The 1959 NFL World Championship Playoff was the 27th NFL championship game, played on December 27 at Memorial Stadium in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the List of United States ...

. It was a rematch of the 1958 championship game that went into overtime. The defending champion

Baltimore Colts The Baltimore Colts were a professional American football team that played in Baltimore from 1953 to 1983, when owner Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The team was named for Baltimore's history of horse breeding and racing. It w ...

(9–3) again won the Western Conference, while the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

(10–2) repeated as Eastern Conference champions. The Colts were favored to repeat as champions by 3½ points. This game also went down to the last quarter, but the Colts did not need any heroics in overtime. Trailing 9–7 at the start of the fourth quarter, Baltimore scored 24 straight points and won, 31–16. This was the only NFL championship game played in Baltimore.

Scoring summary

''Sunday, December 27, 1959''
Kickoff: 2:05 p.m. EST *First quarter **BAL –

Lenny Moore Leonard Edward Moore (born November 25, 1933) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a Halfback (American football), halfback and wide receiver, flanker for the Baltimore Colts of the National Football Leag ...

60-yard pass from

Johnny Unitas John Constantine Unitas (; May 7, 1933 – September 11, 2002) was an American professional American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Baltimore Colts. Nicknamed "J ...

(

Steve Myhra Steve Myhra (pronounced "MY-ruh") (April 2, 1934 – August 4, 1994) was a professional American football player who played as a Placekicker, kicker, Guard (gridiron football), guard, and linebacker for five seasons for the Baltimore Colts of th ...

kick), BAL 7–0 **NYG – FG

Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall (May 10, 1930 – April 16, 2013) was an American professional American football, football player and television sportscaster who worked for CBS Sports, CBS, Fox Sports (USA), Fox, and ESPN Sunday Night Football, ESP ...

23, BAL 7–3 *Second quarter **NYG – FG Summerall 37, BAL 7–6 *Third quarter **NYG – FG Summerall 22, NYG 9–7 *Fourth quarter **BAL – Unitas 4-yard run (Myhra kick), BAL 14–9 **BAL – Jerry Richardson 12-yard pass from Unitas (Myhra kick), BAL 21–9 **BAL – Johnny Sample 42-yard interception return (Myhra kick), BAL 28–9 **BAL – FG Myhra 25, BAL 31–9 **NYG – Bob Schnelker 32-yard pass from Charlie Conerly (Summerall kick), BAL 31–16

Officials

*Referee: Ron Gibbs *Umpire: Lou Palazzi *Head linesman: Charlie Berry *Back judge: Cleo Diehl *Field judge: Chuck Sweeney *Alternate: William Downes *Alternate: Joe Connell *Alternate: John Highberger *Alternate: Stan Jaworowski *Alternate: Herm Rohrig The NFL had five game officials in ; the line judge was added in and the side judge in . The officiating crew for 1959 championship game was identical to the one from the previous year.

Players' shares

The gross receipts for the game, including radio and television rights, were just over $666,000, slightly below the previous year. Each player on the winning Colts team received $4,674, while Giants players made $3,083 each.

References

External links

* Chris Schenkel (narrator)
"New York Giants vs. Baltimore Colts in Football's World Championship,"
Ballantine Beer and the National Football League, via YouTube.com, Nov. 15, 2017. {{NFL on NBC Championship Game NFL Championship games Baltimore Colts postseason New York Giants postseason

NFL Championship Game Throughout its history, the National Football league (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national ...

1950s in Baltimore Sports competitions in Baltimore American football in Baltimore American football competitions in Maryland