Sun archives: Art Donovan

November 11, 2007

Part five

The throwback

Art Donovan saw a lot of stuff during his 12 years in pro football, but as the grizzled Hall of Famer settled in to watch the Ravens' game Monday night, something flashed on the TV screen that gave him pause.

August 6, 2004

Donovan good fit for Marine sports hall

Before he was a Hall of Fame defensive tackle for the Baltimore Colts, before he was a late-night wisecracker on television talk shows, before he was Fatso, Art Donovan was something else.

September 18, 2002

For ex-Colts, the stable's not same

A few weeks ago, some fellow Pro Football Hall of Famers graced a fund-raiser for the foundation that Lenny Moore operates in honor of his late son. Art Donovan, a guy who loves salami, and Gino Marchetti, a giant who had a sandwich named for him, chewed the fat until they studied an old Baltimore Colts team photo.

September 28, 2000

Donovan's stable is more than Colts

Here's the game ball from a big win in 1958, that championship year. There's the jersey he wore during a Hall of Fame career, No. 70 in the blue-and-white of the Baltimore Colts.

December 27, 1998

Turning 40, game still has great hold

Every time Gino Marchetti takes a step, he remembers The Game. It was Dec. 28, 1958. Marchetti's Baltimore Colts were playing the New York Giants in what is now known as The Greatest Game Ever Played.

November 25, 1998

John Eisenberg: For Donovan, emotional ties are long gone

So, the moment is at hand. The Colts at Baltimore. The great grudge match, hon. Our past against our present. The horseshoe against, well, a logo under pending litigation.

January 6, 1996

Ex-Colts fondly salute 'the general'

"If a nuclear bomb were dropped," Baltimore Colts defensive end Bubba Smith once said, "the only two things that would survive are AstroTurf and Don Shula."

November 10, 1995

Ewbank, Donovan and McCormack common threads in shared history

Art Donovan? A Cleveland Brown? It happened, in 1951.

August 21, 1994

Donovan, Moore, Unitas inducted into 'Ring of Honor'

Art Donovan remembers the first time he was introduced to the Baltimore football fans in 1950.

January 31, 1993

Susan Reimer: And now, for a -- of local flavor, we bring you a taste of Art Donovan

Hey, Jim Kelly! Try some warm olive oil on top of your head, ya big crybaby.

November 28, 1991

John Eisenberg: This year, Donovan has some hearty thanks to give

At various times in his 67 years, Art Donovan has used this day to give thanks for Spam, the old days in the Bronx, salami, offensive linemen who couldn't block, beer by the case, NFL Films, football on real grass, David Letterman, Italian food, life after 60 and the fact that he got to live in America, because, as he once put it, his ancestors in Ireland didn't have anything to eat.

October 29, 1991

Hopkins doctors give Artie a pacemaker dHC

Surgeons at Johns Hopkins Hospital yesterday implanted a heart pacemaker in former Baltimore Colt and NFL Hall of Famer Art Donovan. Donovan was in stable condition after the operation, the hospital said.

October 21, 1991

Artie can take a hint, vows his drinking days are over

Just about the healthiest looking patient in all of St. Joseph's Hospital is in Room 407. Certainly the strongest. Art Donovan may look like an animated bowl of jello when it comes to muscle definition, but he has the strength to knock down a building.

October 18, 1991

Hospitalized for chest pains, Artie Donovan 'resting comfortably'

Art Donovan, the colorful and vociferous former Baltimore Colts defensive lineman and their first Hall of Famer, was hospitalized last night after suffering chest pains while dining at a Jacksonville, Baltimore County, restaurant.