2008

'We're the champs'

This is what Gino Marchetti, Hall of Fame defensive end for the Baltimore Colts, remembers of the 1958 NFL championship game, as told to Baltimore Sun reporter Mike Klingaman.

December 19, 2004

Game over, but no time to quit

Three weeks after hip surgery, the old Baltimore Colts center is off the injured list. Buzz Nutter is back at work.

January 30, 2001

Old Colts delight in Ravens' NFL title

They watched the Super Bowl flanked by family, friends and Fritos. Many former Baltimore Colts, some with championship rings themselves, celebrated quietly. But others, such as Jim Parker, said the Ravens' victory over the New York Giants made him feel and act like a kid again.

January 24, 2001

Glories of football past

Like a few thousand other Baltimore fans counting down the days to Super Bowl XXXV, Brian Cooper can't help feeling as if he's been here before.

December 10, 2000

Streak for the ages

It was only a 3-yard pass, hardly worth watching on a highlights film. John Unitas, the Colts' rookie quarterback, flipped the ball to his tight end, who fell into the end zone.

February 13, 2000

`Alien' thoughts never entered Marchetti's mind

It was something he rarely talked about, and friends felt reluctant to introduce the subject in conversation. Now, more than a half-century later, Gino Marchetti, not offended or in any way irate, describes how it was when the government made his mother move outside the town of Antioch, Calif., restricting her movements during World War II because she was Italian-American and lacking citizenship papers.

December 26, 1999

Colts-Giants II: Greatest letdown

They were almost identical teams, with the same coaches and similar rosters, that had combined for what is referred to as "The Greatest Game Ever Played" the NFL's first overtime championship, which put pro football on a glittering run to record popularity and acceptance.

December 27, 1998

Turning 40, game still has great hold

Every time Gino Marchetti takes a step, he remembers The Game. It was Dec. 28, 1958. Marchetti's Baltimore Colts were playing the New York Giants in what is now known as The Greatest Game Ever Played.

September 1, 1996

Colts earned special place in city's heart

Passion persisted until the end, 35 years of emotional ties to a team and its memories that elevated the Baltimore Colts to a position of being a civic heirloom. It may never happen again because the business of football has changed -- unions, agents, multimillion-dollar contracts for players, and long-established franchises that have forsaken traditional values for a better deal elsewhere.

October 24, 1994