including a 47–7 victory over the Chicago Bears in the 1956 NFL Championship Game. During his professional career, he earned the alliterative nickname "Chucking Charlie Conerly". The Hit On November 20, 1960 at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, Conerly played a small role in one of the most famed plays in NFL history, known as The Hit. In the fourth quarter of a tied game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Conerly threw a short forward pass to Giants running back Frank Gifford, who was clothes-line tackled by Eagles linebacker Chuck Bednarik. Gifford immediately fell to the ground unconscious, was removed from the field by stretcher, and was transported to a local hospital, where he was diagnosed with a severe concussion. The concussion forced Gifford into an 18-month-long retirement until he had recuperated sufficiently to later return with the Giants. Giants franchise records 's NFL off-season, Charlie Conerly held at least 10 Giants franchise records, including: Most Completions (rookie season): 162 (1948) Most Pass Attempts (rookie season): 299 (1948) Most Passing Yards (rookie season): 2,175 (1948) Most Passing TDs (rookie season): 22 (1948) Most Intercepted (game): 5 (1951-10-14 CRD and 1953-12-13 DET; tied with Jeff Rutledge and Eli Manning) Highest Passer Rating (rookie season): 84.0 (1948) Most Yds/Pass Att (season): 8.79 (1959) Most Yds/Pass Att (playoff career): 8.53 Most Yds/Pass Att (playoff season): 10.48 (1958) Most Pass Yds/Game (rookie season): 181.3 (1948) Later life and honors Conerly portrayed the "Marlboro Man" in commercials after playing for the Giants. Conerly and his wife, Perian (author of the book, Backseat Quarterback) retired to his hometown of Clarksdale, Mississippi, where he spent his final days. Conerly owned shoe stores throughout the Mississippi Delta. On December 13, 1959, Perian appeared on an episode of What's My Line?. Her line was she wrote a football column for newspapers. Conerly was inducted into the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame in 1966 and the Ole Miss Athletic Hall of Fame in 1987. He is also a member of the Ole Miss Team of the Century (1893–1992). Conerly is the namesake of the football award, the Conerly Trophy, given annually to the top college player in the State of Mississippi. The Professional Football Researchers Association named Conerly to the PRFA Hall of Very Good Class of 2006. He is a seven-time Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist, but has yet to be elected as a member of the Hall. Illness