Art Donovan, born June 5, 1924,[1] was the son of Arthur Donovan Sr., a boxing referee, and the grandson of Professor Mike Donovan, the world middleweight boxing champion in the 1870s.
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. Marine Corps Sports Hall of Fame, the first pro football player so honored. After the war, he completed his college career at Boston College.
Professional career
Donovan in an official team photo.
In each of his first three seasons, Donovan played for a team that went out of business. He started out with the first Baltimore Colts, which folded after his rookie season in 1950. Players formerly on the Colts roster were dispersed throughout the league via the 1951 NFL draft, with Donovan redrafted by the Cleveland Browns with the last pick of the fourth round in January.
At the end of August, the Browns still held 40 players on their roster. Donovan, together with teammate Sisto Averno, were sent by the world champs to the weak sister of the league, the New York Yanks, apparently without receiving significant compensation.[2]
Donovan would spend the 1951 with the Yanks, and their successor, the Dallas Texans, in 1952.
After the Texans franchise folded, many of their players moved to Baltimore when the Colts were awarded a new franchise in 1953 and became the second Baltimore Colts, Donovan played with that team. He became one of the stars in an outstanding defense and was selected to five straight Pro Bowls, from 1953 through 1957. The Colts won back-to-back championships in 1958 and 1959. He was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968.[3] He was runner up as best defensive tackle on the NFL 50th Anniversary All-Time Team.[4]
During his career, Donovan played in what many believe was one of the most important games in NFL history, the 1958 NFL Championship Game between the Colts and the New York Giants.[5] The contest between the two teams took place on December 28, 1958, and ended in a 17–17 tie. Being the championship game, it went into overtime, the first NFL game to do so. Witnessed by 40 million viewers on nationwide television, the game came to be known as the "greatest game ever played." 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. Donovan was one of 12 Hall of Fame players to take part, six of whom were Colts.[5]
Post-playing career
Donovan in 2010
He published an autobiography, Fatso, in 1987. 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 owned and managed a country club near Baltimore. Donovan also appeared ten times on Late Night with David Letterman, telling humorous stories about his old playing days and about other footballers he played with and against in his time. He relayed a story that he played without a helmet and in fact is shown on football cards without a helmet. Letterman wore Donovan's No. 70 Colts jersey in the famous Super Bowl XLI commercial with Oprah Winfrey and Jay Leno.[6] Donovan also made several appearances on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.[7][8]
Donovan guest-starred in the Nickelodeon show The Adventures of Pete & Pete in the episode "Space, Geeks, and Johnny Unitas". He also appeared as a guest commentator at the WWF King of the Ring tournament in 1994.[9] Donovan's appearance at the event would become infamous among wrestling fans for being seemingly uninformed about the product as well as generally befuddled behavior such as repeatedly asking how much certain wrestlers weighed.[10] He was joined by Gorilla Monsoon on play-by-play, who inadvertently referred to Donovan as "Art O'Donnell", and Randy Savage.[10]
He was co-host of the popular 1990s program Braase, Donovan, Davis and Fans on WJZ-TV in Baltimore with Colt teammate Ordell Braase. The trio talked more about Art Donovan's fabled stories than contemporary NFL football, but the show held high ratings in its time slot. He was also a pitchman for the Maryland State Lottery and ESPN.[citation needed]
Achievements
Played 12 seasons, 138 games
Five-time consecutive Pro Bowl selection (1953–1957)
Donovan was married to the former Dorothy Schaech for 57 years. Since 1955 they owned and managed the Valley Country Club[11] in Towson, Maryland. Although he was the owner, Donovan was known for doing manual labor at the club to include painting and working in the kitchen washing pots and pans.[5]
"With the death of Art Donovan this past week, sports lost one of its last genuine characters, in every sense of the word. A lot of guys try to get our attention. Donovan was that rare guy who didn't have to try. He was as good on the field – he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in his second try - as he was off it. He appeared on Late Night with David Letterman and The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson and reduced both hosts and their audiences to howling in seconds. He was a player and a great storyteller and we'll never see another guy like him. That's sad for us, but it's a darn good epitaph."
— Hamilton, Tracee, The Washington Post (August 11, 2013)[14]
