Green Bay Packers (11-3) 24, Los Angeles Rams (4-10) 17
Sunday December 17th 1961 (at Los Angeles)
GAME RECAP (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE)
(LOS ANGELES) - The Packers are the winningest team in the NFL. They beat the Rams in the Coliseum Sunday afternoon 24 to 17 for their 11th victory against only three defeats for the best percentage, .785, in the world's toughest football. The Eastern Division champion Giants, by tying the Browns, counted 10 victories for a final .789. And it's only fitting and proper that the two best clubs should battle it out for the world title which is what the Giants and Packers will do in Green Bay Dec. 31. The Packers, who beat the top two clubs in the east (Giants and Browns) and scored nine wins in the wild and wooly west, roared from behind in the last two minutes to thrill an audience of 49,169. The men of Vince Lombardi, who now have lost only 12 league games in his three seasons at the helm, were just a shadow of their former selves as this season ended. Only six members of the team that opened the campaign against the Lions back on Sept. 17 figured in that winning TD - Bart Starr, Boyd Dowler, Bob Skoronski, Jim Ringo, Forrest Gregg and Fred Thurston. Rookie Elijah Pitts, the fourth back at the start of the year, scored the winning touchdown on a dazzling 17-yard run around left end and an "old man" in the game, Ben Agajanian, kicked the extra point. And the Packers' two other touchdowns were scored by a sophomore back who subbed for both Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung. That would be Tom Moore, the sweet sophomore who galloped two yards for the first TD that gave Green Bay a 7-0 lead and caught an eight-yard Bart Starr pass for the second TD to give the Pack a 14-3 edge at the half. The Bays suffered three injuries but all are expected to be ready for the title tussle - Taylor, who was stomped on too many times; tackle Norm Masters, ankle; and Johnny Symank, chest. When Taylor finally had to leave there were just two running backs left, Pitts and Moore. The injury to Masters left the offense line without a replacement and Symank's hurt brought forth the grand old gent, Em Tunnell. Hornung couldn't make it from Fort Riley. The Packers displayed their tough fiber when the Rams went ahead 17-14 on a tremendous 90-yard punt return by Dick Bass in the first seconds of the last period. That was a real shock and might have ruined the Bays. But the Packers took the ensuing kickoff back for a game-tying 28-yard field goal by Agajanian. The Rams threatened to regain the lead but Willie Wood ended that by intercepting a Zeke Bratkowski pass. Starr, with "strangers" Pitts, Moore and Lew Carpenter playing key roles, then marched the Packers 66 yards in seven plays against a desperate Ram defense for the winning touchdown. Here's how the Packers scored their final TD of the regulation season: Taylor, slowed down considerably, gained nothing on a pitchout around left end. Dowler, lining up on the left side instead of his usual right, took Starr's pass for 14 yards to the Packer 48. Carpenter gained five yards on a reverse and Moore gained six yards in two trips for the first down on the Ram 41. Dowler, again on the left, took Starr's pass down the middle and then cut sharply to the right while evading tacklers for a 24-yard gain to the 17. Pitts then veered outside left tackle and then turned on the speed to score standing up. That was it - the Packers' defense did the rest, halting the Rams twice in the final 2:53. This unit, anchored by the line, took the ball away on downs on the Ram 26 with two minutes left, thanks to a key tackle by Bill Forester on Bass on a fourth and one situation. After Dowler punted from the Ram 38, the defense held off the Rams until the gun blasted the end of a tedious 14-game schedule. The Packer defense never permitted a serious Ram drive all afternoon. LA got reasonably close three times. Once Danny Villanueva kicked a 17-yard field goal and the other two times Forester and Wood intercepted passes.
PHILLIPS WINS TITLE
Bass scored both Ram TDs. Besides the 90-yard return, he counted on a 55-yard left end run to make it 14-10 near the end of the third period. Bass finished with 95 yards in nine runs. Red Phillips caught 13 passes to beat out Raymond Berry of the Colts for the reception title. The Rams were real rough - as usual. Starr was shaken up several times and Taylor given a fierce pounding. Jim finished with 78 yards in 18 carries - his best total vs. LA in four game. The Packers piled up 21 first downs and 284 yards, including 161 on Starr's 16 completions in 27 attempts. Dowler finished with five catches for 69 yards in an amazing performance considering he'd been at Fort Lewis all week. Seven Packers took part in the receiving. The Packer defense slammed Ram passers Bratkowski and Frank Ryan back 52 yards attempting to pass while Starr was jumped just once, resulting in a fumble that set up Villanueva's FG. The Packers received a big lift on the opening kickoff when Herb Adderley returned Villanueva's boot 61 yards to the Ram 35. The Packers scored in six plays and it looked easy. Starr uncorked a screen throw to Taylor on the first play and Jim crashed 14 yards. Two runs gained nothing but Starr then threw to Ron Kramer for 18 yards to the 3. Taylor got it to the two and Moore then scored with only 3:45 gone. Agajanian kicked the first of three extra points for a 7-0 edge. It was no longer easy as the game developed into a dog fight. In quick order Hank Jordan blocked a field goal try by Villanueva from the Packer 44, Dowler and Villanueva exchanged punts, and Starr fumbled when upended by big Lovetere on the first play of the second period on the Packer 25. The Rams made a first down to the 12 but the defense tightened and Villanueva kicked a field goal. Green Bay snapped to move 72 yards in 11 plays for a TD. Moore and Taylor gained 35 yards in the first five plays and then the Rams were caught for defensive holding and roughing passer, Starr, placing the ball on the Ram 15. Taylor and Moore made seven yards and then Starr, faking off to Taylor, passed to Moore in the end zone for a 14-3 edge. The game was see-saw with Dowler and Villanueva punting and Starr getting two passes intercepted and Bratkowski one as the action moved into the final moments of the third period. Starr was smeared back five yards and Masters caught his fumble in mid-air, forcing Dowler to make his fourth punt of the game - a low liner that gave the Rams position on their own 45. On the first play Bass took a pitchout around left end, cut across to the right around the Packer 35 and went in for a 14-10 score at 14:02 of the third period.
WHOOSHED BY DOWLER
Again the Rams forced a Dowler punt and this one sailed 45 yards to Bass on the 10. The fleet back angled up the sidelines and whooshed by Dowler en route to a 90-yard TD, breaking the Ram record of 88 set by Tom Harmon against the Lions in 1947. Starr went right to the air. He hit Taylor for three, Gary Knafelc for 12, and Pitts for 6 before Taylor ran 10 on a draw to the Ram 35. Dowler then made a fine catch of a low pass for 14 yards to the 21 before the attack stalled. This brought in old Ben and he split the uprights from 28 yards for a tie. The Rams piled up three quick first downs and it looked serious as Symank was hurt but they got no farther than the Packer 34. On third and 10 Wood stole Bratkowski's pass aimed at Dale on the 13 and returned 21 yards. The Packers went on from there to win their 16th game of the season that started back in early August.
GREEN BAY - 7 7 0 10 - 24
LOS ANGELES - 0 3 7 7 - 17
GREEN BAY LOS ANGELES
First Downs 21 14
Rushing-Yards-TD 36-123-2 19-119-1
Att-Comp-Yd-TD-Int 27-16-161-1-2 35-19-162-0-2
Sack Yards Lost 0-0 6-52
Total Yards 284 229
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0
Turnovers 3 2
Yards penalized 3-25 4-30
SCORING
1st - GB - Tom Moore, 1-yard run (Ben Agajanian kick) GREEN BAY 7-0
2nd - LA - Danny Villanueva, 17-yard field goal GREEN BAY 7-3
2nd - GB - Moore, 8-yard pass from Bart Starr (Agajanian kick) GREEN BAY 14-3
3rd - LA - Dick Bass, 55-yard run (Villanueva kick) GREEN BAY 14-10
4th - LA - Bass, 90-yard punt return (Villanueva kick) LOS ANGELES 17-14
4th - GB - Agajanian, 28-yard field goal TIED 17-17
4th - GB - Elijah Pitts, 17-yard run (Agajanian kick) GREEN BAY 24-17
RUSHING
GREEN BAY - Jim Taylor 18-78, Tom Moore 12-34 1 TD, Elijah Pitts 3-12, Bart Starr 2-(-6), Lew Carpenter 1-5
LOS ANGELES - Dick Bass 9-94 1 TD, Jon Arnett 8-19, Joe Marconi 2-6
PASSING
GREEN BAY - Bart Starr 27-16-161 1 TD 2 INT
LOS ANGELES - Zeke Bratkowski 33-19-162 2 INT, Frank Ryan 1-0-0, Jon Arnett 1-0-0
RECEIVING
GREEN BAY - Boyd Dowler 5-69, Jim Taylor 3-17, Ron Kramer 2-31, Tom Moore 2-13 1 TD, Lew Carpenter 2-13, Gary Knafelc 1-13, Elijah Pitts 1-5
LOS ANGELES - Red Phillips 13-101, Ollie Matson 4-42, Pervis Atkins 1-20, Dick Bass 1-(-1)
'WE'RE JUST RUNNING OUT OF PLAYERS,' VINCE
DEC 18 (Los Angeles-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Vince Lombardi and Bob Waterfield both came out of Sunday's thriller with a headache. Packer Lombardi could smile through the head pain brought about by the pressure of 19 straight games since last August - but Ram Waterfield was throbbing under the misery of another close setback. The victory was another tribute to the Pack's winning ways under most trying circumstances. Lombardi told of those circumstances for an audience of Los Angeles writers in answer to various questions: "It's hard to keep a team up after you have clinched the title, as we did two weeks ago. I liked the way they came back today after being behind. We finished up with only two running backs (Moore and Pitts) and there were only two ends. One time during the season we had only nine offensive players, couldn't even practice. Carpenter played a great game, filling in for McGee. This football is getting to be an endurance test. We're just running out of players. We went for punt down there at the end rather than take a chance on having a field goal blocked. No, I would rather not evaluate the Rams. I've got enough problems of my own." Waterfield spoke in hushed tones and pointed to Willie Wood's interception as "the thing that hurt us." The Rams' rookie coach, a quarterback star of the Rams in his playing days, had high praise for Bart Starr. "He really takes charge. He hurt us. I'm picking the Packers to win the championship. Starr can do it." Waterfield said he'd be pulling for the Packers to beat the Giants in the championship game in Green Bay Dec. 31...CARPENTER ALL ACHES: Carpenter was aching from head to foot. "All I can say is that sitting on the bench all the time and then going out and playing a fullback is hard on a guy," he said. Lew caught two passes for 13 yards and ran once on the end-around for five yards. Besides that, he delivered some good blocks. The Packers were all smiling but John Symank and Jim Taylor hurt when they managed even the slightest grin. Symank said "somebody got me good" and Taylor confessed he wasn't quite sure how many times he'd
been batted around. Symank was injured in the upper chest. "They'll all be ready for the championship game," Dr. George McGuire promised...Ben Agajanian was pinching himself Sunday night. Said he: "Imagine playing in a championship game for one league (Los Angeles vs. Houston last season) one year and then another title game the next fall in another league." Boyd Dowler, who missed kicking Dick Bass out of bounds on his 90-yard punt return figures "I just got fooled. I thought I could estimate when to hit him from the side, but he just went past me instead. It was a great piece of running and faking."
CRITIC OF RAMS, VARRICHIONE MAY LEAVE BALL CLUB
DEC 18 (Los Angeles) - Veteran tackle Frank Varrichione indicated Sunday night that he might not be back with the Los Angeles Rams next year but he insisted, according to a club spokesman, that it has nothing to do with a small player rebellion which came to light last week. The former Notre Dame and Pittsburgh Steeler player, a seven year veteran in the NFL, was one of the most outspoken critics of some of the Ram policies. After Sunday's game with Green Bay, Varrichione told Coach Bob Waterfield he might retire and said it was due to family problems. His wife is expected their fourth child and is unhappy with maintaining a home here and in Framingham, Mass.
FLICKERING PORCH LIGHT, BIG CROWD AT AIRPORT TO WELCOME PACK HOME
DEC 18 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - With a large crowd expected at Austin Straubel Field tonight to welcome home the Green Bay Packers, county police and airport officials have made extensive preparations to insure a free flow of traffic before and after the Packer plane arrives. The exact time of arrival of the Packer charter flight from the West Coast would not be made known until the Federal Aviation Agency office at the airport receives a flight plan from the United Airlines plane. The Packers, however, were expected to arrive sometime around 7 p.m., according to preflight plans. Anticipating a flood of telephone calls, special arrangements have been made to broadcast the estimated time of arrival over the city's radio and television outlets. The broadcasts, with former Packer Ted Fritsch at the microphone, will begin at 5 p.m. Fritsch will broadcast over the special line at the U.S. Weather Bureau. The broadcasts will be fed over the special weather circuit to each radio and TV station in the city. Fritsch will also serve as master of ceremonies, introducing each Packer player as he steps off the plane. A public address system will be set up to carry the introductions. As the Packer plane circles the city before landing, fans will be asked to flick their porch lights on and off to signal their welcome to the team. A fireworks display also will be set off. Officials at the FAA office have asked residents not to call the airport to find out when the Packer plane is due. The broadcasts will keep persons informed throughout the evening. Airport personnel today plowed out the parking lots in anticipation of the large crowd. With the
amount of snow cover, however, motorists can expect to be inconvenienced. County policer have set up a list or rules to be followed by persons planning to drive out to the airport. A full crew of uniformed county officers, assisted by a dozen city police officers plus civil defense auxiliary police, will be on hand to help direct traffic. County Traffic Chief Laurence Koeppen has urged motorists to follow police instructions. Koeppen said the one-way traffic pattern normally in effect at the airport will be strictly enforced. Police will fill the airport's east parking lots first, followed by the west lot. After that, as many cars as possible will be parked in a plowed out area in the grass field west of the parking lot area. Koeppen emphasized that no parking will be allowed along the roadway leading into the airport, nor on the boulevard that divides the roadway. Only persons carrying special identification tags, mainly the wives of Packer players, will be allowed to drive to the area where the players will emerge. No one will be permitted beyond the fence area, Koeppen said, with the exception of photographers and other press representatives. No formal program will be held, other than the introduction of players as they step off the plane. The players will walk directly to their cars and go home.
WARNS PACK: GIANTS BETTER 'NEXT TIME'
DEC 18 (New York) - The New York Giants will be playing the team their coach considers the best they've played all season when they duel the Packers in Green Bay's City Stadium for the NFL championship Dec. 31. Sherman pronounced the Packers best in the dressing room here Sunday after the Giants won the Eastern Division crown by tying the Cleveland Browns, 7-7. "Green Bay is the best club we've played," said Sherman. (The Packers beat the Giants 20-17 at Milwaukee Dec. 3.) "We'll be better next time, both physically and mentally. Everybody has said the Giants have been under tremendous pressure. Now I'll say it. But it's over. We'll be loose from now on. We were prepared for the Eagles' victory. I didn't think they would lose. I told the men the worst thing they could do was look at the scoreboard. Just wait until about 5:30 and then we'd know. It took a lot of guts to see Philadelphia come back with those points when we weren't getting the points we usually get. We felt all along we were better than other people thought. We set our own pace. It was a calculated risk. We had new men and rookies who needed the assurance that they could do the job. I never was discouraged even when we got bombed by Baltimore in the last exhibition game or when we lost the opener to St. Louis. We started to come against Pittsburgh." Meanwhile, in the Cleveland dressing room, Coach Paul Brown was asked to compare the Giants and Packers, after losing and tying the Giants and taking a 49-17 beating from Green Bay. "The Giants have a good chance," he said. "We will be pulling for them as we always do for the team that wins our conference. Green Bay has gone downhill since early in the season. The service men (Paul Hornung, Boyd Dowler and Ray Nitschke) go further and further away from you. I know. We have to take out Bobby Mitchell (who joins the Browns from the Army on a weekend pass) on certain plays because he wouldn't know what we were doing. I can sense it with my own men so I think they must have deteriorated, too." As for the Giants, Brown commented, "You add Tittle's passing, Shofner's deep threat, Barnes' defensive work and Walton, a good tight end, plus what they had before and you have quite a football team." Tittle, who spent 13 of his 14 years in the NFL with San Francisco, was all smiles at the thought of playing in his first title game. "This feels great, though I'll admit I had just about come to the conclusion that there would be no title for me before this year, and maybe again in the fourth period when the Browns were threatening. But we're there and I'm happy. It was a helluva way to win it but we won, and that's what counts." So spoke Alex Webster, the Giants' magnificent halfback who went into the game with a groin muscle pull and whose status was doubtful with every play. Despite this, however, he picked up 91 yards. But he almost wound up the game's goat when he fumbled once as he was tackled on the Browns' 1-yard line and again deep in New York territory. "I guess I lost the touchdown when I was shifting the ball from one hand to the other," the 'Big Red' of the Giants said. "The other time my elbow hit the ground and the ball just popped loose." Sherman said he would spend today, "maybe until noon," not thinking about football. He planned on workouts on Wednesday and Thursday of this week, with full-scale drills for the title game to begin next Tuesday after a four-day Christmas holiday respite. Sherman two-platooned his quarterbacks and gambled that halfback Webster's pulled groin muscle would stand the punishment, and won on both. He had supreme confidence that his defensive unit could contain the Browns, and was right there, too.
SNOWBALLS AND FANS GREET PACKERS
DEC 19 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The titled Packers, zooming in from the land of sunshine, were greeted by a shower of snowballs upon deplaning at frigid Austin Straubel Field Monday night. Their frosty silver and blue United Airlines DC6-B had barely taxied to a stop along the airport fence when the first volley ricocheted off the plane, some of the miniature bombs "exploding" in startled faces of the homecoming heroes peering out the windows. Admittedly, it was hardly a fitting welcome for the champions of the west (NFL version) but it was, it should be hastily chronicled, all in fun - and appropriate to the 30-degree temperature and a backdrop of snowbanks. The culprits, in the main, were capricious better halves of the players and coaches, who had been patiently "packing" their missiles for at least 15 minutes before their big bird hove into view. Their lark was short-lived, however. The gendarmes and civil defense patrolmen, fearing injury, ordered them to desist after the second barrage had found the mark, and by the time the door of the plane opened, there wasn't a snowball in evidence. Appropriately, the oldest Packer in point of serve, Trainer Carl (Bud) Jorgensen, was the first to appear on the ramp, to the blaring horn of a 40 by 8 engine and a shrill salute from a crowd of 500, which Association of Commerce officials felt had been held down by numerous changes in the time of the Packers' arrival. (This last, it should be noted, must have set a professional record for homecoming time changes, the hour having been variously reported as 6:35, 6:45, 7:30, then 7:25, 7:15, 7:56 and 7:50, before 7:59 finally was settled upon. And, of course, it came as no surprise when the plane loomed over the field at 8:06.) Jorgensen was followed down the steps by a somber Max McGee, who had just missed his first game in 16 years of football in Sunday's Los Angeles finale and, among others, but a topcoat-less Bill Forester, the Pack's veteran defensive captain, who seemed oblivious to the numbing December air. As expected, a loud roar greeted the appearance of Vince Lombardi, the architect of the Packers' spectacular renaissance and two consecutive western championships. Loaded down with Christmas packages, he paused briefly to greet Emcee Ted Fritsch, stationed at the top of the ramp, and sidekick Charlie Brock before disappearing in the direction of the airport waiting room. (Civil defense police formed an "escape" route from the gate to the terminal, eliminating confusion and assuring the players and coaches unhampered progress to their destinations.) One of the last to debark was Carl Zoll, who injected a note of nostalgia on a night dedicated to the present. Still a burly citizen despite 60-odd summers, Zoll was a member of the charter Packer team in 1919 who lately has taken to serving as the current edition's West Coast good luck charm. In a matter of seconds, the air of merriment evaporated as a battered Jim Taylor, involuntarily wincing in pain, gingerly inched his way down the ramp. Upon reaching the ground, he was forced to lean heavily upon the shoulder of his tiny wife, Dixie, as he limped to the family car. Taylor, who sustained a back (possible kidney) injury in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game, once was forced to stop en route to the parking lot when the pain became unbearable. The keys to the car were not available, unfortunately, and the record-breaking fullback was forced to stand in the cold for nearly ten minutes while his wife sought them. When she returned, they immediately left for St. Vincent Hospital, where Taylor was scheduled to undergo x-rays. Jim, grimacing as he talked, explained the injury occurred "after I caught a pass. Somebody turned me sideways, and somebody came in and, whoom, he gave me a real good knee in the back. You can take most blows pretty well but that's where you're not well protected." It also was a dismal homecoming for John Symank, the Packers' fiery little safety man, who also was injured Sunday. "I've got either a broken rib or a torn cartilage," he said sadly, pointing to an area high on his right chest. How had it happened? "It happened on Bubba's (Forester) interception. I thought Matson (Ollie) was going to catch the ball and I hit him," John said wryly. "We both fell and I just don't know what happened after that. Then, I went back in later and on that long run by Dick Bass, I did one of those spread eagles and landed on it again," he confessed ruefully. Though most of his colleagues escaped injury, aside from the usual collection of cuts and contusions, many of them plainly registered deep fatigue. Dan Currie summed up with, "It was an extremely long trip. We had the championship clinched before we went out there and we didn't have any firm purpose, anything to shoot for. It seemed like eight weeks in training camp. Nobody likes the West Coast like I do," he added soberly, "but I'm awfully glad to be home."
PACKERS, OILERS NAMED FAVORITES
DEC 19 (New York) - The oddsmakers have installed the Green Bay Packers and Houston Oilers the favorites for pro football's championship games. The Packers are a 3-point pick over the New York Giants in the NFL title match at Green Bay, Dec. 31. and the Oilers are a 3 1/2-point choice over the San Diego Chargers in the AFL playoff at San Diego next Sunday.
PACKERS RELAX; FOUR NURSE INJURIES
DEC 19 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers relaxed today after the longest NFL schedule in history. Coach Vince Lombardi proclaimed this a day of rest and recuperation. Behind are 11 victories and 3 defeats in the loop's first 14-game card. Ahead: The championship game at City Stadium Dec. 31! The training room at City Stadium was opened today for those who need and/or desire treatment. And trainer Bud Jorgensen had at least four cases on his hands: Max McGee, rib injury, suffered in the 49er game. Jim Taylor, back, Ram game. Norm Masters, ankle, Ram game. Johnny Symank, chest, Ram game. These four starters would be handicapped if they had to play next Sunday but the upcoming "Championship Week" will give them time to be fully cured for the title showdown. Taylor and Symank went to the hospital upon their return home last night. The squad will return to practice at 10 o'clock Wednesday morning and then carry on with the usual program. The difference, of course, is that there will be no game Sunday. Lombardi said that the squad will have no work Sunday and Christmas Day. With a thrilling 24-17 victory under their belts and the reality of the championship game looming, the Packers returned home from Los Angeles in wonderful spirits. It was a long two weeks on the coast and a number of the players confessed to being a bit homesick. With Christmas just a few "yards" away, the Packers were leaded down with gifts. The air trip home was a lazy one. Most of the players slept during the first stage, from LA to Denver where Capt. Don Smith ordered more fuel for the giant United Airlines charter. From then on, it was a case of placing the aisle. Weather conditions in the midwest forced the stop at Denver. The additional fuel would permit the plane to fly back to Denver in case Green Bay and other midwest airports were still closed. There was that possibility. Fortunately, the plane was able to put down in Green Bay. Smith circled the big bird around the city and the players were able to see the fireworks display and the blinking of thousands of porch lights. Between the bursting fireworks, the lights flashing, the white carpet of snow and the rows of city street lights, it was an awesome sight. Perhaps the best thing about the trip was the manner in which the Packers played. There was bound to be some sort of letdown and Lombardi laughed after the tight loss to San Francisco, "before the game I was afraid we'd get beat by 50 points." But the Bays played hard all the way, losing by the thickness of one point to the 49ers 22-21 in the final seconds and then downing the Rams with a 66-yard last minute touchdown drive. Rookie Elijah Pitts scored the winning TD on a 17-yard run around left end. This was the Packers' 49th and final 1961 TD. Jim Taylor scored the first to climax a 69-yard drive against the Lions back on Sept. 17...The Packers ran off 70 plays against the Rams who had 66. Green Bay averaged 4.06 yards a play, the Rams 3.46. Boyd Dowler averaged 44 yards with his punting, not counting a booming 70-yarder (or more). Near the end, he punted from his own 38 and skied the ball another 20 yards or more behind the end line. The kick wound up as a 38-yarder since punts are measured from the line of scrimmage to the goal line if they go behind the goal line...Jess Whittenton's nine-year-old son, Jesse Lynn, sat on the Packer bench in LA. Among the visitors in the Packer dressing room were Gardner McKay, the TV actor, and Ray Richards, former Packer line coach.
FOSS CHALLENGES NFL AGAIN; ROZELLE GIVES SAME ANSWER
DEC 19 (Oakland) - Commissioner Joe Foss of the AFL has renewed his year-old challenge to the rival NFL for a postseason game between the league champions. "We'll give them the longest afternoon they ever had - any play and any time they want to put a team on the field," Foss said. "They'll have a million excuses to avoid us. They act like they don't want to admit the AFL exists. But they've got plenty of reason to know we're here, we're solid, and we're growing." Foss said he was dead serious about the challenge. "I see this as a fine charity game with national interest," he said. In New York, Pete Rozelle, commissioner of the NFL, told the Associated Press: "The answer has not changed in the past 18 months. You don't consider playing games with people who are suing you for ten million dollars."
PACK DOMINATES STAR, BOWL SQUADS
DEC 20 (Los Angeles) - The powerful Green Bay Packers, Western Division champions of the NFL, dominate the West squad announced today for the 12th annual Pro Bowl football game in Memorial Coliseum Jan. 14. Eight Packers made the squad by vote of the division coaches and a ninth, halfback Paul Hornung, would have been named, too, except it was feared he could not detach himself from Army duties during the Pro Bowl week. The Detroit Lions landed seven players and the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts five apiece. At quarterback for the West will be the Colts' Johnny Unitas and Packer Bart Starr, and their passing targets will include the one-two league leaders, Red Phillips of the Los Angeles Rams and Ray Berry of Baltimore. The East team, announced Tuesday, features quarterback Y.A. Tittle of the New York Giants and Philadelphia's Sonny Jurgensen, with the Giants' Del Shofner, the Eagles' Tommy McDonald and Sonny Randle of St. Louis pass catching threats. Backs for the West include Lenny Moore, Colts; Jon Arnett, Rams; Hugh McElhenny, Minnesota; Jim Taylor, Packers, and Nick Pietrosante of Detroit. The defense poses a problem for the East, boasting such stalwarts as ends Gino Marchetti of Baltimore and Doug Atkins of the Chicago Bears. The linebackers will be Chicago's Bill George, Detroit's Joe Schmidt, Los Angeles' Les Richter and Green Bay's Bill Forester.
SIX BAYS LAND BERTHS ON NFL ALL-STAR ELEVEN
DEC 20 (New York) - Green Bay and New York dominate the All-Star team of the NFL selected today for the Associated Press by a panel of 42 sportswriters and sportscasters from the 14 league cities. The Packers, champions of the Western Conference, landed six players on the 22-man squad. Green Bay put guard Fred Thurston, center Jim Ringo and halfback Paul Hornung on the offensive unit and tackle Henry Jordan, linebacker Bill Forester and cornerback Jesse Whittenton on the defensive team. New York placed end Del Shofner and tackle Roosevelt Brown on the offensive club and end Jim Katcavage, cornerback Erich Barnes and safety man Jimmy Patton on the defensive team. Sonny Jurgensen of the Philadelphia Eagles was named the all-star quarterback in a backfield that included Jimmy Brown of Cleveland at fullback, Lenny Moore of Baltimore at flanker back and Hornung of the Packers at halfback. Jim Taylor of Green Bay finished a close-up second to Brown in the fullback competition. And several voters named both Brown and Taylor, two fullbacks, to the team. Tommy McDonald of Philadelphia was also a
popular choice for flanker back, not far behind Moore. Ringo and Thurston of the powerful Green Bay line, and Jim Ray Smith of Cleveland were overwhelming choices at center and guard. Brown of New York and Jim Parker of Baltimore just edged Forrest Gregg of Green Bay and Mike McCormack of Cleveland for the offensive tackle jobs...EX-ROOMMIES AT END: Shofner, traded away by Los Angeles during the offseason, was named as first string and on a majority of ballots. The fleet former Baylor star caught 68 passes for 1,125 yards and 11 touchdowns during the Giants' drive to the Eastern Conference title. Jim Phillips of the Rams, who used to be Shofner's roomie when both were in Los Angeles, won the other job with his league-leading total of 78 catches for 1,092 yards. Ray Berry of Baltimore was a close-up third and Mike Ditka of Chicago, the rookie of the year, also drew solid support. Brown beat out Taylor by winning the ground gaining title for the fifth straight year with a total of 1,408 yards. Moore scampered to 15 touchdowns as a pass catcher and fleet scatback. Horning, who was called to Army service in mid-season but played in most of the games on a weekend pass, led the league in scoring again with 146 points on 10 touchdowns, 15 field goals and a perfect score of 41 consecutive extra points...SONNY BREAKS RECORD: Jurgensen, the Duke grad who sat in the shadows while Norm Van Brocklin led the Eagles to the championship last year, came into his own this year at Philadelphia. With McDonald, Pete Retzlaff and Bobby Walston as his chief targets, Sonny tied the league record with 32 touchdown passes and gained 3,273 yards, a record. Jim Katcavage of the Giants hit all-star stride and teamed with the veteran Gino Marchetti of Baltimore as end on the defensive club. In the middle of a fearsome front line were tackles Jordan of Green Bay and Alex Karras of Detroit. Roger Brown of Detroit, Bob Gain of Cleveland, Leo Nomellini of San Francisco, Big Daddy Lipscomb of Pittsburgh and Dick Modzelewski of New York were in the battle...LB'ER COMPETITION TERRIFIC: Competition for linebacker job was terrific. Bill George, the Chicago Bears' "defensive quarterback" who helped stop San Francisco's shotgun offense in mid-season, was a solid choice. Joe Schmidt, Detroit veteran who is also a middle guard, was picked. The voters chose Bill Forester, corner linebacker from the Packers. Others who drew strong support included Matt Hazeltine of San Francisco, Sam Huff of New York, Maxie Vaughan of Philadelphia, Dan Currie of Green Bay and John Reger of Pittsburgh. Patton and Barnes of the Giants' fine defensive backfield made the club along with Whittenton, the Green Bay cornerman who stole the ball from Alex Webster to set up the winning score in the regular season game between New York and Green Bay. Dick (Night Train) Lane of Detroit completed the defensive backfield...INJURY DEPRIVED KRAMER: Other who probably would have been on the team except for injuries included Jerry Kramer, Green Bay guard, and Tom Brookshier, Philadelphia defensive back. Two of the all-star players, Shofner and Barnes of the Giants, were traded away after last season. The Rams sent Shofner to New York and Chicago sent Barnes to New York in a three-way deal with Los Angeles.
LENNY FORD SEEKS $10,000 DAMAGES FROM PACKERS
DEC 20 (Detroit) - A suit seeking $10,000 in damages from the Green Bay Packers has been filed in Wayne County Circuit Court by former football star Lenny Ford. Ford, a University of Michigan star, contends in his suit that he signed a contract with the Packers in June 1958, in which he was to get $11,000 for that season at $916.66 a game. He said the contract also contained a clause which held he could not be fired without first getting written notice. Ford contends that despite this, he was fired Dec. 13, 1958, without notice and was not paid for the season's last game. His suit contends the dismissal injured his reputation as a player.
RED CARPET TO BE ROLLED OUT FOR PACKER CHAMPS
DEC 20 (Green Bay) - When Green Bay's Packer fans roll out the red carpet for their favorite team, not just any old red carpet will do. And when those same Packer fans throw a Christmas party for their NFL Western Division champions, not just any old Christmas tree will do. Thus, when the fans, with the guiding hand of the Green Bay Area Chamber of Commerce, produce what is bound to rank as the most unique celebration in the annals of sports Saturday, they will have the world's most famous red carpet and probably the state's tallest Christmas tree. The combination tribute, party and pep rally for Green Bay's first championship game Dec. 31 against New York will be staged at the Veterans Memorial Arena at 1:30 p.m. Saturday. About 6,000 tickets, which can be obtained for a small donation, are now available at 12 Green Bay business place as well as in Marinette, Appleton, Kaukauna, Shawano and Sturgeon Bay. Providing the actual red carpet for the event will be the Chemstrand Corp. This will be the same luxurious carpet, 80 feet long, that is used at all formal White House functions, including the presidential inauguration. as well as other events for royalty and dignitaries throughout the world. The Christmas tree, being furnished by Green Bay Paper & Pulp from its forest in
Florence County, is over 50 feet tall and weighs between five and six tons. The tree is so large that the engine used to cut the trees couldn't handle the job and most of the work had to be done by hand. The tree arrived at the Arena this morning via a Leicht Transfer truck and will be erected just inside the main Arena portion. It will be decorated with over 500 ornaments. Included on the program, scheduled to last about two hours, will be music by the Packer Lumberjack Band, introductions of the individual players, their wives and families, and the presentation of gifts to them, special greetings from President Kennedy and NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle, the awarding of a championship trophy to the Packer Corp., introduction of distinguished guests, and filmed highlights of the 1961 season. The program will take place on a large platform in the middle of the Arena with the beautiful red carpet forming the path from the gigantic tree to the platform. The entire event will be staged with the help of special lighting. Master of ceremonies for the program, which will be covered by press, radio and television will be Charles Egan, sports chairman of the Chamber of Commerce. Ex-Packer greats Ted Fritsch and Tony Canadeo will handle the player introductions with Fritsch in the role of Santa Claus. Among those participating will be Mayor Roman Denissen, County Board Chairman James Francois and Mayor Henry Maier of Milwaukee. Others invited include Sens. William Proxmire and Alexander Wiley, Rep. John W. Byrnes and Gov. Gaylord Nelson. Other guests will be Packer alumni, including E.L. (Curly) Lambeau and Don Hutson, and Lee Joannes, the only living past president of the Packers. Everyone attending the event will receive a free souvenir program dedicated to the occasion and including a team picture of the Packers. The Lumberjack Band and the Green Bay DAV Drum and Bugle Corps will provide music leading up to the formal program, which will open with an invocation by the Rev. D.M. Burke, O. Praem, president of St. Norbert College. Following that will be the Star Spangled Banner and the message from President Kennedy. The President's congratulations will be in the form of a specially produced film and will be directed strictly to the Packers and the fans attending the tribute party. The film will be made Thursday and airmailed to Green Bay. It will shown on a large screen in the arena. Rozelle will follow the President in the same special film manner. Clair Stone, program director at WJPG and the public address announcer at all Packer home games, will then narrate a 35-minute film of the season's highlights through the Giant game in Milwaukee that clinched the Packers' second consecutive division title. The introduction of the guests and past Packer greats will follow the highlight film. The closing part of the program will be the Christmas party with the Packer Corp. being awarded a large, sterling silver championship bowl donated by the Silversmiths' Guild of the United States of America. Each player will then be introduced at the tree under spotlights and presented with a gift at the platform. The players' families will be introduced under the Christmas tree and be presented with their gifts by Fritsch. The players' gifts will be paid for from the proceeds of the party itself while the gifts for their wives and children are being donated by Green Bay merchants. Throughout the program, the wives will occupy a place of honor with their husbands near the center platform. Their children, all 78 of them, will be entertained in another part of the arena by babysitters until it is time for their appearance with their parents. Tickets for the party are available at Montgomery Ward, Sears Roebuck, Cohen's, Kellogg Bank, Ferron's, J.C. Penney, Stewart's, Newman's, White Store, Nau's, Beacon Center, Camera Corner and WBAY in Green Bay and at Goldberg's, Marinette; Bergeren Brothers, Appleton; E.F. Bushman, Sturgeon Bay; Stan and Bud's, Shawano; and Look Drug Store, Kaukauna.
COUNCIL SPARES PACK MILWAUKEE PROBLEM
DEC 20 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The City Council agreed on a divided voice vote Tuesday night that the Packer Corp. has enough on its mind these days without worrying about where the Council thinks 1962 home games should be played. Ald. Robert Johnson two weeks ago introduced a statement calling on the Packers to end a policy of playing home games in Milwaukee, which was sent to the Packers without the Council taking a position. Tuesday night, Johnson and Ald. Loris Dow re-opened the subject by asking the Council to endorse a call for ending Milwaukee games. As elected representatives of the people, aldermen should inform the Packers of public opinion, Johnson said. Ald. Robert Houle and Robert Barclay denounced the move in view of the Dec. 31 playoff and its problems. Barclay moved to table the subject and suggested next February as a good time to talk about it.
PACKERS CONFIDENCE HELPED ME: ELIJAH
DEC 20 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers have confidence in themselves - plus. Take it from Elijah Pitts, the rookie halfback from Philander Smith College, which is in Little Rock, Ark. Pitts knows about Packer confidence because it applies to himself, explaining: "It's easy to lose confidence in yourself but it's hard to lose the confidence that someone else has in you. I'm surprised Coach Lombardi has as much confidence in me. That means a lot. He had enough confidence in me to use me in some of those big plays in Detroit. I was proud of that." The 20-year old freshman - the Packers' equivalent of the Giants' fine rookie, Bob Gaiters - was in for a play when the Packers went in for a 14-9 lead on the Lions and then was used for three more plays while the Packers protected their lead in the fourth quarter. Pitts, backing up Paul Hornung while Tom Moore was benched with an injury, carried four times and made a crucial six-yard gain for a first down on the Lion 32 to help set up Hornung's game-clinching field goal. But that was nothing compared to his chance in the Pack's windup against the Rams in Los Angeles last Sunday. He ran 17 yards for the Pack's winning touchdown in the last two minutes. "That was the biggest thrill I ever had and I learned something on that play, too. Usually when I'd turn the corner, I'd look around to see where everybody was and maybe slow up a little doing it. But this time I turned it on when I got around the corner. I guess I can outrun some of the fellas anyway," Elijah said. Pitts is looking forward to the championship game and "I'll be ready. Hope I can play." Pitts, who has never ventured into the cold country until he came to Green Bay, said "the weather doesn't bother me. I got used to it before we went to California." Swift Elijah is a confident
little guy. A high school phy ed teacher and coach, he purchased a home in Little Rock. "No, I'm not married but I may get married in a year or two," he beamed...The Packers drilled on grass today - courtesy of the city street department. A city sweeping machine whipped all snow off the west field at the Oneida practice area permitting the Pack to work on the bare turf. All available personnel was present for the light loosening-up today except the most serious of the injured - Jim Taylor and Johnny Symank, who were hurt vs. the Rams. Taylor was kicked in the back, resulting in a bad bruise plus muscle spasms. Symank has a torn cartilage in his chest. Both will be under treatment this week and they hope to cut loose next week. Symank isn't listening to anything funny, explaining that "it hurts only when I laugh." Max McGee, injured in the 49er game, was moving around good today. He stayed out of all practices last week in California but dressed for the Ram game. He was held out of action. Coach Vince Lombardi said he plans to keep all practices this week "short and easy. The rest this week will do the boys a lot of good." There was good news today on the Army front. Two of the Pack's three GIs will get holiday leaves. They are Boyd Dowler and Ray Nitschke, who are stationed at Fort Lewis, Wash., and are expected to report today or Thursday. They'll be here on 14-day leaves. The extra time will give them a good chance to regain conditioning and timing. The big question is Paul Hornung, who is at Fort Riley, Kan. Paul couldn't make the Ram game last Sunday at all. He has hopes of getting some kind of holiday leave, but it may be just for the game.
'NO EXCUSE' IF GIANTS DON'T BEAT PACK: ALLIE
DEC 20 (New York) - Allie Sherman, named coach-of-the-year in the NFL by a committee of writers and sportscasters from the 14 league cities, said today his New York Giant players deserved the credit. "I feel honored and I appreciate the designation," said Sherman at the weekly press luncheon in Yankee Stadium. "But I've got to say with all sincerity that the boys proved themselves a fine football team, withstanding a lot of pressure and bouncing back after losing to Green Bay." The Giants resumed work today for their Dec. 31 league championship game at Green Bay. They will work out Thursday and then take a holiday vacation until next Tuesday. New York clinched the Eastern Conference title Sunday in a 7-7 tie with Cleveland. "We'd like to get the frosting on the cake," said Sherman. "Green Bay is the best and that's the team we are going to play. We will have no excuses. We should be in our best shape of the year, mentally and physically. I can say now that it would have been a tremendous effort to get ready for a playoff if Philadelphia had tied us. We were approaching the point where we were a little thing. We had gotten off our game in the last two weeks, run down a little. Now we have two weeks to bounce back." Sherman paid his respects to the owners (Jack and Wellington Mara) for the trades that helped the club. "We told them what we needed and they went and got it," he said. "We were after top quality men with top quality contracts. They never hesitated a moment." The rookie coach, who was second choice to Vince Lombardi a year ago when the Giants were looking for a successor to Jim Lee Howell, said Frank Gifford, retired halfback, was the "best scout in the business." He also lauded his coaching staff of Ed Kolman, Ken Kavanaugh, Swede Svare and Don Heinrich.
PICK HORNUNG NFL'S MOST VALUABLE; JOINS PACK DEC. 27
DEC 21 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers possessed the most valuable player in the NFL today - one Paul Horning, the soldier from Fort Riley, Kan. Hornung, the NFL scoring champion for the third straight year with 146 points, was named Wednesday as the most valuable player by an Associated Press panel of sportswriters and sportscasters in the 14 league cities. Hornung will get a six-day holiday leave, beginning Dec. 27, enabling him to play in the championship game Dec. 31. This is the regular Christmas-New Year's holiday time off the men at Fort Riley receive. Hornung passed credit on to his team, in commenting on his selection at Fort Riley, as follows: "This comes as a great surprise to me because the last couple of months I've been in the Army and have missed two games. This makes me feel very good. I realize that playing on the team that is the western division champion means a lot. There are two or three others on the club that could have won the same honor." Hornung is assigned to the 896th Engineer Company, an outfit called up for active duty from Linton, N.D. His military job is that of truck driver and radio operator. Hornung said he is in fair shape and had lost a little weight since coming into the Army. He works out as much as possible in off-duty periods. How's he doing in the Army? The public information office termed him "a good soldier, who does his duty without griping, one who is liked by both the men and the officers. He's no eight-ball." Although Hornung was available only on a weekend pass during the second half of the season, he scored 10 touchdowns, kicked 15 of 22 field goal attempts and made good on 41 successive extra points. The former Notre Dame star and ex-Heisman trophy winner will celebrate his 26th birthday Sunday. The competition for the most valuable player honor was close. Other contenders were: Jim Taylor of the Packers, who had a tremendous year; Sonny Jurgensen, the Philadelphia Eagle's passing star; Del Shofner, New York's fine pass catching end; Jimmy Brown, Cleveland's perennial rushing champ; quarterback Y.A. Tittle of New York and Bart Starr, who directed the Packers to their second straight Western Conference title. Hornung was a quarterback in his rookie year with the Packers, but
was shifted to halfback by Coach Vince Lombardi. He led the league with 94 points in 1959, broke Don Hutson's season record with 176 points and then broke it again with his 146 this season. In addition to running, passing and handling the field goal and extra point work, Hornung also kicks off. Taylor was a close-up second to Brown in the ground gaining contest, finishing with 1,307 yards to Brown's 1,408 yards. The former Louisiana State back led the league with 16 touchdowns, all but one by running. Lombardi, in commenting on the selection of Hornung, said, "What can you say when you've got three fellows like Hornung, Taylor and Starr on your ball club? They're all great."
SUN-KISSED PACK OPENS TITLE DRILLS IN WORLD OF WHITE
DEC 21 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "Let's go....everybody bundle up." That was the signal from Coach Vince Lombardi Wednesday as the Packers prepared to step into the Wonderful World of Whiteness. Thus, the Packers officially opened their practice for their championship struggle against the Giants in City Stadium Dec. 31. And after two weeks in sunny and green California, this was quite a shock. The sharp sun on the white snow was blinding as the players walked down a plowed-out road in the stadium parking lot from the clubhouse to the Oneida St. practice field. While the temperatures hovered around 20, it didn't seem cold - for the first five minutes. The players walked slowly down the "road" and then skipped about the played out practice field a few minutes before Lombardi called 'em together. The field had a border - snow piled four to five feet high where it had been plowed back. City sweepers were used to brush the snow off right to the ground - except where it was packed. Lombardi kept the Bays out for only about 20 minutes. He plans to keep it "short and easy" before plunging into the more intense workouts next week. There will be no practice Sunday and Monday. Most of the players wore gloves, except the backs and ends who caught and/or threw passes. And three or four wore sneakers. The field had been plowed out the night before but was pretty well frozen solid. Most of the players had sneakers on today. It was interesting to note the Pack's passing drill in view of stiff fingers. Bart Starr got off a few wobblers but for the most part he and John Roach kept their spirals going. The catch of the day was made by Herb Adderley. The last traces of California smog was removed at the close of the drill when Lombardi conducted the daily sprints. The cold air was refreshing - especially on the heels of 10, 20 and 40-yard sprints. Back in the dressing room, Tom Bettis pounded his chest, yelled "this fresh air is wonderful" and then let loose with a loud cough. Two players missed the snow-fun, Jim Taylor and John Symank, who remaining in the training room with Trainer Bud Jorgensen. Taylor has a "back" and Symank a "chest." Both should be out on the field later this week. Joining drills for the first time in a week was Max McGee, who ran around and caught the ball. He suffered chest injuries in the 49er game and missed the windup vs. the Rams. The Packers are virtually surrounded by snow or people working on it in their daily training. The east lot is being plowed out and workmen are busy shoveling snow off the seats in the stadium. The stadium floor is white. The turf is covered with a tarpaulin, 18 inches of hay and about a foot of snow. Stadium custodian Johnny Proski isn't fretting. "The turf is soft and fast right now and we'll start testing with removing the snow and hay Friday. But we won't take it all off until the weekend of the game." How to get the hay off? "This must be tested but we plan to remove the snow with small plows and then pick up the hay with a bailer. That should go quick," he said...Soldiers Ray Nitschke and Boys Dowler are expected in today from Fort Lewis, Wash., to start 14-day leaves, thus enabling them to get in good condition for the title game. The other soldier, Paul Hornung, is expected to get a holiday leave but it won't start until next Wednesday. This would give him only four days of practice - hardly enough for him to regain some of his lost sharpness. Lombardi indicated today that Hornung probably wouldn't play unless he could get away sooner.
HORNUNG WINS 3RD POINT TITLE IN ROW
DEC 21 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Halfback Paul Hornung, who missed two complete games and had his timing thrown off for several other games because of Army duty, has won his third straight NFL scoring crown with a total of 146 points for the 1961 season. League statistics showed that the Packers' star halfback scored 10 touchdowns and made 41 extra points and 15 field goals in 12 games of the expanded 14-game season in his triple threat role as a runner, pass catcher and kicking specialist. In 1959, Hornung won the NFL scoring title with 94 points and then in 1960 he had a record high total of 176 points to take the title again. Fullback Jim Taylor, who was hurt in Green Bay's final game last Sunday but will be ready for the title meeting with the Giants, finished second behind Jimmy Brown of Cleveland in rushing with 1,307 yards in 243 carries. Brown made 101 more yards than Taylor in 305 carries, but Taylor had the best average, 5.4, against Brown's 4.1. Taylor also wound up in a tie for third place among scoring leaders. Taylor had 96 points along with Steve Myhra of Baltimore. Taylor's 16 touchdowns were the most scored by an individual this season. Bobby Walston of Philadelphia finished second in scoring with 97 points. Defensive back Willie Wood of the Packers finished first in the punt return department, taking 14 kicks for a total of 225 yards and two touchdowns. Flanker Boyd Dowler, another of the Packers in the Army, finished fifth among punters with 38 kicks averaging 44.1 yards each. Halfback Tom Moore of the Packers wound up seventh among kickoff return leaders by taking 15 carries 409 yards. Quarterback Bart Starr finished third among passing leaders by completing 172 of 295 passes for 2,418 yards and 16 touchdowns.
SEE THE PACKERS AT THEIR BEST
DEC 21 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - While Packer fans are scrambling for tickets to the championship game, there is danger that some of them may overlook the best Packer show of the week - that is the Christmas party at the Brown County Veterans Memorial Arena Saturday afternoon. The program for this party has been presented in great detail in the news column. It is difficult to imagine how any Packer fan could read the story of this program and not want to attend. Everyone in this community knows the Packers. They have seen them in uniform on the field. They know them as great football payers and they are proud of them as representatives of this community. However, the Christmas party will afford an opportunity for these same fans to see the Packers at their very best. That is "at home" in street dress with their families. Those who attend the party will have the privilege of playing host to these young men and their families. To make this possible a small charge is made at the door for this party, one dollar for adults, 50 cents for children under 12. The charge is important in many ways but most of all it changes the people from the position of guest at a party to host to their friends, the Packers and their families. There are many ways to express appreciation to the Packers. However, it would be difficult to think of a better way than to turn out for this party and join with the Packers in celebrating the great victory they have won and the honors they have brought to Green Bay and Wisconsin. There will be about 6,000 seats available in the Arena for Packer fans and backers who truly appreciate the great asset the Packers are to the community and who really want to encourage the team to win the national title.
GIANTS OPEN 'TITLE' DRILLS
DEC 21 (New York) - The New York Giants, with three key players limping and unable to take part, began drills today for their NFL title game with the Packers at Green Bay, Dec. 31. Fullback Alex Webster, offensive tackle Rosey Brown and offensive end Joe Walton spent the time in the trainer's custody while the other members of the Eastern Division champion went through a 75-minute workout at Yankee Stadium. The Giants will drill again tomorrow, then be excused for a long Christmas weekend before getting down to serious practice next Tuesday. Brown, Webster and Walton are expected to be ready by then. Webster, third leading ground gainer in the league, has a groin injury - suffered in practice before the Cleveland game last week, and bruised ribs suffered while carrying out a blocking assignment just before the first half of the Browns' game ended. Walton missed the Cleveland game because of a pulled muscle in his right leg. Brown, voted to the all-NFL team in an Associated Press poll today, has been playing on a damaged right knee for nearly a month, and the injury was aggravated against Cleveland.
61 REVIEW - BY PACK CO-CAPTAINS
DEC 22 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Bill Forester and Jim Ringo, the Packers' co-captain, suffered through a lot of football famine before 1959. They came to Green Bay as rookies in '53, which makes them nine-year veterans. They slaved, sweated and hoped through six seasons that produced only 20 victories, a round 50 losses and two ties. When Vince Lombardi took over in '59, Ringo and Forester continued as co-captains of offense and defense, respectively. In Vince's three years, the Pack won 26 (six more than the previous six years) and lost a mere 12. The Packers have just won two straight Western Division title and they're getting ready to face the Giants in the championship game here Dec. 31. It's great to be a winner. And how about the '61 season? Forester, the former SMU great, gave this impression: "I was sure we'd win the championship all along, but it was a surprise to me that we won it so earl (12 games) - in view of all the things that happened to us. I never thought we'd have it all won before going to the west coast. The Giant game actually won it for us but I'd say we won it in the Detroit game Thanksgiving Day. When we came off the field that day and went into the dressing room that day, everybody was screaming 'just one more' and I was sure we'd go out and get it next Sunday against the Giants. We had a lot of fun playing this year. Old Hawg had a great year, with all the things that happened to him (appendectomy, back injury). We had some exciting games and everybody played their hardest. I guess we're quite a team." Ringo, the onetime Syracuse star, put it this way: "Where would we have been without our bench? So many players on the bench were overshadowed throughout the season. But they were there and waiting. Like last week when Max was out of there. Lew just came in and took over like nothing happened. They just kept coming off the bench and I don't know where they are coming from. The guys are always ready to move and sacrifice. Look at that big Gregg. He's the best tackle in the league but he just took over the guard when Kerry was hurt. And Masters went right in for Gregg. How about Iman being utilized in so many positions. And Adderley, the job he did in Detroit. And that Pitts. They all were a big help," And it might be added that Forester and Ringo were at their best again in this championship year. Both made the AP all-pro team and both were selected to play in the Pro Bowl game Jan. 14...The Packers returned to work today, attending Prof. Lombardi's lectures in the clubhouse and then exercising lightly outdoors. Ray Nitschke and Boyd Dowler reported to the Packers this noon for championship duty from Fort Lewis, Wash. Nitschke and Dowler are loose on 14-day holiday leaves. The worst of the injured players moved around gingerly for the first time this week. They are Jim Taylor, who has a back injury, and Johnny Symank, chest. The Bays will have the weekend off for the holidays and will report back next Tuesday. There was no new word today on Paul Hornung, the Pack's star halfback at Fort Riley, Kan. Hornung isn't supposed to get free until next Wednesday but it's hope he can make it earlier. Lombardi feels that Hornung will have a difficult time getting ready to play if he shows up late...The Packers allowed 26 touchdowns during the just-ended 14-game league season and 10 of them were scored in two games, the Colts in Baltimore, who counted six, and the Bears in Chicago, who added up four. The Colt game was Nov. 5, the Bears Nov. 12. Other than those two games, no team scored more than two TDs vs. Green Bay. Here's how many TDs were scored vs. GB in each game in order: Lions 2, 49ers 1, Bears 0, Colts 1, Browns 2, Vikings 1, Vikings 1, Colts 6, Bears 4, Rams 2, Lions 0, Giants 2, 49ers 2, Rams 2. The enemy scored 13 field goals, including 3 by the Lions Thanksgiving Day, and one safety - the 49ers.
SHERMAN CUTS TITLE DRILLS UNTIL TUESDAY
DEC 22 (New York) - Alex Webster, Roosevelt Brown and Joe Walton rested their ailments again today as the New York Giants went through a light drill at Yankee Stadium. After the workouts, a loosening up session, Coach Allie Sherman dismissed the squad until next Tuesday, when serious drills will begin for the NFL title game at Green Bay against the Western Division Champion Packers on Sunday, Dec. 31. Sherman decided on the long Christmas layoff because the Giants were physically spent after four pressure-packer games in succession as they wrapped up the NFL's Eastern title. "I don't know what would've happened if we didn't clinch it (against Cleveland) last week. I don't see how we could have put a team together for a playoff game with Philadelphia," the coach said. "Webster, Brown and Walton haven't done a thing yet and Joe Morrison is hobbling. But I expect them all here and ready to go on Tuesday." Webster, the veteran fullback who was the No. 3 ground gainer in the NFL this season, has a pulled groin muscle and bruised ribs. Brown, all-pro offensive tackle, has a sore right knee and Walton, regular tight end on offense, has a pulled muscle in his right leg. Morrison, now a regular member of the defensive backfield after injuries to Dick Nolan and Bill Stits, came out of the Cleveland game with a sore leg. The Giants' chief work in practice has been to gear their defense toward stopping Green Bay's big running threat, Jim Taylor. When the Packers beat the Giants, 20-17, three weeks ago, Taylor ripped off 186 yards.
'NFL WHIPPED' IN HOPES OF AFL FOLD: PAT PREXY
DEC 22 (Boston) - Bill Sullivan, president of the Patriots, Boston's AFL club, says, "The NFL has been whipped" in its hopes the AFL would fold. "The NFL thought we'd never get off the ground, but they've been whipped," Sullivan said today. "They're in the corner now. In two years, we've signed more than our share of their top draft choices. I've still got the greatest respect for the NFL. They sold professional football on television and created the interest we needed."
DOWLER, NITSCHKE HERE, OPEN DRILLS
DEC 23 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Boyd Dowler and Ray Nitschke practiced for a half hour on their own here Friday. The Packers' two representatives in Wisconsin's 32nd Division at Fort Lewis, Wash., missed the regular team drill by about a minute. They were motored, with their wives, Pat Dowler and Jackie Nitschke, onto the practice field by Packer publicity chief Tom Miller. Coach Vince Lombardi expressed a cheer on behalf of the sprinting Packers and rushed over to the car. "The return of the prodigals," he roared and then told them to suit up and run for about a half hour. "Don't overdo it," Vince warned, "but get loosened up." The two privates were whistled back to the dressing room and they return in a hurry to get in some work for the day. They now will have enough time to round into good condition for the big playoff against the Giants Dec. 31. The big end and linebacker, who are on 14-day holiday leaves along with 8,000 other Badger soldiers, left camp with the best wishes of their bunkmates in the title contest. The Pack's third soldier boy, Paul Hornung, isn't as fortunate as Dowler and Nitschke. He can't get off until next Wednesday, which just about ruins any opportunity to him to toughen up for the big sawoff. There is always hope that Hornung can report sooner. The Bays held a brisk workout on offense and defense before Dowler and Nitschke showed up. During the work against the Giants' offenses, Em Tunnell intercepted a deflected pass thrown by Y.A. (Bart) Tittle. The deflection brought back a memory to Herb Adderley, waiting for defensive duty on the sidelines. "When we even think about these guys (the Giants) we get passes deflected. There were three or four deflected passes in Milwaukee and the Giants got two of them," Adderley said. The two throws the Giants stole that day near the goal line were both tipped up. Injured Jim Taylor showed up on the practice field Friday and did a little running. Johnny Symank, the other injuree, stayed inside another day for treatment from Trainer Bud Jorgensen. Lombardi is hopeful that both of them will be close to full steam when the major drilling starts Tuesday. The Packers were toasted at a Christmas part and pep rally at the Arena this afternoon. They'll be off Sunday and Christmas Day.
LAMBEAU PICKED FOR HALL OF FAME
DEC 23 (Milwaukee) - The name of four athletes, including two who are deceased, were certified today as the 1961 entrants to Wisconsin's Athletic Hall of Fame. Named by the 11-member committee were the late Walter C. Sanger of Milwaukee, a bicycle racing champion; the late Edward J. Konetchy, La Crosse, a major league infielder; Harlan B. "Biddy" Rogers, of Portage, a nine letter winner in major sports at Wisconsin; and Earl L. "Curly" Lambeau, founder of the Green Bay Packers and their coach from 1919 through 1949. Milwaukee City Treasurer Joseph J. Krueger, chairman of the committee, said the four men received unanimous approval of his group. Lambeau founded the Packers in 1919 and played with them through 1927. He guided the team to six NFL championships. Sanger, known as "Wooden Shoes" throughout his career, was considered one of the fast spring racers of his time. He raced in the United States and in Europe in the 1890s. Konetchy played first base with the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Phillies from 1907 through 1921. Rogers is a Portage attorney and a past president of the Wisconsin Bar Assn. He starred in football, basketball, baseball and golf.
CHAMPION PACKERS SALUTED AT CHRISTMAS PARTY
DEC 24 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Western Division champion Packers were saluted Saturday at a gigantic Christmas party and pep rally in the Brown County Memorial Arena. More than 3,500 fans who were able to break away from the rush of the Christmas weekend cheered madly at the mere mention of the championship game and the Packers' chances of winning it. And they whistled and applauded the Bays won game after game in the movie highlights of the season. But the big applause was saved for Vince Lombardi. The Packers' head coach was given a standing ovation by his players and the entire audience as he walked briskly up a red carpet to the speakers' mike. Lombardi, smiling broadly, saluted the audience, "On behalf of the Packers and our wives, and the wives are a very important part of our organization, we express our gratitude for this party and the backing we have received. This proves that this is a great place for the players to play football in and live in. I'd like to wish the Packers and their wives and you a very merry Christmas." The coach continued, "We should all be proud of this team because of its singleness of purpose, its dedication to winning. This team overcame many adversities during the season - it is a team that would not be beaten. It overcame illness, an appendectomy, the Army and injuries. You should be as proud of this team as is the coaching staff. I'd like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to our coaching staff. This staff is the best in football, and what they did this year proves it." The audience laughed softly when Vince mentioned "appendectomy." He was referring to what struck veteran Dave Hanner in mid-season. Hanner was back in action 10 days after the operation. Curly Lambeau, founder and coach of the Packers for winning the championship and added, "You are going to beat the Giants if you show the spirit you showed during the past season. The Giants will not out-spirit the Packers." Tony Canadeo, master of ceremonies, and Chuck Egan, program chairman, introduced the various speakers during the fast-moving program that opened with selections by the Packer Lumberjack Band under the direction of Wilner Burke. Other speakers included Packer President Dominic Olejniczak, former Packer presidents Ray Evrard and Lee H. Joannes, and Jim Francois, chairman of the county board. Olejniczak displayed a silver cup presented to the Packers by the Silversmith Guild of the United States, honoring the titleholders. Joannes reminded that 70 percent of the champions are made up of the 1958 team that won only one game. Evrard reiterated Bert Bell's famous statement: "There will always be a Green Bay in the NFL." This quotation, incidentally, drew a big round of applause. Each member of the Packer organization received a beautiful silver tray during an introduction ceremony in which the players walked in pairs on a red carpet to the stage. Also receiving trays were Mrs. Jack Vainisi, widow of the Packers' late business manager, and the three members of the team's 'cab" squad - Don Ellersick, Jack Novak and Ed Sutton. Other gifts, all placed under a 50-foot Christmas tree, were given to the players and their wives after the program. Children of the players also received
gifts. They were "stashed" away in the hands of babysitters during the program. Arrangements had been made to film remarks by President Kennedy, but had to be cancelled when Kennedy was called to Florida by the illness of his father. The president, who is said to be a Packer fan, had agreed with Lombardi to make a film in Washington Thursday.
PAUL HORNUNG GETS FULL WEEK'S DRILL
DEC 24 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Paul Hornung will get in a full week's practice for the championship game. The Packers' flashing halfback wasn't scheduled to get out of Fort Riley, Kan., until next Wednesday, but Coach Vince Lombardi announced that Hornung had been able to "advance" his holiday leave today. Hornung's chances of figuring in the game would have been dim indeed if he had to wait until practice a few days before the game. The Packers will be off today and Monday but Hornung likely will get in a little running on his own before joining the club for five days of drilling. This will allow him to work into the Bays' game plan and toughen up at the same time. Hornung missed two games this season - both against the Rams, and reported for four other games on the day before. With Jim Taylor running a little better and Hornung coming, the Packers now stand an even chance of having their two big guns in working order for the big playoff. These two powerhouses scored 243 points between them, including 26 of the Pack's 49 touchdowns. Taylor is still hurting but he's been running. Also out and moving around is Johnny Symank, the rugged defensive halfback who suffered rib injuries against the Rams. The Christmas weekend will give both a good opportunity to recuperate. The Packers closed out the non-game week with a brisk drill Saturday morning under near-blizzard conditions. There was a sharp wind blowing up loose snow. After practice, it was off to the Arena for lunch and the Christmas party.
LOMBARDI RECEIVES TOUCHDOWN AWARD
DEC 24 (Washington) - Vincent Thomas (Vince) Lombardi, architect of the "football miracle" in Green Bay, has been named to receive the coveted Touchdown Club Award as the Outstanding Professional Coach of the Year, it was announced Saturday by James V. Castiglia, General Chairman of the TDers' 27th annual Awards Banquet, scheduled here Jan. 13. The dynamic coach of the NFL's Western Division champions, who will be at the colorful black-tie affair to accept his award, was the unanimous No. 1 choice of the seven-man Selection Board, headed for the fourth time by Edward J. Hickey, Jr. Others in the balloting were Al Sherman, whose Eastern Division champion New York Giants Lombardi's Packers defeated 20-17 in their only encounter, and who they meet December 31st for the NFL championship game; Norm Van Brocklin of the Minnesota Vikings; and Wally Lemm of the Houston Oilers. The Brooklyn-board Lombardi, 48, came to Green Bay as general manager and head coach in 1959. He was responsible for guiding the Packers out of the basement in football rankings to the championship title in the Western Division last year. His rigid formula for success in 1960 prevailed in '61 as the Packers again swept top honors with an 11-3 record, the best in the NFL. In fact, the Green Bay team clinched the title this year with two games still remaining on their schedule. At that point in the season, they had the highest offensive score of any team, East or West, as well as the best defensive record in either division. Lombardi, one of the most dedicated coaches on the American scene, has been with only two losing teams in 22 years. The St. Cecilia High School team he piloted in Englewood, New Jersey, while working his way through law school, went 36 games undefeated and in eight seasons won six state championships. He joined the pro ranks as offensive coach with the New York Giants from 954 to 1958. In '56, the Giants copped the NFL title and in '58 the Eastern Division title. The "hard-nosed disciplinarian," who made the Dean's honor roll each of four years while a student at Fordham, entering there at the age of 20 after five years of study for the priesthood, was a regular guard with that school's famous "Seven Blocks of Granite" in the mid-thirties. Hickey, in reporting the findings of the Selection Board, stated: "Disciplined perfection and high morale are the hallmarks of successful coaching. Though often strangers, they were inseparably welded by Vince Lombardi at Green Bay."
PACKERS' PILOT PROUD NATIVE OF GREEN BAY
DEC 24 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Whenever the Packers' United Airlines charter glides to a landing, the Packers clap their hands vigorously and cheer. And somebody will always say, "We haven't had a rough landing yet. He knows how to put these things down." The recipient of the clapping and cheering and praising remarks is United Airlines Capt. Don Smith of Lombard, Ill., a native of Green Bay. Don grew up with the Packers and, believe me, he loves 'em. Here's a letter Don wrote to your correspondent the day after the Packers' fight from Los Angeles, and it's good reading: "Our trip home from L.A. yesterday will probably be the ONE trip that I'll remember for the rest of my days. It will probably be my last trip as pilot for the Packers until we get ample runways in Green Bay for the jets, and the Packers start traveling around in Caravelles, because I'll be moving up to pilot the jets next month. Just because it was my last trip is not what will make it memorable to me though. I don't believe I'm sweating out getting a trip into its destination as much either. Starting out at 8 a.m., when I first looked at the weather in L.A., I started sweating, and I sweated each hour through, waiting for the next weather report to see if we were to keep coming or to head for our alternate, Denver. We did have to leave the team's gear in L.A. to lighten the load sufficiently to carry the fuel to get us back to Denver, if Green Bay had socked in. So I sweated, but that still is not the most memorable thing about the trip. I've flown airliners now for almost 17 years, into every major city in this country, in good and lousy weather, and every holiday of the years including many, many Christmas Eves when I would like to be at home. In all these many years, I have never witnessed such a display of welcome as was given the Packers last night. The beautiful Christmas displays that were lighted added to the merry twinkle of the house lights, porch lights, backyard lights, automobile lights, and just kids with flashlights, all flashing away at us and welcoming the Packers home. This is what I'll remember
about all of the Packer trips and this is what makes this one the most wonderful trip of them all. It was a fine gesture from everyone and the fireworks were fine, too. I'm proud to be from Green Bay. Best wishes."
COMP TO FRITSCH PASS GIVES PACK TITLE - IN 1944
DEC 24 (Associated Press) - Don Hutson charged from left end and cut diagonally right. The entire defensive secondary, alert to Hutson's every move, sped into pursuit and converged on the elusive enemy as he maneuvered toward the goal line. Meanwhile, fullback Ted Fritsch had run directly into the vacated zone and was 10 yards away from the nearest defender when Irv Comp's pass floated into his arms on the 5. He stepped into the end zone unmolested. That was on the clear, crisp Sunday afternoon of Dec. 17, 1944 at the Polo Grounds in New York - the winning touchdown as the Green Bay Packers defeated the New York Giants 14-7 for the NFL championship. Next Sunday (Dec. 31), the Packers and Giants will meet for the title for the fourth time, and for the first time since that war-time game 17 years ago. Green Bay, Wis., and New York - two cities virtually as disparate as two cities can be. One, thriving but small and quiet; the other, one of the world's great capitals, huge and glittering. But both with one thing in common - adoration of football teams rich in tradition and glory. The Packers and Giants have long histories in the NFL, Green Bay coming in when the league was founded in 1921 and New York joining four years later. And both teams have reaped a large share of pro football glory. Green Bay won three league titles before the NFL was split into two divisions in 1933, and since has won six western titles and three more NFL championships. The Giants won one league crown prior to 1933, with 12 eastern titles and three NFL championships since. In their personal series, dating back to 1928, the two clubs are dead even - 15-15-2. The Packers made it all square three weeks ago with a 20-17 victory. All-time rosters for the Packers and Giants are studded with legendary names. For Green Bay - Curly Lambeau, who founded and played with the team and was head coach for 30 years; Hutson, the incredible pass receiver who moved like a wraith and made unbelievable catches his trademark; Clarke Hinkle and Tony Canadeo, two of the game's premier ball carriers; the dashing Johnny Blood; Lavern Dilweg, Verne Lewellen and Mike Michalske. For the Giants - the remarkably durable Mel Hein, considered by many as football's greatest center; Tuffy Leemans, Ken Strong, Steve Owen, Ray Flaherty and, for one brief stay in the twilight of an immortal career, Jim Thorpe. Twenty-three years ago, the Packers and Giants battled through one of the NFL's most exciting playoffs before a record crowd at the time, 48,120, at the Polo Grounds. The date was Dec. 11, 1938. Fighting furiously from the start, the Giants forged ahead 9-0 in the first period when Jim Lee Howell and Jim Poole crashed in and blocked punts. The first resulted in Ward Cuff's field goal, the second in a 6-yard touchdown blast by Leemans. But in the second quarter, the Packers came to life. Tiny Engebretsen stole a pass and moments later Arnie Herber and Carl Mulleneaux combined on a 41-yard scoring pass play. The Giants struck back after a fumble recovery by Hein, with Ed Danowski passing to Hap Barnard for a touchdown. Then Green Bay came back as Cecil Isbell hit Wayland Decker on a pass play that went 66 yards, and Hinkle bulled over on his fifth straight carry. The Packers edged in front in the third period on Engebretsen's field goal from the 15, but, before the quarter was over, the Giants regained the lead. Danowski's pass to Hank Soar produced a touchdown and the victory in a savage 23-17 victory for New York. The following year, on Dec. 10, 1939, the two teams met again for the championship in a biting wind at Milwaukee's State Fairgrounds. Before a partisan crowd of 32,279, the Packers gained revenge for the previous year's defeat. Herber passed to Milt Gantenbein for the only first half touchdown, but Green Bay cut loose for 10 points in each of the final two periods for a 27-0 romp. An Isbell-to-Joe Laws pass and a one-yard plunge by Ed Jankowski brought touchdowns, and Engebretsen and Ernie Smith kicked field goals. It was five years later before the Giants and Packers again played for the league championship in their 1944 game, which drew 46,016 to the Polo Grounds. The world was wracked by war and one player who was a demon on defense that day was to die in the war less than seven weeks later. He was Army Lt. Al Blozis, the massive New York tackle. Hutson was 32 and in his 10th year as a pro, but again led NFL receivers. The Giants hoped they had an answer to the Green Bay ace in a crack rookie pass defender, Howie Livingston, brother of New York's current linebacker, Cliff Livingston. The Giants were hurt by injuries, particularly to their brilliant runner, Bill Paschal, and the Packer secondary wrecked by the passing of ex-Green Bay star Arnie Herber, with five interceptions. Still, it was a rugged, close contest. Fritsch accounted for both Packer touchdowns in the second period on a 2-yard plunge and the all-alone pass reception, and Hutson kicked the conversions. The aroused Giants dominated the second half, but couldn't catch up. Their touchdown came when Ward Cuff, switching from wingback to tail for the first time in eight years with New York, plowed in from the one. Now, 17 years after that 14-7 Green Bay victory, the Packers and Giants are readying themselves for another showdown, for another chapter in the glowing history of two outstanding teams.
NICEST CHRISTMAS GIFT: CURLY
DEC 24 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "That's the nicest Christmas present I ever received." That was Curly Lambeau's reaction Saturday when he learned that he had been elected to the Wisconsin Athletic Hall of Fame. "I'm very happy and thrilled and, as I have said so many times in the past, I owe everything to the fans of Green Bay who supported us through all the years," he added. Lambeau was preceded in the Hall of Fame by five of his greatest Packer stars - Don Hutson, Clarke Hinkle, Cub Buck, Red Dunn and Johnny Blood. Under rule of the hall, no athlete is eligible until he has retired at least five years in the sport in which he achieved his fame. Lambeau had coached the collegians in the annual All-Star game within the period but the committee waived this impediment as one of a temporary assignment and considered him eligible. Under Lambeau, who played during the period from 1921-27, the Packers won six world championships, and in 1938 they won the western division honors but were defeated by the New York Giants in the playoff, 23-17. Before the era of playoffs, the Packers copped the honors in 1929, 1930, and 1931 with such stars as Verne Lewellen, Lavvie Dilweg, Cal Hubbard, Red Dunn, Eddie Kotal, Johnny Blood, Hurdis McCrary, Bo Molenda, Arnie Herber, Mike Michalske and Whitey Woodin. They nailed the 1936 title in their division and defeated Boston in the playoffs, 21 to 6. Don Hutson, Clarke Hinkle, Joe Laws, Hank Bruder, Bob Monnett, Paul Engebretsen, Ernie Amith and "Buckets" Goldenberg had joined Curly's forces by this time. In Curly's opinion, his "greatest" team copped the world title in 1939 by defeating the New York Giants in the playoffs, 27 to 0. Lambeau's last world championship was won by his 1944 club, the group he termed "my most spirited aggregation." The Giants were again the victims in the playoffs by a 14 to 7 count. Larry Craig, Baby Ray, Charlie Brock, Pete Tinsley and Bill Kuusisto were some of the newcomers who had made their names household names in Green Bay. Lambeau resigned after the 1949 season and later coached the Chicago Cardinals and Washington Redskins.
KIDS QUIZ STARR, DAVIS, TAYLOR
DEC 24 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - How do you feel when you lose a game? What's the hardest team you've played against? Who, what, when and where? Two pupils from Miss Virginia Thiele's sixth grade room at Fort Howard School interviewed three Packer players. The highly interesting interviews made by Dan Haefs and Pete Polzak with Bart, Willie Davis and Jim Taylor follows: BART STARR'S INTERVIEW: Q - How do you feel before a game? A - "It's just natural to get nervous. I probably wouldn't be in the game if I didn't get nervous." Q - Do you have a certain call the first time you have the ball? A - "Usually we decide the play before the game, but we don't have a specific call." Q - How do you feel when you throw a long TD pass? A - "I feel real good but sometimes there is a little mental letdown." Q - What goes on in the huddle after you have been thrown for a loss? A - "It doesn't matter much because it doesn't happen very often. When it does, the linemen feel the mistake more than I do. I don't chew them out." Q - When do you decide to run? A - "It's a split second guess and I only run when I feel I can." Like against the Colts? "No, I called the plays in the huddle. I was going to run." Q - How does blocking help the team? A - "Anybody that knows anything about football knows that blocking is 99 percent of the game." Q - How do you feel when you lose a game? A - "I never think about it until the gun sounds." Q - How do you feel after you lose a game and after you win? A - "Very good after we win, but I hate to lose. I don't have a sour grape attitude, though." Q - How do you feel when a pass is intercepted? A - "Not good at all. I get mad at myself and I try not to do it again." Q - How do you feel when an end drops a pass? A - "I don't chew him out. I just let it go. He feels worse than anybody." Q - Do you think back to what you could have done better? A - "Sure, everybody does it. You wouldn't be natural if you didn't." Q - How did you all of a sudden become one of the leading passers? A - "Luck is a big factor." Q - How many years have you played pro football? A - "I have played six years, and I want to play six more." Q - What's your job offseason? A - "I manage a building in Green Bay." Starr's life - When he was a boy who liked football, but didn't know much about it because there was no TV. From early boyhood days, he played halfback until he got into high school when he switched to quarterback. He stayed there the rest of his life...WILLIE DAVIS' INTERVIEW: Q - How do you feel before a game? A - "The morning before the game I'm especially nervous. Naturally all fellows are nervous." Q - How do you feel when you tackle a quarterback? A - "It's a thrill, but it's part of my job." Q - Do you like Green Bay better than Cleveland? A - "It's been real enjoyable, but I really can't say." Q - What's the hardest running team you ever played against? A - "It really doesn't matter about the running but the Bears move the ball as well as any team." Q - What goes on in a defensive huddle? A - "The captain calls the plan of the defense and if something went wrong the play before, the men try to cheer everybody else up." Q - Who is the hardest running back you have played against? A - "I can't really say because some backs try to go through you and some backs try to go around you." Q - How hard is it to get the passer? A - "It depends on the man who is blocking you and sometimes there is a fullback or halfback waiting to help him and that makes it harder." Q - How do you feel when you miss a tackle? A - "If I have a clean shot at him and I miss him, I feel bad but if I don't, it doesn't bother me that much." Q - Does it hurt you when you tackle a man? And how much? A - "If you are standing still, waiting for him, you might tackle him but you might get knocked over doing it. But if you're going full speed and he is, it doesn't hurt at all." Q - How many more years do you want to play pro football? A - "Without injuries I'd like t play three more years." Q - What's your job offseason? A - "I teach school in Cleveland." Davis' life - Willie Davis as a boy liked to play football. In high school, he played end and guard. In college, he played end and linebacker. The schools he went to from junior high to college are: Washington and Grambling...JIM TAYLOR'S INTERVIEW: Q - How do you feel before a game? A - "Mostly you're nervous, but sometimes other guys crack jokes to cheer you up." Q - How do you feel when you are losing a game? A - "Terrible - that is all I can tell you." Q - What's the hardest team you've ever played against? A - "The Giants." Q - How did you feel when you were tackled on the last play of the championship game? A - "It was just terrible, just terrible. It was like a bad dream. I knew it was all over." Q - When you break away, how many blockers do you pick up downfield? A - "Usually I pick up about one or two, but not very many." Q - What is it like underneath the pile? A - "All the weight isn't usually on me because I'm at an angle." Q - What do you like to do better, catch screen passes or go up the middle? A - "Catch screen passes because I can pick up blockers." Q - Do you think you'll pass Jimmy Brown in the league's rushing race? A - "I'd sure like to, but I don't think I can." Q - Do you like to block? A - "Yes, I do very much. I like to see if I can knock the other guy down." Q - What is your job in the offseason? A - "I'm a public relations man." Taylor's life - Jim Taylor as a young boy moved a lot from school to school. His schools from junior high on to college are: Baton Rouge, LSU, Hines, LSU.
CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK! PACK DIGS IN FOR GAME 20
DEC 26 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - This is Championship Week. This is the week every team in the NFL pointed for when the 14 clubs opened action last Sept. 17. Today, the two remaining bests - the Packers and Giants - dug in for their classic championship match at City Stadium, starting at 1 o'clock Sunday afternoon. The Packers will be playing Game 20. Game 1 was played away last Aug. 11 in Dallas, a 30-7 victory over the Cowboys. The Packers lost only three of the 19 games. They swept the non-league board, winning five straight, and then lost the league openers to Detroit. They followed with six straight wins, lost to Baltimore, and then won four in a row to clinch their second straight title. They lost Game 18, to San Francisco, and then took No. 19 in Los Angeles. Thus, the Packers go into Sunday's show with a one-game winning skein. The Giants are packing a two-game streak of some kind - a win and a tie. The Packers went back to work today after spending their first Christmas in Green Bay as a team. They were in a team state last year for the 1960 championship game, but observed the holiday in Philadelphia. Other title games involving Green Bay were all played earlier. Most of the Packers got their first look at a white Christmas in Green Bay - and it was really white. A heavy coating of hoar frost left trees and rook tops a glistening white Christmas morning. Fortunately, Green Bay escaped the heavy snowfall (10 inches) that loaded down the southern part of Wisconsin, as well as Chicago, and the Pack's practice field displayed grass today. The playing floor of City Stadium is "sodded" with a foot of hay and 6 inches of snow. Right now, it's a haven for rabbits who never had it so warm - in that hay. The bunnies will be vacated this weekend. The 1961 Packer family is intact for the big crash - at least in numbers. Papa Vince Lombardi has the same roster on hand that opened the season but, alas, one member, Jerry Kramer, is not in uniform and three others - Armymen Paul Hornung, Boyd Dowler and Ray Nitschke - probably will be unable to reach their early-season peak. Kramer is on hand to supervise morale. Dowler, Hornung and Nitschke are here for a week's practice, which is more than they've been able to do for eight weeks. Previously, they were present just for the games, with Hornung being unable to make it for the two Ram games. This is the first they've drilled with the Packers for a week since the week of Oct. 22 - before the second Viking game. All three lost weight in service but a week of "home" cooking this week should help. All three try to get in some work during the week at their Army posts, but it's a far cry from the daily football training. Hornung is stationed at Fort Riley, Kan. Nitschke and Dowler are at Fort Lewis, Wash. They are out on holiday leaves. The Packers have roughly two injuries left over from the league windup in LA - Jim Taylor, the jarring fullback, and Johnny Symank, the jarring defensive halfback. They're out on the practice field and running. Lombardi called the Packer squad together at 10 o'clock this morning and then unfolded plans for the week. The team was out on the field at 11 o'clock...Tickets for the championship game are available at the Packer ticket office, 349 S. Washington St., Ticket Director Earl Falck said today. The office will be open from 9 to 9 until all tickets are sold. Falck said ticket business has been brisk..."Workers" on the game, representing members of the press, radio and TV and the league office, will start arriving tonight, although most of the visiting folks will be in Wednesday and Thursday. Jim Kensil, director of public relations for the NFL, will arrive tonight along with Don Smith, the Giants' publicity chief, and Harry Standish of the league office. Press headquarters will be set up in the Northland Hotel starting Thursday. Commissioner Pete Rozelle will arrive Friday. The Giants are also due in that day. The Associated Press will have four writers here and one of them, Jack Hand, will come in Wednesday with Danny Nero, AP photographer. Tom Miller, Packer publicity chief, is figuring on nearly 150 assorted newspaper, radio and TV visitors. Miller has figured out a way of getting everybody in the three-deck press box.
UPI PICKS EIGHT PACKERS ON NFL ALL-LEAGUE TEAM
DEC 26 (New York) - Fred Thurston and Jim Ringo of the Green Bay Packers and Jimmy Patton of the New York Giants, whose unglamorized feats only occasionally make headlines, were the outstanding choices today on the United Press International 1961 NFL All-Star team. The All-Star backfield of quarterback Sonny Jurgensen of the Philadelphia Eagles, halfbacks Paul Hornung of the Packers and Lenny Moore of the Baltimore Colts, and fullback Jimmy Brown of the Cleveland Browns accounted for a combined total of 67 touchdowns by passing, rushing or pass catching this season. Roosevelt Brown, New York Giants offensive tackle, was honored for the sixth consecutive season. Cleveland's Brown and Gino Marchetti, Baltimore Colts, were chosen for the fifth straight year and Patton for the fourth in a row...ELEVEN REPEATERS: Eleven of these players are holdovers from last year's all-NFL team. They are Hornung, Moore, Smith and Ringo on offense, and Marchetti, Karras, Jordan, Forester and Patton on defense. Thurston, Green Bay's 250-pound blocking guard who is a four-season NFL veterans, was the most popular choice on the team, attracting 33 of a possible 42 votes. Patton, who occasionally grabs some attention with his pass interceptions (he has 8 this season), was runnerup in the voting with 31 ballots, while Ringo had 30 votes. Hornung was next with 28. Roosevelt Brown, the Giants' sturdy 245-pound offensive tackle, now has been chosen on every NFL All-Star team since 1956.
NAME HORNUNG TOP GRID PRO
DEC 26 (New York-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Paul Hornung, Green Bay Packers' halfback, was named today the top performer in professional football for 1961 by the editors of Sport magazine. In announcing its 15th annual selection of the year's "Top Performers" in all major points, Sport points particularly to Hornung's scoring of 33 points on Oct. 8 against the Baltimore Colts as "the most impressive performance of his NFL career." In that game, the former Notre Dame All-America set a Green Bay record and led the Packers to a 45-7 victory. Roger Maris of the New York Yankees was named Sport's "Man of the Year" and the top performer in baseball. Ten other athletes listed as top performers in the magazine's February issue, published today, are: Bill Russell, Boston Celtics, professional basketball; Bernie (Boom Boom) Geoffrion, Montreal Canadiens, hockey;
Frank Budd, Villanova University, track and field; Ernie Davis, Syracuse University, college football; Johnny Sellers, horse racing. Also, Jerry Lucas, Ohio State, college basketball; Darlene Hard, tennis; Joe Brown, boxing; Chet Jastremski, Indiana University, swimming and diving; and Arnold Palmer, gold. Hornung, now an Army private stationed at Fort Riley, Kan., will received a hand-engraved plaque from the magazine.
HENRY J. BERO, FORMER POLICE CHIEF PASSES
DEC 26 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Henry J. (Tubby) Bero, 65, 413 Hubbard St., former Green Bay police chief, died Monday morning in a local hospital after a long illness. Mr. Bero suffered a stroke on Sept. 8, 1960. Because of his ill health, he submitted his resignation from the Police Dept. in November, 1960, effective Feb. 1 this year. Mr. Bero was a city electrician at the time he was named acting police captain on April 1, 1936, and served as a disciplinarian and organizer to assist in reorganization of the acknowledged faction-ridden department at that time. A year later he was named to the newly created post of inspector. On June 1, 1946, he received an appointment as chief, becoming only the third man to serve Green Bay as such since consolidation of Fort Howard as part of the city. Mr. Bero long had been active in community affairs. He also was a member of the first Packer football team in 1919, playing as a halfback. At one time, he was a member of the Packer executive committee, for many years supervised stadium workers at all home games and was on the Packer board of directors at the time of his death. Mr. Bero was also a veteran of World War I, a member of the local American Legion Post, of which he was also a past commander; a member of 40 et 8; the Police Chiefs Assn., and the Holy Name Society of St. Patrick's Church. His first wife died in June of 1955.
GIANTS AWAIT $$$ GRADES ON HOMEWORK
DEC 26 (New York) - It almost looked like a classroom in P.S. 85 today when the New York Giants handed in their homework to Coach Allie Sherman. But instead of "pass" or "flunk," each Giant may be graded in terms of $$$ - 5,000 of them to be exact, if he has learned his lessons well and the team beats the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay this Sunday for the NFL's championship. Sherman gave his squad a four-day Christmas holiday but had the players take home their playbooks, containing the basic plays and formations to be used the Packers' game. "If they don't have these basics down pat, then we're in trouble," Sherman said today. He sent them onto snow-fringed Yankee Stadium to begin intensive outdoor work to put their book knowledge in operation. He planned to supplement the outdoor drills with skull sessions. "We won't be putting in very much that's new these last few days," he said, "and neither will the Packers. We'll go at each other with our strength, and prepare for the strength of the other." Sherman admitted that while the Giants have great respect for Green Bay's passing, it is the Packers' tremendous running, led by Jim Taylor, that poses the biggest threat. "We feel we can stop this, or at least slow it down, by repositioning our defensive men," he pointed out. "We've got to make it a lot tougher for their blockers to get the angles and knock our men down, as they did in the game in Milwaukee."...TAYLOR GAINED 186: The Packers won the regular season game 20-17 earlier this month, as
Taylor bashed the Giants' line for 186 yards. Sherman also admitted that his offensive unit must crank up its running game if the passing of quarterback Y.A. Tittle is to be effective. "We'll be putting the polish to our ground attack these next few days, you can bet on that," he added.
TITLE-PHONE SALUTE? IT'S 'BEAT THE GIANTS'
DEC 27 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - It can only happen in Green Bay Dept.! Make a phone call this week and you may not get the customary "hello." St. Norbert College apparently has started something. Call there and the operator will chirp sweetly, "Beat the Giants." It's catching on. Others have taken up the greeting. In case you've just blown in from Siberia, people are expressing the wish of the day - merely that the Packers beat the Giants in the championship game Sunday afternoon. And where else can you get 500 people out in 20-degree weather on a Tuesday morning to watch 36 adult boys cavort in several thicknesses of union suits? That's what happened yesterday when Coach Vince Lombardi walked his herd from the City Stadium clubhouse down to the Oneida St. practice field. Cars were lined up on both sides of the street all the way out to the highway. Fans came and went during the entire drill. Some were bundled to the ears, others stood with open coats. This was the largest crowd out for the Packer practice since last August during the training season. How come the big turnout? One gent said, "Just interested, I guess." Another explained his presence this way: "This helps me get the feel of the game more." An elderly lady said: "Maybe we can help 'em win." Fans had to be chased off the grass-exposed sidelines for fear of somebody getting hurt. The turf was frozen solid but the Packers wore cleats on their shoes, with success. The ends and backs dug in enough to cut sharply on pass patterns and running plays. Everybody wore gloves but the backs and ends. It seems that the cold is bothering the Packers less
and less. As Dan Currie explained, "This is refreshing, what's the difference anyway." Oddly enough, it was colder a year ago when the Packers drilled for the championship game in Philadelphia. For three straight days, the temperature never got above 10. And speaking about weather, the five day forecast is favorable. Mr. Weatherman says the cold prevailing now will moderate for the weekend. The forecast thus is for normal temperatures in the mid-20s. With luck, it could reach into the 30s. Precipitation will be generally light. Probably the best sights for the spectators and everybody concerned were the three returning Army men - Paul Hornung, Boyd Dowler and Ray Nitschke. Hornung, with a brisk breeze on his back, was extremely accurate with his field goal kicking. So was punter Boyd Dowler, who put the wind to good advantage. Max McGee, though he's running well, has refrained from punting. The two injury cases, Jim Taylor and John Symank, were running on their own - but running hard. Symank stepped into a play on occasion but Taylor stuck to chasing up and down the sidelines. If anybody felt uneasy about Taylor, one look at Hornung was enough to pick up the camp. The league's most valuable player some 10 pounds under his normal 215 pounds, was running hard in his first week-day drill with the Pack since Oct. 22. Injuries to Symank and Taylor brings forth the Pack's lone switch-hitter, Herb Addeley; the two-way running back, Tom Moore; and the grand old man of defense, Em Tunnell. Moore would move into Taylor's shoes if the LSU crasher can't go. Loss of Symank might require some juggling in the secondary, with Adderley or Tunnell playing the key role. Adderley, who also plays flanker on offense, has had some game experience on the left side of the secondary. He relieved left cornerbacker Hank Gremminger in the victory over the Lions Thanksgiving Day and intercepted a pass. Symank plays left safety behind Gremminger. Tunnell has played little during the season, but he's hopeful of playing Sunday...Earl Falck, Packer ticket director, says that there is still a limited number of tickets left for the championship game (kickoff, 1:00). The office at 349 S. Washington St. is open from 9 to 9...BRIEFS: The sudden death rule will apply to Sunday's classic. If the game is tied at the end of regulation 60 minutes, it will continue in sudden death overtime. The team scoring first (by safety, field goal or touchdown) will win...St. Mary Paul, who wrote the poem, "Twas the night before Playoff," which was published in Sunday's paper, is from St. Agnes School - not St. Agnes Hospital...The earliest date on which a championship game was held was Dec. 8. That was the 1940 Chicago-Washington rout (73-0). The latest, before this year's Dec. 31 game, was on Dec. 30, 1956, when the Giants beat the Bears 47-7.
CAL'S COMMENTS (1919)
DEC 27 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers made their first train trip in mid-season. They traveled by North Western railroad to Ishpeming, Mich., where they won 33-0 despite a very peculiar official and a hostile crowd. The train trip was almost a bigger story than the victory although Ishpeming hadn't been beaten on the home lot in five years. We had a ticket for 25 players in a Pullman. John P. Hogan was the agent for the North Western at that time and he rode along with us. (Incidentally, he also handled the group ticket for the 25 players.) It just so happened that a few of the Green Bay enthusiasts were still in the Pullman wishing the Packers good luck when the train pulled out. We decided to carry 'em along. By the time the conductor came through, some of these boys were buried in lower berths and other places. You might have called 'em "The Untouchables." It so happened there was a compartment in the car and a closet attached to the compartment. Two of the gentlemen, Val Schneider and Walter Ellegard, slid in there for safety - in fact I locked them and then forget all about 'em. Finally, I remembered where they were when
we got near Marinette. They were just a mass of perspiration.
COLD, WHITTENTON CAUTION SHOFNER
DEC 27 (New York) - End Del Shofner is the gun the New York Giants have held to the head of 14 NFL opponents this year, and it has just been cleaned, reloaded and cocked for Sunday's NFL championship game against the Green Bay Packers. "After our four day Christmas vacation, which I spent at my home in Texas, my legs feel better than at any time during the last five weeks of the season." the 6-foot-3 speedster said today. "When we had our first real hard practice session Tuesday, I could tell right away that I was in better shape," he added. What this means to the Giants can be figured in terms of yards and touchdowns, for Shofner, who came to New York this year in a trade with the Los Angeles Rams, is the Eastern Conference championship "home run" threat. More than that, Shofner has been able to tie up an extra defensive back most of the season when most teams have found it necessary to double team him. This has allowed quarterbacks Y.A. Tittle and Charley Conerly more latitude in throwing to other receivers and has opened up the running game. Shofner is not about to claim that he'll be greased lightning that won't be touched by the ball-hawking Packers. The uncertainty of the cold weather and a defensive back named Jesse Whittenton cry "caution." "I don't know whether I'll have the advantage playing on a frozen field or not. I've never done it before, at least not under conditions I've heard we might have to face in Green Bay. The only chance I ever had was a few years ago with the Rams, when we faced the Cardinals in Chicago, and I was hurt that game and hardly played at all. Whittenton is another thing," he went on. "He has always done a good job on me. I don't know if he does anything special or not, but it seems that ever since I came into the league, he has been that way. I can't even say if he uses anything different against me than any of the other defensive backs I've faced, but I do know that he is one of the best around." When Shofner and Whittenton faced each other in the Packers' 20-17 regular season victory earlier this month, Del caught only one pass for 29 yards. His season total was 69 receptions for 1,125 yards and 11 touchdowns. Coach Allie Sherman of the Giants was well pleased with his team's first vigorous workout Tuesday. It lasted 75 minutes. "We think most of our cripples are about ready to go again," he said afterward. "Rosey Brown (offensive tackle) didn't do much running because we don't want him to put a lot of undue pressure on his knee, but he says he's ready to go."
RUMORS REFUTED KENNEDY TO SEE SUNDAY GAME
DEC 27 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "Completely untrue" was the phrase used by President Kennedy's press headquarters today about rumors rampant in Green Bay that there was a possibility the President might attend Sunday's world championship football game between the Packers and the New York Giants. During the last several days, rumors have been voiced here that U.S. Secret Service operatives were in Green Bay. Normally, Secret Service men, charged with the safety of the President, make security checks in cities he is planning to visit. The Press-Gazette called the President's press headquarters in Palm Beach, Fla. where Mr. Kennedy is vacationing, to check on whether Secret Service men were here and, if so, whether the President had any plans to attend Sunday's game. "Completely untrue. Without any foundation," was the answer to both questions.
TITLE IMPONDERABLES: GIANTS' AGE, FANS, WEATHER FIGURES
DEC 28 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The imponderables? The Packers and Giants have played each other twice already this year. The yardstick comparison is a matter of record - as well as the individual man-on-man battles. But what about the so-called imponderables and in some cases the intangibles? Including: The age of the Giants vs. the 14-game schedule. The Pack's tremendous desire to win a world championship. The spirit of the Green Bay fans. The weather. The home field. The reaction of the Giants when they get here. Many others. Don Smith, the Giants' publicitor, observed Wednesday that "some of our men, who have been around for a long time, usually just make it through the 12-game league schedule. Now they're playing 14." The inference is that some of the elder Giants might be suffering from battle fatigue. Coach Allie Sherman apparently moved to combat this possibility by giving his team five days off over the Christmas holiday. Packer Coach Vince Lombardi has a different kind of problem - at least three men who need practice because of lack of it. (Pvts. Paul Hornung, Boyd Dowler and Ray Nitschke) In addition, the Packers are here after two weeks in warm climate and there's the matter of adjustment to Wisconsin's cold. It's imponderable. The
Packers have been practicing on a slate field in "rather cold" weather (It was 5 below today) and Lombardi faces the task of tying in the weather with having the squad in the best possible readiness for Sunday's title show. The Packers, for instance, practiced all week in regulation cleated shoes - until Wednesday. Then the team switched to sneakers. The Packers will be ready for both. What effect will footwear have on this game? The field could be fast and turf-soft. It depends on the weather after the hay is removed shortly before the game. If it's 25 or so, which is predicted, it may not be frozen solid until next Monday. But that's an imponderable. The small-town personal relationship between this handful of 75,000 and their football heroes looks as an unusual factor in Sunday's game. The players are a real part of this community and they, plus all their neighbors, have been pointing to a "championship here" since the start of training July 25. It's unexplainable. You have to live around here to get the feeling. This sort of thing may sound corny to a stranger here but the aforementioned Smith, NFL publicitor Jim Kensil and some of the earlier visitors noticed it. To a newcomer, you get the impression that the whole town is against the Giants. Thus, the Giants, themselves, are bound to get "touched" somewhat when they arrive here late Friday afternoon. What effect will it have on them? That's one of them that imponderables. Add some of these things to the tenseness, the drive and fire and explosiveness of a championship game and you have the makings of probably the most unusual title game in league history. Two items are already in the NFL history book. This will be the first title game ever played in the oldest city in Wisconsin, and it will be the first million dollar title test, thanks to a $615,000 chunk from TV. The audience via TV, including Canada, will number over 80 million. There's no game like a pro football championship game...The Packers came out with the old suntan kid himself yesterday. That would be Ben Agajanian, the 42-year old kicking specialist who came in from his headquarters in Long Beach, Cal. Ben managed to keep warm during the three-above workout by running about, explaining: "Naw, I'm not cold - only my feet. I gotta keep running. This frozen ground makes a difference on kickoffs, getting under the ball. But I was hitting on field goals. The air is sharp and the ball really sails." With Paul Hornung in camp all week - plus Agajanian, the Packers are well fortified in the Dept. of Field Goals, Extra Points and Kickoffs. That's a far cry from a few weeks ago when Hornung was off soldiering, No. 2 kicker Jerry Kramer was hurt, and Ben was booting for Dallas. Ben, who will wear electrically warmed stocking on the bench, may not get a call unless "situations" arise. Hornung won the title-clinching victory over the Giants Dec. 3 with two field goals, 20-17. The most serious of the injured, Jim Taylor and Johnny Symank, were both running hard. Taylor's galloping was a welcome sight, although he still is "tipped" to one side due to his back injury. Trainer Bud Jorgensen expects to have him straightened up for good Thursday...BRIEFS: The Packers have been invited to send copies of the Press-Gazette championship edition Friday to their friends and relatives - for free. This offer is open to servicemen...Bob Riger will feature the Pack on the sports segment of the Today television show on NBC via Channel 5. It will be about 8 a.m. Friday...The Packers wore pads at Wednesday's drill - a day earlier than usual...You'd have to say the Packers have a balanced secondary. Each member (Jess Whittenton, Hank Gremminger, Willie Wood and Johnny Symank) intercepted five passes...It's not a certainty that Y.A. Tittle will start at QB for the Giants, though he has figured in nine of the Giants' 14 games. It could be Charley Conerly, who does extremely well with a wet or cold ball.
CAL'S COMMENTS (1921)
DEC 28 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers went to the big city of Chicago for the first time. They played the Cardinals at Normal Park on the deep South Side, which is a sort of a rugged neighborhood. It was quite a ball game. Curly Lambeau kicked a field goal for us to take the lead and later Paddy Driscoll (the same Paddy Driscoll who is now an assistant coach with the Bears) evened up the scoring with a very timely boot. That's the way it ended, 3-3. After the final whistle blew, I went into the little two-by-four office at the park and waited for Chris O'Brien who owned the Cardinals. It was a long wait because Chris was having a good time with his players in the training quarters, I guess. Those were the days that the league guarantee was $1,200 for the visiting club with an option of 40 percent of the gate. O'Brien's figures showed that the guarantee was better than what the option would have brought us, so I asked him for a $1,000 check and $200 in cash. He said to me rather brusquely, "We never pay off at the park, and I always pay off in cash." He said, "Walk down to the pool room two blocks down on the left hand side of the street and I'll be there in a few minutes." So off I went, accompanied by Harold (Smiley) Carolin, who still works at the Kellogg-Citizens Bank, and Ray Harnett, the old AP telegrapher. We went to the pool room, and finally Chris came in. He pulled out a bunch of bills - none of them were big bills - and we got our money and out the door we went. There was a taxi standing in front of the pool room. Like damned fools we got into that taxi. As soon as we did, we started thinking how foolish we were. The taxi fellow was all right, though, there was no hookup. But that ride back to the hotel was the longest ride I've ever had in my life.
NO CHANGES PLANNED IN GIANTS' ATTACK; JOEL WELLS TO START
DEC 28 (New York) - What special preparations does a team have to make before playing in a NFL championship game? According to Allie Sherman, whose New York Giants will meet the Green Bay Packers this Sunday in Green Bay for the NFL title, the only difference in preparing for this one and any game during the season is the amount of time a team has to get ready. "This is the third time we're going to play Green Bay this year and we are getting ready the best way we know how," he said before sending the Giants out for their last full-scale drill at Yankee Stadium. "Because this is a championship game doesn't mean we revamp our whole method of preparation or change our system," he added. "We must treat as this another game we have to play. The only difference is that we get an extra week to get ready. And even this extra time can be dangerous," he added. "For one thing, you have to be sure that you don't over-prepare but that you carry out your normal game preparation plan in the same amount of time, taking a little extra care to see that all details are attended to." Sherman worked the Giants for 70 minutes outside Wednesday and planned the same again today, with a 45 minutes to an hour workout set for tomorrow. After tomorrow's work, the team will leave for Green Bay. "You know," End Coach Ken Kavanaugh chimed in, "I don't know what we would do if we had two weeks to get ready for every game. But," he smiled, "it sure would be nice, in a way." "That it would," Sherman agreed, "but we might become spoiled and that could lead to bad habits. Right now, we are looking at this game with Green Bay as we do at every other game." As if to put the clincher on his argument, the NFL's Coach of the Year made a further point. "You know, many people think that when you get in a title game the whole system must change, that you come out an entirely different team. Well, I'll tell you right now that we don't plan to unveil any new offense. We are going to go with what we have for that is what we know best. The success comes from execution and that is what we are stressing. We've come this far with a basic formation and we don't see now why we must go changing it around. It's proven itself, and we've proven we know how to use it and with with it," he added. Sherman indicated he will probably go with the same lineup that finished the season, which would put NFL rookie Joel Wells at a halfback slot ahead of Bob Gaiters, with Kyle Rote at flanker and Alex Webster at fullback. He said he had not made up his mind whether Charley Conerly or Y.A. Tittle would be his starting quarterback, an opinion he's held to throughout the season, although Tittle has started most games. In the defensive backfield, Joe Morrison will keep the slot he inherited in the regular season Green Bay game because of injuries to regulars, and held for the rest of the campaign. "Joe does a fine job back there, even though he's playing mostly offense in the pros, because he's a good football player," Sherman added.
PLAYOFF SHARES 'ROUGHLY SAME' AS IN '60
DEC 28 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Despite a $615,000 windfall from television, which has contributed mightily to the first million dollar playoff in NFL history, the players' share in Sunday's Packer-Giant showdown at City Stadium will be '"roughly the same as last year" - but there is a good reason. This intelligence was imparted at the Mike and Pen Sports Club of Green Bay's "championship week" luncheon by towering Jim Kensil, public relations director of the NFL, at Fox River Lanes Wednesday. On the basis of his pronouncement, members of the winning team in the Sabbath struggle will pocket in the neighborhood of $5,300, members of the vanquished approximately $3,100. "Although the league will receive $615,000 for TV compared to $200,000 a year ago, what is forgotten is the owners voted to put $300,000 off the top of the championship gate into the players' benefit fund," Kensil explained. "This leaves $115,000 more TV money than last year," he admitted, "but you have to consider that there are 26,000 more seats in Franklin Field at Philadelphia, where the championship game was played, than there are in City Stadium." Delving further into the game's financial structure, Kensil revealed, "Seventy percent of
the net proceeds go to the players. Of this 70 percent, 5 percent goes to each of the second place clubs. Of the remaining 30, 15 percent goes to the league office and 7 1/2 percent to both the Green Bay and New York clubs." Did he think the $10 "across-the-board" price for title tickets here would become standard? "No, I don't think so," Kensil replied, "but there were some $10 seats in Philadelphia last year. A $10 ticket here, however, would not be as high, relatively speaking, as it would be somewhere else. There are no bad seats in City Stadium." The local television blackout for the game "is not a new ruling. This is a long-standing practice," he emphasized, explaining, "It would not be fair to the people who have supported the team all year long and through the years to permit local television of the game when they are paying $10 to see it. If it were opened up to television right now, it would not be fair to them." What is the prevailing opinion around the NFL about Sunday's outcome? "It is considered just about even," Kensil said. "The season had demonstrated it is foolhardy to bet on any game in the NFL and, of course, when you get two teams who are conference champions, it has to be even." Noting that he has been the league's public relations chief for only nine months, the former Associated Press sportswriter observed, "It's quite an experience to be here in light of the fact that this city has been in the league 42 years and is having its first championship game. After 42 years, you would feel that most history has been made," he pointed out, "but it's being made here right now and it's a big thrill to be a part of it."...The Giants' PR man, Don Smith, also an M-P guest, said, "I imagine it will be Tittle at quarterback for the Giants Sunday. Conerly is very good with a wet football, though, and he could start if it's that kind of a day. He can throw a wet football 60 yards very well." Smith also made a pertinent observation, "I think the tans are basically the same in New York as they are in Green Bay, but, in a place like New York, you can't show it. You can't hang a sign on Fifth Avenue."
COWBOYS, TEXANS MEET
DEC 28 (Dallas) - The owners and general managers of Dallas' two professional football teams had a long talk Wednesday, but all participants insisted it was just a friendly discussion of common business practices. They insisted also that there was no talk of merging the Dallas Texans of the AFL and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFL. The meeting was called by Lamar Hunt, Texans' owner and founder of the AFL. Also attending were Clint Murchison, Jr., president of the Cowboys, Jack Steadman, general manager of the Texans, and Tex Schramm, general manager of the Cowboys. "We're both aware the other is going to stay," said Steadman.
CAN PACK RUNNERS JAR GIANT DEFENSE AGAIN?
DEC 29 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - What will be, will be. Of course. Like, for instance, the Packers will run because they have the two best bulldozers in the league (Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor) and the Giants will pass because they have a great passing attack. What's more, Packer Coach Vince Lombardi likes to do "what we do best," which is run, and Coach Allie Sherman of the Giants says he's planning nothing new, which means throwing. But, like the guy was saying the other day, "there ain't no way Taylor is going to get 186 yards on the Giants again and there ain't no way the Packers will get 270 yards rushing out of the Giants' great defense again." Joe Blow was referring to the Pack's amazing soil job in winning the Western title at the expense of the Giants in Milwaukee Dec. 3. The key figures in Taylor's strong rush, besides signalist Bart Starr, were blockers Paul Hornung, Bob Skoronski, Fred Thurson, Jim Ringo, Forrest Gregg, Norm Masters and Ron Kramer. These people aren't talking about Sunday. They suspect that the Giants will be looking for the Pack's rush. Skoronski put it this way: "Just say we're hoping." Big Bob will be blocking chiefly on Andy Robustelli, the Giants' terrific defensive end. Fierce Andy said this Thursday in NY: "Obviously, we have to make some adjustments against their running. But I don't think they can afford to play that same type of game again especially if we go ahead. I look for them to pass more." What will be? Apparently Robustelli doesn't think so, although he used the word "If" in thinking that old GB might haul out the forward pass. In the earlier Giant game, the Packers hurled 24 times, which is about the Pack's par, and completed only 10, which is a far piece below he Pack's completion percentage of nearly 58. There was always a suspicion that the Giants could run on. Em Tunnell spoke it before the Dec. 3 game. He was right. The Giants were aware of this after that game. They expect to slam the door shut on the Pack's ground game. If they have success, the Packers, like Robustelli suspects, might throw more. Oddly enough, comparative figures for the club's aerialists balance out. The Pack's Bart Starr leads the passers and the Giants' Del Shofner tops the receivers. Starr and his opposite number, Y.A. Tittle (and let's not forget Charley Conerly) are virtually neck and neck. Starr has thrown 10 more passes and has completed 9 more than Y.A., but the ex-49er has pitched one more TD pass. Starr has the best completion percentage, 58 to 57. Starr has been intercepted on 16 times against Tittle's 14. Six of Starr's interceptions have taken place in the last three games, starting with two by the Giants. Shofner has 68 catches and Kyle Rote is next with 53. The Giants' top three (Shofner, Rote and Joe Walton) caught 157 against the Packers' 122 by McGee, Boyd Dowler and Ron Kramer. Taylor and Hornung are averaging 5.4 and 4.7 yards, respectively. Joel Wells is now scheduled to start for the Giants in place of Bob Gaiters, pairing with Alex Webster. Alex is averaging 4.7, Wells 3.3, and Gaiters 4.0.
SCIENCE SAVES PLAYERS WITH BENCH HEATERS
DEC 29 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - No matter what the temperature is on the field or in the stands for the Packer-Giant NFL championship game at City Stadium Sunday afternoon, it will be a warm 70 degrees on the Packer and Giant benches. A portable heater setup will be installed to keep the players warm along the sidelines. A low lean-to scaffold with reflective material will be erected. Space-Ray infrared heaters operating on Pyrofax LP gas will thrown heat up against the lean-to and reflect it back...Green Bay's position as "Titletown" will get additional boosts this weekend around the nation. Copies of this edition of the newspaper are being sent free to servicemen from throughout the area, to wherever they may be stationed. Almost 600 request for the special mailing came from families located in 10 counties. Added to the special requests will be special
mailing came from families located in 10 counties. Added to the special requests will be special bulk shipments of the edition. Over 200 copies will be flown to Sawyer Air Force Base, near Marquette, Mich., while another 100 copies are being sent to Fort Lewis, Wash., for distribution to the dayrooms of the 32nd Division there. During the past week, most members of the Green Bay Packer organization submitted lists of names and addresses, and these also will be shipped from Green Bay this weekend. When the New York Giants return to their Northland Hotel rooms tonight, they will find copies of the Titletown edition...Y.A. Tittle, expected to be the Giants' starting quarterback Sunday, will be given the annual Jim Thorpe Memorial trophy at the championship game as the Most Valuable Player in the NFL. Tittle was chosen for the award in a poll of NFL players by Newspaper Enterprise Assn. The Packers' Paul Hornung was chosen for a similar honor by both the Associated Press and United Press International...A fire-engine red Corvette convertible will be presented to the championship game's outstanding player by Sport Magazine and the question is whether another quarterback will be chosen by the magazine's editors for the award. Baltimore' Johnny Unitas won it in both 1958 and 1959 and Norm Van Brocklin earned it last year...It will be a familiar voice but a difference setting for Green Bay fans listening to the game on WJPG, Ray Scott, the TV voice of the Packers all year, will handle the radio play-by-play with Jim Leaming doing the color...The tarpaulin and hay was lifted momentarily from the end zones of the City Stadium gridiron this morning to allow the painting of "Green Bay" and "New York" on the grass. And workmen reported that the sun was actually turning the grass green!
CAL'S COMMENTS (1924)
DEC 29 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Duffle bags, a dog and a new Packer enlivened the Packers' trip to Kansas City in 1924. Just for the record, the Packers beat the Cowboys, 17-6, but that is only incidental to this story. In those days, the players carried their own duffle bags, Whenever we would arrive at a hotel, I would stand up at the desk, check the player in and they would drop their duffle bags right in the middle of the lobby. The day we checked into the Hotel Dixon at Kansas City was no exception. Not too long after the bags were dropped, there was a stream of something coming out of one of the bags. It was brown and rather odoriferous. One of the hotel guests sitting nearby sniffed a little bit and made the remark, "Green Bay must be here." The stream, of course, came from a bottle of you-know-what. On that same trip, we had two old pros that Curly Lambeau had picked up, Dutch Hendrian and Tillie Voss. They both had been around the league and were rooming together, both on the road and here in Green Bay. They got themselves a German shepherd dog, one that looked meaner than Modzelewski. They took him on the train trip with us but when they brought him into the hotel, the clerk balked at housing the dog. Voss had no right to say it but he told him, "If you don't take better care of the Packers than that, we'll move to another hotel." So the clerk gave in. Later on, Voss and Hendrian left the dog in their hotel room and went out to see the city. As soon as they left, the dog started barking like wild - you never heard such awful yelping in your life. I was staying on the same floor, just a few doors down, and pretty soon the assistant manager came up and told me, "You're going to have to do something about that dog." I said, "Why don't you get a pass key and open the door to see what the dog will do?" So he did. The dog made one leap and knocked him head over heels. He ran out, picked up a couple of bell boys and they can and, after quite a struggle, took the dog down to the basement...We never had many fans following us in those days - I think there were two or three on that trip to Kansas City. One of them was Carl (Bud) Jorgensen. The day of the game, I took him out to Muelbach Park and had him watch one of the gates. He did that until the start of the game and then I took him up into the press box - I had to cover the game those days as well as watch the tickets and a flock of other things. And I must say, Bud did a pretty good job on the statistics. After the game, Bud went down and helped our trainer, Pat Holland, who was really a property man - we didn't have a doctor or trainer as such at that time. It was the beginning of a great friendship because that was when Mr. Jorgensen joined the Packers.
LAMBEAU FIGURES PACKERS CAN WIN TITLE - BUT NOT EASILY
DEC 29 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The man who has watched the Green Bay Packers carry out his orders to win six world football championships figures the Packers can do it again Sunday - but not easily. Curly Lambeau, who guided the destinies of Green Bay to three straight championships (1929-31) before the playoff between divisions began and then guided the Packers to playoff victories in 1936, 1939 and 1944, sees the Packers' indomitable will to win as one of their great qualities as a ball club. Curly, still an avid follower of the Packer fortunes, starts pacing around the room when he contemplates the title struggle. It's almost as though he were preparing the team for the fracas. He knows how close the score is likely to be - he's watched the two 20-17 games between the two clubs this year..."The Packers couldn't have a tougher opponent," Lambeau estimates. "They've defeated the Giants twice; it's always tough in this league to beat the same team a third time in the same year. Actually, the two games they played were as close as they could be; a little here and a little there and the Giants could have won." In assessing the Packers' chances, Lambeau pointed to the home field advantage. But, in contrast, he sees the fact that the Giants have two seasoned quarterbacks - Y.A. Tittle and Charley Conerly - to the Packers' one, Bart Starr, as a Giant advantage. Lambeau also expresses concern about Paul Hornung, Ray Nitschke and Boyd Dowler's effectiveness without constant practice. He expressed
he conviction, often referred to by others since the trio went into service. "You have to keep practicing all the time to retain sharpness and timing which are so essential in this complicated game." Lambeau has no concern about the Packers' offensive and defensive lines. "The Packers have the edge here," he figures. "In fact, I'd have to say off what I've seen that the Packers have the edge in this one and they have something more than that." "No team has more spirit and in a championship game that is really what counts. No team ever won without it. Some had much more talent than their opponents and lost because their opponents had superior spirit, the will to win and the confidence that they were going to win. There's lots of confidence on this ball club. They always look as though they feel they're going to win. That's why I like this football team; I like it very, very much." This brought up the inevitable question: How does this year's team stack up with the other championship clubs of the Packers? Loath to make comparisons because of the many variables in the game now and in what now seems like the early years of pro football, Lambeau hinted that he felt his 1939 world champions were as good, if not better, than any he ever coached, and that he would compare that team with this year's Packers. "That 1939 team was a helluva team," is the way Curly puts it. "There were some players on that one who couldn't make this year's Packers. On the other hand, there are some on this one who couldn't make the 1939 team because in those years they had to go both ways. But I'll say this: If the Packers beat the Giants next Sunday, this team certainly has to be ranked with the greatest we've ever had here. It's certainly the best all-around team I've seen here in the last 20 years."
HALAS 'PREDICTED' GREEN BAY WOULD HOST TITLE GAME - IN '56
DEC 29 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Ageless, urbane George Stanley Halas, the man who has marched through pro football history with the Packers step for step, is "not one bit surprised" to find Green Bay hosting the NFL's championship game - he "predicted" it back in 1956. The Chicago Bears' farsighted owner-coach, a Packer foe since the play-for-pay game's early dawn in 1921, is not loath to point out he forecast just such a possibility as a key participant in a giant "get out the vote" rally here just before the City Stadium referendum was held in April that year. "I said at that time a new stadium would assure Green Bay's future in the NFL - and what I said I meant," Halas, reached via long distance, declared this week. "It doesn't surprise me a bit. And I predict the stadium will be enlarged in the future," he declared. "Of that I am satisfied because of the great and continuing interest in pro football, particularly in Green Bay." Any prediction on Sunday's showdown with the Giants? "No," he replied with typical coachly caution, "but I note with great interest that Coach Lombardi is making sure that there is no overconfidence, and rightfully so, because the Giants are a great ball club and the Packers will need everything they've got to win." "Naturally, I hope the Packers will win," he said, a declaration which sounded passing strange at first hearing, coming as it did from the headmaster of Green Bay's arch enemies. "We want the league title in the Western Division." Halas, who himself has won seven world championships during a long and distinguished career, lauded both opposing strategists, New York's youthful Allie Sherman and the Pack's Vince Lombardi. "There is no question what a splendid job Vince has done," he said, "and the same holds true for Allie Sherman. He was rated coach of the year and he deserved it, particularly in molding the players they received into a championship team. And he defeated some great teams, like the Eagles, the former champs, and the Cleveland Browns to win the Eastern title." What type of game does he foresee? "It will depend entirely upon the field and the type of footing," Halas responded. "You will have to wait until they take the cover off the field." Will be among those present? "I will be tied up with some urgent club business at least through Saturday, so if I do get there, it will be a last minute thing" Mr. George confided. The same, he said, holds true for his son, George Jr. "But the Bears will be represented, you can be sure of that."
HARRIED HERB FORECASTS 20-PLUS
DEC 30 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Leave it to Herb Bomalaski to have the last word. Our town's noted weatherman can't say for sure about Sunday's climate. All he can do is predict. Thus, the weather - and more specifically the condition of City Stadium's wall to wall carpeting - remains as the big question before Sunday's Packer-Giant championship game. All of the other things are in order. The Giants are here. So is Commissioner Pete Rozelle. Nobody's hurt anymore. It's finger-tapping time for Vince Lombardi and Allie Sherman. Harried Herb is looking for temperatures in the mid-20s and, with luck, they could reach into the 30s. No complaints there. What about the field? Bomalaski and Lombardi (they ain't Irish) are in cahoots on that problem. At least Vince has said what he'd like in the line of a field and Herbie is trying to supply. Lombardi put it this way Friday in answer to questions concerning the field: "If the field is right, we should win." What's the wrong kind of field for the Pack? He explained that such a field would be a frozen or slippery surface favoring pass receivers who can control their cuts better than defenders. The hay will be removed from the soft, green field about 6 o'clock Sunday morning and the tarpaulin will follow later. Unless there is a hard freeze, the surface should stay "cleatable." Regardless, Lombardi said he'd have his men wear cleats - even if the field is frozen solid. The worst kind of field is "like we had in Philadelphia last year and, please, I'm not using that as an alibi." The field in Philly was covered with about an inch of soft mud and solid icy turf underneath. It was like butter in a frying pan. A hard field would have been better. In fact, Vince said, "we'll use cleats if the field is hard." He explained the change of cleats to tennis shows in practice this week. "Using cleats all week on that hard field is too hard on the legs, so we changed." Cleats would dig in some - even on a hard field - because of the thick grass. At any rate, Lombardi said he'd settle for weather in the 20s, as long as the field is in good shape. The tarpaulin and hay were rolled back from the end zones Friday to allow workmen to paint giant lettering "Green Bay" in the south end zone and "New York" in the north. The covering was quickly rolled back after the operation. And speaking about the weather, anything above 10 degrees (above) will be like summer to the Pack. They have been training in the cold all week and once the temp dropped to 10 below. As Lew Carpenter pointed out: "It's the psychology of the whole thing. The hardest part is getting prepared mentally to face it." Temperatures in the 20s Sunday, as predicted, would be quite a treat!
FANS' 42-YEAR WAIT TO END SUNDAY
DEC 30 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Eager Green Bay finally gets a chance to see a NFL title game Sunday after 42 years of waiting. The favored Packers pit their powerful ground attack against the pass-minded New York Giants. A sellout crowd of 41,000 is expected at City Stadium. If the Packers win, this city of 62,888 is primed for a rousing New Year's Eve. It was about 10 above when the Giants arrived 2 1/2 hours late Friday after their final workout at Yankee Stadium. Informed that the Packers were extremely confident, Coach Allie Sherman of the Giants said: "Fine, that's the way I like it." The Giants' reaction to the weather was "Wow."...SHORT WORKOUTS TODAY: The Packers, 3 1/2 point favorites, limbered up for about 15 minutes this morning on the frozen practice field. The Giants had scheduled a short workout on the same field later. Vince Lombardi, the Packer coach, wants firm footing for the power thrusts of fullback Jim Taylor and halfback Paul Hornung. He also wants solid footing for his pass
defenders to contain receivers like Del Shofner, Kyle Rote and Joe Walton. A million-dollar gate is assured with $400,000 in ticket sales and $615,000 for the radio-TV rights. The Green Bay and Wausau area will be blacked out on network television, but will hear the game on radio, including WJPG of Green Bay. Game time is 1 p.m. Each member of the winning team is expected to collect about $5,000. Each loser will get about $3,000. If the game is tied after regulation play, it will be continued on a sudden death basis until somebody scores. The only sudden death playoff in history was played by Baltimore and New York in 1958 when the Colts won 23-17. If it goes into overtime, the Packers would have the edge because Hornung had been a more consistent field goal kicker than Pat Summerall of New York. Sherman's Giants have been working on a defense to stop Taylor who crashed through them for 186 yards Dec. 3 when the Packers beat them in a regular season game 20-17. Lombardi's main concern is the long ball threat of Tittle or Conerly throwing to Shofner and Rote. Both coaches claim they plan nothing new for the big game, although observers are taking that with a grain of salt. They also reported all players ready in action. "Jim Taylor (injured back) is running much better," said Lombardi. "John Symank (collarbone separation) will play. So will Max McGee (rib injury). The extra week helped everybody. Paul Hornung (on leave from the Army) looks a lot better after a week of work. The tougher the game, the better he plays." The Giants also reported all hands in good shape, including Alex Webster, Rosie Brown and Joe Walton, who were hurt in the last game with Cleveland. Sherman wouldn't name a starting quarterback but most people expected Y.A. Tittle to start with 40-year old Charlie Conerly available for bullpen duty. Sherman used Conerly as a relief man in several games recently, including the 20-17 defeat by Green Bay Dec. 3. "Conerly surprised the heck out of us that day," said Lombardi. "We sent word in to look out for the short passes. Instead, the son of a gun threw four bombs." The Packer boss refused to be pinned down on any score prediction. Would 2-0 be enough? "I'd settle for 1-0," he said with a grin. The only way a football game can end 1-0 is by forfeit. Lombardi said he thought this year's team was better than the 1960 club that lost to Philadelphia 17-13 on a slippery field in the title game...DO THINGS BETTER: "This is a young club," he said. "The boys have a year's more experience and do things a little better. Our bench is better, too. Our biggest loss was Jerry Kramer (out for the season with an ankle injury). He was the bet guard in the league. With him out of there, we had to move Forrest Gregg, an all-pro tackle, to guard." Lombardi said the Packers were "way off their peak" when they played the Giants last time. He considers their 49-17 victory over Cleveland on Oct. 15 the club's best effort. "We weren't very sharp on the coast either," he said. "If we had to play this game last Sunday, we wouldn't have been able to use Taylor, McGee or Symank." The best Lombardi would say was that he "hopes" his club is close to its midseason peak. "What can you feel in a dummy scrimmage?" he asked.
'STATE' BACKS PACK IN TITLE TEST
DEC 30 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Green Bay Packers go into the title game Sunday with the official backing of both houses of the state Legislature in a citation delivered to the team today to congratulate it for its Western Division title. The citation was introduced in the Senate and Assembly by Sen. Leo O'Brien, Green Bay, and Sen. Alfred Laun, Kiel, and Assemblymen Jerome Quinn, Alexander Grant and Cletus Vanderperren of Brown County. It was introduced after the Packers won the divisional title by defeating the New York Giants 20-17 Dec. 3. The Legislature action 'congratulates the people of Green Bay for having supported the Green Bay Packers loyally for more than a quarter of a century, the members of the team, their coaching staff headed by Vince Lombardi, and the officers of the Packer Corp., headed by Dominic Olejniczak on winning the 1961 championship of the western Division of the NFL and wish them success in their game against the eastern champions for the national title." The citation was signed by Lt. Gov. Warren Knowles, presiding officer of the Senate, and David Blanchard, Assembly speaker.
CAL'S COMMENTS (1925)
DEC 30 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - We went to Pottsville, Pa., on a trip throughout the East and the Pottsville Miners shellacked us, 31-0. They had a powerhouse. At that time, Jimmy Crowley, the famous Notre Dame star, had been coaching at Georgia. His season was over and he was supposed to have joined us. Somehow or other, we missed connections. The papers out there were making a big noise about Crowley's scheduled appearance but, unfortunately, came the day of the game and there was no Crowley. Earlier in the season, Eddie Kotal (he played with us for five seasons and now is chief talent scout for the Los Angeles Rams) got in a jam with the powers-that-be at Lawrence College - he was on the ragged edge. Meanwhile, Kotal was coming up from Appleton to work out with the Packers - that came about through the urging of two former Lawrence greats who were with the team, Cub Buck and Myrt Basing. Eddie joined us at Pottsville and he was in uniform on the bench - but he didn't play at all in the first three quarter. In the last few minutes, Kotal went into the ball game. The first time he carried the ball, he gained 40 yards. All the hay shakers in Pottsville thought it was Crowley and yelled, "Go Crowley! Go Crowley!" Crowley, however, did join us for the next game against the Providence Steamrollers at Providence, which the Packers won 14-10, and it was Crowley's sensational catch of a forward pass in the last quarter that spelled victory for the Packers. Playing right end on the Pottsville team at that time was Charlie Berry. He was an All-American end at Lafayette College. Today he's an American League baseball umpire and also one of the best officials in the NFL.
RECALLING '60, PACKERS BATTLE GIANTS FOR TITLE
DEC 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers fight for their seventh world championship at City Stadium this afternoon. They must beat the New York Giants to win it - in this 29th annual NFL clash between champions of the Eastern and Western Divisions. The Packers are buoyed today by the deep disappointment they suffered in the 17-13 loss to the Eagles in the 1960 championship game in Philadelphia. That was a rugged blow. The Packers thought they were world champions that day. The defeat helped inspire them throughout the 1961 league season. Now the time is here for title-game revenge - in this first championship game ever played in Green Bay. More than 40,000 fans, at $10 per head, will witness this first million-dollar championship game, thanks to $615,000 from television, which will beam the big crash to nearly 80,000,000 viewers in the United States and Canada. Kickoff is set for 1 o'clock. The Packers have played some great games down through the years on special occasions in our town and they've won them all - the Dedication Game in '57, the debut game of Vince Lombardi in '59, to mention a few. Both nothing compares with this title-debut contest and the pregame warmup that has fired the spirit of the Packers and their ever-lovin' fans. The Packers are favored by about three points - with or without knowledge of the condition of the field. The turf is expected to be reasonably good, along with the weather, around 25 degrees. The hay and tarpaulin were to be removed early today and the green grass and turf then started to freeze. But it probably wouldn't be really solid until tonight. The Giants have always been murder for Green Bay and if the Packers are to capture the extra gold (roughly $5,000 goes to each winning player, $3,000 to each loser), the Packers must beat NY a third time this season. Green Bay won two earlier matches, 20-17, including the title-clincher Dec. 3. The Packers accomplished the three-win feat once this year, trimming the Bears in non-league play and twice in league action. While folks are suspecting opposing Coaches Lombardi and Al Sherman of surprise maneuvers, each team is likely to boil its attack down to its strong points. They are, of course, the rushing of the Packers and the passing of the Giants. However, Green Bay's big gunners, Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung, are slight question marks in that Taylor is just recovering from a back injury and Hornung is fresh from the first full week of practice since Oct. 22. They looked great in practice the last couple of days. Quarterback Bart Starr, climaxing the greatest season of his career, also has at his disposal the most underrated aerial attack in the NFL, meaning such receivers as Max McGee, Ron Kramer and Boyd Dowler - not to mention the Bays' swift-charging offensive line. This line (Bob Skoronski, Fred Thurston, Capt. Jim Ringo, Forrest Gregg and Norm Masters) will be subjected to extreme retaliatory pressure in view of the Pack's 400-yard offense against the Giants Dec. 3. The Giants' defense is the best in the league, having nosed out GB by three points in the points-allowed department. Violent Sam Huff, Rosey Grier, Andy Robustelli - everybody, leads this hangman's unit. New York figures to unleash its most lethal air attack, with Y.A. Tittle and Charley Conerly pitching. The big receivers are three - Del Shofner, Kyle Rote and Joe Walton, who caught 182 passes between 'em. Tittle is the likely starter. Conerly has been dangerous in relief...CAN BE EXPLOSIVE: New York's ground attack can be explosive, since it has an excellent change of pace in Joel Wells and Bob Gaiters, the running backs who share rushing with heavy-duty Alex Webster. The Packers' defense will have to "bother" Tittle and Conerly if the Packers are to win since the Giants are expected to fly most of the afternoon. One of the key individual battles will be Shofner and Jess Whittenton, who has made a remarkable recovery from the flu. One other defenser was flu-bitten this week, Bill Quinlan, who along with Willie Davis, Hank Jordan and Dave Hanner hope to make life miserable for the Giant QBs. Another defenser has just recovered from injuries, Johnny Symank, the left safety. Each team will be shooting for its fourth championship game victory. Green Bay picked up three world titles before the first title game in 1933, winning the crown in 1929-30-31. The Packers have played in five title games with a 3-2 record, the Giants 11, with 3-8.
WE SHOULD WIN: VINCE; NY 'LOOSE'
DEC 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Both coaches, Vince Lombardi of the Western Conference Packers and Allie Sherman of the Giants, were smiling after their teams finished practice sessions Saturday. Lombardi, who shins football frills and stresses simplicity and power in the Green Bay attack, has repeated during the past two days "if the field is right, we should win." As the Packers romped on the field, Lombardi said with a smile "nothing has happened to make me change my mind." Bill Quinlan, Green Bay's 250-pound defensive end who has been bedded with flu for the past two days, said he "felt better but still awfully weak" after the limbering up workout. Other than Quinlan, the Packers were in good physical condition. Lombardi was asked if he thought his Packers were at the peak of their playing form. "They should be," replied the 48-yeard old Lombardi, who has lost only one of 12 league regular season games in Green Bay during the three seasons he has coached the club. Lombardi, whose Packers are 3 1.2 favorites, said his only causes for concern were the back injuries of fullback Jim Taylor and defensive back John Symank. Taylor, hitched in a corset-type harness, said his back felt fine and all he had to do was keep heat on the sore area until game time. Symank, a tough little customer, also said he would be ready. The Giants were frisky and joking in their short workout. "They were more loose than usual," remarked Al Sherman, the NFL coach of the year. "They've been loose like this before their best games this season." The only Giant not in the best shape was Roosevelt Brown, the All-Pro offensive tackle, who has been bothered by a knee injury for the past few games. Brown will play, however. The Giants, with their two ancient quarterbacks, 40-year old Charlie Conerly and 35-year old Y.A. Tittle, unexpectedly rode to the Eastern Division title with a daring, imaginative attack. In a regular season meeting between the two teams in Milwaukee Dec. 3, the Packers beat New York 20-17. The Giants maintained the Packers' superb offensive line confused them with some unusual blocking stunts which sprung Jim Taylor loose for 186 rushing yards. Sherman and his Giants say they have made some "adjustments" to forestall a repetition to those tactics by the Packers, and they look for Green Bay to resort to more passing by quarterback Bart Starr than in the first game. In an effort to beef up the Giants' blocking and reduce the possibility of fumbles in the big game, Sherman said he would start Joel Wells, a rugged transfer from Canadian football, to the running halfback spot in place of rookie Bob Gaiters. And with so much at stake, Sherman said he had no intention of "going conservative." There were hints that a few backs other than the quarterbacks would do some passing on pitchout plays. With such excellent receivers as Del Shofner, Kyle Rote and Joe Walton, the Giants are rated as a superior passing team than the Packers. The Giants last won the NFL title in 1956. Lombardi's football philosophy is "to hit them with what you do best and to do it again and again."
ROZELLE SEES NEAR SELLOUT FOR 'ONE OF COLDER ONES'
DEC 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Today's historic tile game, the first to be played in Green Bay's happy 42-year affiliation with the NFL, "will be very close to a sellout," Commissioner Pete Rozelle predicted at a Saturday press conference in the league's Hotel Northland headquarters. "There are 1,000 or 1,500 tickets left," he said, "but I expect them to go before game time - at least that is what the Packers tell me. It depends to some extent, of course, upon the weather. If it is good, it should be a sellout." Rozelle, encircled by sportswriters, television wires and sportscasters in the hotel's crowded Walnut Room, added, "If it is not, it will be only because the Packers bent over backwards to be fair. That has been the only problem. They cut down their season ticket holders to give the other fans a chance, which I think is the right way. They didn't however, get the requests from Milwaukee that they expected." Aside from this minor item, the NFL's first championship production in Green Bay "has moved very smoothly," the youthful commissioner declared, observing, "I think the stadium setup is excellent." "The cooperation of the city also has been excellent," he noted. "They have done more than a lot of bigger cities to provide facilities for the press, radio and television people in the press box. And the snow removal job on the parking lot was amazing." And what about the No. 1 topic, the weather? Rozelle was reassuring. "It's not going to be bad," he replied, "We've had games in much worse conditions than these." Under urging from eastern scribes, he admitted, "It will be one of the colder ones, yes." In the financial discussion, the commissioner volunteered. "One of the great things is that the player shares will be right around the record set last year in Philadelphia - about $5,000 for members of the winning team and over $3,000 for a losing share." Wasn't this solely traceable to a fatter ($615,000 this year compared to $200,000 a year ago) television contract? "It's because of a better TV contract, plus higher ticket prices. We charged $8 in Philadelphia
last year, compared to $10 here. Of course, there were 20,000 more seats at Philadelphia." The players' share of the title bonanza could have been "a lot more than most of them make in an entire season but it didn't make sense. The league voted to put $300,000 off the top of the gate into the players' pension fund and it was sound idea because this takes care of all of the players in the league." Had the $10 top price on tickets for today's struggle been based on City Stadium's relatively small capacity? "It was based partly on capacity," Rozelle admitted, "but prices have been going up every year, too." "Ours is a one-shot deal, you must remember. It's not like a seven-game world series," Pete pointed out. "We like to see the thing go up in value. It's better for the players. We don't like to make a point of it, but it doesn't hurt for them to have that incentive." The talk abruptly shifted to the "situation" in Dallas, where this week owners Lamar Hunt of the AFL's Texans and Ira Murchison of the NFL's Cowboys met to discuss mutual problems. "There was no talk of a merger," Rozelle declared, appending with a smile, "How much will we have to draw to break even?" The AFL's pending $10 million suit against the NFL, he admitted, "makes it difficult if not impossible to discuss a merger at this time." The case is scheduled to be heard in Baltimore Feb. 19. "As far as that is concerned," Rozelle asserted, "I don't know whether we would want to discuss a merger or whether they would. We have 14 clubs now and all except one (Dallas) will be in the black this year. They're not all making a bundle and some may be on the border line but they'll be in the black." Next year, he noted in this connection, the NFL's pot will be further sweetened by a new package TV contract. "The TV money will be appreciably increased for all clubs except Baltimore and Pittsburgh, who already have good contracts," he said. "The new contract will bring about $325,000 to each club next year." What about the championship game? "The contract has one more year to run," he explained. "The game will go up for bids after the 1962 game." NBC presently holds this contract, while CBS will telecast all regular season games next year. Is there strong sentiment for an increase in the present 36-player limit for next season? "Primarily upon the part of the coaches," he grinned. "The owner don't appear to be particularly in favor of it. The coaches want it because of the uncertain military situation and the longer schedule. Certainly, it will come in for serious consideration in Miami next month."
PACKERS VS. GIANTS FOR WORLD CROWN
DEC 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The tension has been mounting steadily in Green Bay the past few weeks will reach its feverish peak within a few hours as the stage is set for the city's first NFL championship game. It'll be the Green Bay Packers, representing the smallest city in major league professional sports, versus the New York Giants, representing the largest city in major league sports. The weatherman promises slightly better weather today, with temperatures ranging in the low 20s. Skies will remain mostly cloudy, however, and there will be occasional periods of snow flurries. Following the game, the weather will return to normal, with the mercury dropping to zero tonight...NATIONAL SPOTLIGHT ON GREEN BAY; The spotlight of the nation will be focused on Green Bay this afternoon as radio microphone and television cameras beam their split-second accounts of the game from coast to coast. The spotlight will linger through the words of the more than 150 sportscasters who will send out hundreds of pages of copy for their papers. The kickoff at 1 p.m. will climax a civic celebration that began several weeks ago when Green bay's name was unofficially changed to "Titletown U.S.A." Area residents are hoping and praying that the "Titletown" nickname will prove to be the true one and, come 3:30 p.m., Green Bay will the home of the football world champions. A Packer victory today would provide the spark needed to touch off the gayest, noisiest, most exciting celebration ever seen here. While nothing official has been planned, most city officials, including police, expect "a hot time in the old town tonight."...41,000 SCREAMING FANS EXPECTED: In addition to the millions of football fans watching and listening to the game in their homes, another 41,000 screaming fans are expected to jam City Stadium to see the game in person. They will be seated in an oval stadium that, up to a week ago, was covered with a heavy blanket of snow. The bright green turf that will be the playing area will look out of place with the blanket of white that surrounds the stadium area. City crews have been at work all week clearing snow from the stadium seas and the playing field. Only today another crew pulled the huge tarpaulin covered with hay from the field. The tarp has been protecting the grass since the last game was played here in November. The record crowd expected for the game will boost the gate over the million dollar mark, the first time in history. A $615,000 check for television rights, plus the $10 tickets for the game, are responsible for the record gate. The game will be televised nationally over NBC with station in Green Bay and Wausau blacked out. The telecast will begin with special pregame highlights at 12:45 p.m. Lindsey Nelson and Chris Schenkel will be doing the play-by-play...RADIO BROADCAST OVER WJPG: NBC will carry the play-by-play account of the game on radio with Ray Scott and Jim Leaming at the mike. The game will be heard in Green Bay on WJPG, starting with pregame programming at 2:05 p.m. The 41,000 people expected at the game, a record crowd for Green Bay, will cause a tremendous headache for police who are responsible for handling traffic before and after the game. The entire city police force, augmented by civil defense auxiliary police plus 30 police officers from Sheboygan, Manitowoc, Neenah and Oshkosh, will handle the flow of traffic in the city. All available county officers, again assisted by civil defense auxiliary, will handle the flow outside the city. Special traffic regulations will be in effect beginning at 11 a.m. The Mason Street bridge will handle one-way traffic only before and after the game. Ridge Road and Oneida
Street also will be used as one-way streets before the stadium and W. Mason Street. Parking will be banned on those streets...PARKING LOTS PLOWED OUT: After the game, Potts and Morris Avenues along with Cormier Road will be one way to Highway 41. All stadium parking lots, the Arena lot, plus private lots in the area, have been plowed out and will be available for parking. City-owned lots will have special rates for the game. Those fans getting to the stadium before 11:30 will get a break by paying only 50 cents. After 11:30, parking will cost $1, due to the city's cost for snow removal. Private lots will charge 75 cents, it was reported.
Gravesite of Henry (Tubby) Bero - Allouez Catholic Cemetery And Chapel Mausoleum, Green Bay
Green Bay Press-Gazette - December 27th 1961
Allie Sherman, coach of the New York Giants, makes a cloud of vapor as he bellows a greeting to friends on arrival in Green Bay, Wis., Dec. 29, 1961. (AP Photo/DVN)
Y.A. Tittle, Giants quarterback, tosses a pass during warm-up in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Dec. 30, 1961. (AP Photo)
In addition to coming in by car, fans will also arrive via trains, planes and buses. The Milwaukee Road is running a 17-car special from Milwaukee to Green Bay with more than 500 persons on board. North Central Airlines is flying in two charters airliners, with other private planes expected to jam Austin Straubel Field. Numerous chartered buses are expected in from every direction...WILD NEW YEAR'S EVE SEEN: Postgame activities, particularly in the event of a Packer victory, will result in one of the wildest New Year celebrations ever. Police, anticipating the game reaction, have drawn special plans to cope with the celebration. Every available squad car will patrol the city, with uniformed officers assisted by civil defense men. Beat patrolmen in the downtown area will double up with two officers walking every beat during the night. Additional beats have also been set up. Bars and taverns in the area have made special preparations for New Year's Even. Additional help has been hired and extra supplies have been laid in. The State Legislature has given the bars a shot in the arm by permitting them to remain open until 3 a.m. All will be joyous celebrating, however. Both city and county police officials openly admit they expect to record at least one fatal accident during the night. They are also bracing for numerous non-fatal accidents.
