Johnny Unitas

"There is a Difference between conceit and confidence. Conceit is bragging about yourself. Confidence is means that you believe you can get the job done."

Have you ever been doubted, in a place where everybody thought you couldn't do it? Well this is what Johnny Unitas, one of football's best quarterbacks went through. Unitas was born on May 7, 1933. At age 12 he decided he wanted to become a NFL football player. The problem was that he was small.

Despite being small, when he got to high school, he went to tryouts and made the team! He was six feet tall, but he only weighed 138 pounds, which is very small for a football player in the 70's. Being so small he was put at second string behind the star quarterback of the team. He got his chance when the original quarterback broke his ankle. He was so good that the Pittsburgh all Catholic school football team offered him a spot in the school. His dream though, was to play for Notre Dame. He was too small though to fit the college standards. Unitas failed the entry exam to get into Notre Dame, but Louisville offered him a football scholarship to their school. In his time there he grew two inches and gained fifty six pounds.

Unitas got drafted in the ninth round to the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he dropped out before they even played a game. He was disappointed, but he wasn't ready to give up. He moved to New Jersey where he played for the Broomfield Rams. At the time he was poor and he was only making six dollars per game. His efforts to play football weren't pointless though because the Baltimore Colts started to notice Unitas and sent a scout to view his games. The Colts gave Unitas a chance in tryouts, then signed him as a backup quarterback to George Shaw. Shaw broke his leg in the fourth game of the season and they put Unitas in first string.

Unitas finished the season with a record in passing touchdowns, and passing yardage. The NFL recognized him as the best quarterback in football. Later he was put in the Hall of Fame and earned the nickname, "the golden arm". He will always be a hero because even though he was small, and he was doubted, he kept trying. He kept trying and ended up as one of the best quarterbacks in the NFL.