The Giants quarterback who symbolized grit

Y.A. Tittle led the New York Giants to three consecutive NFL championship games in the early 1960s. But the enduring image of the Hall of Fame quarterback is one of defeat. On Sept. 20, 1964, the Giants were playing the Pittsburgh Steelers in what would be Tittle’s 17th and final season. The 37-year-old quarterback had dropped back to pass deep in Giants territory when he was blindsided with a crushing tackle from the 6-foot-7-inch, 280-pound defensive end John Baker. A photograph of Tittle kneeling on the turf, dazed and bloodied, became a symbol of the game’s unforgiving spirit. “Baker had crushed the cartilage in my ribs and brutally gashed my forehead,” Tittle wrote in his 2009 memoir. “What a hell of a way to get famous.” Yelberton Abraham Tittle Jr. was born and raised in the East Texas town of Marshall, said The New York Times. He grew up idolizing Texas Christian’s star quarterback, Sammy Baugh, “and threw footballs through hanging tires as he had seen Baugh do in newsreels.” In college, he led Louisiana State University to the 1947 Cotton Bowl, a 0-0 tie played in an ice storm. Tittle joined the Baltimore Colts in 1948, and in 1951 went to play for the San Francisco 49ers, said the Los Angeles Times. “For three seasons, he was part of the 49ers’ ‘Million Dollar Backfield’ with Hugh McElhenny, Joe ‘the Jet’ Perry, and John Henry Johnson— the only full backfield in NFL history with every member in the Hall of Fame.” After that group broke up, Tittle and receiver R.C. Owens invented the “alleyoop” pass: “a high-arching downfield throw with Owens exploiting his superior jumping ability against smaller defensive backs.” Tittle appeared to be washed up by 1961, when the 49ers traded the aging quarterback to the Giants, said The Washington Post. But he soon established himself as the league’s dominant passer, throwing 36 touchdown passes in 1963—a record that stood for 21 years. His “fortunes seemed to last only until championship day,” and none of his teams ever won a title. He retired not long after Baker’s famous sack and went on to run a successful insurance firm. But the game was never far from his mind. “Fall is still the saddest part of the year for me,” Tittle said in 2007. “It’s because the leaves are turning, and if the leaves are turning, we’re getting ready to play.”