Alan Ameche Lino Dante " Alan " Ameche ( June 1 , 1933 – August 8 , 1988 ) , nicknamed " The Iron Horse " , or simply " 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 four seasons in the league . He is famous for scoring the winning touchdown in the 1958 NFL Championship Game against the New York Giants , labeled " The Greatest Game Ever Played . " With colleague ( and former Colts teammate ) Gino Marchetti , Alan Ameche founded the Gino ' s Hamburgers chain . He also founded the Baltimore - based Ameche ' s Drive - in restaurants . Ameche died in Houston , Texas . Early life . Ameche was born in Kenosha , Wisconsin . His parents were Italian immigrants who came to the United States in the late 1930s , although they returned for a year to Italy during his childhood . The family then returned to Kenosha , where he attended Kenosha High School . Ameche was a cousin of noted actors Don Ameche and Jim Ameche . College career . Ameche earned All - America honors at the University of Wisconsin – Madison , where he played linebacker as well as fullback in single - platoon days . In four years as a Badger , he gained 3 , 212 yards , then the NCAA record , scored 25 touchdowns , and averaged 4 . 8 yards per carry . He played in the program ' s first bowl game , the 1953 Rose Bowl , as a sophomore , rushing for 133 yards on 28 carries . Ameche won the Heisman Trophy in 1954 , the first player to do so in program history . Ameche is one of six Wisconsin football players to have a number retired by the program ( 35 ) and enshrined on the Camp Randall Stadium façade as of 2008 : fellow Heisman winner and current career rushing record holder Ron Dayne ( 33 ) , Elroy Hirsch ( 40 ) , Dave Schreiner ( 80 ) , Allan Schafer ( 83 ) , and Pat Richter ( 88 ) are the others . Ameche was inducted into the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame in 1967 , the College Football Hall of Fame in 1975 , and the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2004 . NFL career . Ameche played fullback for the Baltimore Colts from 1955 until 1960 . Named NFL Rookie of the Year in 1955 , he was a four - time Pro Bowl er ( 1955 – 58 ) . He averaged 4 . 2 yards per carry over his career . He held the record for rushing yards in his first three NFL games until Carnell " Cadillac " Williams passed it in 2005 . Ameche may be best remembered for his role in the 1958 NFL Championship Game at Yankee Stadium , often cited as " The Greatest Game Ever Played . " Ameche scored the winning touchdown for the Colts on a one - yard run in overtime as the Colts beat the Giants , 23 - 17 . It was his second touchdown of the day as he also scored a TD on a 2 yard run in the second quarter . Ameche finished a relatively short six - season NFL career with 4 , 045 rushing yards , 101 receptions for 733 yards and 44 touchdowns . Death . Alan Ameche died of a heart attack at age 55 in Houston , a few days after undergoing heart bypass surgery . He is interred at Calvary Cemetery in West Conshohocken , Pennsylvania .