NFL CHAMPIONSHIP
Green Bay Packers (13-1) 16, New York Giants (12-2) 7
Sunday December 30th 1962 (at New York)
GAME RECAP (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE)
(NEW YORK) - The Packers smashed to their second straight world championship behind the good right toe of Jerry Kramer and an amazing defense in Yankee Stadium Sunday afternoon. They defeated the Giants 16 to 7 and conquered New York in the process. The Packers' world title recognition is now official. Green Bay won in New York and the Bays did it amid a "Beat Green Bay" chant that urged the Giants on to a fever pitch. And on the plane trip home Sunday night, the Packers joyously roared what they had heard all afternoon - "Beat Green Bay." The Packers now have won a record eight world championships - the consecutive triple starting in 1929-30-31; singles in 1933, 1936 and 1944, and the current double. The Bears are next with seven! Green Bay finished with a fantastic 20-1 record for the season - a fear that probably won't be matched or hardly approached for years, if ever. The Bays were 6-0 in non-league, 13-1 in league, and 1-0 in the title test. The Packers won this bruising battle in a howling, frozen dust bowl. It was bitter cold - 20 to 17 degrees with wind gusts up to 40 miles per hour. It was miserable. Green Bay scored in every period and never went behind in this defensive struggle that was slowed down by a frozen field. The Packers wore low-cut coaching shoes with rippled rubber soles and heels - all except J. Kramer, that is. Rather than switch shoes, Jerry wore a shoe with cleats and kicking toe on his right foot and the soft-sole shoe on the left. The shoe bit and the pressure on a first-year kicker never bothered Jerry. He booted field goals of 26 yards for a 3-0 lead in the first period, a 29-yarder to give the Bays a 13-7 lead in the third period and a 30-yard beauty to all but ice the verdict with 1:50 left in the game. Just two touchdowns were scored - the first on a 7-yard stand-up romp by Jim Taylor in the second quarter for a 10-0 lead and the final sixer scored when Jim Collier fell on a blocked Max McGee punt in the third period to cut the lead to 10-7. The game was in the hands of the defense and the Pack's sterling don't-score unit was superb in the clutch. In two title games vs. N.Y., the Packer defense hasn't allowed a TD. Last year's game was 37-0 and yesterday's TD came on a blocked punt. The defense was led by roaring Ray Nitschke, who recovered two fumbles and deflected a pass that set up an interception by Dan Currie. The fumble grabs set up the Pack's lone TD and the second field goal. Nitschke, making jarring tackles all afternoon, was richly rewarded. He was named the most valuable player and won the Corvette from Sport magazine. The Bay defensers were nicked for 18 first downs and 293 yards, but they were murder in the clutch. All of them got in their big licks - Dave Hanner on the draw plays, Hank Jordan on the screens and Jordan, Bill Quinlan and Willie Davis for pressure on Y.A. Tittle. Dan Currie and Capt. Bill Forester kept the Giants' wide stuff in check and the secondary - Jess Whittenton, who again held down Del Shofner, Herb Adderley, Hank Gremminger and Willie Wood did the rest. There was an unfortunate incident. Wood was ejected by official Tom Kelleher when Wood and Kelleher collided, with Kelleher falling down, in the third period. Wood had tipped a pass aimed at Shofner and Kelleher ruled interference. Willie jumped toward the official in protest and Kelleher seemed to be coming at Wood at the same time, when the two met. The Bays also were given a 15-yard penalty for a personal foul. Johnny Symank replaced Wood at right safety and finished out. The Packer offense was the object of mayhem by the Giant defenders, led by Sam Huff, Tom Scott and a few others. They gave Taylor an unnecessary beating, piling on with knees, elbows and fists flying. This was terrible. The Giants never received a penalty for same and apparently no warning was given. Bart Starr guided the Packers carefully under extreme wind conditions. The swirling wind wobbled passes and slowed them down. Yet Bart completed 9 out of 21 (Tittle 18 of 41) and threw just enough to back up the running of Taylor, Paul Hornung and Tom Moore. Hornung started and went the first three quarters with Tom Moore starting the fourth. Both were hurt and replaced each other in the crucial field goal drive in the final period.
GROGGY ON THE FIELD
At one point, it seemed the Giants were using hammer as the Bays shuttled in and out with injuries. In the Pack's sixth play, J. Kramer hurt his shoulder, and Jim Ringo hurt his neck and was groggy on the field. J.K. went out for a few plays but the rugged Ringo went right on, finishing up. The Bay offensive line received intense heat from the Giants' "high" defense, chiefly Rosey Grier, but the unit of Ron Kramer, Norm Masters, Bob Skoronski, Fred Thurston, J. Kramer, Ringo and Forrest Gregg kept the Giants in check. Heat, mayhem, injuries - you name it, will be forgotten shortly, especially when each Packer receives a check in about two weeks for $5,888.57, the winning player share. Each losing Giant will get $4,166.85. Both are record figures. The fierce wind struck its nose into the picture right at the start, blowing the ball off the tee three times before Wood's opening kickoff. Finally, Earl Gros held the ball on the tee and the big show was off and running before a capacity audience of 64,892 and 43 million television viewers.
The Giants tested the Pack on the ground, made a first down and then settled for a Don Chandler punt that was almost downed on the 1. The Packers stormed down the field with their first trip with the ball, roaring 61 yards in 10 plays to set up J. Kramer's field goal from the 26. The boot was close and some of the Giants argued with the officials. Taylor ran 23 yards along the way, Starr completed two passes and J. Kramer recovered a Taylor fumble. The Bays got another chance right quick when Currie intercepted a Tittle pass deflected by Nitschke and returned 29 yards to the Packer 39. A 10-yard run by Hornung and Starr's 17-yard pass to Ron Kramer set up another J.K. field goal try but the boot was short and wide from the 37. Chandler and McGee each punted twice as the game moved into the second quarter and the Bays produced themselves a fine break. Currie jarred the ball loose from King and Nitschke recovered on the Giant 28. It was 10-0 in two plays, Starr's 20-yard pass to Dowler and Taylor's lone TD run. Just before the half, Chandler missed a field goal from the 47. After the teams exchanged punts to start the fierce second half, McGee went back on his own 2-yard line to deliver another boot but it was fatal. Erich Barnes came out of nowhere, blocked the kick and Collier bobbled it into the end zone for the TD. The Giants suddenly hit the ceiling and they appeared to smother little Green Bay on a few plays, quickly forcing a McGee punt. The Giants obliged when Horner fumbled the boot and our man in New York, Nitschke, recovered on the Giant 42. That Giant error was quickly turned into three points - off J.K's toe from the 29. The Wood ejection followed, putting the Giants on the Packer 18. This was a rough spot but the officials called two successive holding penalties on the Giants and they wound up with third and 47. Chandler and McGee, kicking as fast as he could under the Giants' great rush, exchanged two more punts as the game moved into the final quarter and Maxie gained the edge as the Bays added a first down to provide another field goal shot. J.K. missed it from the 40, the ball falling short.
GAME-CLINCHING
Once more, the Bays forced Chandler to punt and, with 6:53 left, the Bays went on the game-clinching field goal drive. They moved 45 yards in 12 plays and Starr ordered rushes on the first eight plays, covering three first downs. This was the key to the victory - the Packers' relentless rush, the thing they do best. Starr went back for two passes. One was incomplete and he ran on the other. J. Kramer then calmly kicked the big field goal from the 30 to set the final score at 13:10. The Giants stormed downfield at the end, but the Packers weren't losing this one. No way!
GREEN BAY - 3 7 3 3 - 16
NEW YORK - 0 0 7 0 - 7
GREEN BAY NEW YORK
First Downs 18 18
Rushing-Yards-TD 46-148-1 26-94-0
Att-Comp-Yd-TD-Int 22-10-106-0-0 41-18-197-0-1
Sack Yards Lost 1-10 0-0
Total Yards 244 291
Fumbles-lost 2-0 3-2
Turnovers 0 3
Yards penalized 5-44 4-62
SCORING
2nd - GB - Jim Taylor, 7-yard run (Jerry Kramer kick) GREEN BAY 10-0
3rd - NY - Jim Collier recovered a blocked punt in the end zone GREEN BAY 10-7
3rd - GB - J. Kramer, 29-yard field goal GREEN BAY 13-7
4th - GB - J. Kramer, 30-yard field goal GREEN BAY 16-7
RUSHING
GREEN BAY - Jim Taylor 31-85 1 TD, Paul Hornung 8-35, Tom Moore 6-24, Bart Starr 1-4
NEW YORK - Alex Webster 15-56, Phil King 11-38
PASSING
GREEN BAY - Bart Starr 21-9-85, Paul Hornung 1-1-21
NEW YORK - Y.A. Tittle 41-18-197 1 INT
RECEIVING
GREEN BAY - Boyd Dowler 4-48, Jim Taylor 3-20, Ron Kramer 2-25, Max McGee 1-13
NEW YORK - Joe Walton 5-75, Del Shofner 5-69, Frank Gifford 4-34, Phil King 2-14, Alex Webster 1-5, Joe Morrison 1-0
1962 NFL Championship Game Packers vs. Giants Press Tie Clip (Source: Heritage Auctions)
'I'M REAL SATISFIED WITH THE WIN' - LOMBARDI
DEC 31 (New York-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "What did you say to your players, Vince?" A relieved and relaxed Vince Lombardi, hemmed in by an army-like press corps in a compact cubicle deep in the catacombs of Yankee Stadium, had a simple but eloquent answer to this question on an incredibly frigid and cyclonic Sunday afternoon which had served as an explosive backdrop for the acquisition of the Packers' eighth world championship. "I didn't say much of anything," he replied soberly, after brief reflection. "We just said a little prayer of thanksgiving." This, it might be added, was the dominant theme throughout a lengthy quiz session, repeatedly punctuated by congratulations from an unending stream of visitors to the Packer chieftain's inner sanctum, among them NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle. "I'm real satisfied with the win," Lombardi declared, flashing an expansive grin. "Defensively, we played a better game today than we have the last three or four." Taking note of a reference to the statistics, which revealed a modest edge for the vanquished Giants, Vince smiled and asserted, "I'm not interested in statistics. All I'm interested in is the final score - and I don't know what that was. All I know is we won and that's enough for me." Inevitably, this prompted someone to ask, "Now that you won two world titles in a row, do you think the other teams in the league will be pointing for you with even greater fervor?" "It can't be tougher," the one-time Fordham Block of Granite shot back with a dry grin, "that it was this year." The subject, as expected, turned to the weather and its effect on what had transpired in New York's famous wind tunnel. "I don't think any of our players, aside from Ron Kramer and Forrest Gregg, wore cleats. The rest of them wore those with the rippled rubber soles (customarily known as coaching shoes)." Did he think under these circumstances, Yankee Stadium's frozen turf had given an advantage to the offense? "No, I don't think so. The backs got started all right but they couldn't cut very well. Of course, the wind affected the ball a little bit," he added. "It was a tough wind for throwing," an observation to which both the Packers' Bart Starr and the Giants' ancient Y.A. Tittle can fervently attest. Had he made any offensive changes for the sawoff? "We had some plans," he admitted. "We were going to use McGee and Dowler on the same side, in fact we did a couple of times today, but the weather wasn't right for it." Had the cold or the wind been more of a factor in the proceedings? an eastern scribe asked. "I don't think you feel the cold if you're playing," Vince observed. "I think the cold was harder on those on the bench than it was on those on the field. The wind was more of a factor." Did he think the weather had affected one team more than the other? "No, I don't," was the unhesitating reply. "Both teams play on the same field, under the same conditions." Asked if he could remember a "key" play, Lombardi said, "I think Ron Kramer made a great catch once. Did we wind up with three points just after that one?" They had, he was assured. "Then," Vince quoth with a hearty chuckle, "it was very important." Any kind words for individual performers? Lombardi hesitated a moment, then replied, "I thought Hornung, for not having played much, played very well." What of the Golden One's condition (he had been injured early in the fourth quarter and had played little thereafter)? "He got a little bruise on the hip - he's all right." Impressed with the enemy, the Packers' resident genius called the Giants "a great football team. And," he appended with emphasis, "I'm not just saying that - I really mean it. They're much better than they were a year ago." He laughed and added, "But I think our field (Green Bay's City Stadium) was a lot better than this Yankee Stadium was." Fleetingly annoyed by a question which he said "has been asked for the fifth or sixth time," Vince noted with a wintry grin, "I thought we were going to have a real good time in New York this time with all the newspapers here on strike." What had been his reaction to Willie Wood's expulsion for allegedly assaulting Back Judge Tom Kelleher? "I have no comment on that," Lombardi said. How did he compare the afternoon's imbroglio with other championship games he's seen. "I think it was about as fine a football game as I've ever seen," was the unqualified reply. "I think we saw football as it should be played. We saw great tackling, fine blocking and great pursuit," Lombardi said. "And I'm talking about both teams." "Vince," a semi-serious scrivener suggest from the back row, "now, you can go for three (championships)." Sidestepping this one with a wary grin, Lombardi declared, "I'm not going to think about that for a while."...Urbane Allie Sherman, a highly articulate gentleman in defeat as well as victory, neatly summarized the million-dollar struggle in two succinct sentences. "I think both clubs with what both of them could do best," the curly-haired Brooklyn College alumnus volunteered. "It was just a question of who was going to be there at the end." Leaning far back on a swivel chair in his stadium office, in baseball season the sanctum sanctorum of Yankee manager Ralph Houk, Sherman blew smoke at the ceiling and added, "We felt the Packers were better than a year ago. They're a good solid football team. They execute and they have poise. They were worthy of winning it because they got more than we did." The weather, a solicitous New York newsman suggested, might have hurt the Giant smore than their conquerors. "I wouldn't like to say that. We planned on running and we did move the ball pretty good. There were certain situations, of course, where we probably would have thrown but didn't feel we could today." "But," he continued with emphasis, "we have not alibis. We have no complaints. We had to go with what we could in a given game." The Giants had not completed a long pass (their primary weapon en route to the NFL's Eastern Division championship), it was noted. "That's right," Sherman soberly conceded. "It was pretty tough to put that ball up there today. We would have gone a little deeper, if the weather had been different, and I imagine they would have, too." The interrogation was temporarily interrupted as Sherman's well-bundled eight-year-old son, Randy, squirmed through a battery of poised pencils and hovering cameras, embraced his father and received a paternal hug in return. "Hi, Randy," Allie smiled, then added, "well, we almost made it." Suddenly self-conscious in this strange atmosphere, Randy made haste to leave but Sherman called him back. "Wait a minute, Randy, I have something for you," he said. Moving to a cabinet. he withdrew a packaged tie-pin (a memento of the playoff) and presented it to his proud offspring, then dispatched him with an affectionate pat. Returning to the business at hand, the NFL's youthful coach of the year addressed to himself another question. "Well, I don't like to single out one play in a game but we dropped a punt in the third quarter that put us out of tie range." (It was recovered by Ray Nitschke, a development which shortly led to the Packers' second field goal and a 13-7 edge.) "Then, of course, they controlled the ball better than they had all day after we punted with six minutes left. We expected to hold them and get the ball back." Sherman had no fault to find with Sam Horner, the unfortunate who mishandled the fateful third quarter punt. "The balls were really sashaying around all over the field in that wind. That was a hard ball to handle." As a matter of fact, one Gotham writer ventured, neither team had attempted to field many punts. "We tried to field 'em," Allie responded with a sad smile. Had a defensive change spawned the blocked punt which vaulted the Giants to within three points of the Packers in the third quarter? "Yes, we gambled and stunted," Sherman said. "We wanted to block one because we thought it would give us a life. It did, but..." He didn't finish the sentence.
TAYLOR WALKING TESTIMONIAL TO FURY IN YANKEE STADIUM
DEC 31 (New York-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "War," legendary General Sherman (not to be confused with a Giant named Allie) once declared, "is hell." The Packers, repeating world champions in the wake of a raw, crunching struggle that resembled nothing so much as mortal combat, were in complete accord after hurling back the challenge of New York's wild-eyed Giants in gale-lashed Yankee Stadium Sunday afternoon. Bruised and battered Jim Taylor, literally covered with cuts and contusions, was a walking testimonial to the elemental fury with which these dedicated antagonists assaulted each other. Donning street clothes before his locker in a surprisingly quiet Packer dressing room, the NFL's "player of the year" was taking it in stages - for two reasons. Virtually every move brought a wince - and another wave of reporters and photographers. A trace of blood was detected on his lower lip. "I bit my tongue," the bayou bronco explained, "when I was tackled one time." It appeared this was not his only memento, a bone-jarring afternoon, a Chicago writer noted, "That's right," Taylor agreed with a faint smile. "I got it in the elbow, the stomach and the hip - I'm bruised all over." Had the prospect of such treatment caused him concern as the game approached? "No, you're out there to play the best you can," the Pack's all-time ground gainer said simply. "You don't worry about injuries." Despite his battle scars, Taylor was surprised to learn how busy he had been. "I had that many carries?" he marveled. Then shaking his head in disbelief, "That means I was on the ground 31 times." Clutchman Paul Horning, also no shrinking violet when it comes to contact, was equally forthright. "That," he said without reservation, "was the hardest football game I ever played in." Peerless Paul had not, however, acquired any injury, as had been feared. "I just hurt my hip a little bit," Hornung confided. "Got a nice strawberry. The knee is all right - I don't think I'll need any surgery." Humorist Max McGee, still haunted by visions of that near-fatal blocked punt in the third quarter, drawled,
"That was the hardest hitting game I ever saw - and I watched most of it. I didn't know a human body can get that cold (the temperature dipped to 17 degrees in the second half)," he added, "and still survive." Fuzzy Thurston, soberly reflecting a day of dedication, said with unaccustomed fervor, "You could really feel it when they hit out there today - you could feel it in your bones. The Giants were the best today I've ever seen 'em. I thought we were a lot better today, too, than we have been." Another Giant "admirer" was quarterback Bart Starr, the quietly efficient Alabaman who had just maneuvered the Pack to a second straight world title. "We've played the Giants three time a year for the last two and this is the best game they've ever played against us." He thus derived a modicum of satisfaction from reviewing the play that had sprung Taylor for the only Packer touchdown of the afternoon...CHARGED TO OUTSIDE: "Actually it broke open way to the inside of where it was designed to go," Bart confided. "Either Mo (Giant defensive tackle Dick Modzelewski) got knocked over or he charged to the outside. Regardless, there was a big hole and Jim just veered to the inside. I didn't see Mo on the play, but I think he charged to the outside." Another play that loomed large in the final accounting also differed sharply from the original pattern, Hornung revealed. "That pass to Dowler (which set the stage for Taylor's TD) definitely was intended for Ron Kramer. But somebody hit me just when I was throwing the ball. Boyd was the long man on the play and he made a fine catch." Hornung's successor in the DFG (Department of field goals) admitted "the pressure bothered me a lot more today than it did in another game. Every one of those kicks," he said, shuddering ever so slightly at the memory, "could mean the ball game." "I thought I hit 'em all pretty good," the mountainous College of Idaho alumnus felt. "A couple of them were short but I was aiming the ball to that side because of the wind. They went right where I aimed 'em," he said ruefully, "but the wind didn't blow. On that last one (which clinched victory and the world title), I just tried to head for the middle, and the heck with it. Before I kicked it," he concluded with a wry grin, "a couple of guys said, 'This could mean the ball game.' That helped, too." Another star in this studded cast, burly Ray Nitschke insisted, "I was pretty fortunate" to win the game's most valuable player award, an honor which will be accompanied by a shiny new Corvette. "Being most valuable could have gone to anyone on the team," declared the bruising ex-University of Illinois fullback, whose two fumble recoveries led to 10 Packer points. He admitted, however, "it's a great big thrill. It's like a dream," he said with a shy smile. "You dream of a thing like that happening to you." One of his linebacking colleagues, Hollywood handsome Dan Currie, was slightly shamefaced by contrast. Currie, who intercepted a first quarter Y.A. Tittle pass deflected by Nitschke to avert a Giant threat, growled, "I fell right on my face - in front of 50 million people. It was the high shoes - I'm not used to them - and the leg (injured in the Baltimore game in Green Bay Nov. 18). I go about 30 or 40 yards and it starts to waver and wabble - it's not that strong yet." Another member of the devastating defensive platoon, Willie Wood, was understandably downcast. "I got kicked out on a bum call," the NFL's champion pass interceptor said softly. "I didn't think it was interference, that's why I ran up to the official," said Willie, who was shortly banished for allegedly striking Back Judge Tom Kelleher. Reconstructing the incident, Willie said, "He was running toward me. I tried to grab his arm to protest and he ran my arm into his chest. It kind of knocked the wind out of him. He got up and said, 'You're out of the ball game.' Naturally," Willie said sadly, "I didn't feel too good about it. Guess the league'll fine me for it, but I hope not." His punt returning partner, jet-like Elijah Pitts, was beaming over his near-getaway. "I think I might have gone all the way if I could have stayed to the outside," the pride of Philander T. Smith grinned. "There was one man following Herb (Adderley) and one right on my tail. Herb didn't see the man behind - I thought he might take him - so I had to cut back."...PERFECT FOR RETURN: "The pattern was set up perfect for the return - the boys were cutting 'em down like trees," Elijah smiled. "Lew Carpenter took the first two men down - not just the first one, the first two - and that gave me a chance to pick up the ball." A still sober citizen was defensive Capt. Bill Forester, sitting pensively in front of his locker. Had he been worried? "Not when they shot that gun," Bubba quipped. "Seriously, after Jerry's last field goal (with 1:50 remaining), we started breathing a little easier."
CROWD AT AIRPORT ROARS WELCOME HOME TO PACK
DEC 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Who says Green Bay is "bush league?" After all, didn't we take Sunday's championship victory in stride? Sure, we sang and danced in the streets last year. True, we celebrated until the wee hours, but it was New Years' Eve, too. This year we didn't jump into our cars at the end of the game and run downtown to celebrate. This year we stayed home after the game, reached for another bottle of beer, and proceeded to lambaste the officials for their unfair treatment of Willie Wood and the goings on of that guy Huff. Later on, though, we did get into the spirit a little better. We did brave the seven below temperature to stand out there at the airport to greet the team, but doesn't everyone? Even though they didn't come in until 11 o'clock at night...HUFF HUNG IN EFFIGY: Sure there were a few people who tooted their horns and tossed a few firecrackers out onto the street. And someone did hang an effigy of Sam Huff in front of Prange's. That airport thing Sunday was sure something, though. What a night! After the game, the radio stations announced the estimated time of arrival (later that night we started throwing around the term ETA) at 8:50 p.m. That was for the Packer charter flight. Two other chartered airliners carrying fans back to Green Bay were due in earlier...CROWD WAITS FOR HOURS: About seven o'clock a few hardy souls ventured to the airport. About 150 cars had gathered before the rumor spread - the plane is late! Soon the radio stations made it official: The Packers would be at least two hours late, with their ETA 10:50 p.m. The two charter flights also would be two hours late. How do you kill two hours when its below zero outside? Some did it by heading into the airport terminal for coffee. Others found stronger liquid to while away the time. A few gathered outside the control tower where bottles of chilled beer miraculously appeared. Most people, though, got back into their cars and headed back to town. Some went home, others stopped to refresh their enthusiasm in preparation for their return later in the evening...MAGIC HOUR DRAWS CLOSE: Finally, the magic hour drew close. About 1,500 persons lined the fence at the airfield as the four-engine DC-6 slid to earth. Behind the crowd was a string of cars extending east on the airport road almost back to City Stadium. The airliner taxied slowly to the ramp and the cheers grew. The stairway was pushed into the position and the door opened. Sirens wailed, horns blew and cheers split the air. Hastily prepared signs were waved vigorously. The din subsided rapidly, though, when the fans realized those getting off the plane were not Packers. It was one of those charter flights. A half hour later the same thing happened, but this time the people waited to make sure before cheering...PLANE BUZZES AIRPORT: It was good practice though, because, at 10:46 p.m., a giant airliner suddenly roared over the airport at an amazingly low altitude. Probably the first time in history a commercial DC-6 buzzed an airport. The plane actually had to go into a climb before it made its landing approach. The people, this time, had no doubts. Here was THE TEAM! Roars from the crowd pierced the air. The roar subsided slightly as the plane went into a wide turn at the far end of the field. With ever-increasing fervor, the cheers grew as the plane touched down. They were briefly downed out by the roar of the four engines as the pilot reversed his propellors to stop...COACH'S WIFE WAVES: Then the plane taxied to the ramp. Again the stairway was rolled into place and the door opened. The crowd waited breathlessly. In one window, Marie Lombardi smiled and waved and drew cheers in return. The first person stepped into the glare
of television lights and exploding flashbulbs. The crowd roared, but it was only an airline official. Next, a local sportscaster literally leaped onto the stairs, then hastily reached back for his overcoat. Finally, THEY appeared Jim Taylor led the team from the plane and the din increased. He smiled, somewhat painfully, then descended into the crowd of television and radio interviewers and photographers...SIGNS TELL SENTIMENTS: Ahead of him were displayed such signs as "Huff and Puff, Taylor's Too Tuff" and "New York Can Have Tittle, Green Bay Has The Title." The players hastily made their way through a special gate to an area that had been set aside for their cars. They left without further fanfare. A special roar went up when Vince Lombardi stepped from the plane, preceded by his wife. Coming down the stairs, he told an interviewer, "It was a great day for the Packers and also a great day for Vince Lombardi." The head coach added, "I'm delighted to be back home." Quarterback Bart Starr and his wife also were stopped briefly by the microphones. "I'm just tremendously happy," he told the audience. Mayor Roman Dennisen and an official greeting part was on the hand to offer official congratulations...CROWD OF 8,000-14,000: The cheering crowd by this time had built up until it numbered anywhere between 8,000 and 14,000, depending on who you talked to. The string of cars continued into the airport, despite the fact that it almost was over. Lombardi, surrounded by newsmen, made his way into the terminal where another group awaited. Loud cheers and shouts of "Well done, Vince" and "We love ya" were heard. Then, suddenly, it was all over. Except for the traffic jam which wasn't helped by an accident near the airport entrance. Back downtown, there were a few cars and honking horns. Some of the bars filled with shouting patrons. But most people apparently went home, content to thaw out amid the playbacks of the afternoon's game. The entire day's activity could be summed up in the words of one fan. "It was one helluva day."
THE PACKERS ARE MASTERS
DEC 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Green Bay Packers are back from the football wars bringing to Green Bay and Wisconsin their eighth world championship. The members of the 1962 Championship Packer team are truly representatives that any city and any state would be proud of. Green Bay and Wisconsin are indeed proud and happy to welcome the Packers home and to acknowledge that they are the world's greatest. The game in New York Sunday was not an ordinary playoff game. It was a contest between two teams each worthy of championship play. It was between teams with talent so evenly divided between them that even the most expert football men in the nation had difficulty in predicting the outcome. The Packer victory was due to good straight businesslike football. They went at it as professionals should. They got a score and while protecting their slim lead missed no opportunity to increase it. Even with the cold, the wind and the icy field there were few errors. It is a tribute to both teams that the errors which did occur brought immediate and severe losses. Psychologically the advantage appeared to be on the side of the Giants. They were fighting back from a severe drubbing a year ago whereas the Packers might have succumbed to overconfidence because of their previous experience with their opponents. Their success in this contest marks the Packers as sound professionals who know what they want and are not to be distracted or flustered by strange fields or hostile crowds. It has been noted that the home team appears to have the advantage since, of the 29 playoff games since the league was divided into two divisions in 1933, 20 had been won by the home team and 10 for the visitors. This may mean that there has been a big gain in the direction of impartial officiating and better sportsmanship. We believe that is true and that it means that professional football is growing and improving with the passing years. We like to think also that Green Bay has made a contribution to this betterment of the game. Again, we say, welcome home and well done, Packers!
19-INCH STADIUM REVEALS FOUR STORIES OF CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
DEC 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Once upon a yesterday, there were three Press-Gazette sportswriters. Two of them flew to New York to cover the Packers' second consecutive world championship. The third one covered the home front and witnessed the spectacular Green Bay triumph via television. This is the story of the third writer, snuggled up in a comfortable chair amid pleasant 74-degree temperatures while watching the frigid affair in the 19-inch stadium before him. It was all there, the blaring crowd noise which forced announcers Ray Scott and Chris Schenkel to obviously strain their freezing vocal cords, the "Beat Green Bay" chants and signs, the tingling tension, the ups and downs, and the wonderful feeling of final victory. There were four stories within the TV championship story Sunday. They might be entitled "Mayhem for Taylor," "Poor Willie," "Brrr," and "My Advice Sir..." Mayhem for Taylor actually opened in the pregame show, during which Packer fullback Jim Taylor was awarded the Jim Thorpe Trophy as the NFL's Most Valuable Player, selected for Newspaper Enterprise Assn. by the players themselves. The story continued throughout the game itself with the Giants literally clobbering Taylor from every angle and on every play with little regard for the revealing lens of the TV camera. The story continued such interesting developments as the glaring feud between Taylor and Giant Sam Huff. Jim's bulldozing and sliding, his obvious hurts in forcing himself up from the ground, and his coming back for more. The saga of Poor Willie was quick and pungent. It was probably the most dramatic of the day. The NBC ground camera crew zoomed in for spectacular closeups of Willie Wood after the Packer safety was ejected from the game for "tackling" an official. Willie tossed his helmet, writhed and twisted in an emotional demonstration of heart on the sidelines. It appeared tears were swelling his eyes...DIDN'T NEED PROGRAM: You didn't need a program for Brrr. When announcer Schenkel burst onto the screen at 12:45, it was immediately evident. With a heavy cap pulled down over his forehead and a scarf hiding most of the lower part of his face, he quickly noted that Yankee Stadium was filled with "Green Bay weather." He reported the temperature was 25 degrees and the wind was 25 mp with gusts up to 40 mph, a figure considered conservative by his partner, Scott, whose chubby cheeks poking out from his cap and scarf were the only identifying features. The wind promptly stirred up enough dust to create a foggy atmosphere and bits of paper looked like snow. It was in stark contrast to the commercials that found a smiling Scott in a dapper suit displaying his wares. It was the commercial, as might be expected that was the only serious detraction. With two minutes left in the game and Jerry Kramer preparing to attempt what everyone know could be the clinching field goal, the pressure piled up next to tension by the ton...ANIMATED MAN: It was at this moment that viewers were treated to "My Advice Sir..." with an animated little man in front of a gasoline pump describing how to prevent icing in your gas line while being pelted by snowballs. This is understandable, however. What is not so understandable is why the network cannot spare a few minutes to take the viewer into the winning dressing room for some of the postgame excitement. As it does with the World Series. But, with a well stuffed chair under me and 74-degree temperatures instead of a stinging 15 degrees, or less, as it was during the second half, who am I to argue. Fill up the glasses and bring on the Rose Bowl.
BEAT GREEN BAY YELL EVEN IN NY 'GARDEN'
DEC 31 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Blase New York? You'd never know it. As early as Saturday night, during timeouts in the Illinois-West Virginia finale in the Holiday Festival Basketball Tournament at Madison Square Garden, fans representing the world's largest city (8,000,000) began chanting, "Beat Green Bay, Beat Green Bay." It was taken up again as the Packers arrived at windswept Yankee Stadium shortly before noon, New York time, Sunday, several hundred hardy Giant partisans dinning their litany into the players' ears as they filed into "The House That Ruth Built." After greeting the Packers with a resounding chorus of boos as they took the field for their pregame warmup, a goodly number of the 63,892 who sat in on the proceedings resumed the chant before the kickoff and continued at intervals until the closing minutes of the third quarter when it apparently was forgotten as the pressure mounted...WEATHER REPORT: A new pro record for windblown hats must have been set. One of them was Vince Lombardi's topper, which blew onto the field early in the second quarter, from which it was hastily retrieved by an aide. At least a half dozen other derbies also were swept about the stadium turf during the course of the afternoon, not to mention an incredible collection of tattered programs, sandwich wrappers and other debris. Gas heaters were installed behind and "smudge pots" in front of both benches, for the comfort of the players. They were woefully inadequate, however, the principals reported. "I've never been so cold in my life," John Symank said, shaking his head. "And that includes on the field as well as on the bench." One of Property Manager Dad Braisher's chief pregame functions was filling cigarette lighter-sized hand warmers with fluid. He and Aide John Proski also were distributing a variety of shoes to the players for testing on the stadium's semi-frozen turf. Taking no chances, Lombardi had provided three types of footgear for the occasion - sneakers, rippled rubber sole "coaching" shoes and the customary cleated brogans...The Packers' two-man medical corps, headed by Dr. Jim Nellen and assisted by Dr. Gene Brusky, was really busy. The Bays were shuttling in and out at times with various mementos of the bruising contest. "Nothing serious," Dr. Nellen said after the game. Everybody who was hurt stormed right back into action after the medics produced their magic...Coach Vince Lombardi, a chain smoker especially during the game, went through his sidelines sting without smoking one cigarette. "Couldn't get 'em out of my pocket." he roared...Bob Skoronski, who started at left tackle and alternated with
Jim Taylor of the Green Bay Packers carries the ball in the 1962 NFL Championship game against the New York Giants in New York. Giants defenders Andy Robustelli (81) and Dick Modzelewski (77) converge on Taylor, while linebacker Sam Huff (70) trails. Packers blockers include Norm Masters (78), Jim Ringo (51) and Fred Thurston (63). Credit: AP
Green Bay Packers linebacker Dan Currie on a run after making an interception (Credit: AP Photo/Vernon Biever)
Ray Nitschke makes one of his two fumble recoveries in the 1962 NFL Championship Game
Norm Masters, became a papa in the early hours Sunday morning. Bob couldn't wait to get home Sunday night - to see his wife, Ruth, and their first daughter. "Maybe we'll call her Victory," Skoronski beamed, but he agreed that Victoria would be a nice name...Some of the players left for their homes shortly after arrival Sunday. Tom Moore broke the record for a fast get-away. His wife, Barbara, waited at the airport with their packed car and they headed for warm Goodlettsville, Tenn., right away. Most of them headed out this morning. Players living in the east left for their homes from New York...They turned on the Yankee Stadium lights at 1:57 despite a bright sun. They remained on and at the finish it looked like a night game...Green Bay cold? It was colder at yesterday's game than it was in Packertown for the 1961 title game. It was 17 at one point in the third quarter and it never got below 20 in Green Bay. The cold in NY is damp, from the ocean, and it's penetrating. While it was 7 below when the team arrived last night, some of the players thought it felt warmer than New York...The game wasn't even radio broadcast by a New York radio station. Due to a labor situation and picketing, station WNEW called off its broadcast. The station had purchased a full-page ad in the program. The radio broadcast came in NY via network...Joe Dotlich, Bluejay manager in 1948, helped Dad Braiser and Johnny Proski with the equipment on the sidelines. He's in the electric business in New York...Jimmy Russler, 7, Two Rivers, finished second in his age group Sunday in the national punt, pass and kick contest held between halves of Sunday's playoff. Jimmy was one of 10 finalists in a nationwide contest that began with 500,000 youngsters in the 7-11 age groups. He and his parents, along with other finalists and their parents, attended the Giant game as guests of the Ford Motor Company. The contest involved punting, passing and placekicking for distance and accuracy...TITLE TIDBITS: Ex-Packer and ex-Giant Em Tunnell strolled up to Vince Lombardi in the dressing room befoer the game and, with a crooked smile, informed him, "You know I feel, Vince, I got mixed emotions." It drew a hearty chuckle from Lombardi...Author Dane Clark was a press box visitor between halves. Numb with cold, he came in to thaw out - and exchange amenities with old newspaper cronies...Former Packer halfback Joe (The Bomber) Johnson, who called it a career after spending the 1961 season with the AFL's Patriots, came over from Boston to sit on the showdown...The "game today" sign high atop Yankee Stadium exhibited admirable restraint. It said, "Packers, 2 p.m., today."...ACCIDENT PRONE?" Back Judge Tom Kelleher may start avoiding the Packers any day now, Sunday's collision with Willie Wood was his second misadventure with a Packer this season. In the pack's season opener against the College All-Stars at Chicago, Kelleher leaped to intervene in a fist fight between Lee Folkins and an All-Star, which proved to be a slight error. Alread in mid-punch, Folkins chilled Kelleher with a whistling right cross. Like Wood, Folkins was ejected from the premises...KING VINCENT I: One worshipful 12-year-old boy who got within touching distance of Headmaster Lombardi as the Packer coach threaded his way through Austin Straubel Field's terminal lobby Sunday night, told him, "You're not only great, Vince, you're king."
