It was regarded for many years as the "greatest game ever played", mainly because it was the first sudden-death overtime game in National Football League (NFL) history: 1958 NFL championship game:
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/195812280nyg.htm
Baltimore Colts 23, New York Giants 17
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Baltimore Colts | 0 | 14 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 23 |
 | New York Giants | 3 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 17 |
Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas executed what might have been the first recognized two minute drill as he drove his team downfield for a field goal that tied the game and forced overtime. Colt fullback Alan Ameche scored the winning touchdown in OT from the one yard line. The game was blacked out in New York as that was the NFL television policy into the mid 1960s.
In 1974 the NFL added OT to the regular season. It made OT in the playoffs less special.
The National Hockey League (NHL) played its first playoff OT March 26, 1919. But it did much the same thing as the NFL, adding OT in the 1983-1984 regular season and making it less special in the Stanley Cup playoffs. Regular season games could still end in a tie: two points for a win, one point for a tie. In the 2005-2006 regular season, the NHL replaced ties with a shootout, something like home run derby.
The National Basketball Association (NBA) had always had OT.
Baseball has had 9 innings since 1857, up from 4 innings June 19, 1846, at the Elysian Fields. During the 2020 COVID pandemic 60 game season, extra innings got perverted: in the regular season, each extra inning started with a runner on second base.
But why play extra innings at all in the regular season? The most total innings in a regular season game: 26. What was the point? What was affirmed?
Many of these games drone on. I attended two twi-night doubleheaders in which the second game went 20 and 19 innings: total innings 29 and 28.
According to MLB rules, no inning can start after 1:00 AM, meaning that once the clock strikes 1:00 AM, the current inning must be completed, but no new inning can begin; this rule is essentially a curfew.
If that were a day game that started at 1:00 PM, the game could last more than 12 hours. How about no inning can start more than three hours after the scheduled start of the game, regardless of the number of innings played? Baseball is killing itself.
https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/PIT/PIT196010130.shtml
1960 World Series Game 7, Yankees at Pirates
Thursday, October 13, 1960
Attendance: 36,683
Venue: Forbes Field
Game Duration: 2:36
Day Game, on grass
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Despite the outcome, maybe the greatest game of all time considering the stakes and lead changes.
And zero strike outs!
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