1958 NFL season
Encyclopedia
The 1958 NFL season was the 39th regular season
Regular season (NFL)
The National Football League regular season begins the weekend after Labor Day. Each team plays 16 games during a 17-week period. Traditionally, the majority of each week's games are played on Sunday afternoon, with weekly games on Sunday night and Monday night, and occasional games on Thursday...

 of the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

.

The Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

 defeated the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

, 23–17, in the first sudden-death overtime in an NFL Championship Game. The game would be known to American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 fans as "The Greatest Game Ever Played".

Conference races

The 1958 Colts–Giants title game was a milestone in the popularity of pro football, but the Giants almost didn't make it there. The Cleveland Browns led the Eastern Conference title race up until the final week. On December 14, the 9–2 Browns visited the 8–3 Giants. As a snowstorm swept over Yankee Stadium, the Browns 10-3 lead gave way to a 10–10 tie game on Frank Gifford
Frank Gifford
Francis Newton "Frank" Gifford is a Hall of Fame former American football player and American sportscaster.-Early life:Gifford was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Lola Mae and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller....

's pass to Bob Schnelker
Bob Schnelker
Robert Bernard Schnelker is a former American football wide receiver who played for nine seasons in the National Football League, mainly with the New York Giants. Schnelker was a two-time Pro Bowler. After retiring from football, he was an assistant coach with the Green Bay Packers and the...

, which would still have suited Cleveland. The Giants' Pat Summerall
Pat Summerall
George Allen "Pat" Summerall is a former American football player and television sportscaster, having worked at CBS, Fox, and ESPN.Summerall is best known for his work with John Madden on NFL telecasts for CBS and Fox.-High school:...

 missed a 31 yard field goal with 4½ minutes left. With two minutes to play, Summerall got another opportunity from 49 yards out, in inclement weather and connected for a 13–10 win. The Browns and Giants finished with 9–3 records, and in the playoff that followed, the Browns lost 10–0.

The Western Conference race was over after ten games, with the Colts at 9–1, and the Bears and Rams mathematically eliminated at 8–4.

Final standings

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

Note: The NFL did not officially count tie games in the standings until 1972



Playoffs

See: 1958 NFL playoffs
Home team in capitals

Eastern Conference Playoff Game
  • N.Y. GIANTS 10, Cleveland 0

NFL Championship Game
  • Baltimore 23, N.Y. GIANTS 17 (OT)

Awards

Most Valuable Player
NFL Most Valuable Player Award
The National Football League Most Valuable Player Award is given by various entities, most notably the Associated Press , to the player who is considered most valuable in the league. When the award is referred to without mentioning the organization, it generally means the AP award. The AP NFL MVP...

Jim Brown
Jim Brown
James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...

, Running Back
Running back
A running back is a gridiron football position, who is typically lined up in the offensive backfield. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback for a rushing play, to catch passes from out of the backfield, and to block.There are usually one or two running...

, Cleveland
Coach of the Year
NFL Coach of the Year Award
The National Football League Coach of the Year Award is presented annually by various news and sports organizations to the NFL head coach who has done the most outstanding job of working with the talent he has at his disposal. Currently, the most widely recognized award is presented by the...

Weeb Eubank, Baltimore Colts
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