ART DONOVAN SERIES
Donovan settled in Towson, Md., often appeared on local radio shows and made a series of commercials for the Maryland Lottery.
ART DONOVAN PRO
He was named to five Pro Bowl teams before retiring after the 1961 season. He was a fearsome pass rusher but was particularly effective against the run. “Playing the line has more to do with feeling and reacting than with seeing, and Donovan was able to concentrate, recognize and react faster than anybody.” “He was strong and agile, a good athlete for a fat guy,” former teammate George Young, later general manager of the Giants, told Sports Illustrated in 1979. Donovan, whose nickname was “Fatso,” was a gritty, trench-warfare player who excelled more through perseverance than style. Donovan’s Hall of Fame teammates included halfback Lenny Moore, wide receiver Raymond Berry, guard Jim Parker and defensive end Gino Marchetti. “We had no idea whatsoever that we were involved in something they call historic now,” he told the Baltimore Sun in 2008.Īfter Baltimore won its second straight NFL championship in 1959, beating the Giants 31-16, Sports Illustrated writer Tex Maule called the Colts “probably the best football team that ever played.”īesides Unitas, Mr. Donovan was one of 12 Hall of Fame players to take part - six of them Colts - but at the time he was not aware of the game’s significance. The NFL’s first overtime game, witnessed by 40 million viewers on nationwide television, captured the public imagination and became known as “ the greatest game ever played.” Donovan made a crucial tackle before the Colts offense, led by quarterback Johnny Unitas, drove 80 yards in the growing twilight to win the game, 23-17, on a one-yard plunge by fullback Alan Ameche. 28, 1958, ended in a 17-17 tie, then went into a “sudden death” overtime period.
“I don’t know, I guess so,” the affable Donovan deadpanned.The Colts’ first title game, played at New York’s Yankee Stadium on Dec. “Would you recommend that people buy this book?” Letterman continued. “No, not really,” Donovan admitted to chuckles from the audience. “Have your read the book?” Letterman asked.
ART DONOVAN TV
Jovial and straightforward, Donovan appeared in TV commercials and co-wrote a book in 1987 with Bob Drury called “Fatso: Football When Men Were Really Men.”ĭuring the book tour, Donovan appeared on “Late Night with David Letterman” in 1988.
ART DONOVAN PROFESSIONAL
“Art was a true legend of professional football and he will be deeply missed.” “The Pro Football Hall of Fame is saddened to learn of the passing of Baltimore Colts great Art Donovan,” said Steve Perry, hall of fame president and executive director. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968. The 340-pound defensive lineman also laced up his football cleats for the New York Yankees and Dallas Texans, both now defunct.ĭonovan played in five Pro Bowls and was selected All-NFL five consecutive years –1954 through 1958. He led the Colts to the world championship in 19. The cause of Donovan’s death was not immediately disclosed.ĭonovan played in the NFL for 12 seasons, starting at age 26 after serving in World War II. The Colts moved from Baltimore to Indianapolis in 1984. “Tremendous contributor to early building of the greatest league n all of sports.”
“Art a colorful,big-hearted man n Baller!” Irsay said in a post to his official Twitter account. Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay also weighed in. “The world is not as bright tonight because we lost someone who could make us all smile,” Baltimore Ravens owner Steve Bisciotti said Sunday night.
Baltimore Colts defensive tackle Art Donovan, a hall of famer who spent his later years regaling television audiences with amusing anecdotes about his time in the NFL, has died.
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