In the mid-to-late 1950’s, the National Football League (NFL) was finally getting some traction in the public’s eye of becoming a major sports league. In 1958, the “Greatest Game ever played” between the Baltimore Colts and New York Football Giants had been the very first nationwide telecast by NBC. And it was the championship game of the league that year.
It was also the first sudden death game which amplified the mystique.
The NFL was making a huge turnaround since almost shutting down during World War II. The league was now 12 teams set up in two divisions.