Gino Marchetti

He is listed as a "distant" relative of the former Baltimore Colts defensive great of the same name, but isn't sure how distant.Gino Marchetti (christened Michael Jay Marchetti) is playing football on a left knee that has undergone three operations and may prevent him from engaging next spring in rugby, a sport in which he was an All-American for the West End Rugby Club.But the Navy defensive end carries on in the family tradition (his father, also named Gino, was a running back at the academy)

PHILADELPHIA -- Navy brought its football season to a glorious conclusion yesterday at Veterans Stadium, playing near-flawless football and dominating Army, 19-9, in their historic 100th meeting before a game-record 70,049 fans watching in ideal weather.The Midshipmen did not commit a turnover, unleashed precocious quarterback Brian Madden for 177 yards rushing, forced Army into four turnovers and never trailed while defeating their rival for the second time in three years.Although its offense had to settle for a series-record-tying four field goals by Tim Shubzda and just one touchdown, Navy did enough to gain 216 yards on the ground and gain its first national rushing title with a 292.2-yard average.

Everything starts with the name.You dial 800-519-GINO, leave a message, and the man returning the call says, "This is Gino Marchetti, can I help you?""Well, yes. It's about your name, of course.""Oh, I've had that since my freshman year at the Naval Academy in 1967," says Ronald A. Marchetti, a tailback for the 1969 Midshipmen."I played with a guy named Huff on the plebe team when freshmen couldn't play varsity. The guys started calling him Sam, like the Giants linebacker, and I became Gino, in honor of the great Baltimore Colts defensive end. It kind of stuck all these years."

It was Ordell Braase's desire that the winners of what was proclaimed "The Greatest Game Ever Played" would return home one more time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Baltimore Colts' most momentous attainment. To him, it's comparable to an old army regiment falling into muster to recall and relive what it was like to be there during an epic battle -- this one of friendly strife -- that produced an identity no other group of men ever approached, because what they were doing had never been done before.

He's been called a slick salesman, an evil Pied Piper and an all-star thief.But when Gino Marchetti Jones was sentenced last week in Anne Arundel Circuit Court it was the first time -- despite a decade of criminal convictions -- that the elusive car salesman had been put behind bars for a lengthy prison term.Judge Bruce C. Williams sentenced the 34-year-old Columbia man to 10 years in prison on five counts of felony theft, and one count each of false advertising, misrepresentation and auto dealing without a license.

He's been called a slick salesman, an evil Pied Piper and an all-star thief.But when Gino Marchetti Jones was sentenced last week in Anne Arundel Circuit Court it was the first time -- despite a decade of criminal convictions -- that the elusive car salesman was put behind bars for a lengthy prison term.Judge Bruce C. Williams sentenced the 34-year-old Columbia man to 10 years in prison on five counts of felony theft, and one count each of false advertising, misrepresentation and auto dealing without a license.

NEW YORK -- From that automobile showroom -- selling the best in Hupmobiles -- in downtown Canton, Ohio, and also where franchise in the then-newly formed National Football League cost $100, to the Marquis Hotel and a $1,000-a-plate dinner, dramatically demonstrates what evolved in the 75-year history of a sport that has attained the ultimate in affluence and influence.It was in an auto dealership where the NFL held its charter gathering because it didn't have any other place to meet. Be it ever so humble.

ATLANTA -- When it comes to having a good time, Alex Hawkins, who seems more mythical than real, is at the head of the class. He's 56 going on 15, which means he's an adult who has never totally taken leave of adolescence.Hawkins remains the perpetual free spirit. A beloved character who played hard, on and off the field, and refuses to look back or offer a word of regret. In 1976, he sold a refuse business for $400,000 instead of taking a stock option that brokers tell him would now be worth $60 million.

OCEAN CITY -- Personally, Gino Marchetti was passive, not at all interested in the spotlight and content to let performance convey his statement.Professionally, among historians of the game, he is the greatest defensive end the National Football League has ever known.Election to the all-time team in the NFL's 75th anniversary season was a foregone conclusion. His size (242 pounds, 6-feet-4), his speed (as fast as any halfback for the important first 5 yards) and physical strength earned Marchetti All-Pro status nine times -- more than any Baltimore Colt in history.

CRUISING along a Baltimore-bound highway during the final inning of the sixth (and what proved to be the final) game of the World Series, a friend to this department was so astounded by the winning home run of the Blue-Jays' Joe Carter that it took the flashing lights of a police car to bring him back to reality."

Three months shy of his 84th birthday, Gino Marchetti sees life as an all-out pass rush. Forget old age - he hurdles it as nimbly as he did all those blockers before sacking the quarterback. Marchetti walks up to three miles a day and bowls four times a week. In West Chester, Pa., where the former Baltimore Colts Hall of Famer lives, they're still buzzing about the 299 game Marchetti rolled a couple of years ago, one pin shy of a perfect score. This year, he took up painting - not with brush and palette, but with roller and paint tray.

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. When I walked onto the field, a chill ran down my spine. I thought, "Here I am, a kid from Antioch [Calif.], near where Joe DiMaggio grew up, and I'm going to play in Yankee Stadium." We'd heard [coach] Weeb Ewbank make a lot of pre-game speeches, some funny, some s - -, but this one was different. He looked at every player and said how no other team had wanted him. Then he said, "Now get out there and SHOW THEM!"

ESPN will air The Greatest Game Ever Played on Dec. 13 at 9 p.m. However, Baltimore Colts fans should be forewarned. ESPN has assembled several of the Colts and Giants who played in the 1958 NFL championship game to discuss it - including Raymond Berry, Gino Marchetti, Lenny Moore and Art Donovan. However, ESPN brought those former Baltimore greats and some '58 Giants together with modern counterparts from the past two Super Bowl champs - and that means members of the Indianapolis Colts.

When you walk around with a moniker like Ollie Matson Jr., you expect to live in your father's shadow. Ollie Matson Sr. is in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He spent 14 seasons as an NFL running back with four teams. Matson Sr. was a five-time All-Pro and the Most Valuable Player of the 1956 Pro Bowl. In 1952, Matson Sr. won a bronze medal in the 400-meter race and a silver medal in the 4x400-meter relay at the summer Olympic Games. In 1951, as a senior halfback on the University of San Francisco's football team, Matson Sr. led the nation in rushing yardage and was named an All-American.

John Pica got an old football player's autograph the other day. Stop the presses, right? But there's a little story there that says something about "the old NFL," as Pica put it. At a charity auction a few years back, Pica, a former state senator, bought a helmet with the autographs of Johnny Unitas and Raymond Berry. A year and a half ago, he attended a prayer breakfast where Lenny Moore was speaking. He took the helmet along and asked Moore to sign it, which he did. Then Pica got to thinking: Wouldn't it be great to get the autographs of the two other Colts Hall of Famers - Artie Donovan and Gino Marchetti - who played with those guys?

I get it when you say, as a lot of you have, that the game has no additional meaning to you because of the Colts' history here. I know all that stuff happened a long time ago, before your time. I understand that it's not your fight. But if you're willing to think about it for a couple of minutes and make it your fight, at least temporarily, you won't be sorry. Please understand something: The crowd at M&T Bank Stadium is going to be over-the-top intense Saturday. All previous standards for noise will be shattered.

One is 76, with a wide grin, a storied past and mitts that caused mayhem in football's days of yore. The other is 21, with the same smile, a promising present and hands that helped make him a high school All-American. Gino Marchetti, the former Baltimore Colt, and grandson Keith Carter also share a passion for motorcycles, something that has greatly complicated the life of the UCLA tight end. A crash in April aboard his Kawasaki left Carter with a fractured right hip and took him off the Bruins' roster this season.

PHILADELPHIA -- Navy brought its football season to a glorious conclusion yesterday at Veterans Stadium, playing near-flawless football and dominating Army, 19-9, in their historic 100th meeting before a game-record 70,049 fans watching in ideal weather.The Midshipmen did not commit a turnover, unleashed precocious quarterback Brian Madden for 177 yards rushing, forced Army into four turnovers and never trailed while defeating their rival for the second time in three years.Although its offense had to settle for a series-record-tying four field goals by Tim Shubzda and just one touchdown, Navy did enough to gain 216 yards on the ground and gain its first national rushing title with a 292.2-yard average.

He is listed as a "distant" relative of the former Baltimore Colts defensive great of the same name, but isn't sure how distant.Gino Marchetti (christened Michael Jay Marchetti) is playing football on a left knee that has undergone three operations and may prevent him from engaging next spring in rugby, a sport in which he was an All-American for the West End Rugby Club.But the Navy defensive end carries on in the family tradition (his father, also named Gino, was a running back at the academy)

It was Ordell Braase's desire that the winners of what was proclaimed "The Greatest Game Ever Played" would return home one more time to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Baltimore Colts' most momentous attainment. To him, it's comparable to an old army regiment falling into muster to recall and relive what it was like to be there during an epic battle -- this one of friendly strife -- that produced an identity no other group of men ever approached, because what they were doing had never been done before.