Donovan also appeared ten times on the Late Show with David Letterman, telling humorous stories about his old playing days and about other “old school” footballers he played with and against. He owned and managed a country club near Baltimore. He was noted as a jovial and humorous person during his playing career and capitalized on that with television and speaking appearances after retiring as a player. He published an autobiography, Fatso, in 1987. Donovan made an important tackle during the overtime, stopping the Giants and allowing Johnny Unitas to lead the Colts on an 80 yard scoring drive to win the game. Because it was the championship game, it went into overtime, the first NFL game to do so. The contest between the two teams took place on Decemand ended in a 17-17 tie.
#ART DONOVAN PRO#
He was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.ĭuring his career, Donovan played in what many believe was one of the most important games in NFL history, the 1958 title game between the Colts and the New York Giants. The Colts won back-to-back championships in 19.
He became one of the stars in an outstanding defense and was selected to five straight Pro Bowls, from 1953 through 1957. After the Texans franchise was moved to Baltimore in 1953 and became the second Baltimore Colts, Donovan played with that team. He started out with the first Baltimore Colts, who folded after his rookie season in 1950, followed by the New York Yanks in 1951, and their successor, the Dallas Texans, in 1952. In each of his first three seasons, Donovan played for a team which went out of business. After the war, he completed his college career at Boston College. Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame, the first pro football player so honored. His earned citations, which included the Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal and the Philippine Liberation Medal, and would later earn him a place in the U.S. He was stationed in the Pacific Theatre and took part in some of the conflict’s fiercest engagements, such as the Battle of Luzon and the Battle of Iwo Jima. He received a scholarship to the University of Notre Dame in 1942 but left after one semester to join the United States Marine Corps, where he spent four years during World War II. Art attended Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx.
#ART DONOVAN PROFESSIONAL#
Now this gridiron legend speaks his mind in this entertaining and hilarious account of how it really was 'back in the day' in the professional sports of boxing and football.Donovan's recollection of the 'good ol' days' is as close as most of us will ever get to sitting ringside, or sitting on the team bench and listening to the greats talk about the legendary wars and warriors of boxing's and football's golden years.Art Donovan, born June 5, 1924, was the son of Arthur Donovan, Sr., a famed boxing referee, and the grandson of Professor Mike Donovan, the world middleweight boxing champion in the 1870s. are in the International Boxing Hall of Fame and Art Donovan, Jr. was a high caliber referee who refereed twenty of Joe Louis' fights including both Schmelling fights.All three generations of Donovans are in their respective Hall of Fame: Mike and Arthur Donovan, Sr. Art's grandfather, Professor Mike O' Donovan (the O' was dropped later) was the middleweight champion of the world and sparring partner of President Teddy Roosevelt.
But what most people don't know is his connection to professional boxing. Back in the golden age of football, before the big, multi-million dollar contracts, and prescription turf, Baltimore Colt and Hall of Fame tackle Art Donovan was one of the all-time gridiron greats.
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