Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

Today is the 15th anniversary of the death of Johnny Unitas on 9/11/15. Here's a poignant passage about it from "Johnny U."

"He died on an exercise machine at Kernan. Bill Neill heard his gasp and went to him. A while later, the phone rang at Gino Marchetti's home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. 'My wife answered,' Gino said. 'I heard her say, Oh no. Because it was September 11, my first thought was that those bastards had run another plane into a building. When she told me John was dead, I couldn't say anything. I just sat down.' He'd have cried if he wasn't Gino Marchetti. Jim Parker did cry. He drove out into the country, pulled over to the side of an empty road, and wept. 'It was the first time,' Jim said, 'that I wasn't there to protect him.'"

Shipley wrote:Today is the 15th anniversary of the death of Johnny Unitas on 9/11/15. Here's a poignant passage about it from "Johnny U."

"He died on an exercise machine at Kernan. Bill Neill heard his gasp and went to him. A while later, the phone rang at Gino Marchetti's home in West Chester, Pennsylvania. 'My wife answered,' Gino said. 'I heard her say, Oh no. Because it was September 11, my first thought was that those bastards had run another plane into a building. When she told me John was dead, I couldn't say anything. I just sat down.' He'd have cried if he wasn't Gino Marchetti. Jim Parker did cry. He drove out into the country, pulled over to the side of an empty road, and wept. 'It was the first time,' Jim said, 'that I wasn't there to protect him.'"

Have to admit that gave me chills

I almost teared up when I read the Jim Parker quote.

On one of my bookshelves I have three McFarlane figures; Bobby Orr, Ted Williams and Johnny Unitas. We lost two of them within a couple of months of each other in 2002.