Alan "The Horse" Ameche [cont'd]

Professional Career

After leaving the Badgers, Ameche was courted by the Canadian Professional League and was offered $100,000 to wrestle professionally. But he chose to enter the 1955 NFL draft and was selected in the first round by the Baltimore Colts. They offered him more money than they had ever offered a rookie before: $15,000. Their confidence was not misplaced: the very first time he touched the football in a professional game, on September 25, 1955, he ran 79 yards for a touchdown against the Chicago Bears.

That first season with the Colts Ameche led the NFL in rushing yards and was named NFL Rookie of the Year. He was the only rookie picked for the Pro Bowl, and received that honor again for the next three years. For the next several seasons, Ameche played with a winning Colts team led by Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas.

On December 28, 1958, the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants played the NFL Championship game at Yankee Stadium. In the league's first-ever sudden-death overtime, Alan Ameche scored the winning one-yard touchdown. That game has been called the greatest game ever played, in no small part for its role in drawing professional football into the American consciousness. 45 million people watched the game on television, a previously unheard of audience share for the sport. When the Colts returned to Baltimore, they were mobbed by 30,000 overzealous fans at the airport. Professional football had captured the nation's attention.

Ameche played six seasons for the Colts before injuring his Achilles' tendon. Two championships, 4,045 yards and 40 touchdowns later, The Horse's pro career was over.

Retirement

Fortunately, Ameche retained interests other than football. In 1957 he had opened Gino's Restaurant in Baltimore, MD with fellow Colts teammates Gino Marchetti, Joseph Campanella, and Louis Fischer. The partners quickly parlayed the successful hamburger joint into a chain that numbered over 300 locations at its peak; it was eventually sold to Marriott Corporation, making Ameche a multi-millionaire.

Ameche remained on the East Coast after his retirement. He and Yvonne had six children, four of whom played college football.

Ameche became active in organizations such as the United Negro College Fund, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the Multiple Sclerosis Society, and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He also owned a chain of indoor tennis court facilities and briefly embarked on a career as a sports agent in the mid-eighties, optimistically aspiring to ease the transition between college and professional sports for young players. He lasted only a few months in the business, upon his departure citing the "dirty business" of sports that had cropped up since the more simple times when he was in college.