TBT

It’s December 28th, 1958. The Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants are playing in the 26th NFL Championship Game at the Yankee Stadium in New York City. Both teams had a 9-3 record at the end of the season. This was the fifth winning season in a row for the team from New York, and they even won the 1956 NFL Championship title. Regarding the Colts, this was their second winning season in a row. 

The Colts and the Giants have numerous star players, but the ones who stand out are Charlie Conerly (Giants) and Johnny Unitas (Colts). 

There are 64,185 fans in attendance, and millions of people watch the broadcast of this game on their TVs. 

Referee Ron Gibbs blows the whistle, and Colts’ Bert Rechichar kicks the ball for the 1958 NFL Championship game to start. The first quarter game ends with 3-0 in favor of the Giants thanks to Sumerall’s 36-yard field goal. The second quarter starts, and the Colts look better than the Giants. The team from Baltimore ends the quarter with a 14-3 lead at half-time. 

The third quarter is underway. Mel Tripplet scores a 1-yard run, and reduces Colt’s lead to 14-10. Then came the 4th quarter. The Giants take a 17-14 lead early in the quarter, thanks to Gifford’s 15-yard touchdown pass from Conerly. Despite losing their lead, the Colts aren’t giving up so easily. With 7 seconds left on the clock, Colts’ Myhra scores a sensational 20-yard field goal and sends the NFL Championship game into a historic sudden-death overtime, the first ever. 

The New York Giants win the coin toss, and overtime starts. Unfortunately, the Giants went three-and-out, and the ball was now in the Colts’ possession. Their star player, Unitas, led the Colts 80 yards through the Yankee field in 13 plays. Alan Ameche gave the final blow to the Giants when he scored a 1-yard touchdown run and won the first NFL Championship for the Baltimore Colts. 

The 1958 NFL Championship Game was later named “The Greatest Game Ever Played” because of the excitement that it brought to football fans and the fact that the NFL’s popularity skyrocketed after it. 

Read Next: Last Week’s TBT Edition

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It’s June 8th, 1958. The FIFA World Cup begins in Sweden, and millions of fans worldwide are watching. Sixteen national football teams participate in this sports tournament, all wanting to lift the FIFA World Cup trophy. The 1954 World Cup winner is West Germany, a nation that’s a heavy favorite to win the tournament again. 

Besides West Germany, Brazil’s national team is a top-notch squad that could become the FIFA World Cup winner. They have star players like Garrincha, Zito, Didi, Vava, Bellini, and Nilton Santos. Moreover, they also have numerous young talented players, like the 17-year-old Pele.

The group phase starts. In the first game, Brazil easily wins 3-0 against Austria. In the second match, they draw 0-0 against England. Then, in the third and final match of the group stage, Brazil beat the USSR 3-0 and finished the group in first place. 

It’s the quarter-finals, and the Brazilians are playing against the national team of Wales. From the match’s first minute, the South Americans are playing better football than the Welshmen. The first half ends goalless. Then, in the 66th minute of the game, something historic happens. Pele scores at only 17 years and 239 days old and becomes the youngest player to ever score in a FIFA World Cup game. Brazil advances to the semi-finals with a 1-0 win against Wales.

In the semi-finals, Brazil faces France. In the 52nd minute, youngster Pele scores his second goal of the tournament. Just 12 minutes later, he bags another goal. In the 75th minute, the incredibly talented Pele scores a hat-trick. Brazil advances to the final with a 5-2 win against France. 

In the final, Brazil and the host, Sweden, are playing. Almost 50,000 fans are attending the 1958 FIFA World Cup final at the Rasunda Stadium in Solna. Just 4 minutes into the final, the Swedes take the lead. Nevertheless, the Brazilians answer with a goal from Vava in the 9th minute. In the 32nd minute, Vava scores another goal. 

Then, In the 55th minute of the game, the rising star Pele scores a goal. In the 90th minute, he bags one more. That was his 6th FIFA World Cup goal. 

Ultimately, Brazil won their first FIFA World Cup with a 5-2 victory against Sweden in the final. 

Amongst all Brazil players, Pele left the biggest impression. After the final, he was named the best young player of the 1958 FIFA World Cup. It was clear that he would become the next football superstar.

 

Read Next: Last Week’s TBT Edition

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It’s February 5th, 2017. The Atlanta Falcons and New England Patriots are playing in Super Bowl LI at the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The Patriots are the champions of the American Football Conference, while the Falcons are the champions of the National Football Conference. 

The Pats finished their regular season with a franchise-best 14-2 record and were led by the legendary quarterback, Tom Brady. Meanwhile, the Falcons finished the season with an 11-5 record under the leadership of the league’s MVP, Matt Ryan. Regarding Super Bowl appearances, this is the second for the Falcons and the ninth for the Patriots. 

More than 70,000 fans are in attendance, and they can’t wait to see which team will be the 2017 NFL champion. 

Atlanta’s Matt Bosher kicks the ball, and the game begins. The 1st quarter ends with no points from both teams. Then, in the 2nd quarter, the Falcons scored three touchdowns in a row and led 21-3 at half-time. Halfway into the 3rd, the Atlanta Falcons take a 28-3 lead, and it looks like they’ll win this year’s Super Bowl. 

However, Brady and the Patriots aren’t giving up so quickly since they managed to reduce the Falcons’ lead to 28-9 by the end of the 3rd quarter. The 4th quarter is underway. The Pats score 19 points in the 4th quarter and tie the game at 28-28. 

The Super Bowl winner will be decided in overtime. With 11:09 left until the end of the game, the Patriots have the kickoff, thanks to winning the coin toss. The ball is kicked off, and James White receives it, barely going past the goal line to score the winning touchdown. 

The New England Patriots have won their 5th Super Bowl in history. The Patriots Super Bowl comeback is undoubtedly one of the greatest comeback stories in the league’s history.

Read Next: Last Week’s TBT Edition

Featured image taken from YouTube.