The Way It Was

""The Greatest Game Ever Played"" kicks off The Way It Was in stirring fashion. Thrill to the gutty performances of both the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants as they do battle in the first sudden-death game in football history.

Who would have thought one exuberant player's circus catch of a certain triple would turn the World Series in favor of the underdog? Willie Mays provided arguably the last great moment in the history of the Polo Grounds as the N.Y. Giants swept the Cleveland Indians for the 1954 title. The Giants would not win another Series for the rest of the 20th century.

The Boston Celtics and St. Louis Hawks traded bunches in their split of the NBA Championships of 1957-58. Now which one was to remain with a dry feeling in its throat afterward?

The start of Los Angeles Laker heartache (oh, those were the days) came in 1962, when they had a chance to beat the Boston Celtics in regulation time of the seventh Finals game at Boston Garden.