Louisville football: The 50 greatest Cardinals of all time
“Johnny U,” “The Golden Arm,” “that guy with the statue on the party deck.” However you know him, no Louisville football list can be complete without Johnny Unitas.
Unfortunately, unlike most players on this list, Unitas doesn’t have any fancy highlight tapes, advances analytics, or, hell, any non-black and white pictures. However, what Unitas does have is a lot of stories and a career that became synonymous with Louisville football and Baltimore Colts.
Many will be surprised by his high ranking on this list, given that Unitas is one of the most heralded football players of all time. However, his college career was one that lacked the hype of his three MVP seasons in the NFL.
Unitas’ stories at Louisville though are one-of-a-kind. He was not born as a player with a ton of size or athleticism. Coming out of high school, Unitas was barely 6-feet and he weighed just over 140 pounds. His dream school, Notre Dame, refused to recruit him because of his size, so he ended up at Louisville.
Keep in mind that, in 1951 (Unitas’ freshman season), Louisville was one of the absolute worst teams in college football year over year. The school partially defunded sports in his sophomore year, forcing him to play, well, everything.
The legend of Johnny U’s early days is mostly recounted by opposing coaches and players or his own teammates, who watched him sacrifice his body and mind for the betterment of the team. Unitas was a true winner and he led with heart and pure hustle.
By his second year, Unitas was playing everything from quarterback to linebacker. He was a kicker, a kick returner and everything in between. Allegedly, in Louisville’s 1953 shellacking at the hands of Tennessee, Unitas received a standing ovation from the opposing crowd after recording nearly every one of the team’s tackles.
Unitas went on to have one of the more illustrious NFL careers of all time, winning NFL MVP on three occasions, claiming a world championship in Super Bowl V and earning 10 Pro Bowl bids.
”Johnny Unitas is the best quarterback ever to play the game,” Sid Luckman, former Chicago Bears star quarterback said. ”He was better than I was, better than Sammy Baugh, better than anyone.”
Unitas remains the only player in Louisville football history to have his number (No. 16) retired. His iconic statue, which started in the north end zone of Cardinal Stadium, but has since been moved to the southern terrace, watches over a stadium and program that he helped build before the program was even a member of the NCAA.