Art Donovan was, quite simply, a missing link.
A 6’3”, 300-lb defensive lineman, he was fearless on the field, as he survived “getting shot in the ass” at Iwo Jima. Jack Stroud was a breeze by comparison. He played with two different versions of the Baltimore Colts, then went to the New York Yanks—when they went belly up, he moved on to the Seattle Pilots of the NFL, the Dallas Texans, before finding a home with version #2 of the Colts.
His father was the legendary boxing referee Arthur Donovan, who officiated fourteen heavyweight title bouts.
Fatso was an All-Pro lineman who would go home to Brooklyn to be called a “bum” by neighbors who didn’t follow football. That would have depressed most men—but not Fatso.
Art Donovan, despite being the very first Baltimore Colt named to the Hall of Fame, became better known as a master storyteller. On “The Tonight Show” and especially on “Late Night with David Letterman”, Donovan became a conduit to the NFL’s harsh, non-PC past. Often, he would walk onstage with a six pack of Schlitz, television rules be damned, and would just start talkin’. He’d talk about how he was a seventeen-pound baby; “My mother couldn’t walk for three weeks!” Or how Norm Van Brocklin was so frustrated by Donovan that he threw a pass directly at Art’s facemask-less face. “I couldn’t believe he’d just waste a play like that. I guess he was mad. You have to respect a guy like that,” Fatso remembered. And the stories were countless—though Donovan numbered them to avoid repeating himself.
Donovan retired following the 1961 season—though Don Shula (who was his roommate for years) tried to get him to return when he took over the Colts. But Donovan owned a very successful country club and had five children—two of them born in the same calendar year, which impressed his teammates and had to terrify more than a few women. His autobiography’ Fatso, remains one of my favorite reads. And to the very end, he was a storyteller.
“I wouldn’t want to go back over my life. I’ve done it all. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss the Marine Corps. I wouldn’t have wanted to miss the war. I wouldn’t have missed college. Or playin’ for the Colts. I got all the money I need. Five children. I got a truck. I have no regrets whatsoever.”—Art Donovan
Check out this clip of Art Donovan with David Letterman
