John Constantine Unitas (Happy Birthday!) OC

John Constantine Unitas, nicknamed "Johnny U" and "The Golden Arm", was an American football player in the National Football League (NFL). He spent the majority of his career playing for the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the NFL's most valuable player in 1959, 1964, and 1967.

For 52 years he held the record for most consecutive games with a touchdown pass (set between 1956 and 1960), until broken in 2012 by Drew Brees. Unitas was the prototype of the modern era marquee quarterback, with a strong passing game, media fanfare, and widespread popularity. He has been consistently listed as one of the greatest NFL players of all time.

He nickname was The Golden Arm because of his excellent ability to throw with his right arm, and he's also of Lithuanian heritage. The old Lithuanian flag has a knight carrying a sword in his right arm and a shield in his left, so I combined the two and replaced the sword with a football.

This piece was commissioned by Michael's Cafe for display in their restaurant.