Steve Myhra was a professional American football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

 player who played offensive line and placekicker

Placekicker

Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

 for six seasons for the Baltimore Colts

History of the Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....

.

Myhra is known for kicking the game-tying field goal for the Baltimore Colts

History of the Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....

 with seven seconds to go in the fourth quarter of the 1958 NFL Championship Game. His field goal pushed the game into overtime, marking the first occasion in professional football history that any game had moved into an extra period. The game was eventually won by the Colts on a touchdown by Alan Ameche

Alan Ameche

Lino Dante "Alan" Ameche , nicknamed "The Horse", was an American football player who played six seasons with the Baltimore Colts in the National Football League after winning the Heisman Trophy in college at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He was elected to the Pro Bowl in each of his first...

, and has since become referred to as "The Greatest Game Ever Played".

After playing at the University of North Dakota

University of North Dakota

The University of North Dakota is a public university in Grand Forks, North Dakota, USA. Established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of North Dakota, UND is the oldest and largest university in the state and enrolls over 14,000 students. ...

, Myhra was drafted in the 12th round of the 1956 NFL Draft

1956 NFL Draft

The 1956 National Football League Draft was held on November 29, 1955.-Player selections:-Round one:* HOF Member of the Professional Football Hall of Fame-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:...

 by the Colts as an offensive guard and linebacker. Fellow Colt Lenny Moore

Lenny Moore

Leonard Edward Moore is a former American football halfback who played for Penn State in college and the Baltimore Colts. He came to the Colts in 1956, and had a productive first pro season and was named the NFL Rookie of The Year...

 was drafted in the first round of the same draft. In 1957, Myhra became the Colts' placekicker, and was successful on 88% of his extra point attempts (14 of 16) and 4 of 6 on field goals. The next season, Myhra was only 4 for 10 on field goal attempts, which many have speculated may be why Johnny Unitas

Johnny Unitas

John Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...

and the Colts went for the touchdown in overtime of the championship game rather than line up for a game-winning field goal attempt.

Myhra kicked for the Colts for three more seasons. He finished 180 for 189 on extra points, and 41 for 91 on field goal attempts.

Myhra died of a heart attack in 1994 at age 60.