Johnny Unitas, the Baltimore Colts quarterback who broke nearly every passing record and won three championships for the franchise, suffered a fatal heart attack on Wednesday.

He was 69.

Unitas was working out with a therapist in the Baltimore suburb of Timonium when he suffered the heart attack. The Hall of Famer was taken to hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas. (AP PHOTO)

No other details were released about Unitas' death.

Unitas underwent emergency triple-bypass surgery in March 1993 after suffering a heart attack.

Unitas was named most valuable player three times and played in 10 Pro Bowls. He led Baltimore to the NFL championship in 1958 and 1959 and the Super Bowl in 1970.

At 6-1 and just under 200 pounds, Unitas didn't look like an everyday football player, but he possessed one of the best arms the game has ever seen.

Born: May 7, 1933, Pittsburgh. Died: Sept. 11, 2002, Baltimore. Height: 6-1. Weight: 195 pounds. Uniform number: 19 (retired by Colts). Career milestones: -- Completed 2,830 passes for 40,239 yards and a record 290 touchdown passes during his career. -- Threw TD passes in record 47 consecutive games. -- Had three seasons of 3,000 yards or more. -- Player of the Year in '59, '64, '67. -- Led Colts to 1958, '59 NFL crowns. -- Three-time NFL MVP. -- Player of the Decade for the 1960s. -- Ten Pro-Bowl selections. -- Inducted into Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1979. -- Named Greatest Player in the First 50 Years of Pro Football. -- Named to the NFL's 75th Anniversary Team.

When he retired after the 1973 season, he held 22 NFL records, including most passes attempted and completed, most touchdown passes and most seasons leading the league in TD passes.

In one stretch, he completed at least one touchdown pass in 47 straight games, a record that just as impressive as Wayne Gretzky's scoring streak of 51 games or Joe DiMaggio's 56-game hitting streak.

He finished his career with 2,830 completions out of 5,186 pass attempts for 40,239 yards and 290 touchdowns.

That's not bad for a man was a ninth-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers and then cut in training camp in 1955.

After spending a year playing semi-pro football in Pittsburgh, Unitas joined the Colts and made his debut in the 1956 season.

Unfortunately, it wasn't quite a memorable start for Unitas. His first pass was intercepted and he fumbled his next two possessions.

But he got a lucky break when the Colts' other backup decided to join law school. Unitas started the next game, beating the Green Bay Packers by a touchdown. He then led the Colts to an upset win over the Cleveland Browns, earning himself the starting job.