Preseason: Green Bay Packers (1-1) 24, San Francisco 49ers (1-1) 17
Sunday August 23rd 1959 (at San Francisco)
GAME RECAP (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE)
(SAN FRANCISCO) - The Green Bay Packers figure to be a tough NFL team to stop on the ground. Off their 24-17 victory over San Francisco, first for Head Coach Vince Lombardi, they may be a little tough through the air also. "Our offensive line came off very well," Lombardi noted after the final gun ended with the 49ers on the 1-foot line. End R.C. Owens had grabbed a 40-yard pass from quarterback Y.A. Tittle, but there wasn't time for another play. "We still have to work on the offense, and we need plenty of additional work on pass defense and pursuit," Lombardi added, "but the offensive tackles plus Paul Hornung, Lew Carpenter and Jim Taylor showed we could move the ball." Bob Skoronski, back from the service, Forrest Gregg and Norm Masters, both three-year men, held down the tackle load. Fred Thurston, obtained in a trade with Baltimore, stood out at guard. Nine Packer backs collected 163 yards rushing. Rookie George Dixon, a 195-pound fullback from Bridgeport, Conn. U., set up the final and decisive Packer score with a 96-yard runback of a kickoff. Two plays later, Don McIlhenny went over from the two. Hornung, who went nine yards around right end for the second touchdown, kicked a 21-yard field goal and three conversions, was ecstatic about his team's improvement. "Our offense is 80 percent better this year, and, believe me, it's a real pleasure to play behind a line that opens holes. We have a good ball club, a hungry ball club." End Max McGee called the offense the best he's seen since joining the team four seasons ago, and quarterback Babe Parilli, who directed the final two touchdown drives, added that it was hustle that was paying off for the offensive line. Dixon, 25th draft choice, said his 96-yarder, which started two yards into the end zone, was the longest of his life, and that he was disappointed that he didn't go all the way. Dickie Moegle cut him down on the six.
RINGO HAS HELP
Red Hickey, losing his first game as 49er coach, felt his team just got outknocked. "Jim Ringo (a seven-year veteran) always has been a good center, and now he has some help," Hickey added. Taylor was the big gun in a slow first half, piling up 59 yards on 12 carries. Parilli hit four for four in that first half and the Packers left the field with a 10-3 lead. Green Bay appeared off to a fast start, going from the Packer 36 to the 49er 30 before Leo Nomellini and Jerry Tubbs dropped Parilli for an 11-yard loss. Three plays later Joe Perry fumbled and rookie Billy Butler recovered on the Packer 43. Taylor banged for 13 and Hornung for 10 and 6. After two more lines failed, Hornung tried and foiled on a field goal from the 32. Early in the second quarter, starting 49er quarterback John Brodie connected one of three passes for 41 yards and Bobby Luna kicked a 20-yard field goal from the 20 for the first score of the game. A crowd of 18,916 in Kezar Stadium watched Butler take the kickoff, fumble, then speed for 35 yards. Eleven plays later, Hornung booted his field goal from the 21. After the kickoff, rookie Paul Lowe fumbled on the first play and Bill Forester recovered on the 49er 34. McIlhenny picked up six, and Taylor 10, in the touchdown drive, culminated by Lamar McHan's four-yard pass to Gary Knafelc, in the clear in the end zone.
ENTER Y.A. TITTLE
Parilli, who wound up with a 10 out of 11 pass completion mar for 130 yards, took to the air near the end of the third quarter. The Packers made it 17-3 on Hornung's nine-yard dash around right end on the firs play of the final period. He converted. Parilli hit end Steve Meilinger for 19 and 15 and Dixon for 17 in the drive. Enter Y.A. Tittle, a quarterback who uses his 11 years of pro experience. Lowe returned Hornung's kickoff 32 yards and Andy Cvercko's personal foul gave the 49ers another 15. Tittle put fullback Joe Perry and halfback Jim Pace to running and, when the attack bogged down there, flipped a fourth down and 13 to go pass to end Billy Wilson. The play went 18 yards and put the 49er on the six. Pace banged over on fourth down. Then came Dixon's run. Carpenter went for four and McIlhenny scampered in from the two. That made it 24-10 with 5 minutes, 37 seconds left. Tittle took over again, the key play being a 46-yard pass to Wilson. A pass interference call gave the 49ers the ball on the one and Perry rolled around two plays later.
NEWCOMER INTERCEPTS
Bobby Freeman, another Packer newcomer, intercepted a deflected pass, stopping another 49er march, but the Packers were forced to punt and the 49ers wound up with the ball on their own 21. Tittle hit Clyde Conner for
seven and a time out was called. The clock showed 43 seconds. Then Tittle hit Wilson for 12 and another time out; 33 seconds left. Conner ran out of bounds after catching a nine-yard pass. With the ball on the Green Bay 40, Tittle uncorked to Owens over the end zone. Owens made a leaping catch of the next one, a high floater, and fell on the one-foot line. The clock ran out before the 49ers could even line up, let along huddle...The Packers had some other good news over the weekend. Bobby Dillon expects to join the Packers on the West Coast this week for what he says will be his last season. Dillon, star safety man for the Packers the past eight seasons and former University of Texas standout, is assistant sales manager of a plastics firm in Temple, Tex., his hometown. It was necessary for him to get a leave of absence to play another year of professional football. "It will definitely be my last year," Dillon said in Temple Saturday afternoon. "This is it." Dillon said he had one year to go on an existing contract and that there was no raise in pay involved in his decision.
GREEN BAY - 0 10 0 14 - 24
SAN FRANCISCO - 0 3 0 14 - 17
GREEN BAY SAN FRANCISCO
First Downs 19 24
Rushing-Yards-TD 37-163-2 33-126-2
Att-Comp-Yd-TD-Int 17-12-123-1-0 30-19-268-0-2
Sack Yards Lost 15 20
Total Yards 286 394
Fumbles-lost 1-0 4-2
Turnovers 0 4
Yards penalized 5-43 5-35
SCORING
2ND - SF - Bobby Luna, 20-yard field goal SAN FRANCISCO 3-0
2ND - GB - Paul Hornung, 21-yard field goal TIED 3-3
2ND - GB - Gary Knafelc, 4-yard pass from Lamar McHan (Hornung kick) GREEN BAY 10-3
4TH - GB - Hornung, 9-yard run (Hornung kick) GREEN BAY 17-3
4TH - SF - Jim Pace, 1-yard run (Luna kick) GREEN BAY 17-10
4TH - GB - Don McIlhenny, 6-yard run (Hornung kick) GREEN BAY 24-10
4TH - SF - Joe Perry, 1-yard run (Luna kick) GREEN BAY 24-17
RUSHING
GREEN BAY - Jim Taylor 13-60, Paul Hornung 4-35 1 TD, Lew Carpenter 6-24, Don McIlhenny 6-23 1 TD, Lamar McHan 2-9, Babe Parilli 1-8, George Dixon 4-5, Dave Smith 1-(-1)
SAN FRANCISCO - Joe Perry 10-51 1 TD, J.D. Smith 4-26, Jim Pace 10-26 1 TD, Hugh McElhenny 4-11, Paul Lowe 1-8, John Brodie 1-8, Leon Burton 3-0
PASSING
GREEN BAY - Babe Parilli 11-10-130, Lamar McHan 6-2-8 1 TD
SAN FRANCISCO - John Brodie 18-11-135 1 INT, Y.A. Tittle 12-8-153 1 INT
RECEIVING
GREEN BAY - Max McGee 4-52, Steve Meilinger 3-54, George Dixon 3-24, Gary Knafelc 2-8 1 TD
SAN FRANCISCO - Billy Wilson 5-95, Hugh McElhenny 3-33, Clyde Conner 3-27, Joe Perry 2-23, Fred Dugan 2-25, R.C. Owens 1-39, Jim Pace 1-17, J.D. Smith 1-13
LOMBARDI PLEASED - 'PACKER LINE DID IT'
AUG 23 (San Francisco) - Vince Lombardi credited his offensive line with being the difference in the 24-17 victory over the 49ers Sunday. "I was very pleased with the whole line," Lombardi said in the dressing room. "I can't say any one of the linemen did a better job that the rest. The whole group got off the ball well, and I thought they caught the 49ers napping several times." All was not joy in the Packer quarters, however, for Vince pointed to the 49ers' passing gain of 268 yards and offered it as proof that "we have a long way to come defensively, especially against passes." Three times the Packers were penalized for illegal procedure when Fred Thurston or Norm Masters started to pull out of the line before the ball was snapped. "They just haven't become accustomed to the different count and our signal changes at the line," Lombardi said. The Green Bay coach liked the improvement shown in the club's passing attack, which Babe Parilli sparked with 10 completions in 11 attempts, but noted the ground game didn't function as well as it did against the Bears last week. Paul Hornung called the Packer offense "eight hundred thousand percent better than last year." He added that "it was a real pleasure playing behind a great line that opens holes. This is a hungry ball club and it's going to be a real good one," Hornung said. Red Hickey, new head coach of the 49ers, pegged the Packer offensive line as "the best I've seen on a Green Bay team in a long time." Jim Ringo "always was a good center," he added, "and now they've given him some help in there." Leo Nomellini, veteran 49er tackle, called the Packers "a rough outfit" that is "going to beat somebody else before they're through." Incidentally, Lombardi was asked if Bobby Dillon would be fined for reporting late when he joins the club September 1 after changing his mind about retiring. "That's nobody's business except the club's," the coach replied. The Packers suffered no serious injuries. The club remained at the Sheraton Palace hotel here overnight and is to fly out Monday for Portland, Ore., where they will play the Eagles Saturday night.
AMERICAN FOOTBALL LOOP PROMISES BETTER SALARIES FOR PLAYERS, OFFICIALS
AUG 24 (Dallas) - The AFL flexed its muscles today and promised competition for the staid old NFL with better salaries for both players and game officials. Most everything is set for the first venture of the newly organized professional league in 1960. Naming of a commissioner and a decision on whether to expand to eight clubs will be handled at a meeting Sept. 12-13 in Los Angeles. A committee of Lamar Hunt, the young Dallas oil man who founded the league when he couldn't obtain a franchise in the NFL; H.P. Skoglund of Minneapolis and Barron Hilton of Los Angeles was appointed here Sunday, at the windup of the circuit's second meeting, to select the commissioner...SUFFICIENT MONEY: Dallas, New York, Houston, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Los Angeles and Denver make up the league and it was explained that all were backed by sufficient money to operate for several years without profit although some of the club owners said they didn't anticipate they would lost anything even at the start. Big television contracts were considered in the offing, and Harry Wismer, the noted broadcaster who is one of the New York owners, said games would be televised in New York on Saturday afternoons. This would directly conflict with the NCAA game of the week. Hunt said the league planned to offer 10 percent more minimum salary than the NFL; that it would also pay the officials more, and that players would receive more money for exhibition games. Apparently the chances of the league expanding to eight clubs for the first season rest with Seattle. If that city can obtain the University of Washington stadium, it will get a franchise. Then another city would have to be taken in. There are plenty of applications - Buffalo, Miami, San Francisco, Kansas City and Vancouver, Canada. The latter wasn't expected to be given much consideration however, because it is in Seattle's territory, and besides Hunt said "we wouldn't want to hurt the Canadian league." The method and dat of the league's first draft also will be set at Los Angeles. The draft is to be in December.
TWO EX-PACKERS LEAVE OTTAWA 11
AUG 24 (Ottawa) - Two former United States players, picked up by the Ottawa Rough Riders last week from the Green Bay Packers, have left the Big Four club, Coach Frank Clair said Monday. Buddy Mayfield, a South Carolina graduate who was on the Rider negotiation list this spring, received his draft call from the U.S. Army and was forced to leave the team, Clair said. The other newcomer, Ken Higgenbotham of Trinity (Texas), was released.
PACKERS PLAY EAGLES NEXT; TWO HURT IN FIRST VICTORY
AUG 25 (Portland-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers went back to work today at Portland University in preparation for their non-league game against the Philadelphia Eagles here Saturday night. Coach Vince Lombardi, leading a happy crew in view of the team's first victory of the season Sunday, noted two injuries out of the 24-17 battle with the San Francisco 49ers. Tackle Tom Saidock injured his knee and tackle Gary Raid, playing on a kickoff, bit his tongue and required eight stitches to close the wound. What's worse Raid can't eat and has a difficult time talking. Lombardi praised the club's offensive line for its work against the 49ers and pointed out that Forrest Gregg played a "good game." Gregg is at offensive right tackle. He also praised Billy Butler, the rookie who went the distance at left safety in place of the injured Emlen Tunnell. "Billy's a tough kid," Vince said. Tunnell, bothered by a broken bone in his hand, will see some action against the Eagles. Some of the work in camp this week will be on rushing the passer. "We didn't get as good a rush on the passer as I'd like," Lombardi said, adding: "But Bill Quinlan and Dave Hanner played fine games." Howie Ferguson, the injured fullback, was held out of the 49er game for the purpose of giving his shoulder more rest. He'll be used some against the Packers. The next cut in personnel likely will be made after the Philly game, although Lombardi may drop one player this week. The squad will return to Green Bay Sunday. Joining the club then will be Bobby Dillon, who announced his unretirement in Temple, Tex., Saturday night. He has received a leave of absence from his job.
PACKER BLOCKERS FLEXING NEW MUSCLES; FRONT LINE IS BUILT MOSTLY OF LEFTOVERS
AUG 25 (Milwaukee Journal) - After Vince Lombardi and his staff looked at the movies of last year's lost season,
the new general manager and coach of the Green Bay Packers said, "The first thing we've got to do is strengthen the offensive line." Two NFL exhibition games have now been played and one of the encouraging things is the work of the front line blockers. They give hope that Green Bay's running attack will return to respectability. The Packers rushed for 190 yards in losing to the Chicago Bears in the last minute, 19-16, and they gained 163 yards on the ground in beating the 49ers at San Francisco Sunday, 24-17. After the 49er game, Lombardi gave credit to the blockers. "This was a victory for the offensive line." he said, "make no mistake about it. Their blocking was very good." He did not single out any individual. "They were very good as a group," he said. Red Hickey, San Francisco's new coach, agreed. "That's the best Packer offensive line I've seen in years," he said. Oddly, Lombardi made only one trade to strengthen the line. Jim Ringo, the all-pro center, came back and Jerry Kramer at guard and Forrest Gregg, Bob Skoronski and Norm Masters at tackle were Green Bay's property already. Fred (Fuzzy) Thurston was obtained from the champion Baltimore Colts for linebacker Marv Matuszak. Thurston, a native of Altoona, Wis., is Kramer's running mate at guard. John Dittrich of Cudahy, a former Wisconsin star, currently backs up the guards. Gregg, Skoronski and Kramer have always been rated as future stars of the league. Gregg and Skoronski put in their rookie season in 1956, then went into service. Their departure made the job that much tougher for Lisle Blackbourn, then Green Bay's head coach, and he finally traded away Tobin Rote to get replacements. The first linemen obtained from Detroit, guard Jim Salsbury and tackle Oliver Spencer, never did do much for Green Bay. Salsbury now has retired and Spencer has been traded back to Detroit, where, apparently, he is happier and working once again. Meanwhile, Gregg came back from the service last year but did not live up to his promise. Perhaps he needed another year to get his edge back and besides, the whole Packers team was under par in the disastrous season under Scooter McLean. Skoronski came back this season ready to play. Masters has kept coming and now, in his third Packer season, he give the Packers three good offensive tackles. This is one of the few positions where Green Bay has depth of any sort. It also means Gregg can be used at guard, if necessary. Masters, incidentally, also was picked up from Detroit in the Rote trade, as was Don McIlhenny, the halfback who seems to have found new life under Lombardi and his staff.
PACKERS DICKERING FOR GIANTS' QB...HEINRICH, NOT SHAW
AUG 25 (Milwaukee Sentinel) - Packer Coach Vince Lombardi is reported dickering with the New York Giants for one of their five quarterbacks, and, surprisingly, he wants Don Heinrich, rather than George Shaw. A Giants' spokesman admitted talks had been started over a possible trade, and that while Heinrich is Lombardi's first choice, the Packer pilot may settle for Shaw.
PACKERS DRILL FOR EAGLE TILT
AUG 25 (Portland, OR) - Coach Vince Lombardi called for a morning workout Tuesday for his 47 Green Bay Packer players. The team arrived Monday for a week of drills and a meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles Saturday night. The squad has been headquartered at Portland University. Defensive end Emlen Tunnell, who suffered a broken hand in Green Bay's exhibition opener with the Chicago Bears, is expected to play Saturday. The Packers have a 1-1 record to date, losing 19-16 to the Bears and defeating San Francisco, 24-17.
KC BUSINESSMEN PLEDGE $250,000 FOR GRID TEAM
AUG 25 (Kansas City) - Thirty-five Kansas City businessmen have pledged $250,000 to back the city's application for a franchise in the new pro football American League, a spokesman for the group said Monday. Businessman David Breese said the group had made formal application to Lamar Hunt, Dallas oilman who is organizer of the new conference. Breese heads the Kansas City group.
PACKER TICKET TOTAL MAY HIT 27,000
AUG 26 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers' season ticket total for the four games in City Stadium could reach 27,000. That was an estimate today from Verne Lewellen, Packer administrative assistant, who revealed that the season sale already has passed the total of a year ago. The figure in '58 was 26,078. Lewellen said the demand for season tickets continues to be brisk but time is growing short. The sale will end on Saturday, Sept. 5, which also will be the date for the start
of individual game tickets. Individual game tickets for the Bear game are no longer available since the game has been a sellout for more than a month. However, fans can still see the Bear game by purchasing a season ticket. The City Stadium card: Bears Sept. 27, Lions Oct. 4, 49ers Oct. 11, and Redskins Nov. 22. Good seats are available for the other three games. Individual game tickets for the Packers' two games in Milwaukee County Stadium will go on sale Sept. 1. The Packers play the Rams Oct. 18 and the Colts Nov. 15 in Milwaukee. Earl Falck is director of tickets in Green Bay and Bob Schwartz handles the Milwaukee sale. Meanwhile, the Packers are getting heavy work every day in Portland, Ore., where they'll take on the Eagles in a non-league game Saturday night. Coach Vince Lombardi is anxious to get another look at his rookies and undoubtedly will play most of them. In addition, veteran fullback Howie Ferguson is scheduled to play some vs. the Eagles. His injured shoulder is healed enough to warrant a test. The Packers will be going for Victory No. 2. They nosed out the 49ers 24-17 after an earlier loss to the Bears 19-16.
CARMICHAEL EXITS OVER KO RETURNS, LONG HIS SPECIALTY
AUG 27 (Portland-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Long kickoff returns figure heavily in the football career of Al Carmichael, the Packers' first draft choice in 1953. Carmichael was placed on waivers Wednesday night by Coach Vince Lombardi, who, in turn, praised the work of George Dixon, the rookie who returned a kickoff 96 yards against the 49ers in San Francisco Sunday. Carmichael, 29, set the NFL record for the longest kickoff return when he returned one 106 yards for a touchdown against the Bears in Green Bay in 1956...'CAN REALLY HELP': Dixon, an unknown from Bridgeport, was called by Lombardi "a big fast boy who can really help. And we do need a fast breakaway runner." Carmichael's departure leaves the club with three right halfbacks - Don McIlhenny, Alex Hawkins and Dixon. The left halfbacks are Paul Hornung, Lew Carpenter and Tim Brown. Carpenter also shares the fullback spot with Jim Taylor, Dave Smith and Howie Ferguson. Joe Francis is working at both quarterback and HB. Carmichael, the former Southern California star, played right and left halfback during his six league seasons but never became a "regular" at either one. He specializes chiefly in punt and kickoff returns. The Packers are now down to 45 players. Lombardi expects to get an additional look at his rookie backs in the non-leaguer against the Philadelphia Eagles here Saturday night. Up for showing likely will be Hawkins, Dixon, Smith and possibly Brown...LOST FIRST TWO: The newcomers likely will get a rugged test since the Eagles are in a bad way, having lost their first two games. Also coming in for a look will be Boyd Dowler, A.D. Williams and possible Al Romine at ends. Williams was disappointing to the coaching staff against the 49ers, while Dowler was confined to punting. Dowler has shown some possibility in practice. Romine was recently shifted from defensive halfback to offensive end. Saturday night's game will start at 11 o'clock. Green Bay time, and the contest will be broadcast over WJPG. The Packers will return to their St. Norbert College base Sunday night. Waiting for them will be Bobby Dillon, the ace Packer defensive back who decided to come out of retirement and play one more season.
MYSTERIOUS KRAMER CASE GETS AIRING IN MAGAZINE
AUG 27 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Ron Kramer case has always been a mystery. The big Packer is sitting in the Air Force and from what we've heard, doing nothing. Ron refuses to sign an injury wavier so the services can't use him for football. There seems to be a deep dark feeling that the AF wanted the fierce-playing Kramer on its football team. Anyhow, the October issue of Cavalier is out with a pistol of an article entitled, "The Great Service Servant-Athlete Swindle," and, lo and behold, our Ron is the subject of three choice paragraphs as follows: "Ron Kramer, the Michigan and Green Bay Packer star end, could tell Mr. Price (Rep. Melvin Price, D-Ill., leader of the government's special manpower committee who is investigating alleged servant-athlete practices) a story too, and Ron is at nearby (to Washington) Fort Meyer, Va., quite accessible to Mr. Price, if he wants to ask. Seems Kramer, an Air Force ROTC man, was called to active duty and taken in on a waiver after failing the physical examination. The next stop for him was Bolling Air Force Base. But Ron was as a spoil-sport. He just refused to play football. He had a bad knee and he was going to save it for Green Bay where the pay is better. You remember the old service saying, "we can't make you do it - but we can make you sorry you didn't.' Kramer began to get some of that - and once more he turned out to be a spoil-sport. He mentioned what was going on to a couple of newspapermen on the coast and one in New York and they gave out with a few growls and the Bolling people ran like hell. When the Kramer situation cooled off, he was transferred to Fort Myer, where they don't have a football team. There was no need for this type of
intelligence officer at Bolling, the Public Information Officer explained. Question: What job would he have done at Bolling then if he had played football? Mr. Price can get the answer when he finds out what the other stars do when they're not playing. Should be very interesting?" Smelly? The Packers had another case like Kramer, except that this player went in, failed to pass the physical, sat around a couple of months and then was released. But this particular player wasn't as famous as Kramer!
FRANCIS TO START AT QB AGAINST EAGLES
AUG 28 (Portland-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Sophomore Joe Francis will start at quarterback for the Packers in their non-league game against the Eagles here Saturday night. Francis, a star at Oregon State which is in nearby Corvallis, will be making his first appearance at QB against a league opponent this year. He quarterbacked and played halfback in the recent squad game. Coach Vince Lombardi, in selecting Francis, said that this will be Joe's major chance to show his stuff. The other three veteran quarterbacks - Bart Starr, Babe Parilli and Lamar McHan - all played in the first two games. Starr started in the 19-16 loss to the Bears, and Parilli started in the 24-17 victory over the 49ers. McHan also played in both games. Francis will be opposed by another big favorite out here - Norm Van Brocklin, the Eagles' ace and a onetime star at the University of Oregon. Local papers are billing the game as a battle between Francis and Van Brocklin. Lombardi announced that two players will be held out of action due to injuries - tackle Gary Raid, who bit his tongue in the 49er game, requiring eight stitches, and Tom Saidock, who hurt his knee. Boyd Dowler, the long-geared rookie from Colorado, is expected to get his first start. He'd be at right offensive end in place of veteran Gary Knafelc. All of the other College All Star players are expected to see some action, with the exception of Raid. Andy Cvercko will be at offensive guard and Bobby Jackson at defensive halfback. The Packers scrimmaged some Thursday, the object being to score from inside the 15-yard line on running plays. Veteran Al Carmichael, who was placed on waivers Wednesday, is headed for Calgary in the Canadian League. He'll go there if no NFL
team claims him by today when waivers expire. The Packers will return to their St. Norbert College training base Sunday and start getting ready for their clash with the New York Giants in Bangor, Me., Sept. 5. Several player cuts are expected after the Eagles game. The squad is now down to 46 players. Bobby Dillon, veteran defensive back who recently became un-retired, will join the Packers when they return home. Linebacker Ray Nitschke, now in service, will join the squad Sept. 6.
LOMBARDI PLANS TEST FOR FRANCIS SATURDAY
AUG 28 (Milwaukee Journal) - The Green Bay Packers and Philadelphia Eagles will meet in the late, late show at Portland, Ore., Saturday night. Their NFL exhibition game will start at 11 o'clock, Milwaukee time, and will be broadcast on WTMJ, the Milwaukee Journal radio station, with Mike Walden on the microphone. Vince Lombardi, seeking his second victory against one defeat in the game that don't count, will start Joe Francis at quarterback, Boyd Dowler at end and Alex Hawkins at halfback. Francis, the Hawaiian native who played single wing tailback at Oregon State, will get his first outside competition of his second pro season. He was unimpressive at quarterback in the intrasquad game, then was switched to halfback, where he ran well, and made a sensational pass catch. He did not play in the 19-16 defeat by the Chicago Bears in Milwaukee or in the 24-17 triumph over the 49ers in San Francisco Sunday. Dowler, 6 foot 5 inch Colorado speed boy, replaces veteran Max McGee in the starting lineup. Dowler will get his first test since reporting from the College All-Stars. Hawkins, second draft choice from South Carolina, will get his first real tryout, too. How long Francis plays probably depends on how he does. Veterans Bart Starr, Babe Parilli and Lamar McHan, the former Chicago Cardinal, will be ready to take over. Lombardi especially wants to take long looks at Parilli and McHan as he decides on his quarterbacks. Starr, who did not play at San Francisco, was the top contender for the job when the team left for the Coast trip. After Saturday night's game, Lombardi is expected to begin concentrating on the lineup he will take into the league opener September 27. The Packers are in good shape physically, aside from defensive tackle Tom Saidock and defensive back Emlen Tunnell. Saidock, obtained from Philadelphia in a trade, will sit this one out with a sore knee. Veteran Jerry Helluin will replace him. Tunnell, purchased from the New York Giants, probably will rest his broken hand for the second straight game. Wally Cruice of Milwaukee scouted the Eagles in their 24-21 defeat by the Bears at Lynn, Mass., last Saturday night. He reported that Philadelphia's strong points continued to be quarterback Norm Van Brocklin throwing and Tommy McDonald and Pete Retzlaff catching. The Eagles have several rookies in their front line blocking and not much of a running game. Their defense is large and veteran Jerry Norton and Tom Brookshier aces in the secondary. Philadelphia opened its exhibition season with a 21-17 victory over the New York Giants. So Buck Shaw's team, like Lombardi's Packers, has a 1-1 record. The Packers will fly back to Green Bay Sunday. They will spend the week at their St. Norbert College training quarters, then head to the East Coast for exhibitions against the Giants in Bangor, Me., and the Redskins in Winston-Salem, N.C. Lombardi reduced his squad to 44 Thursday by asking waivers on defensive back Bill Butler, a native of Berlin, Wis., who played at Chattanooga University.
ONLY 4 PACKER TELECASTS
AUG 29 (Milwaukee Sentinel) - The CBS television network announced Friday that 10 Packer games will be telecast this fall, but only four will be shown in the Milwaukee area. WITI-TV, the local outlet, has been told by Packer General Manager Vince Lombardi that it must black out Milwaukee for all games played in Green Bay and here. "Lombardi told us that Channel 6 can be seen in Green Bay," WITI-TV Station Manager Terry Lee said Friday. "Despite our protests in getting only four Packer games for the season, he wouldn't budge." Last year WXIX-TV (Channel 18) picked up all four Green Bay games but its signal could not be picked up in Green Bay. "The league rule says stations within a 75 mile radius of the site of the game must be blacked out," Lee continued. "We're more than 100 miles away from Green Bay, but they've come up with different interpretations of the rules. On the other hand, WBAY-TV, Green Bay, is being allowed to pick up the Packers' two league games in Milwaukee." Milwaukee viewers, therefore, will not see a league game until October 25 when the Packers play the Colts in Baltimore. The three other Packer games to be shown are November 1 against the Giants in New York, November 8 against the Bears in Chicago and November 26 against the
Lions in Detroit. WITI-TV will also pick up the Bear-Cardinal game November 29; Colts-49ers, December 5; Steelers-Bears December 6; Colts-Rams, December 12 and Lions-Bears, December 13. Ray Scott is returning to do the play-by-play on all Packer games with Tony Canadeo, ex-Green Bay great, making his debut as color man and analyst.
PACKERS FACE EAGLES TONIGHT
AUG 29 (Portland-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Now it's Alex Hawkins' turn! He's the third of three highly-touted Packer halfbacks to get his chance to sparkle when the Packers battle the Eagles here tonight. Kickoff is set for 11 o'clock, Green Bay time, and the game will be broadcast on Press-Gazette Radio Station WJPG. The other two halfbacks, Tim brown and George Dixon, already have displayed considerable ability in earlier games. Brown, a left half, led the Bay is rushing in the Squad and Bear games. Dixon, a right halfback along with Hawkins, raced a kickoff back 96 yards in the victory over the 49ers last Sunday. Brown is operating behind Paul Hornung and Lew Carpenter, while Don McIlhenny is the only veteran right half now that Al Carmichael has been waivered away. Another rookie back may get a good test tonight - Dave Smith, the fullback from Ripon College, who has seconded Jim Taylor. Also to be tested will be Howie Ferguson, the veteran who has had trouble with his shoulder. Coach Vince Lombardi plans to start Hawkins at right half and Boyd Dowler at right end tonight. Dowler, looking better every day in practice, catches the ball well. He'll start in place of veteran Gary Knafelc. The Packers' starting quarterback will be Joe Francis, the sophomore who played his college football only 50 miles from here - at Oregon State. Francis will be getting his major chance. Also due for action will be Bart Starr, Babe Parilli and Lamar McHan. The Eagles will open with quarterbacks Norm Van Brocklin, the big favorite up here since he played at the University of Oregon. Walt Kowalczyk and Tom McDonald will be halfbacks, and Clarence Peaks at fullback. Coach Buck Shaw's Green Shirts are fresh from a hot quarter and they expect to keep that way against the Packers. Van Brocklin led the Eagles to 21 points in a last-quarter flurry against the Bears last weekend. That made the Bears' final victory 24-21. In an earlier game, the Eagles downed the New York Giants, 21 to 17. The Packers are also 1-1 with a 19-16 loss to the Bears added to the victory over 'Frisco. The key to the Eagles' success is Bobby Walston, who was the clubs' and one of the league's top pass catchers until last year. He's been looking good in the early training and will start at right end. Pete Retzlaff, former Lion, will open at left end. Nearly 25,000 are expected to watch the game promoted by the Oregon Sports Attractions. The Packers will return to Green Bay in a chartered United Airlines plane Sunday night - around 10:30...The Packer squad was cut to 45 Friday when defensive back Billy Butler, a rookie from the University of Chattanooga and Berlin, Wis., was placed on waivers.
