Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 27, 1991                   TAG: 9102270170
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: BALTIMORE                                LENGTH: Medium

EX-COLTS STAR GOES BANKRUPT

Unitas, a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and his wife, Sandra, filed for protection from creditors under Chapter 11 on Friday. The filing allows an individual or corporation to continue operating while in bankruptcy.

Unitas did so in order to "go through an orderly repayment of his creditors," attorney Jim Wooton said.

Unitas' bankruptcy petition did not list his assets or debts, but Wooton said, "Johnny has significant assets. . . . He just wants to go repay his investors without, say, losing his house. It was a decision he thought about for a considerable amount of time."

In 1984, Unitas and two partners, J. Clark Powers and John Mass, borrowed $3.5 million to buy National Circuits Inc., a producer of printed circuit boards for computers, cars and telecommunications equipment.

The business venture has struggled, and the bank has filed attachments on Unitas' checking and savings accounts and a lien on their northern Baltimore County home.

The state industrial development agency agreed to guarantee $2 million of the $3.5 million loan, said Curt Matthews, a spokesman for the state's financing programs. He said the state may lose between $300,000 and $400,000 because of that guarantee.

The city of Baltimore guaranteed $1.5 million of the loan, but Wooton said the city has refused to honor that guarantee.

"Johnny was a victim in a sense," Wooton said. "He was willing to do whatever he could do. But that wasn't good enough for the city."

The city, as well as the state of Maryland, were secondary guarantors of the loan. Wooton said the city made clear that it would honor its guarantee only after the bank collected everything it could from Unitas.

Bill Brown, the city's director of finance, said, "The city has acted appropriately in the circumstances by letting the bank pursue its course of collection. . . . When the appropriate times comes, the city will honor its guarantee."

Unitas was in San Diego on Tuesday and not available for comment.

Unitas joined the Colts in 1956 and led the team to NFL titles in 1958 and 1959. He retired in 1974.

The bankruptcy petition lists Unitas' largest creditors as the Maryland Industrial Development Financing Authority, the Trustee Loan Guarantee Program of Baltimore City, the mayor and city council of Baltimore and the Baltimore Economic Development Corp. Amounts were not listed.

Keywords:
FOOTBALL