Preseason: Green Bay Packers (4-0) 35, St. Louis Cardinals 14
Monday September 5th 1960 (at Green Bay)
GAME RECAP (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE)
(GREEN BAY) - The Packers scored five touchdowns in the same game for the first time this season and continued their murderous defensive play in whipping the St. Louis Cardinals 35 to 14 before 30,668 of the faithful at City Stadium Labor Day afternoon. And Packerland had to admit today that the Packers offer a promise of some real excitement for the 1960 season. The Packers have now scored 70 points in their last two games, starting with a 35-7 victory over the Bears in Milwaukee a week ago. And they've got an eight-game winning streak going. Green Bay hasn't lost since Nov. 15, 1959, when the Colts nipped our forces 28-24. The Packers followed with four straight wins to end the season and now have four straight non-league triumphs on the books. And they're the only unbeaten team in the "grapefruit" league today. The Packers have two non-leaguers left before opening against the big, bad Bears here Sept. 25. They battle the Cowboys in Minneapolis next Sunday and then meet the Redskins in Winston-Salem Sept. 24. The Packers were methodical and at the same time human in polishing off the Cardinals. They opened a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, advanced to 21-7 at the half, and then stepped away with two quick TDs in the fourth quarter. Green Bay blew two other TD chances - one with a penalty that nullified a TD pass and the other with a fumble on the Cardinal 2-yard line. But there were no complaints from Joe Phan, who appreciates a victory. The Packers produced 415 yards, including 217 in the air, and recovered three Cardinal fumbles in coasting to the win. Nothing came easy for the Packers, who scored the TDs on drives of 80, 36, 61, 81 and 20 yards. This was sort of a personal victory for Lamar McHan, the onetime Cardinal who was going against his old boss and mates for the first time since being traded to Green Bay over a year ago. McHan started and worked the first half. He engineered three touchdowns but should have had five but for a fumble by Dick Pesonen almost on the Cardinal goal line and a penalty on his pass to Max McGee, who had scored. Lamar scored the first TD himself on an end run, threw six yards to Ron Kramer for the second and pitched to Tom Moore 24 yards for the third. He left with a 21-7 halftime edge. Bart Starr toiled the second half and operated an 81-yard drive for one touchdown - a three-yard blast by Paul Hornung, and a 20-yard push for the second - a seven-yard scamper by ex-Card Don Brown. The Cards drove 63 yards in seven plays for their first TD, a 24-yard pass from John Roach to Sonny Randle in the second quarter, and 83 in 15 plays for their second TD, a five-yard rush by Bobby Joe Conrad. The game gave Coach Vince Lombardi and Aides Phil Bengtson, Norb Hecker, Bill Austin and Red Cochran a good chance to look at the new prospects. Willie Wood saw considerable action on defense, playing three spots. Pesonen, Moore, Brown and Jarus worked in the offense backfield. The big blaster of the day was Solid Jim Taylor, who crashed, slid and dodged 80 yards in 10 carries. His running, chiefly 14 and 27-yard trips, set up the Bays' first two TDs. Airwise, Max caught two for 72 yards and drove the Card defense batty. Unfortunately, McGee's best catch of the day, a touchdown shot, was killed by penalty. McHan and Starr each tried 11 passes, with McHan completing five and Starr six. Hornung had 1 for 1. McHan rolled up 272 yards in the first half; Starr 143 in the second. The Packer defense gave up 222 yards, including 124 by passing, and the ringleader was Willie Davis, who came in with another fiery showing. The defense recovered one fumble, Hank Gremminger doing the honors, and grabbed three Card passes - one each by John Symank, Bill Forester and Bob Freeman. The rock-ribbed unit has allowed an average of only 10 points in four wins. It was a shame the Packers didn't score after receiving the opening kickoff. McHan and McGee combined on a 34-yard aerial advance, Taylor made a first down on two carries and then McHan hurled to McGee for six. But a holding penalty killed that and a clipping penalty on the next play put the Bays farther back. Dale Meinert intercepted McHan's pass to end the threat. The Packers scored the next two times they had their hands on the ball. McHan hurled 38 yards to McGee to set up the first TD drive. Taylor zoomed up the middle for 14 and then Hornung passed to Knafelc for 12 to the eight. At that point, McHan took off to his right and skipped down the sideline for the TD. Hornung kicked the first of five extra points. Symank's interception gave the Bays the ball right back. Hornung moved 7 and Taylor hit around left end for 27 to the Card 2, twisting away from two Cardinals en route. After an offside penalty on the Bays, McHan hit Ron Kramer for the touchdown up the middle. It was 14-0. After an exchange of punts, the Cards went on their TD drive in the second quarter. Roach pitched for 11 yards to Randle and Childress gaining 15 to the Bay 37. An interference penalty on Symank, who wasn't near the ball, set the Cards in business on the Pack 24. Roach's flip up the middle to Randle made it 14-7, with Jerry Perry converting. The Cards recovered Don Brown's fumble on the next kickoff, but Forester ended that threat by intercepting Roach's pass on the Packer 39. Pesonen and Moore took over as the running backs and there was a TD in eight plays. Pesonen and Moore gained 16 yards and then McHan passed to Lew Carpenter for 21 yards. After two more plays, Moore took McHan's short pass over the line of scrimmage and raced untouched for 24 yards to a TD and a 21-7 lead. Moments later, the Bays had a chance to make it 28-7. Gremminger recovered a wild lateral on a "garbage" play and the Bays had it on the Card 29 just before the half, Pesonen made 11 in two trips and Moore lugged 15 in three rides to the three. Pesonen hit off right tackle but fumbled and Fuller recovered. After a punt exchange to start the third period, King Hill led the Cards to a touchdown. The big quarterback opened with a 15-yard run and then completed four passes to the Packer 11. Two plays later Conrad took Hill's lateral and scored from five yards out. Starr then launched the Packers on an 81-yard TD drive. There were four big plays, Starr's 15 and 16-yard passes to Hornung, a 20-yard gain on a pass to Dowler, who lateraled to Taylor, and an 18-yard run by Taylor to the Card 8. A holding penalty put the ball on the Card 3, from where Hornung crashed over at 5:55 of the
fourth period for a 28-14 score. The Pack forced a punt and Wood took the ball on the Packer 35 and wheeled 45 yards down the west sidelines to the Card 20. With the crowd yelling "we wanna touchdown," the Packers scored in three plays. Starr pitched to Dowler for 12 yards, Brown ran one at left end, and then Brown skipped wide to the right for the TD. The Cards threatened near the end but Freeman made a leaping interception of a pass out of Richards' hands in the end zone.
ST. LOUIS - 0 7 7 0 - 14
GREEN BAY - 14 7 0 14 - 35
ST. LOUIS GREEN BAY
First Downs 13 24
Rushing-Yards-TD 23-98-1 42-198-3
Att-Comp-Yd-TD-Int 22-9-124-1-3 23-12-217-2-1
Sack Yards Lost 20 20
Total Yards 222 415
Fumbles-lost 1-1 2-2
Turnovers 4 1
Yards penalized 7-56 7-69
SCORING
1st - GB - Lamar McHan, 8-yard run (Paul Hornung kick) GREEN BAY 7-0
1st - GB - Ron Kramer, 2-yard pass from McHan (Hornung kick) GREEN BAY 14-0
2nd - STL - Sonny Randle, 24-yard pass from John Roach (Gerry Perry kick) GREEN BAY 14-7
2nd - GB - Tom Moore, 24-yard pass from McHan (Hornung kick) GREEN BAY 21-7
3rd - STL - Bobby Joe Conrad, 5-yard run (Perry kick) GREEN BAY 21-14
4th - GB - Hornung, 3-yard run (Hornung kick) GREEN BAY 28-14
4th - GB - Don Brown, 7-yard run (Hornung kick) GREEN BAY 35-14
RUSHING
GREEN BAY - Jim Taylor 10-80, Paul Hornung 12-38 1 TD, Tom Moore 7-28, Dick Pesonen 6-24, Lamar McHan 3-14 1 TD, Don Brown 3-13 1 TD, Lew Carpenter 1-1
ST. LOUIS - Joe Childress 7-32, King Hill 2-25, Mel Hammack 9-21, Frank Mestnick 2-10, Bobby Joe Conrad 2-6 1 TD, John Roach 1-4
PASSING
GREEN BAY - Lamar McHan 11-5-123 2 TD 1 INT, Bart Starr 11-6-82, Paul Hornung 1-1-12
ST. LOUIS - John Roach 8-4-37 1 TD 2 INT, King Hill 14-5-87 1 INT
RECEIVING
GREEN BAY - Max McGee 2-72, Lew Carpenter 2-31, Paul Hornung 2-31, Boyd Dowler 2-25, Tom Moore 1-25 1 TD, Gary Knafelc 1-12, Ron Kramer 1-6 1 TD
ST. LOUIS - Sonny Randle 3-38 1 TD, Bobby Joe Conrad 2-47, Perry Richards 2-24, Mel Hammack 2-15
PACKERS THAT GOOD? CARDINALS THAT BAD?
SEPT 6 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Are the Packers that food or are the St. Louis (nee Chicago) Cardinals that bad? This was the question in both City Stadium dressing rooms Monday afternoon, particularly on the visitors' side, where bald Frank (Pop) Ivy, the Cardinals' youthful head man, pondered. Ivy, who said soberly. "They kicked us around pretty good," admitted, "It's the poorest we've looked. But maybe that's because we were playing a good team - I don't know." Pop, once a Cardinal star himself, further conceded, "The Packers are a lot better team then any we've played so far." Again, however, he qualified his observation with, "At least, they played a lot better than any we've played. What'll happen in October you don't know." Ivy was not minimizing the Packers' accomplishments, he wanted it known. "There was nothing in the way of breaks involved in our losing by that score. It could have been worse. The Packer pass receivers were getting open a hall of a lot and Taylor (Jim) did an exceptionally good job of running." How did he compare the Packers' two veteran quarterbacks, Lamar McHan, who held forth during the first half, and Bart Starr, who played the second? "I can't see that there's a great deal of difference," he replied. "They both did a good job." Defeat was not the Cards' only woe, Ivy discussed. There members of the Big Red cast were injured, chief among them tackle Ed Culpepper, a former Packer, who suffered a concussion and was left behind at St. Vincent Hospital as a precautionary measure when the team set out for St. Louis. Also hurt were linebacker John Tracy and halfback Billy Stacy, both sustaining leg injuries...The Packers had just pocketed their fourth straight victory, a situation that presumably should have gladdened the heart of Vince Lombardi, their exciting headmaster, and it did - but not for long. He admitted to being "generally satisfied with our performance," but added with pointed alacrity, "just generally, though." "We stopped ourselves too often," Vince rapped. "I never saw so many penalties - offside, in motion, illegal procedure, holding. You can't do that. One of those is too much. We can't do what we did today in a league game." Expanding on this theme, he noted, after examining the day's statistics, "We got the ball from them five times, twice on fumbles and three times on interceptions. If anybody makes that many mistakes against you, you should win." The defense, Lombardi felt, "did well considering the time we had to get ready for it." ("it" being the Cardinals' double wing offense, only one of its kind in pro football)/ Any change in the quarterback situation? "It's no different than it has been," was the forthright reply. "McHan played a fine ball game today," Vince said, "but that's been generally true - the guy I put in there first has done the best job." McHan, starting against his ex-Cardinal mates, maneuvered the Packers to a 21-7 halftime lead before retiring in favor of Starr. Elsewhere in the backfield, Vince finds himself confronted by another pleasant problem. "Brown (Don), Moore (Tom) and Pesonen (Dick) all looked real good," he said, "and Wood (Willie) looked fine, too. We're going to have a tough job deciding on those halfbacks," he grinned. "We've got too many." Vince also had kind words for two of his veteran backs,
observing "Taylor ran very well and Hornung blocked well." This moved him to observe, "We didn't have the ball too much today, did we? How many plays did we have?" "Sixty-five, coach," Business Manager Jack Vainisi informed. "Sixty-five plays? We ran 94 against the Bears last week," Signor Lombardi smiled. "That must be some kind of a record."...Two of the brightest smiles in the Packers dressing room belonged to rookie Tom Moore and veteran Ron Kramer, both recipients of touchdown pitches from McHan in the second quarter. "I was wide open," Moore grinned. "The play before I ran the same pattern and I was wide open so I told Lamar about it, and he called the same play again. It sure was a good feeling," the erstwhile Vanderbilt ace admitted. "It's a great bunch of guys to play with. If I make it, everything will be all right." For Kramer, his six-yard strike from McHan had marked the end of a long personal drought, extending back to his pro debut in 1957. "That's the first one I've had in the league," Ron said. "I didn't catch one my rookie year." (He did, however, finish as the Packers' No. 2 receiver with 28 receptions despite missing the last two games of the season with a leg injury). Ron, troubled by injuries and rustiness last season (he was in service in 1958), adding fervently, "I'm ready to go, now, I hope. There's a lot of talent here though, you know. It's all up to the coach." Diagonally across the room, one of Moore's freshman colleagues, Willie Wood, likewise was all smiles. "I though I was gone," he chuckled, referring to his 45-yard dash with a punt in the fourth quarter. "I guess Nitschke (Ray) slipped and I fell over him." This contretemps ended Willie's excursion on the Cardinal 20. It was the longest return of the "grapefruit" season for Wood, who said simply, "I knew the blocking was going to be to the right, I saw a hole, and off I went." Both McHan and Starr, ever mindful that the day of decision is fast approaching, had little to say about their respective performances. Lamar said grimly, "I just want to play football and forget it," while Starr's only comment was, "It took us too long to get straightened out in the second half." Jim Taylor, fast winning recognition as one of the great fullbacks in Packer history, limped out of the training room bearing a huge bandage on his thigh. "Got a charley horse," he explained. "It pulled out on that lateral from Dowler (Boyd) in the third quarter and never did go back in. I got some ice on it right away and never did go back in the game." "Don't worry about him," locker-mate Fuzzy Thurston advised. "He'll be ready when the bell rings. It's a pleasure to block for a man like that. You know if you get him an inch, he'll get a mile." How about that double wing? "It's different," huge, amiable Hank Jordan agreed. "We run up against pretty much the same thing all season long with the other teams we meet, but only had one week to get ready for this thing. Our coaching staff figured out a way to make it simple, though," Hank added. "Our trouble was too many missed tackles. That's got to get better."...LARGE ORDER: Gov. Gaylor Nelson expressed his hopes for a "perfect season" in presenting the 1959 coach of the year award to the Packers' Vince Lombardi, who probably would settle for 10-2 right now. "Our congratulations, best wishes and hopes for a perfect season," he said in making the presentation to Lombardi between halves. He also presented the rookie of the year award to Packer end Boyd Dowler with "best wishes for a successful season and many successful seasons to come." At the same time, the Packers, single file along the sidelines, presented 40 autographed football to as many delighted small fry as a climax to Family Day programming.
BILLY HOWTON TO COWBOYS
SEPT 7 (Cleveland) - The Cleveland Browns today traded end Billy Howton to the Dallas Cowboys for a draft choice. Howton, acquired by the Browns from Green Bay in a trade prior to the 1959 season, had said he was retiring this year. He apparently changed his mind, but Coach Paul Brown said he was trading the 6-foot-2, 195-pound end because it would be unfair to the other men to bring in a man who had missed seven weeks of training.
CARDS GIFTS AIDED PACK ATTACK: VINCE
SEPT 7 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Packer Coach Vince Lombardi inspected the Cards' defense closely - in the pictures - to make sure of the Bays' offense. "They made some mistakes and these helped us along," said Vince, indicating these kinds of gifts can't be expected in the future - especially in league games. The Cards stuck with rookie Bobby Towns as a defensive halfback despite the fact that he was at the mercy of Packer pass receivers. It was good experience for Towns but costly to the team. Bobby likely will dream of Max for man nights. McGee caught three passes for 97 yards in the first 10 minutes of the game and one was a 25-yard TD throw that was called back by penalty. Lombardi also noted that the Cards' tackling was not up to par, thus helping build up the Bays' 415-yard offensive total. The Card defense was pretty much veteran, however, other than Towns. But even the Card veterans were making mistakes, the films showed...Regardless of the opposition, the Packers now have scored 70 points in their last two games and 106 in their four straight non-league wins for an average of 26.5 per. That's impressive. The Bays' defense had been exceptionally steady, allowing the four foes just 41 points - an average of only 10.2. Pitt scored 13, the Giants and Bears seven each, and the Cards 14...Willie Davis, the Packers' new defensive end obtained from the Browns in the trade for A.D. Williams, continues to set a ferocious pace in the Bays' defensive line. He led the defense with seven clean tackles against the Cards. Henry Jordan had four clean hits, and Willie Wood three...The Packer defense should be familiar with the Dallas Cowboys' offense in Sunday's non-wheeler at Minneapolis. Cowboy Coach Tom Landry is using the offense system Lombardi brought with him from New York. Landry, in turn, will use the defenses he employed while with the Giants. It should be an interesting reunion. Besides, the Packers will look at three old buddies - Nate Borden, Don McIlhenny and Billy Butler...Fuzzy Thurston led the Packer offense against the Cards with four clean blocks. Forrest Gregg, who saw some action at guard, had three. When Gregg was at guard, Norm Masters worked at his right tackle spot...If Badger QB and Packer draftee Dale Hackbart is reporting to the Packers, Lombardi doesn't know about it. There was a news report out of Madison Monday that he had finished baseball and would like to try out for football, but Hackbart hasn't been available for comment...HEALTH REPORT: The Packers were all back in good working order today, including Jim Taylor and Tom Bettis who suffered leg hurts. A brief workout was held this morning - just before the temp reached 90. Cardinal Ed Culpepper, the former Packer tackle who suffered a concussion in Monday's game, rejoined the Cards Tuesday. He was kept in the hospital here Monday night...NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle will attend the Packer-Cowboy game. It will be his first look at the Bays. Other interested spectators will be the owners of the proposed Minneapolis-St. Paul franchise. Bert Rose, new general manager of the club, will start work Sept. 17. He is finishing up his duties as publicity director of the Rams...Curly Lambeau, the Packer founder and coach for 30 years, viewed the Pack-Card game from his special spot in the press box and noted: "The Packers will be right up there this season."...There's a new and refreshing look about the Packer game programs. The Packers are wearing civilian "dress" clothes in their pictures - just like the college boys. That old slogan about the Pack still holds, you know: "The pro team with the college spirit."
HOWTON TO JOIN COWBOYS TODAY
SEPT 8 (Delafield, WI) - Billy Howton, the former Green Bay Packers end, was expected to join the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL at their St. John's Military Academy training camp today. The Packers and Cowboys play in Minneapolis Sunday. Howton was obtained Wednesday from the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a future Dallas draft choice. Howton, 30, is a native of Littlefield, Tex. He was the second draft choice of the Packer eight years ago following a collegiate career at Rice Institute, Houston, Tex.
STADIUM SOLD OUT FOR 3 LEAGUE GAMES
SEPT 8 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - So who's excited about the Packers? They've won four straight non-leaguers and eight games in a row since last Nov. 15. And now City Stadium is sold out for three of the four league games and the fourth undoubtedly will go all the way. Success along the grapefruit trail has produced a lot of wild dreaming - as regards the league season, and that maybe is not so good. More on that further down in today's talk. First, that explosive ticket situation: General Manager Vince Lombardi announced today that a total of 31,000 season tickets have been sold for the four league games at the Stadium - the Bears, Lions, Colts and Cowboys. This really fractures - by about 4,000 - all Packer season ticket records. Lombardi pointed out: "Since the Packers have to allocate all remaining tickets in the stadium to the visiting teams, this means that the stadium has been completely sold out. The only possible exception is the Dallas Cowboys game Nov. 13, when the visiting team may not use up its quota." Thus, there will be no individual game sale of tickets for any game but the Cowboy tussle. On behalf of the entire Packer organization, Lombardi expressed thanks to the fans of Packerland "for our marvelous support. At the same time, we regret that many fans will be unable to buy tickets for individual league games." The "overflow" from the Green Bay games will now have to go to Milwaukee to see the Packers in the flesh. Season ticket sales for the two games in County Stadium have passed 12,000 - a new record. The Packers will play the 49ers (Oct. 23) and Rams (Nov. 20) in Milwaukee. The won-lost record? The Packers' success thus far doesn't make the club an "automatic" for the league season - by any stretch of the imagination. The best thing that can be said about the four wins is that the club has played with a great amount of vim, vigor and vitality. The Packers are eager and that love and zest for combat has paid off. Besides, they have shown gradual improvement in the mechanics of the game - individually and as a team. Non-league games are meant to be pretty much "test cases" - plus a sort of timing ground. The games offer a test for the new prospects and give the holdovers an opportunity to sharpen their timing - their teeth, if you will. The Packers have had some "help," as it were, in two of the games since the foes were not always up to full strength. The Steelers (beaten 20-13) were top-drawer all the way and the victory was tough to come by. The Giants, beaten 16-7, displayed old Charley Conerly in only the first quarter and he produced the lone score, but Sam Huff came off the injury list to anchor a top-flight defense against the Pack. The Bays missed facing two of the top backs in the league in their two 35-point games. The Bears didn't use Rick Casares, who had the flu, and the Cardinals could not employ the great John Crow, who hurt his shoulder. The Bears also kept out Johnny Morris and Willie Galimore played only one quarter. It seems almost brutal to dampen our boys' wins but, gosh fans, let's not get excited! Speaking about winning, do you realize: Since Lombardi took over the Packers in the winter of 1958-59, they have won 15 out of 22 games played thus far. The non-league record last year was 4-2 and the league mark was 7-5. Add that to the present 4-0 and you have 15-7. So who's excited about the Packers?...The deluge this morning forced the postponement of the usual a.m. drill until this afternoon. Offense and defense were on the menu for the Cowboy game in Minneapolis Sunday afternoon.
HACKBART JOINS PACK; 10 EX-BAYS WITH FOE
SEPT 9 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Dale Hackbart, the well-known University of Wisconsin quarterback, joined the Packers today. The Packers' fifth draft choice, who decided on a baseball career instead of football last winter, signed a Packer contract Thursday night after reporting at the club's headquarters at St. Norbert College. Coach Vince Lombardi, announcing Hackbart's signing, said the 6-3, 200-pound ex-Badgers will be used at quarterback and defensive halfback - the two positions he handled at Wisconsin. His first task will be quarterback, the toughest position in football. He'll work as the third signalist under veterans Bart Starr and Lamar McHan. A No. 3 QB sport was opened when Joe Francis fractured his leg recently. Francis also was being trained for a second position - offensive halfback. Hackbart changed his mind about football after a fling at baseball. An outfielder, he signed with the Pittsburgh Pirates last spring and then joined Grand Forks in the Northern League, hitting about .240. Hackbart's signing brings the Packer roster up to 43 players. It was reduced to 42 yesterday when Garney Henley, the 9.6 flanker back, was placed on waivers. Henley made a beeline for Hamilton in the Canadian League where he can step right into a starting job. Hackbart, whose home is in Madison, displayed plenty of pro promise during his Badger career. He led the undermanned Wisconsin to the Big Ten championship and a berth in the Rose Bowl. It's fitting that Hackbart's first public appearance in a Packer uniform will be in Minneapolis - where he played his last game for Wisconsin in November. The Packers play the Cowboys there Sunday. Minnesota fans remember him well. He scored the only touchdown in Wisconsin's 7-0 victory and came up with a key interception to thwart a final last ditch effort by Minnesota in the closing seconds. Sunday night might be a "tough" day for several Packers since the roster might have to be reduced to 40 by that day. The National League voted by telephone yesterday to increase the player limit from 35 to 38 players for the league season. This new limit will take effect on Tuesday (Sept. 20) prior to the first league game. The limit was raised as a means of creating a reservoir of experienced personnel for the new Minneapolis-St. Paul entry next year. Player limits for next year will be dropped down to 35 again. The new team will be permitted to buy three players from each NFL club next winter. The league presently is working on increasing the second cut-down limit. Under previous rules, the roster was to be cut to 38 two weeks prior to the opening game - which would be Sunday, Sept. 11. This figure, however, will have to be increased in view of the new final limit. It may be limited to 40 or 41. Packers will be tackling Packers in Minneapolis - well, er, not quite. But the Cowboys have 10 (count 'em) ex-Packers scattered around their playing roster and, what's more, one of the coaches is an ex-Packer and their personnel expert formerly scouted for the Pack. Eight of the ex's played as Packer veterans - Nate Borden, Billy Butler, Don McIlhenny, Fred Cone, Tom Braatz, Billy Howton, John Dittrich and Doyle Nix. Also with the Bays briefly were Cowboys Kirk Phares and Don Bishop. Tom Dahms, the onetime Packer tackle obtained from the Rams, is now the Cowboys' line coach. Gil Brandt, the Milwaukeean who scouted games and some personnel, is the Cowboys talent chief. Of the veterans, all will probably will see considerable action except Howton who just reported yesterday. He was obtained from the Browns for a draft choice. Howton said he decided to play when a shopping center deal fell through in Houston. Billy's in the construction business there. Nix will start at a cornerbacker spot and Borden will open at left defensive end. McIlhenny will start at left half if his sore ankle isn't troublesome. He shares that spot with L.G. Dupre. Butler is due to start at a safety position...The Packers will fly to Minneapolis in two North Central planes Saturday morning, the first leaving at 9:50 and the second shortly before 11. They'll headquarter at the Nicolet Hotel.
PACKERS ACQUIRE CARDINAL FULLBACK
SEPT 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers Friday acquired fullback Larry Hickman from the St. Louis Cardinals for a future draft choice. The 6-1, 225-pound Hickman, a Baylor alumnus, is in his second pro season.
DALLAS PICKS UP LEWIS, KOWALCZK
SEPT 10 (Delafield, WI) - The Dallas Cowboys have picked up six more men released on waivers by other NFL clubs. Added to the Dallas roster Friday were Woodley Lewis, an end obtained from the St. Louis Cardinals; Mike Sommer, a halfback from Baltimore; Walt Kowalczyk, a fullback from Detroit; Mike Connelly, an offensive guard from Los Angeles; Mike Dukes, a
fullback from San Francisco; and Dick Koein, a tackle from the Chicago Bears. All will report at Dallas next week. Dallas wound up training here today and headed for Minneapolis where the Cowboys meet the Green Bay Packers in an exhibition game Sunday. The Cowboys will return to Dallas Sunday night.
PACKERS BATTLE NEW NFL RIVALS: DALLAS
SEPT 10 (Minneapolis-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers test their muscles or something new and different, the Dallas Cowboys, in Metropolitan Stadium here Sunday afternoon. The Bays will be going for their fifth straight win this season and their ninth in a row, including the four at the end of '59. Dallas, created by the NFL as a 13th team, already has beaten one NFL opponent, the New York Giants, who happen to be defending Eastern Division champs. The Cowboys lost close decisions to the Colts and 49ers and received a lacing from the Rams last week. Kickoff is set for 3:30, Packerland time, and a crowd of around 22,000 is expected. Among the spectators will be NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle and the owners of the proposed Minneapolis-St. Paul entry. The game will give Packer Coach Vince Lombardi one of two final chances to test new material before the league opener against the Bears in Green Bay. The Packers close non-league play against the Redskins in Winston-Salem, N.C., Sept. 17. The major testing will be in the offensive backfield where five new running backs are fighting for duty - Dick Pesonen, who hails from Proctor, Minn., Bob Jarus, Tom Moore, Paul Winslow and Don Brown. All of them figure to get a shot. Moore has shown considerable in the last two games. Winslow was held out of the Cardinal game but may get a good shot vs. the Cowboys. Lombardi announced that he will start Bart Starr at quarterback in the alternating system he has devised for his twin gunners. Lamar McHan will work the second half. The rest of the Packer starting lineups will be the regular openers. One position is undecided - left safety, where the starter will be Em Tunnell or Bobby Freeman. Working with Starr in the backfield will be Paul Hornung, Boyd Dowler and Jim Taylor. Max McGee and Gary Knafelc will open at the ends but Ron Kramer may get plenty of work at spread end in view of his good showing last Sunday vs. the Cards. Others in the line will be tackles Forrest Gregg and Bob Skoronski, Jerry Kramer and Fred Thurston at guard, and Jim Ringo at center. Linebacker Tom Bettis has been hampered with a leg hurt, but he will undoubtedly start. Other defensers are Willie Davis and Bill Quinlan at the ends, Dave Hanner and Hank Jordan at the tackles, Bill Forester and Dan Currie at linebackers, and John Symank, Jess Whittenton, Hank Gremminger and Tunnell or Freeman in the secondary. The Cowboys, under Tom Landry, who like Lombardi is a former Giant aide, will have four former Packers in their starting lineups - Don McIhenny at left end; Nate Borden at defense end; Billy Butler at safety; and Tom Braatz at linebackers. Eddie Le Baron will open at quarterback and Don Heinrich likely will follow. Sharing left half with McIlhenny will be L.G. Dupre, the former Colt. The flanker right will be Frank Clarke, ex-Brownie, and the fullback will be Gene Babb of the 49ers. The Packers are staying at the Nicollet Hotel here. They will fly back on two North Central planes about an hour after the game...Dale Hackbart, the former Wisconsin quarterback signed by the Packers Thursday night, reported for drills Friday, carrying only 180 pounds. "I lost 15 pounds playing baseball," the lanky back grinned, "but I'll get it back." He played with Grand Forks in the spread-out Northern League. "We were on the bus sometimes 13 hours in one sitting," he said. Hackbart spent most of his first drill working with the defensive squad. He is also due for a trial at quarterback.
LOMBARDI PICKS COLTS TO SHADE BEARS FOR WESTERN CROWN
SEPT 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Sizing up the Western Division of the NFL is no easy job, but there are two teams that appear to stand out as championship possibilities, the Chicago Bears and Baltimore Colts. I look for the Bears to be real strong. They've got a lot of momentum because of their strong finish last season, when they won seven games in a row and ended up in
second place, behind Baltimore. When it comes to picking a winner between these two, I have a tendency to stick with the Colts. After all, they are the champions, and they still have Johnny Unitas at quarterback. But the Bears do have that winning streak and no one can say how far forward the momentum will carry them. San Francisco is another club that might do well. The 49ers have very young defensive backs with a lot of speed - and defense is getting more important each year. You can't have a just fair defense and still win. All
the championship clubs have had really fine defensive units - including Baltimore. The Colts have won titles with their defense. Los Angeles has great personnel. The Rams have got the personnel to win anytime. What their troubles are, I can't begin to understand - and I have sufficient troubles of my own so that I don't have to speculate on theirs. But one thing, it's certainly not a lack of ball players that has kept Los Angeles from winning the title. They've got more speed than anybody in either division. Detroit is going through problems because of personnel changeover. Such a situation is hard to evaluate. One thing the Lions have got to find out is if Earl Morrall can do the job at quarterback. They don't know if he is capable. Personally, I think he is, but he is a question mark until he proves himself. I don't know enough about Dallas to make a judgment. The Packers? Our big problem is depth. We don't have it anyplace. Our strong points are our offensive line and defensive linebackers. But we have no depth at all in our offensive backfield and we are lacking it in any amount all over. Without injuries, we could be trouble for everybody. I'm not saying we are a championship team, but we could be right in there. A lot depends on how Bart Starr keeps up. With him and Lamar McHan, we have a little depth at quarterback now. The consensus of opinion - but not mine, you understand - is that we're a shade light at quarterback and need more speed in the backfield. About the speed I agree. We need someone to spell Paul Hornung in the backfield. We were hurt there in the first week of practice when Joe Francis broke his leg. We were hoping he would be able to fill in as a running back. Tom Moore, our rookie back from Vanderbilt, may be able to give us some help as a ball carrier, but because of his having played with the College All Stars, he's behind the rest of the team so far. Two players who could mean a lot to the way we finish could be Boyd Dowler and Emlen Tunnell. Dowler has looked great at end through the exhibition season, and he has tremendous speed. If he plays like he did at the end of last season, it will be a tremendous help. Tunnell did a great job for us last year as a defensive halfback. But his age is against him. You aren't so good anymore when you get old - it happens to everybody - but if he does come through that could be another important factor. For us, the toughest clubs will be the Bears and the Colts. The Bears because they are our traditional opponent, which will always make them hard to beat, and the Colts because they are the defending champions. On paper, we don't figure in as champions because we have too few capable replacements. If we hadn't given those three players to Dallas (Nate Borden, Billy Butler and Don McIlhenny), and if Bobby Dillon hadn't retired, we would have been in much better position. I'll be able to tell more after our first league game. We play the Bears here and a couple of winning streaks will be going on the block. We ended with four in a row last season, and they won seven, so it should be a tremendous game. I can't say too much about the Eastern Division. I have enough to worry about in just his half of the league, and you get out of touch fast. The Giants I know better than any other team over there because of having coached them. I'd say they are going to be considerably weaker because of their age. They have been winning with defense and a place kicker, Pat Summerall, won a lot of games for them with his great kicking. Their quarterback, Charlie Conerly, is another question mark.
AFL OPENS; CARDS THUMP EAGLES 34-13, LA TOPS 49ERS
SEPT 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The new AFL opened its first season Friday night in a single game watched by 21,597 fans. Two NFL exhibition games drew three times that many paying customers. The AFL was launched at Boston, where the favored hometown Patriots were upset 13-10 by the Denver Broncos. Former Green Bay Packer Al Carmichael figured in the Bronco scoring when he took a short flat pass, got away from three Patriot defenders, headed for the sidelines and ran 59 yards for a touchdown on the first play of the second quarter. In the NFL exhibitions, the St. Louis Cardinals made their new hometown debut a successful one by coming from behind to defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 34-13. A crowd of 23,666 watched the action. And at Los Angeles, the Rams, playing before a Coliseum crowd of 51,398, beat the San Francisco 49ers 28-17.
