A Colts game for the books

Bowden wrote that Berry reinvented the position of wide receiver in pro football, a notion that Mutscheller seconded. (The exact word Mutscheller used was "revolutionized.") Berry, Bowden wrote, had an approach to the game that was strictly cerebral. To illustrate his point, Bowden told those gathered in the historical society auditorium that Berry observed the tarpaulin being taken off the Yankee Stadium field before the Colts-Giants title clash of 1958 and observed those areas where the water had pooled, causing wet spots.

"He noticed those wet spots and used them to his advantage," Bowden said. Berry wore longer cleats to account for the mud. At one point in the fourth quarter Berry caught a pass and, Bowden said, pivoted as if on a dime and headed upfield while poor Giants cornerback Carl Karilivicz went sailing by him.

Berry's victimization of Karilivicz led to Colts' drives in the fourth quarter and overtime, when they eventually won the game. Bowden said the fact that the '58 title fracas was the first overtime game in league history was only one reason he feels it's the best ever. And what are the others?

"First, the lead changes," Bowden answered. "It was the best offense in the league against the best defense. For such a game to be considered the best ever, you would need some of the greatest players in the history of the game. In this one, there were 17 Hall of Fame players or coaches."

And the game led to not only a surge in the popularity of the NFL, but to the formation of the American Football League in 1960, which led to an increase in salaries and the merger between the two leagues.

Without this game, the NFL as fans know it today might not exist. Some might feel there have been better games - and the 1965 Colts-Green Bay Packers Western Division playoff classic still gets my "best ever" vote - few, if any, games had more impact.

And few books about that game have been as exquisitely written as Bowden's.

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