Green Bay Packers (11-2-1) 21, San Francisco 49ers (2-12) 17
Sunday December 14th 1963 (at San Francisco)
GAME RECAP (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE)
(SAN FRANCISCO) - The Packers flew to their 11th victory in Kezar Stadium Saturday. And today they hope to "fly" to their fourth straight Western Division championship - if the Lions will cooperate. Green Bay defeated the 49ers 21 to 17 behind a devastating aerial attack led by Bart Starr and Boyd Dowler, who connected for 54 and 50 yard airborne touchdowns, before a frozen crowd of 31,031. Now it's up to the Lions. If Detroit beats the Bears in Chicago this afternoon, Green Bay repeats as champion. The Packers will hear the final score while they're flying home today. With a final record of 11 wins, two losses to the Bears and one tie, the Packers finished with their second best accounting in history. Only last year's 13-1 was better. They posted 12-2 in 1961. For the 14th time this season, the Packers ran into the supreme effort on the part of the opponent. The 49ers, considering their 2-12 finish, were tremendous. But the Bays scored a touchdown in each of the first periods and twice fought back from ties to go in front. It was 7-0 at the first quarter mark, 14-14 at the half, and 21-14 at the end of three quarters. Tom Moore plunged a yard for the first TD in the first quarter, but J.D. Smith smashed two yards to tie the score to start a 21 point second quarter. Starr then worked his 54 yard TD strike to Dowler, but the 49ers tied it on Smith's second touchdown, on a 52-yard run. The Packers broke loose suddenly in the third period with Starr's 50-yard scoring pass to Dowler. The scoring ended with Tommy Davis' 44-yard field goal in the fourth period. Jerry Kramer, who kicked three extra points, missed three field goals - from 44, 38 and 25 yards, the last of which would have removed some tension in the final moments. Davis missed from the 52 and 50. The Packers had their biggest aerial day of the season, rolling up 324 air yards behind Starr's 17 completions in 24 attempts. Moore's one for one. Starr now has thrown five TD passes on the West Coast, hitting Max McGee for three in Los Angeles last Saturday. Dowler caught eight for 188 yards. The .
Bays piled up 429 yards and cut the fighting 49ers down to 270, including 181 by rushing. J. D. Smith gained 126 himself. Big Jim Taylor didn't have an easy time hitting his fourth straight 1,000-yard season. He finished with 59 stripes in 23 hard attempts to close with 1,018. He gained 13 on the last three plays of the game. The Packers went through without committing a penalty and suffered one fumble lost - by Earl Gros on a kickoff in the second quarter just after the 49ers tied the score 7-7. The Bay defense came to the rescue and took the ball on downs, thanks to key tackles by Bill Forester and Dave Robinson. The Packers took the opening kickoff and sizzled 78 yards in 12 plays to a 7-0 lead, thanks to Starr's sharpshooting. Bart threw to Moore on the first play of the game for 16 yards and then hit on two key third down passes between runs by Moore and Taylor. The first was a 25-yard toss to McGee to the 49er 40 and the next was a 12 yarder to McGee to the 12. Moore then slammed left end to the one and then carried over. Jerry Kramer hit the first of three extra points at 5:59 for the lead. Tommy Davis was short on a 52 yard field goal try and the Bays went to the air again, Starr hitting Dowler for 31 yards to the 49er 49, but the attack stalled and the hometowners went on an 80-yard scoring binge.
RAN ALL THE WAY
Other than McHan's 21 yards pass to Smith, the 49ers ran all the way with Smith and old Joe Perry alternating over the 12-play route. Smith scored from the 2 at 2:07 of the second quarter and Davis converted to tie the game. Before the Bays took a 14-7 lead, the Packers took the ball on downs, Jerry Norton punted and Davis missed a field goal from the 50. The next two TDs came in a hurry. The Bays went 80 yards in five plays, with Starr throwing on three of them. He pitched to McGee for 16, to Moore for 10 and finally the bomb to Dowler for 54 yards. Boyd took the ball on the 30 behind Kermit Alexander and just raced away to score at 10:03. The 49ers tied the score in two plays. After McHan was incomplete, Smith shot off right tackle and went 52 yards for the TD, sliding into the end zone with two Packers. Davis tied it at 10:50. The Packers came back with two first downs and J. Kramer missed a 42-yard field goal just before the half ended. Both teams came out for the final half of the season in a fierce mood and the stalemate produced one punt by Norton, a 55-yarder, and two by Davis. Howie Williams, the ex-Packer, guarded McGee instead of Abe Woodson, but the Packers went into a 21-14 lead by covering 84 yards in 7 plays - three on Starr passes. He threw to Dowler for 10, McGee for 6 and after Moore ran 12 fired a 50-yard bomb to Dowler who again got behind Alexander and legged it home at 10:43. The Bays quickly charged back after forcing a punt and this time Williams was assigned to Dowler. Starr hurled to Moore for 10 on the first play of the fourth quarter and then to Dowler for 14 to the 49er 46. The Bays reached the end of the line after Moore and Taylor picked up 16 and J. Kramer missed a field goal from the 36. Bob Waters took over for McHan and led the 49ers to a field goal. He completed a 10-yarder to Knafelc and then threw three to Kay McFarland to electrify the crowd, reaching the Bay 37. Hank Jordan threw Smith for a five-yard loss and Jess Whittenton broke up a pass to McFarland, forcing Davis' field goal from the 44 at 8:26. This was a dangerous spot, especially since the Bays started out on their own 18. But Starr guided the Bays out of trouble and into field goal range. He hurled to Dowler for 14 and then broke the 49er back with a 39-yard ross to McGee who was brought down on the 49er 24 by Mike Dowdle. With two minutes left, the 49ers tightened and J. Kramer tried a field goal, but it was away off to the right. This gave the 49ers some hope but after Waters connected with Knafelc for 13 the Bays took over on downs and the Pack ran out the clock.
GREEN BAY - 7 7 7 0 - 21
SAN FRANCISCO - 0 14 0 3 - 17
GREEN BAY SAN FRANCISCO
First Downs 22 14
Rushing-Yards-TD 35-105-1 36-181-2
Att-Comp-Yd-TD-Int 28-18-337-2-0 24-11-90-0-0
Sack Yards Lost 13 0
Net Passing Yards 324 90
Total Yards 429 271
Fumbles-lost 2-1 1-0
Turnovers 1 0
Yards penalized 0-0 1-5
SCORING
1st - GB - Tom Moore, 1-yard run (Jerry Kramer kick) GREEN BAY 7-0
2nd - SF- J.D. Smith, 2-yard run (Tommy Davis kick) TIED 7-7
2nd - GB - Boyd Dowler, 53-yard pass from Bart Starr (J. Kramer kick) GREEN BAY 14-7
2nd - SF - Smith, 52-yard run (Davis kick) TIED 14-14
3rd - GB - Dowler, 50-yard pass from Starr (J. Kramer kick) GREEN BAY 21-14
4th - SF - Davis, 44-yard field goal GREEN BAY 21-17
RUSHING
GREEN BAY - Jim Taylor 23-59, Tom Moore 10-45 1 TD, Elijah Pitts 1-3, Bart Starr 1-(-2)
SAN FRANCISCO - J.D. Smith 19-126 2 TD, Joe Perry 10-47, Don Lisbon 5-4, Lamar McHan 1-3, Bob Waters 1-1
PASSING
GREEN BAY - Bart Starr 27-17-306 2 TD, Tom Moore 1-1-31
SAN FRANCISCO - Lamar McHan 12-4-29, Bob Waters, 11-7-61, Joe Perry 1-0-0
RECEIVING
GREEN BAY - Boyd Dowler 8-188 2 TD, Max McGee 5-98, Tom Moore 3-37, Jim Taylor 2-14
SAN FRANCISCO - Gary Knafelc 3-31, Kay McFarland 3-30, J.D. Smith 2-21, Bernie Casey 2-8, Monty Stickles 1-0
PACKERS OR JETS? LLOYD VOSS, BAYS' TOP PICK UNDECIDED; WILL TAKE BEST DEAL
DEC 15 (Lincoln, NB) - Nebraska tackle Lloyd Voss hasn't decided whether he'll sign with the Green Bay Packers who made him their first draft choice or cast his lot with the New York Jets of the American League, but he figures it will take a lot of work on his part no matter what. A television fan of the professionals, Lloyd says: "I think I'm going to have to learn a lot. For me, it will be just like coming to college from a small high school." Primarily, he believes, it will be a matter of growing and improving his speed. Neither one of these figures to be much of a problem. He's 6-4 by 245, and while that isn't big by pro standards, his speed is good by any standards...SPEED AND AGILITY: In fact, the horde of scouts who watched him play the last two seasons have all been impressed by his agility and speed. While Lloyd in a sense played in the shadow of Nebraska guard Bob Brown in so far as publicity is concerned, many scouts were just as impressed with the Minnesota native. The adjustment of going from a small school to a larger one, as Voss mentioned, certainly was a tough one. But he made it with ease. He started all four years at Magnolia, Minn. high school, but he laughs about that, pointing out that only 15 were in his graduating class. "We had a hard time getting a good team together," he recalls. But Magnolia put together a team good enough for second place in its conference his senior year and the primary reason was Voss who made the all-state teams...LIKED BEATING GOPHERS: He played in a North-South all-star game in Minneapolis and for that reason got a particularly good bang out of it, helping Nebraska whip Minnesota, 14-7, early in the season. He remembers that game and the Cornhuskers' thumping of Oklahoma
in the Big Eight championship showdown clash more than any other. Voss had his greatest day against Oklahoma. Nebraska coach Bob Devaney, who has guided the Huskers to an 18-3 record in his two seasons thus far, pointed to the defensive work of Voss in the Oklahoma game. Devaney noted that while Voss' reputation had been built as an offensive performer, his defensive play in the OU game was superb. "He crashed through several time, particularly in the first half, to nail Sooner backs for long losses." The Packers have not told him how they would use him if they land his services, but the Jets have talked of either offensive tackle or guard. "I like offense better," he says...LOOKING FOR BEST DEAL: While Voss says he'll sign "wherever I get the best deal," he liked the idea of going from a great college team to a great pro team such as the Packers. He says he doesn't plan to sign immediately after the bowl (NU plays Auburn in the Orange Bowl) but will take his time instead. Aside from the bowl game in Miami, the only thing he's sure of right now is a wedding date in June. He became engaged last week to Jane Barnoske of Des Moines. Another factor is his signing decision might be off season employment. For the first couple of years, he intends on finishing his education, but after that he would like to go to work in business. Voss did not that one of the reasons he chose Nebraska over Minnesota was that Lincoln was clean and didn't have a lot of tall buildings with smoke and such. And Green Bay doesn't have as many tall buildings as New York.
'NOW WE WAIT' - VINCE; BOYD LONELY AS 49ERS KEY ON RUN
DEC 15 (San Francisco-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "Now we wait. I won mine, that's all I can do." Vince Lombardi was answering the obvious question about today's Chicago-Detroit contest, which will determine whether the season ends for his Green Bay Packers in a NFL championship in Green Bay or in the Playoff Bowl for runnersup in Miami, Fla. "Mine," was Saturday's hard-fought 21-17 win over the 49ers. "We played well enough to win," was Lombardi's lone comment on his own club. He had more to say about the 49ers, who didn't surprise him despite their dismal 2-12 record going into the contest. "That young kid (Jack) Christiansen is doing a great job," he said of the 49ers' 34-year-old head man who took over when Red Hickey bowed out after three opening losses. "They're going to be a helluva club if the people will just stick with them." It was obvious he was glad he wasn't in Christiansen's shoes. The Packers were unanimous on one point - they were glad they would be on an airplane flying home today and not in front of television sets who took over when Red Hickey bowed out after three opening losses. "They're going to be a helluva club if
the people will just stick with them." It was obvious he was glad he wasn't in Christiansen's shoes. The Packers were unanimous on one point - they were glad they would be on an airplane flying home today and not in front of television sets watching the Bear-Lion game. "I'd go nuts," end Boyd Dowler exclaimed. "I don't think we'd help 'em (the Lions) much by watching." Dowler had one of his better days Saturday, finding himself farther out in the clear than he could ever remember having been in the past as he took a pair of Bart Starr passes for 53 and 50 yard touchdown dashes. On each occasion, the man burned was 49er rookie defensive wing man, Kermit Alexander, who "got sucked in on the fake run," Dowler explained. Charitably, he added, "Alexander's a pretty good little back. But you can't play that position as a rookie and not get sucked in some times." Fullback Jim Taylor, who looked for a time as if he wasn't going to get the 41 yards he needed to go over the 1,000 mark for the fourth year, admitted it was the roughest day he had against the 49ers. "They were set up for the running," he pointed out, "but that set up the touchdown passes." Like his teammates, he was happy to be in the air today rather than watching television. "We don't have to sweat it out as much." Lombardi blamed the shortcoming of the Packer ground game on the 49ers' "11-man line." "All we had to do was fake a run and pass. We should have passed more." Although Lombard intimated that the 49ers had gambled with their defense, Christiansen more emphatically denied that. "We never gamble," he declared flatly. "The people who are supposed to be on the receivers when they come down the field are supposed to be on their man. We expect the linebackers and linemen to take care of the running." Christiansen wasn't about to dance any jigs of joy, but he still was "pleased with the game, outside of two or three mistakes. But there's no way to take back those plays." For the 49ers, who never have seen so few victories, the game marked the final appearance of two old, old pros, fullback Joe Perry and defensive tackle Leo Nomellini. Both announced their retirement before the game, each having seen 14 seasons of action. Nomellini, who will devote full time to his macaroni and spaghetti business, thought the 49ers were "a little fired up" for the Packers, "a real good football team." "We took the middle way, forced them wide and stopped them there," Leo explained. "But they got of a couple of passes." Perry, who is debating the merits of three local business deals, was a little unhappy that he didn't carry the ball in the second half after gaining 47 yards in 10 plays before the intermission. But "it was a good game for the spectators, I guess."...The Packers had to come to sunny California to play in their coldest weather. It was 47 and clammy damp, with a stiff breeze off the bay, at kickoff. Joe Dimaggio watched the game from the press box and he's shivering like the rest of us...Lombardi smiled about the Notre Dame report in the dressing room after the game. Emphasizing he will be with the Packers again next year, he said "no" to the idea and called it a "wild rumor."