I read with great interest the article by Gary Smith in Sports
Illustrated’s January 31st issue. Others have addressed various points mentioned in the article. However, I feel compelled to respond to apologists for Upshaw who contend that Gene’s manner has to do with his tough upbringing.
My husband John Unitas grew up in a working class neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pa., the third of four children born to Francis and Helen Unitas. He was raised by a single mother – his father died when John was just five years old. In addition to raising four children, Helen Unitas ran the family’s small coal delivery business and often worked two jobs to provide food and shelter for her children and to ensure
that each received an education. It was a challenging childhood that shaped John’s character.
Although John was opinionated and could be stubborn, he had the courage to change his “game plan” when necessary. And he never turned his back on his teammates. In the years before his death, in fact, as he witnessed and endured the NFLPA’s treatment of retired players, he
was vocal in expressing his frustration and anger that the union had turned its back on you, the players who helped to make the league the powerhouse it is today.
Those of you who knew my husband know that he, too, experienced the pain that so many retired players endure. In his last few years, John’s famed right hand — the same right hand that helped launch television’s love affair with the NFL – was virtually useless, thanks to the beatings he’d taken every Sunday for 17 seasons. He could barely grip a pen to write his own name. He couldn’t button his own shirt without using a buttonhook device. He couldn’t play golf without strapping his golf glove to a golf club so that he could hold and swing the club. Like many of you, the injuries he endured during his
playing career came back to haunt him decades after his playing career ended. And like many of you, he was denied disability benefits.
He would be very proud of the efforts of his Baltimore Colts’
teammates, of each one of you and of Fourth & Goal. I urge you to keep fighting the good fight.
Sincerely,
Sandra Unitas
Fourth and Goal Unites 