So long, Art Donovan

"You know you're big when you sit in the bathtub and the water in the toilet rises." – NFL Hall of Famer Art Donovan.

Art Donovan was a professional football player of my father's generation, not of mine.

Nevertheless, as a product of Baltimore – and a fan of the real Colts – I grew up not only hearing great stories of NFL players like Art Donovan, Johnny Unitas, Lenny Moore, Raymond Berry, Gino Marchetti, Alan Ameche and others, but also reading about them. Especially Unitas and Donovan.

While I once shared a rub of my Levi Garrett chewing tobacco with Marcus Allen prior to a Raiders/Bengals game, I'd rather have my dad's stories of draft beers with Art Donovan.

This week, one of my more "notorious" email pals – the one and only Doc Terrell – sent a link to an old Johnny Carson late-night television episode of "The Tonight Show," during which Hall-of-Famer Art Donovan regaled Johnny Carson and Ed McMahon with his NFL stories.

You can look up this episode and many others by doing an online search for "Art Donovan and Johnny Carson" or "Art Donovan and David Letterman." (Or click on the related link at the end of this column.)

My parents were living in Baltimore, Md. at Christmastime 1958. Three days after their first Christmas together – on Dec. 28, 1958 – the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants played The Greatest Game in NFL History.

The Colts and Giants teed it up in venerable Yankee Stadium on Dec. 28, 1958. With Unitas leading the Colts' offense (Charlie Conerly was at the helm for New York) and Baltimore trailing, 17-14, the Colts moved into field goal position as time was running out.

Steve Myhra kicked a 20-yard field goal with 20 seconds left in regulation to even the score at 17-17 in the NFL championship game. (The first Super Bowl was still almost a decade away.)

Thus, football fans had their first NFL championship sudden-death overtime game.

The Colts went on to win, 23-17, after Unitas engineered the game-winning drive which culminated in Ameche's famous touchdown run.

Seventeen players, coaches, owners, etc. who were involved in the 1958 NFL championship game are members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Art Donovan is one of them.

Others include:

• From the New York Giants: Rosey Brown, Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Don Maynard, Andy Robustelli, Emlen Tunnell, Offensive Coordinator Vince Lombardi, Defensive Coordinator Tom Landry, Owner Tim Mara, and Vice President Wellington Mara;

• From the Baltimore Colts: Raymond Berry, Gino Marchetti, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, Johnny Unitas, and Head Coach Weeb Ewbank.

In 1958, former NFL quarterback and NFL head coach Norm Van Brocklin said of Unitas: "The great ones never forget what it means to come up the hard way. Johnny Unitas knows what it is to eat potato soup without potatoes."

My dad knew what it was like to eat tomato soup without tomatoes. (His grandmother had a Depression-era recipe that included four ingredients: bottled ketchup, boiled water, salt and pepper. The ketchup, salt and pepper often were optional.)

That 1958 championship game was televised to an estimated 45 million people – and was blacked out in New York City.

Fortunately, a few decades later, the TV moguls realized what they'd missed in 1958 – the post-game interview.

When asked to describe Johnny Unitas' unconventional running ability, Art Donovan famously replied: "He runs like a camel. A really pissed-off camel."

Not too many weeks ago, Mike Klingaman of The Baltimore Sun wrote this about Art Donovan:

Arthur James Donovan Jr. was born in New York City, the son of a famous boxing referee. Arthur Sr., a member of the International Boxing Hall of Fame, officiated 14 heavyweight title bouts, including a number of Joe Louis' fights.

Donovan's grandfather, Mike Donovan, was a world middleweight champion who also gave boxing lessons to President Theodore Roosevelt. But football was Donovan's love. He received a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame in 1942, but left after one semester to join the Marines. Stationed in the Pacific, he served as an anti-aircraft gunner aboard the USS San Jacinto during the assault on Leyte in the central Philippines.

After 13 months at sea, Donovan volunteered for the Fleet Marine Force, which landed him in the middle of combat on Okinawa. His citations, which included the Asiatic Pacific Area Ribbon and the Philippine Liberation Ribbon, would later earn him a place in the U.S. Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame — the first pro football player so honored.

"Here’s a guy that fought in World War II and played with the Baltimore Colts," former Colts wide receiver Raymond Berry said, while attending the Hall of Fame festivities in Canton, Ohio. "I would say, ‘Artie, tell me about your World World II service.’ And [he would say], ‘Well, I got shot in the ass at Okinawa.’ That was typical Art Donovan."

In many ways, Art Donovan reminds me of another local former football player, former member of the U.S. Armed Forces, and storyteller extraordinaire. (We'll leave his identity to your respective imaginations.)

Mike Klingaman accurately pointed out that Art Donovan played pro football for 12 years – and spent the rest of his life talking about it.

Mr. Donovan retired in August 1962. He was inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame in August 1968. He died in August 2013 at the age of 89 at Stella Maris in Baltimore.

August has been an eventful month for both of our families.

The many ironies in our respective lives are appreciated. All Baltimorons (sic) will understand. Maybe a few HCP readers will, too.

Rory Ryan is publisher of The Highland County Press.