Morris Berman
Y. A. Tittle Toppled

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Artist Morris Berman (American, 1909–2002)American, 1909–2002

CultureAmerican

Titles

Y. A. Tittle Toppled

Date1964, printed 1970s

PlacePittsburgh (?), Pennsylvania (?), United States

MediumGelatin silver print

DimensionsImage: 18 × 15 13/16 in. (45.7 × 40.2 cm)
Sheet: 18 × 15 13/16 in. (45.7 × 40.2 cm)

Credit LineMuseum purchase funded by Robert H. Allen, M. Robert Dussler, Harry Gee, Javier Loya, D. Cal McNair, Wm. P. O'Connell, Corbin J. Robertson, Jr., Scott Schwinger, and Michael Stevens, in honor of Robert C. McNair and the Houston Texans at "One Great Night in November, 2005"

Object number2005.1071

Not on view

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Department

Photography

Object Type

PHOTOGRAPHS

DescriptionThis photograph of a bloodied Y.A. Tittle kneeling in the end zone is one of the most famous images in sports history. Tittle played 17 seasons of pro football and retired with 33,070 passing yards and 242 touchdown passes. Traded to the New York Giants in 1961, he lead them to three divisional titles, but this game in 1964 was the last game of Tittle's career. Berman captured Tittle in the end zone after being sacked by John Baker of the Steelers. The tackle that brought Tittle down knocked off his helmet and put him in the hospital. Tittle said this picture brought him more acclaim than all his accomplishments on the field. A career newspaper photographer who first became famous for his images of the corpses of Benito Mussolini and his mistress, Berman was working for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in 1964. The newspaper didn't run the Tittle picture because it lacked action, but it later won the National Headliner award for best sports photograph of the year. A print of it hangs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio.
ProvenanceThe artist, d. 2002; Estate of the artist; [Martin Gorden Gallery, Pheonix, possibly December 2002]; purchased by MFAH, 2005.
Exhibition History"Best Sports Photographs of the 20th Century", Pro Football Hall of Fame, 2005, Canton, Ohio (title exhibition, place (?) )

"The Sports Show," Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Minneapolis, February 19–May 13, 2012.

“Made for Magazines: Iconic 20th-Century Photographs,” The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, February 9–May 4, 2014.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks

Stamped in Gothic letters on verso upper left: "Post-Gazette Photo / By Morris Berman"

Stamped on verso lower right with additional ink inscriptions: "MORRIS BERMAN ESTATE, / DECEMBER 2002, / ACCESSION # 001 / BY AMANDA N C (? Collins)"

Cataloguing data may change with further research.

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