Green Bay Packers (6-5) 28, Cleveland Browns (8-2-1) 21
Sunday November 22nd 1964 (at Milwaukee)
GAME RECAP (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE)
(MILWAUKEE) - The Packers pulled some beautiful surprises on the Browns and a record audience of 48,065 in chilled County Stadium Sunday. Look at these flabbergasters: Lee Roy Caffey, of all people, started the astonishments by kicking off and better yet, his opening boot went three yards into the end zone. Elijah Pitts started at left half in front of Tom Moore and Paul Hornung. Bart Starr and Max McGee worked a 55-yard aerial gain on a daring fourth down and one yard to go from the Packer 44 to set up a 14-all tie early in the third period. And moments later, Starr left the crowd howling and the Browns clutching air with a four-yard keeper touchdown run that put the Pack in front for good. Those were a few of the astounding developments. The solid truth is that the Packers roared from a rather slow first half to belt the Eastern Division leaders 28-21. The Packers missed second place by percentage points. The Lions, who tied the Vikings, are second with 5-4-2 for a percentage of .555. The Packers, with 6-5, have .545. The Vikings and Rams dropped into a tie behind Green Bay with 5-5-1. Green Bay now faces the Cowboys in Dallas next Sunday, while the Lions host the Bears Thanksgiving Day and the Rams visit the Vikings Sunday. All but the Bears are in the fight for second place money - plus the Playoff in Miami. The Packers couldn't seem to get thawed out in the first half - it was 22 at kickoff and windy, and they settled for a paltry 87 yards and five first downs against the Browns' 200 yards and 13 first downs. Green Bay dominated the second half scene, getting 198 yards to the Browns' 103 and holding Cleveland to 29 yards rushing. The Pack had 37 plays in the second half, Cleveland only 18. Green Bay had to come from behind twice to win. The Browns led off with a 7-0 on Frank Ryan's 48-yard touchdown pass to Paul Waterfield, but the Packers quickly tied it up on Pitts' 19-yard run. Before the first quarter ended, the Browns went ahead 14-7 - this time on Jim Brown's one-yard smash. There was no scoring in the second quarter, but the Bays broke away in the third, thanks to the fourth down gamble from the one, tying the score. Less than four minutes later, Starr ran his keeper and the Bays were in front for keep. The teams traded TDs early in the fourth quarter, Taylor's five-yard smash and Ryan's 19-yard TD pass to Warfield. The Taylor-Brown match received considerable billing and the two great fullbacks didn't disappoint. Brown had an 11-yard edge in yards, 74 to 63, but Taylor had the edge where it counted - in touchdowns, 2 to `1. Brown ran 20 times, Taylor 22. Taylor made most of his yards, 51, when the going really got tough - in the second half, while Brown gained but eight yards in the last two periods on five carries. Brown started out like he was going to gain eight thousand yards, but he got quite human under pressure from the Packer defense and fumbled twice - one in the third period, which set up the Packers' lead TD, and the other in the fourth quarter, which set up a missed field goal from the 37 by Paul Hornung. There's no statistics for this, but Taylor made two clutch first downs on third down runs to help run down the clock at the end. The first called for four yards. Taylor was stopped at the line of scrimmage, but somehow he struggled for the first down on pure determination. Pitts played the entire first half. Moore did the left half backing in the second half while Hornung sat out, other than to kick four extra points and try the field goal. Starr, knocked out cold a week ago, was a hot flinger, hitting 13 of his 18 passes for 72 percent. His surprise calls set up one TD and scored the other and he drove the Bays 48 yards for the first TD and 74 yards for the final TD. The Packer offense went through without a fumble or interception. The Packer defense tightened something fierce in the second half, after giving up 109 yards rushing (66 for Brown and 43 for Ernie Green and 91 passing in the first half). The defensers intercepted two passes (Dan Currie and Willie Wood) and recovered two fumbles by Willie Davis and Henry Jordan. Ray Nitschke forced Brown's first fumble with a crashing tackle, one of a few times he had fumbled this year. Brown's other fumble came when he tried to lateral to Ryan. Caffey might be the answer to the Pack's kickoffs. He cleared the goal line twice and hit the goal line, the three and the 24 where he kicked from the 35 after kicking one out of bounds. He was "caught" for wearing a shoestring around his toe and ankle (to keep the toe pointed up) in the third quarter but he still got one to the goal line in the final frame. The record single-game crowd helped set a new County Stadium mark of 143,062 for three league games, breaking the record of 138,110 set last year. The big crowd, huddled in the cold but very lively, wowed when Caffey went out to kick off. And they cheered like mad when the ball went almost four yards into the end zone with no return yet. Like a couple of boxers, the two clubs felt each other out by exchanging punts. Then came the explosions. Brown led off with 11 up the middle and Ryan completed the 52-yard pass to Warfield for the TD. Warfield got behind Jess Whittenton, who had a bad leg, and he was replaced by Doug Hart, who went the rest of the way. Groza kicked the first of three conversions to make it 7-0. Tommy Crutcher raced the kickoff back 38 yards to get
bad leg, and he was replaced by Doug Hart, who went the rest of the way. Groza kicked the first of three conversions to make it 7-0. Tommy Crutcher raced the kickoff back 38 yards to get the Packers' 48-yard TD drive going. Pitts led off with a 10-yard run and three plays later Ron Kramer took one of those quickies right over the line from Starr and moved 15 yards to the 19. From there Pitts raced around left end for the touchdown, with Boyd Dowler taking out the last Brown. So it was tied. The Browns moved back 84 yards in eight plays to regain the lead. After running by Brown and Green made 34 yards in four trips, Ryan threw 16 yards to Collins to the 27 and three plays later Collins went up with Hank Gremminger and Hart and came down with the ball. It was 14-7. Other than a 52-yard field goal try (it was short) by Lou Groza, the second quarter was a punting duel between Collins and Norton. Tom Brown had a 34-yard kickoff return to start the second half, but then it appeared that the Bays were snake-bit. Taylor carried three times but he missed a first down by inches, according to the measurement. So, it was fourth and one on the Packer 44. It was surprise enough that the Packers didn't punt, but when Starr hurled his wobbler to the scot-free McGee, the Packers got a great lift. McGee reached the one where he was brought down by Walter Beach. Taylor's TD biff tied the score. Two plays later Brown fumbled and the Bays had position on the Brownie 22. Moore, who started the second half, opened with a 10-yard run to the 12. Taylor and Moore gained eight yards to the four from where Starr ran his keeper. The Browns tried again and this time Dan Currie intercepted. The grateful Packer offense went on a 74-yard TD move. Taylor's running and Starr's passing to McGee and Kramer for 31 yards moved the ball to the Brown 22 as the third quarter ended. Then in quick order, Taylor and Moore made six, Starr was incomplete to Kramer, Moore made 11 to the 5 and then Taylor ripped over for the touchdown and a 28-14 lead. The Browns sobered everybody with a 66-yard TD drive. Ryan led off with a 19-yard chase to the 50. Ryan threw to Brown for 10, to Collins for 11 and then to Warfield under the crossbar, completing a 19-yard gain. That was the end of the scoring. In quick order, Norton punted; Brown fumbled; Hornung missed a field goal shot; and Wood, stretched out on his back, batted the ball up and then caught it on the way down for an interception. That was the last time the Browns had the ball. The Bays froze it out the rest of the way.
CLEVELAND - 14 0 0 7 - 21
GREEN BAY - 7 0 14 7 - 28
CLEVELAND GREEN BAY
First Downs 20 18
Rushing-Yards-TD 28-138-1 41-156-4
Att-Comp-Yd-TD-Int 28-17-197-2-2 18-13-131-0-0
Sack Yards Lost 5-33 1-2
Net Passing Yards 164 129
Total Yards 302 285
Fumbles-lost 2-2 0-0
Turnovers 4 0
Yards penalized 3-15 3-25
SCORING
1st - CLE - Paul Warfield, 48-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Lou Groza kick) CLEVELAND 7-0
1st - GB - Elijah Pitts, 19-yard run (Paul Hornung kick) TIED 7-7
1st - CLE - Jim Brown, 1-yard run (Groza kick) CLEVELAND 14-7
3rd - GB - Jim Taylor, 1-yard run (Hornung kick) TIED 14-14
3rd - GB - Bart Starr, 4-yard run (Hornung kick) GREEN BAY 21-14
4th - GB - Taylor, 5-yard run (Hornung kick) GREEN BAY 28-14
4th - CLE - Warfield, 19-yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick) GREEN BAY 28-21
RUSHING
GREEN BAY - Jim Taylor 22-63 2 TD, Tom Moore 10-46, Elijah Pitts 7-41 1 TD, Bart Starr 2-6 1 TD
CLEVELAND - Jim Brown 20-74 1 TD, Ernie Green 7-46, Frank Ryan 1-18
PASSING
GREEN BAY - Bart Starr 18-13-131
CLEVELAND - Frank Ryan 28-17-197 2 TD 2 INT
RECEIVING
GREEN BAY - Max McGee 4-81, Jim Taylor 4-5, Ron Kramer 2-36, Boyd Dowler 1-4, Elijah Pitts 1-3, Tom Moore 1-2
CLEVELAND - Paul Warfield 7-126 2 TD, Jim Brown 5-0, Gary Collins 4-69, Ernie Green 1-2
Green Bay Packers Elijah Pitts (22) in action vs Cleveland Browns Jim Houston (82) (Photo by Neil Leifer/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
STARR CALL 'BIG PLAY' - LOMBARDI
NOV 23 (Milwaukee-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Although he wasn't greatly concerned about the cause, an elated Vince Lombardi was at a loss to explain his Packers' startling about face against Cleveland's title-bidding Browns in wintry County Stadium Sunday afternoon. He first offered, "I think we were a little tight in the first half," then hastily amended this observation. Grinning, he shrugged his shoulder and said, "I don't know - how do I know? I've been in this business I don't know how many years - and I still don't know." Had he "told" his athletes anything special between halves? "We gave them two easy touchdowns - we told them that," Vince replied. "That's about all." Nodding agreement, the Packer headman said, "We did very well in the second half. Actually, though, all we gave them in the first half were those two big plays (touchdown passes to rookie Paul Warfield and Gary Collins)." "The big thing," Vince, a devout "control" exponent, added with obvious satisfaction, "We kept the ball for eleven minutes in the third quarter, I believe." Lombardi, who is not over fond of the expression "turning point," didn't use it here, but did append, "Starr's call on the fourth and one was a helluva play." "Yes, he called that," Vince continued in answer to a question. What about Bart's bootless for the third Packer touchdown? "Yes, that was Bart's call, too, but that was planned," he chuckled. Had the Packers ever passed in a similar situation? "We've done it a few times with fourth and one, but never in that position on the field," Lombardi, a noted conversative, observed with a sly smile. Why had Paul Hornung been held out? "He's been hurting," Vince explained, with obvious reference to the pinched nerve in the Golden Boy's long-aching neck, "and the fact his kicking has been off has contributed to the whole thing." Elijah Pitts had started in behalf of Hornung (instead of Tom Moore, his long-time understudy) because "I just thought Pitts deserved a chance," Lombardi also revealed. "Also, Jimmy Taylor was hurting a little but and I kept Moore out because I thought he might have to play fullback." Excusing himself momentarily as Browns owner Arthur Modell arrived to proffer his congratulations, Lombardi told him, "You've got a helluva ball club. They certainly have nothing to apologize for." "You have a great club and you're a great coach. I mean that sincerely," Modell replied. "Thank you, thank you very much," Vince said, turning back to the press corps as Modell took his leave. Asked why veteran cornerback Jess Whittenton had given way to Doug Hart, Lombardi explained, "We thought he could go - sand so did he - but he couldn't. That guy (Paul Warfield, earlier described by Lombardi with tongue-in-cheek as "a mild sensation") left him like he was standing still on that touchdown pass in the first quarter." He chuckled ruefully and added, "They sure went to work on Hart, our rookie." The weather, inevitably, was interjected, and Vince, flashing a board grin, declared, "No, sir, it wasn't cold. It's only cold when you lose - then it can be 90 degrees and you still freeze to death." Did
Bart Starr drops back to pass against the Cleveland Browns (Photo by Focus on Sport/Getty Images)
he think the Browns looked like champions? "Yes, sir," was the unhesitating reply - with an editorial comment. "I think we looked like champions, to, but unfortunately we're not going to be in the title game." Linebacker Lee Roy Caffey had been impressive, both at his battle station and as the Pack's newest kickoff artist, Lombardi agreed, "Caffey played well. Davis (Willie) played well, too, and so did Jordan (Hank) and Aldridge (Lionel). Nitschke (Ray)," he added, "had a great day, of course." Had the Packer defense keyed on Brown? "That defense is the same defense we have played against everybody else," Vince declared, to the surprise of all. "We didn't change a thing." The victory might have lifted the Packers into second place, depending on the Colt-Ram outcome, it was suggested. "All we've got to do," Lombardi smiled as he turned to a study of the statistics, "is win three more."...The Packers had played "near perfect football," in the view of Brown major-domo Blanton Collier, a professorial citizen with an engaging Kentucky drawl. "It's unusual to go through a football game without a fumble or an interception, but they did it," he said. "They played near perfect football." "Those are the normal events, known as breaks," Collier dryly noted, "that change the course of a ball game. But I don't want to take anything away from the Packers. They played good, aggressive football - it was a great job of coaching." Pointing out "we had some passes that weren't caught," he paid tribute to their author, asserting, "I think Ryan did a great job. He could very well have had two or three more completions than he did. The ball just wasn't held." And the Packers' Bart Starr? "Starr's a good one," the Browns' businesslike boss asserted. "He's one of the better ones in the league - he's excellent at following a game plan. And you don't have to sell me on Taylor and Moore," he said wryly. "I coached against them (at Kentucky) when they were in college." Asked about the Pack's "fourth and inches" blockbuster, Collier said, "They took a gamble and caught us - no question about it. In this league, you try to be ready for everything, but we overplayed the run, that's obvious. That touchdown seemed to give them the momentum. It seemed to inspire them a little bit. If," he observed with a wan smile, "they needed any inspiration." Shrugging off a Milwaukee scribe's suggestion that the weather might have affected the outcome, Coller said, "Sure it was a factor - it had to be - but it didn't beat us. We just got beat by a good football team. I think we contributed to it, of course. I was watching television here Saturday night and it was said the Packers hadn't been capitalizing on the breaks this season. It was different today. We made some mistakes and they capitalized on them." Asked to compare the Packers with his Eastern Conference rivals, Collier shot back with some spirit, "Anybody who tries to compare teams is kidding himself. A lot of times injuries and breaks make a world of difference. We've played all of the top teams in the West (Green Bay and Detroit) except the Colts - and everybody in our division - and they're all tough football teams."...PACKER PATTER: A boisterous cheer rose just before the opening whistle when public address announcer Gary Knafelc reported, "Lee Roy Caffey will kick off." It swelled to an ovation when Caffey's maiden boot soared into the east corner of the Cleveland end zone. Minutes earlier, the record crowd of 48,065 had stood for a moment of silence and prayer in memory of the late President Kennedy, assassinated a year ago Sunday...Jim Brown officially became the first player in NFL history to carry the ball 2,000 times with four minutes left in the first quarter. Appropriately enough, he acquired a first down in the process with a 7-yard thrust to the 50...Bantering with state Associated Press sports editor Dave O'Hara in the press box before the game, Braves' traveling secretary Donald Davidson inserted the needle with, "You followed us from Boston to Milwaukee, but if you follow us from Milwaukee to Atlanta, I'm staying here."
PACKERS GIVE GAME BALL TO JERRY KRAMER
NOV 23 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers gave the game ball to Jerry Kramer after beating the Browns 28-21 in Milwaukee Sunday, offensive captain Bob Skoronski said after the game. Kramer, an all-pro guard throughout his Packer career, is on the inactive list due to illness. He underwent surgery about a month ago. Big Jerry was sweating between the Packer bench and sidelines (it's hard to keep him quiet) in the Bay's thrilling victory. Kramer said "getting the ball is one of my greatest thrills, but I wish I could have played." Kramer left for Rochester today where he'll enter the Mayo Clinic for a checkup.
WOOD DELIGHTED BY BOUNCE OF BALL; FINE BLOCKS - TAYLOR
NOV 23 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - It isn't always the case, of course, but today Willie Vernell Wood is delighted with "the way the ball bounces." Wood, it may be happily recalled, was the author of that acrobatic, on-the-back interception which preserved the Packers' 28-21 decision over the Cleveland Browns amid the arctic blasts of Milwaukee County Stadium Sunday afternoon. Chuckling over his titillating fourth quarter contribution, Willie explained, "The ball was thrown short and my momentum was sort of forward." "I tried to stop," he continued, adding, "The ball was hard to judge - it hit me on the shoulder pads. I was lucky I got a good bounce as I was falling," Willie grinned. "Then it was just a matter of hanging on to the ball." Another timely theft, one which triggered the Packers' eventual winning touchdown, was the payoff on perseverance for its author, Dapper Dan Currie, he confided: "You try and try and nothing happens, "Currie observed. "But you've just got to stay with it. I'm not saying I put forth any more effort than anybody else - I think everybody was going all out - but if you hope and strive long enough, that's what happens. That's what big plays are made of. Willie Wood's was probably the biggest interception though," he was quick to point out, "because they had a great opportunity." Fellow linebacker Ray Nitschke, who proved a worthy adversary for Cleveland's awesome Jimmy Brown, was highly impressed with the record-breaking fullback. "To my mind, he's the greatest," Nitschke declared, with genuine fervor. "He has the start, and the speed, and he know where he's going. He's the best back out.' Ray paused to reflect, then appended with a grin, "That's an
Jim Brown (32) in action (Photo by Neil Leifer /Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
understatement." Had he been "looking" for Brown? "I think all of us were," he laughed, then admitted, "Most of my keys are on Brown." He was reluctant to concede, however, that Brown's presence had "inspired" the Pack. "We had 5-5 going into the game and they were leading the Eastern Division," he said soberly. "We were inspired because we haven't had a great season record." Favorable "odds" triggered his electrifying "fourth and one" gamble, Bart Starr confided, noting, "It wasn't a spur of the notion call. I thought I could catch 'em by surprise and the odds were in our favor since they were looking for a run. I was hoping I could hit McGee. When I saw the Browns bring all their guys up close to the line, I decided to call it." The recipient, a notorious daredevil who grinned and quoth, "I was a little shell shocked" when Bart decided on it. "It wasn't a hard pass to catch - it was perfectly thrown. I was the primary receiver all the way and definitely wanted Bart to throw it to me." Another victory principal, Jarrin' Jim Taylor, attributed his second half surge to a change in approach. "We tried to get up the middle more in the second half, and it worked," he said. "We were getting some very fine blocks." The Bayou Bronco also admitted his injury "bothered me a little bit in the first half." Happily shrugging off his 1-yard jaunt to the Packers' first touchdown with "lots of good blocking," Elijah Pitts "diagrammed" the maneuver. "Taylor (Jim) knocked one end out, Forrest (Gregg) turned the other end up and Danny (Grimm) took the outside man, which made a great big road," the pride of Philander T. Smith College beamed, flashing a temporary bridgeless gap where his two front teeth once reposed. "And Dowler (Boyd) got a great screen-off down near the goal line (on Larry Benz). All I had to do was run. You very seldom get out there that free." Not a hand had been laid upon him? "No, not one," Elijah laughed. "That's the kind you like."..."The Packers were really tough," a subdued Jim Brown, held to a net 8 yards in the second half, opined. Had he detected any change in the Packers' post-intermission approach that might have accounted for his troubles? "I'm not a strategist," was the quiet, well-considered reply. "I'd have to look at the overall picture before I could tell that. As a ballplayer, you get a very narrow view. I just think they did a good job." Commenting on his two fumbles, neither of which advanced the Cleveland cause, Brown said, "I think Nitschke made a very beautiful tackle on the first one. On the second one, I was trying to lateral to our quarterback, Frank Ryan." Ten minutes later (it was now nearly an hour since the game had ended), the Browns' superstar emerged from the dressing room to be greeted by nearly 100 exceedingly patient Milwaukee fans, who appeared to be the only remnants of a record 48.065 house. There were cries of "Yea, Jimmy" and "Good game, Jim," from all quarters. Then somebody said, "That's all we were waiting to see" and the group abruptly dispersed.
'FLIP' TO GIVE PACKERS 6TH OR 7TH DRAFT PICK
NOV 23 (New York) - New York will pick first Saturday in the NFL draft, while Houston will take the first two turns in the American League. The Giants earned the right by losing to Pittsburgh, 44-17, Sunday. That gave New York a 2-7-2 record compared with 3-8-0 for San Francisco, which lost to Chicago 23-21 and will choose second. The Bears and Pittsburg have the next worst records, but it doesn't matter which team picks third. The Bears, by virtue of a previous trade, will get the Steelers' selection. They also will get Washington's first choice, giving them three of the first seven picks. The Packers will get either the sixth or seventh choice, depending on a coin flip between Philadelphia, which owes its first choice to Green Bay, and Washington. The Packers will make their own first draft tenth. Denver and Houston got into the AFL draft with 2-9 records. According to league rules, Denver would get first choice because it had a worse record last season. That, however, doesn't matter. Because of an earlier trade, Houston gets the Broncos' first pick as well as its own. In succeeding rounds, Denver will choose ahead of Houston. The NFL order of selection (coin flips will be necessary to determine the order of paired teams since there are three ties): New York, San Francisco, Chicago-Pittsburgh, Dallas, Philadelphia-Washington, Minnesota-Los Angeles, Green Bay, Detroit, St. Louis, Cleveland, Baltimore. The AFL order: Denver, Houston, Oakland, New York, Kansas City, Boston, San Diego, Buffalo.
PACKERS' BLAST OF BROWNS REVIVES SORROWS OF 'PAST
NOV 24 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - It is difficult not to bleed a little today. Over what might have been. The revived sorry over the Packers' two one-point losses, that thing in Baltimore and a few others result from the Packers' impressive victory over the Browns in Milwaukee Sunday. The Packers handily took care of a championship team. And you couldn't help but feel after the battle that the Packers are (1) a darned good club and (2) a championship club. But this is Tuesday and a check of the NFL standing plus a chat with Coach Vince Lombardi emphasizes the Pack's present position - third in the Western Division with 6-5. Lombardi mentioned "we're out of it" twice along the conversation today. Nothing wrong with it, of course, but it points up the fact that the milk has already been spilled. Asked if he thought Bart Starr's fourth and one call that turned the tide of the game was particularly daring, Vince had to chuckle over that one but pointed out: "You've got to remember that we had nothing to lose. We're out of it. I doubt very much if we would try that if we were playing for the championship." Then, as an afterthought, Lombardi laughed: "I hate to think what they would have said (the fans) if we hadn't made it." Starr, on fourth and inches to go, and Max McGee worked a 55-yard pass early in the third quarter, reaching the one-yard line. It blew the game wide open. Jim Taylor tied the score and three minutes later the Packers went ahead 21-14. Actually, there was a double gamble on the play. First, there was the decision to go for it (the ball was on the Packer 44) and second there was there was the decision to pass. This is Thanksgiving Week, and it has been a "short one" for the Packers since 1950 when the Packers started their annual invasion of Detroit. Lombardi allowed that he enjoyed the normal week but added "it wouldn't make much difference. We're not in it." Second place however, is a major factor this year. Due to the increase in television money for the title game, each second place player could get as high as $1,000. Then, there is the Playoff Bowl in Miami. Each winner will get $800 out of that (an increase from $600) and each loser $600. But the Packers must keep on winning and the next problem is Dallas in the Cotton Bowl Sunday. And Lombardi has settled on one "plan" for the contest. Lee Roy Caffey, the Packers' new kickoff discovery, will wear a third shoestring - from his toe to his ankle. "There's nothing illegal about this on a kickoff and we'll try it again next Sunday. It's illegal on field goals and extra points." The string is designed to keep Caffey's toe up - an important requirement on kickoffs. Caffey actually out-kicked the old master Sunday - 40-year-old Lou (The Toe) Groza. Lee Roy, in five kicks, hit 3 yards behind the goal line, 4 yards behind the 3-yard line, the 24-yard line and the goal line. Thus, his average was the 4-yard line, which is no mean feat for a guy who hasn't kicked off since he was in high school. Groza, in four kicks, reached the 14, 15, 1 and 11-yard lines. His average was the 10-yard line. Lombardi said the pictures proved the Packers played a good game on offense and defense. "Nitschke played an outstanding game. The linebackers (Dan Currie and Caffey) were all good but Nitschke was outstanding. We moved the ball well and had it for 11 minutes in the second quarter." Dang it, Vince. It makes you bleed to just think about the Brown game and what might have been.
UNKNOWNS TURN IN GAME'S LONG RUNS
NOV 24 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - With all the highly-touted rushers on the premises, topped by Jim Taylor and Jim Brown, it seems rare that the longest runs in the Packer-Brown game Sunday were made by virtual unknowns. Taylor and Brown, however, were watch-dogged constantly and the defenses weren't about to let them take off. Brown's longest gallop was 11 yards - in the first quarter. Taylor's longest was seven yards and he had two of them - both in the third quarter. You'll never guess who made the longest run of the day - other than on a pass catch. And the second longest? The Packers scored after each run. It was Tommy Crutcher, the Packers' rookie linebacker, who turned in an important 38-yard return of a kickoff just after the Browns took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter. Lou Groza's kick was short (even the old Toe has a shortie on occasion) and Crutcher took it on the 14 and returned to the Brown 48. The Packers went in from there, tying the score in five plays. The Pack's Tom Brown made the second longest run - 34 yards on a kickoff return to start the second half. Green Bay scored in five plays after that, tying the score at 14-up. Crutcher was playing the left corner of the wedge (in front of returners Herb Adderley and Brown) and took Groza's on the first bounce on the 14. "I'm supposed to field the short kicks, but I was surprised when he (Groza) made a short one," Crutcher explained. Crutcher plays behind fellow Texan Lee Roy Caffey at linebacker, and Caffey, of course, was something of a hero in his new field - kicking off...THE LONGEST WAIT?: The two longest runs from scrimmage were made by a couple of rushing strangers, too - Elijah Pitts and Frank Ryan. Pitts, who got the starting nod for the first time this season, had the longest - 19 yards for the Pack's first touchdown, while quarterback Ryan peeled off an 18-yarder in the fourth quarter to launch the Browns on a drive for their final TD. The longest aerial of the day was Bart Starr's fourth and one pass to Max McGee for 55 yards. The longest wait of the game was the last three minutes and 34 seconds. Willie Wood had intercepted and raced all the way to the Brown 30, but a clipping penalty set the ball back on the Pack's 21. The Packers kept the ball 10 plays, with Taylor making two key first downs, but the Browns kept taking time out to stop the clock. It must have taken 15 minutes to play three. But it was worth waiting for.
PACKERS 'RELAX' TURKEY DAY, EYE SECOND; STARR SALUTED
NOV 25 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Good old Thanksgiving Day. The Packers used to fret when it approached. For the past 13 years, the Packers played the Lions in the annual Turkey Day classic in Detroit. It always meant two games in five days and turned out to be quite a hardship - especially for the visiting team. The Packers started wishboning in 1951 and finally broke the string after the 1963 game. Coach Vince Lombardi let it be known about three years ago that the Packers wanted no part of a Thursday game and the league decided to start alternating Detroit's Thanksgiving Day opponent. Our friends from Chicago were the first team to replace Green Bay and they'll be taking their pregame meal at 8 a.m. Thursday morning. Try eating a steak at that hour, Bub. Kickoff is at noon there, 11 o'clock here. Meanwhile, the Packers will be living the life of Riley with nothing but a normal Thursday practice on tap. Besides the luxury of Thanksgiving at home, the Packers will experience another "oddity" Thursday. They'll be pulling for the Bears to whip Detroit. The Packers will take over second place - without lifting so much as a drumstick if the Bears win. This would give the Lions a 5-5-2 record for a percentage of .500. The Packers have 6-5-0 for .545. After Chicago, the Lions visit Baltimore Dec. 6 and then return home to play the 49ers. The Packers have their work cut out, to be sure. They visit Dallas Sunday, then Chicago Saturday, Dec. 5, and close in Los Angeles Dec. 13. All is peaceful on the Packer front, what with the 28-21 victory over the Browns furnishing "relish" for the Thanksgiving dinner. The Associated Press furnished a bit more gravy today by selecting Bart Starr as the Player of the Week in the NFL. The Packer quarterback, the AP pointed out, came back after being knocked cold in San Francisco to lead the Packers to a big victory over the Browns. Starr suffered a mild concussion in the second quarter of the 49er game. Starr narrowly missed the same honor three weeks ago when he came up with an outstanding performance in beating the Vikings in Minnesota. But Milt Plum of the Lions received the nod for his showing against the Rams, with Starr ranking second. Teamwise, the Packers were sitting at the head of the defensive yardage class in the league. But it's noteworthy that the No. 2 team is next Sunday's opponent, the Cowboys. The Packers allowed 2,662 yards in 11 games, the Cowboys 3,022. The Packers and champion Colts are the only two teams in the league with a below-200 point allowance. Baltimore gave up 174, the Packers 197, Dallas, by the way, is third with 206. The Packers may be a bit off this year on passes intercepted, with only eight (Washington has 29 for tops), but they are leading the league in a parallel statistic - opponents' fumbles recovered. The Bays have grabbed 19 enemy fumbles, which is a tribute to their hitting power as well as alertness. This was hammered home in the win over the Browns when they recovered two fumbles by Jim Brown, of all people. And he's a warning to the Packers' running backs. Th Cowboys are leading the league in first downs allowed by rushing, with only 52. Cleveland, for instance, has given up 100 first downs by rushing. Jim Taylor, Tom Moore, Paul Hornung, Elijah Pitts and the big men up front will have to double
their sock, according to those figures. Like we meant to say...Happy Thanksgiving. Come to think of it, the winner of the Lion-Bear game must be picked so we can add it to next Sunday's totals. We could go into a big discourse on this one. But, shucks, let's just go with the "wish" bone this time. The winner: Bears.
PERSONALITY PARADE
NOV 25 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "Someday before I quit coaching, I hope I'll have a kicker who can kick off into the end zone," Vince Lombardi signed while holding forth for the press in his dressing room "office" at City Stadium the balmy night of Aug. 15. It was minutes after the Packers' 34-10 Bishop's Charities romp over the New York Giants, which had assuaged the pain of a 20-7 embarrassment against the St. Louis Cardinals a week earlier. The Pack's resident genius was satisfied with the score but, always the perfectionist, winced at the memory of kickoffs that dribbled to the enemy's 25- and 20-yard lines, with alarming frequency. Happily, there are now indications the search may be at an end, but the new hope, Lee Roy Caffey, is not making any extravagant claims - at least for the present, although he admitted Lombardi "congratulated me after the game." The king-sized (6-4, 245) linebacker, who exhibited sufficient foot to reach the end zone on two occasions and the 3-yard line into a stiff wing on another, drawls, "I'd like to kick as long as I do the job, but I don't know if I can guarantee as good kicks all the time." Surprisingly enough, the Texas A and M product explained, "I didn't kick off at all in college. In fact, I haven't kicked off in a game since my senior year in high school (at Thorndale, Tex.). We had a real good kicker when I was in college - a boy named Mike Clark. In fact, he's with the Steelers now. I worked out with Clark a lot," Caffey continued, "but I just messed around - I never thought about doing it in a game. I'd punt with him - he was trying to learn to punt - and I'd kick off a little bit. We'd bet each other a coke on a field goal once in a while," Lee Roy confided, adding with a chuckle. "I'd usually lose." The strapping Texan, a rancher in the offseason, said he took on his new assignment with some trepidation. "I found out definitely Saturday that I was going to do it," he reported, "and I was scared about missing or slicing it - or just messing it up. But after I got the first one off (it soared four yards deep into the Cleveland end zone) I felt all right. I guess you'd have to call it beginner's luck. I just missed the one I sliced out of bounds in the third quarter," the former Philadelphia Eagle explained. "I was kicking into the wind and I knew I'd have to hit it hard. I think maybe I was trying to kick it too hard." Lee Roy, the fourth kickoff artist to be employed this season (following Dave Robinson, Willie Wood and Paul Hornung to the tee), says dryly, "I guess I got a chance at it because they were trying just about everybody in practice." Had he had assistance? "Yes, Norb Hecker ad Coach Bengtson both have worked with me. I fact, Coach Bengtson is the one who came up with the idea to put a string around my toe (which game officials ruled illegal) and only Tuesday ruled permissible by Mark Duncan, NFL supervisor of officials." The device already has served its purpose, Caffey added, "I think it has helped me. It had helped build up my confidence," he said, pointing out, "It seemed to work all right on the kicks after they made me remove the string." Lee Roy, acquired in the trade that dispatched Jim Ringo and Earl Gros to the Eagles, is happy to report he now feels "at home" at his linebacking post. "I just hope," he said, "I can keep that home."
DALLAS AMBUSH AWAIT PACK? 'WAR' FORECAST
NOV 26 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Did the Cowboys have Green Bay on their mind in the last two games? Two weeks ago the Cowboys had a 4-4-1 record and seemed in a position to move up since they had won three in a row, beating the Cardinals, Bears and Giants. Then came sudden and unexpected losses to the Eagles 17-14 and Redskins 28-16. The Saturday afternoon before the Eagles game in Dallas Cowboys tackle Bob Lilly told a nationwide television audience: "We're ready for the Eagles and feel we can beat them. We'd then be in a good position to take care of the Redskins out in Washington the next Sunday. This would set us up for our big game against Green Bay." We thought we were hearing things. This was a dead give-away that the Cowboys had a circle around Green Bay on their dressing room schedule. It also was a tip-off on what happened to the Cowboys against the Eagles and Redskins. But the Packers have preserved their amazing reputation despite their present record. The biggest feather in any team's cap is to beat Green Bay. And that reminded Coach Vince Lombardi of a warning he has received from Paul Brown, who had winners year after year at Cleveland. "Every game's a war," Brown cautioned the Packer coach. And that's just what the Packers can figure on when they meet the Cowboys in the Cotton Bowl Sunday. A full-scale war. The Cowboys have the good defense - second best yardage-wise (behind Green Bay) in the league and best in the matter of allowing yards by rushing. Any team with a tough defense is double trouble. The Cowboy defense line, like the Packers, is not huge but it is quick. Left end George Andrie, the onetime Marquetter, is the heaviest at 266 pounds. The others are right end Larry Stephens, 250, left tackle Jim Colvin, 255, and the aforementioned Lilly, 255. The linebackers are Chuck Howley, Capt. Jerry Tubbs in the middle, and Lee Roy Jordan. The cornerbackers are Cornell Green on the left side and Warren Livingston on the right. Safetymen are Jim Ridlon and Mel Renfro. The secondary is young and active. Ridlon is the oldest with eight pro years, while Green played three and Livingston four. Renfro is a rookie. The Packers may look at their former teammate, John Roach, since Don Meredith has a flock of injuries. Bothered by a bad knee earlier, which forced the Cowboys to trade for rights to get Roach out of retirement, Meredith now has added a groin injury. Coach Tom Landry also is toying with the idea of giving rookie quarterback Billy Lothridge some experience Sunday. Lothridge hasn't thrown a pass in league competition yet. Meredith has thrown 270 and completed 133 for 1,794 yards and 7 touchdowns, with 15 interceptions. Roach, working mostly early in the season, has completed 27 of 57 for 301 yards, 1 touchdown and 5 interceptions. The Packers are in good reasonable physical condition, other than Elijah Pitts and Jess Whittenton who have muscle pulls. Pitts developed his injury in the first half against the Browns. Whittenton has been troubled for three weeks now and came out early after starting vs. the Browns...'FAMILY' THANKSGIVING: The Packers had the pads on today - the usual Thursday procedure, and then hit the dressing room for a long look at the Cowboys and Packer plans. The Packers and their families will have their Thanksgiving dinner together at the Elks Club tonight. The Bays will fly to Dallas in their chartered United Airlines plane after practice Friday morning. They'll headquarter at the Ramada Inn. It will be a heavy weekend for the coaches and personnel director Pat Peppler since the player draft will start Saturday morning.
ROOKIE RENFRO SAVES SEASON FOR COWBOYS
NOV 26 (Dallas) - The Dallas Cowboys haven't done too well this season but imagine what would have happened to them had they not had Mel Renfro. Renfro, the rookie from Oregon, as run back 21 punts and 27 kickoffs for a total of 999 yards and returned five interceptions 104 yards. He's 217 yards shy of gaining three-quarters of a mile and he might get that Sunday when he rolls against Green Bay in the Cotton Bowl. Renfro also has saved eight enemy touchdowns with his blazing speed (9.6) by running down fellows who thought they were loose. Since there have been 23 touchdowns scored against the Cowboys this season, it can readily be seen what a difference those eight Renfro stowed away in his defensive statistics would have meant. Dallas certainly wouldn't have had a 4-6-1 record. Renfro had probably his best day yet last Sunday against Washington when he handled the ball eight times for 219 yards. He returned the opening kickoff 45 yards to the Washington 49 and the next kickoff 65 yards to the Washington 21. He returned an intercepted pass nine yards to the Washington 27 to set up a field goal and he returned a punt 23 yards to the Washington 22 to set up another. He took a punt back 19 yards to the Dallas 39, returned a kickoff 30 yards to the Dallas 46 and returned another kickoff 28 yards to the Dallas 41. His tackles on runners who seem to have it made are as sensational as his punt and kickoff returns. He puts just as much flourish into them. Dick Nolan, the Dallas backfield coach, calls him "electrifying, fantastic." The crowd goes along with such terms. The 22-year-old, 193-pound Renfro was a football and track start at Oregon. He ran the hurdles in 13.8, broad jumped 25-11 1/3, sparked the 440-yard relay team to 39.9 and ran all over the gridiron when the sport had turned to football. The question being asked in every quarter is why he can take the field position he has given the team with his punt and kickoff returns to touchdowns. Coach Tom Landry just comments that he's too valuable where he is - and besides there might not be anybody to run the punts and kickoffs back like he does to furnish the field position.
PACKERS (NOW 2ND) PRIME FOR DALLAS DRAFT, FIELD BATTLES
NOV 27 (Dallas-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers draft college talent here Saturday. And there's a "battle" in the offing. The NFL is trying something new this year. Instead of herding the selection staffs of each team into a big hotel room, the league is conducting a telephone and teletype draft from the various cities where the teams are playing. Headquarters for the draft will be the Summit Hotel in New York, and each club will relay its picks to this "command post." There is plenty of secrecy involved this year since the rival AFL is conducting its draft at the same time - in the same way. This is where the battle comes in - not to mention the dollar fighting for the players. The Packers will set up drafting shop in the Ramada Inn and it will be private compared to the 14-table affairs of the past. Coach Vince Lombardi and his personnel chief, Pet Peppler, will preside while assistant coaches "man" the telephones - to the Summit and to prospective draft choices all over the country. The picking is scheduled to start about 9 o'clock Saturday morning and it could go until sometime early Sunday morning. Last year's draft lasted 22 hours and this could be longer. There's a football game to be played Sunday and practice to be conducted Saturday. A couple of the coaches will slip out Saturday for the drill. The Sunday game, fortunately, will start at 3 o'clock since it is the second game of the nationwide television doubleheader. The Packers will get 25 selections - more than any other team. The extra five represent payments on player trades earlier in the season and the big one, of course, is a first choice from the Eagles in the Ringo-Gros-Caffey trade. "The others are relatively early choices," Peppler said. Detroit will get 24, Baltimore 23, San Francisco 21, Chicago 20, Minnesota 20, Philadelphia 20, St. Louis 20, Dallas 18, New York 17, Pittsburgh 15 and Washington 14. Chicago holds three first-round choices, Green Bay and San Francisco two each. Cleveland, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and Washington do not have picks in the first round. The Packers will draw sixth or seventh (depending on a coin flip between the Eagles and Redskins) and tenth in the first round. The Bears own the Redskins' first pick - plus the Steelers. The order of selection (ties to be decided on coin flips): 1 - New York, 2 - San Francisco, 3 - Chicago or Pittsburgh, 5 - Dallas, 6 - Philadelphia or Washington, 8 - Los Angeles or Minnesota, 10 - Green Bay, 11 - Detroit, 12 - St. Louis, 13 - Cleveland, 14 - Baltimore. Who will the Packers pick in the first round? Peppler isn't naming names, of course, but explained "it's got to be a combination of two - the best football player or people to fit our needs." He added that "so much depends on the circumstances ahead of us - what the other clubs do." Citing an example of picking the best player, Pat said "a team might not need linebackers, but suppose Butkus is there." Dick Butkus, the Illinois linebacking great, might be the first player selected. First up, incidentally, will be the Giants. Speed will be a factor in the early rounds since the NFL wants to get a jump (or at least stay even) on the AFL. This is an uneven race because the NFL has 14 clubs against the AFL's eight, which means that the AFL can finish a round six teams quicker. It's possible that NFL clubs will "line up" their picks for the first couple of rounds - as much as is possible without providing too much comfort to each other. The chase for signatures will start as soon as the player is selected, although some player-team talking will take place before the players are chosen. The Packers worked out this morning as the sole owner of second place in the Western Division. They got a lift Thursday from the Bears who dumped the Lions 27-24 and dropped them into third. The Packers have a 6-5 record for .545, while Detroit has 5-5-2 for .500. After practice, the Packers took off in their United Airlines charter for Dallas.
AFL DENIES HOLDING SECRET DRAFT
NOV 27 (New York) - The AFL has branded as erroneous a newspaper report that the 5-year-old league held a "sneak draft" two weeks ago to get a jump on the senior NFL in the brewing battles for the top college football players in the country. The story, which appeared in Friday's New York Daily News - one day before the rival leagues conduct their separate drafts at different sites in New York - was immediately denied by league and club officials. Milt Woodard, the AFL's assistant commissioner, flatly stated the story was "erroneous"
while pointing out that "our constitution and by-laws don't allow this. We have set a date for the draft and if we sign anybody before that we would have to void this type of agreement. The story is not true."...TWO WEEKS AGO: The Daily News story, written by Norm Miller, said "there are strong indications that the AFL clubs already have held another sneak draft in an effort to beat the NFL to the best available college players." Accompanying the story was a club-by-club list of names that included such top-flight talent as Illinois linebacker Dick Butkus, halfback Gale Sayers of Kansas, receiver Larry Elkins of Baylor and California quarterback Craig Morton. Miller's story said the premature draft was "believed to have been conducted by phone nearly two weeks ago. At least one leading collegian already has been signed by an AFL team." The AFL held a premature draft three years ago, in violation of their agreement with the colleges to hold off until the final full Saturday of the collegiate schedule. Commissioner Joe Foss, who was not aware of the move instituted by club owners, ordered it voided. There were vigorous denials that any such situation exists this time, with a couple of sensations tossed the NFL at the same time. "We have held no secret draft," said General Manager Jack Steadman of the Chiefs. "This sounds like another move by the NFL to stir up problems for us. We have been busy contacting about 300 college kids. If we knew who we were drafting, we would have contacted about 20." Gordon (Scotty) Stirling, an Oakland spokesman, said "our talent guy has talked to every top player in the country. I know the NFL has one person talking to everyone. He represents the league. Some players have called our office about this, not knowing who'll draft them." "I don't know anything about it," said Weeb Ewbank, coach and general manager of the New York Jets. "These boys today are smart. They're not going to sign with anyone until they've talked with both leagues." The AFL and NFL drafts have been scheduled for the same day for the first time since the two began to compete for talent and started a spiraling dollar war that is expected to reach still another peak this year. The AFL, which signed only three of its first eight selections last year while the NFL grabbed 12 of its 14 No. 1 picks, moves to the conference table, this time armed with millions from its new television contract. Both drafts will be conducted by telephone and telegraph with representatives of the clubs checking their home offices around the country before making their selections. Each league plans 20 rounds, with the AFL starting at 8 a.m. EST, and the NFL an hour later.
PACKERS TAB JUNIOR, DON ANDERSON, NO. 1 PICK
NOV 28 (Dallas-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Pulling a historic surprise, the Green Bay Packers today picked Donnie Anderson, a junior eligible halfback from Texas Tech, as their No. 1 choice in today's NFL draft. Coach Vince Lombardi, working from the Packers' draft headquarters in the Ramada Inn here, tabbed Anderson via telephone to NFL "central" in New York after 35 minutes of deliberation and contact negotiation. Asked why he had selected a junior, Lombardi replied, "Because he was the best player available." The first junior eligible ever to be drafted No. 1 by an NFL team, Anderson boasts impressive physical credentials. He is 6-3, weighs 210 pounds and runs the 40-yard dash in a swift 4.6 seconds. Anderson, sixth man to be chosen, was the Philadelphia Eagles' first choice, acquired by the Packers last May in the trade that sent Jim Ringo and Earl Gros to Philadelphia. Fullback Tucker Frederickson of Auburn, named by the New York Giants, was the first player to be chosen. The San Francisco 49ers went next and took Ken Willard of North Carolina, another fullback. The Chicago Bears, with three of the next four picks, started off with Dick Butkus, Illinois' ferocious linebacker. Chicago obtained that spot in a trade with Pittsburgh, had its own fourth choice in the first round, and acquired the sixth in a deal with Washington. Clubs picked in inverse order of the combined league standings after games of last Sunday. Gale Sayers, Kansas halfback, became the first player named in both the NFL and AFL drafts, which are being conducted simultaneously at the separate league offices in New York. Sayers was chosen by the Bears in the NFL first round and also was the first-round pick in the AFL by Kansas City. Dallas took California quarterback Craig Morton as its first selection. The Bears' third choice in the first round was Steve DeLong of Tennessee, who also was chosen in the first round by San Diego of the AFL. Chicago listed DeLong as a tackle while San Diego called him a guard. This choice was obtained by Chicago in a trade with the Washington Redskins. The Minnesota Vikings also required nearly an hour to make Jack Snow, Notre Dame's star pass-catching end, as their first choice and No. 8 in the league. The selection came two hours and 45 minutes after the drafting started. A year ago the 14 NFL clubs required more than eight hours to get through the first round and 21 hours, 43 minutes to complete the draft.
ELKINS FIRST CHOICE IN AFL DRAFT
NOV 28 (New York) - Larry Elkins, Baylor's pass-catching star, was the first pick in the AFL draft today, going to the Houston Oilers. The New York Jets, acquiring the second pick in the first round in a trade with Houston, chose Alabama quarterback Joe Namath and gave the Texas club the rights to Tulsa's celebrated passer, Jerry Rhome. The second pick originally belonged to the Denver Broncos, who traded it to Houston. The Oilers, in turn, gave it to the Jets. Rhome was chosen by New York in last year's draft as a future - a player who still has varsity eligibility although his original college class has graduated. Clubs choose in inverse order of the combined league standings through games of last Sunday. The Oakland Raiders, in a surprise, picked Harry Schuh, offensive tackle from Memphis State. It was thought the Raiders would go for California quarterback Craig Morton, who reportedly had been offered a highly lucrative contract by the club. The Jets, with their own pick in the opening round, selected Tom Nowatske, Indiana's star fullback. Gale Sayes, Kansas' fine halfback, went to the Kansas City Chiefs in the first round. The San Diego Chargers selected Tennesse guard Steve DeLong as their first pick. The Boston Patriots took Jerry Rush, Michigan State tackle, and the Buffalo Bills completed the first round by naming Jim Davidson, an Ohio State tackle. The draft was conducted by telephone and telegraph, with clubs doing the actual selecting at their headquarters around the country and calling the information into the AFL offices here. The first name was announced at 8:15 a.m., and the first round was finished in one hour and 10 minutes. Each club was given 15 minutes to make its selection. Denver opened the second round by taking Dick Butkus of Illinois, the vaunted linebacker, and Houston chose California quarterback Craig Morton. Butkus was named in the first round of the NFL draft, also being conducted here. He went to the Chicago Bears. Oakland took Florida State end Fred Biletnikoff in the second round and the Jets followed by choosing Notre Dame quarterback John Huarte, Heisman Trophy winner as the nation's top collegiate player and leader of the country's top-ranked team.
TEXAS AIR BOON TO BOOTING, SAY TEXANS NORTON, CAFFEY
NOV 28 (Dallas-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - This may sound like a lot of hot air. But what about the air in the footballs? Some of the Packers were kidding Lee Roy Caffey after practice the other day. "Now if we can only get that Wisconsin air out of the footballs and put in some Texas air, why Lee Roy would kick it right out of the Cotton Bowl," Forrest Gregg was saying. Caffey countered, "It would never set on the tee and I'd be chasing it around like it was a rabbit." Being a couple of Texans, Gregg and Caffey might be a bit prejudiced on the subject but Texas' light, high and dry air is supposed to be excellent for flying balls - be they golf, base or foot. If you're having trouble with your tee shots, go to Texas and you'll get an extra 20 yards every time. Caffey is the Packers' kickoff phenom. He split the heavy cold Wisconsin air in Milwaukee last Sunday with the best kicking the Packers have had in years. His showing against the Cowboys in the Cotton Bowl will help determine whether this was a flash in the pan performance. The "problem" in today's light drill will be the Wisconsin air inside the footballs. The Packers kick their own footballs in practice, but the Cowboys furnish the footballs for their home games. "We will have to get Dad (Braisher, Packer equipment man) to take out the Wisconsin air and put in Texas air when we get there," Gregg roared. Seriously, the Packers have more important things on their minds than the air. But before switching to yards, we remember Jerry Norton punting the daylights out of the ball on Saturday before the 49er game in San Francisco...'HAD A ROUGH TIME':
"Anybody who can't average 50 yards in the air (it's thin out there) ought to crawl up a tree," Norton beamed. But unfortunately Jerry had a rough time the next day. He punted a couple of times into a stiff wind off San Francisco Bay and it ruined his average. Worse yet, the wind held up one kick so long that the Packer tacklers over-ran it. A "short" receiver, Kermit Alexander, took it back for a touchdown. Norton, another Texan, is also anxious to test the air in his home state. Remember all the fussin' when the Cowboys got pass receivers Tommy McDonald and Buddy Dial in trades last spring? The Cowboys' top receiver still is Frank Clarke, a homegrown Cowboy who caught 62 passes for 915 yards and five touchdowns. McDonald is second with 39 while Dial isn't playing regularly, having caught only four passes...The Packers announced Friday they have signed Dick Herzing, 6-foot-4, 225-pound tackle from Drake, to a 1965 contract. Herzing had been drafted as a future on the seventh round last year.
PACKERS SET THREE FIRSTS IN DRAFT; FIRST PICK 'VOTE OF CONFIDENCE'
NOV 29 (Dallas-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers set at least three firsts while conducting their college player draft here Saturday and early today. This is the first time they ever drafted all by themselves and in Texas at that; the first time they picked a future as their first choices; and the first time the Packer players were actually on the draft scene. The Packers found it quite interesting and amusing. Ron Kostelnik wouldn't believe it when told the first pick was a future exclaiming: "A junior eligible, wowee - I'm so shocked." Norm Masters, noting the future pick laughed, "That's a vote of confidence in us, right there."...Coach Vince Lombardi and aides Phil Bengtson and Bill Austin broke away from the draft long enough to send the Bays through a brief Saturday practice at nearby Rusk Junior High in the morning - right before the Vikings picked Jack Snow. The Bays couldn't get into the Cotton Bowl because the SMU-TCU game was being played there. The Rusk field was rock hard and Lombardi yelled to his players, "Let's get used to this concrete." Personnel chief Pat Peppler and coaches Norb Hecker and Tom Fears remained back at room 110A in the Ramada Inn where the Packers had their elaborate draft set up. Two secretaries, Genevieve O'Neil and Pat Wloscynski, also assisted. Vern Lewellen, Packer business manager, was stationed at NFL draft headquarters at the Summit Hotel in New York to handle the Packer calls from Texas. Coach Red Cochran was out scouting. In the new draft system, the rectangular table has replaced the giant round table and the telephone and teletype have taken over for the runner and the PA system in the NFL's jet age version of the draft. The only thing the same is the long hours while each team deliberates over selection and then gets in touch with the prospect. Each club was allowed one hour to make its first pick. A half hour was allowed for each team for the next 19
rounds. The Packer draft room here was cleared of furniture to make room for a 15X6 table, four ceiling high blackboards, stacks of records, a teletype for messages from the league, and five telephones. Like a slot man in a newspaper, Lombardi directed the operation as each coach discussed the collegiates, made recommendations, checked into cards on hundreds of players, and digested picks by the other clubs. Telephone conversations were often held right with the player although with one of the Packer picks this was impossible. Larry Elkins was playing at the time he was drafted. The Bays have assurance beforehand that the collegians want to play pro football...BRIEFS: Jerry Kramer will undergo surgery next week at Mayo's in Rochester...Gene Skoronski, brother of the Pack's Bob, was named the most valuable player at Harvard. He's a linebacker, weighs 215 and "still growing," says Bob.
NFL DRAWS FIRST BLOOD IN DOLLAR DUEL WITH AFL
NOV 29 (New York) - The NFL drew first blood in its dollar war with the younger AFL Saturday after taking eight hours to complete the first of 20 rounds of drafting college talent. Long before the 14 NFL clubs had made all their first picks, club owners announced that three of the players had signed contracts - including two who were high on the AFL draft lists. The New York Giants made Tucker Frederickson, 215-pound Auburn fullback and safetyman, the league's No. 1 pick and within an hour announced he has signed a contract in Birmingham, Ala. Later, the Detroit Lions picked another fullback, 220-pound Tom Nowatske, and within minutes their representative in New York had the player's name on a contract. Finally the Baltimore Colts chose Duke fullback-linebacker Mike Curtis and promptly signed him. Nowatske also was the first round choice of the New York Jets in the American League, while the Kansas City Chiefs picked Curtis in the AFL third round. Nowatske and Frederickson probably will be used primarily as running backs by the NFL clubs, although both play well on defense. The Colts drafted Curtis as a linebacker rather than as a ball carrier. The Giants said they had picked Frederickson "because we consider him the best all-around football player in the country." The NFL club owners used up just eight hours making their first round choice, falling eight minutes short of the elapsed time record set a year ago. They were scheduled to go through 20 rounds. In addition to Nowatske, two of three players selected by the Chicago Bears also were first round choices of AFL clubs. So were quarterbacks Joe Namath of Alabama, picked by the St. Louis Cardinals of the NFL and the New York Jets of the AFL, and Larry Elins, Baylor flanker-end picked by Green Bay of the NFL and Houston of the AFL. Chicago had three picks in the first round as a result of deals with Pittsburgh and Washington. After San Francisco had picked Ken Willard, North Carolina fullback, on the second draw, the Bears selected Dick Butkus, All-American linebacker of 1963 from Illinois; Gale Sayers, swift Kansas halfback, and Steve DeLong, 250-pound guard-tackle from Tennessee. Sayers was chosen by Kansas City and DeLong by San Diego in the first round of the AFL draft. Butkus was picked by Denver of the AFL in the second round as that club's top choice. He said he was undecided between the two clubs. As a result of trades, San Francisco and Green Bay each had two first round picks in addition to Chicago's three, while Pittsburgh, Washington, Philadelphia and Cleveland were left out of the round. The selections included seven running backs, two quarterbacks, two pass-receiving specialists, a linebacker, a tackle and two defensive backs. One player, Donnie Anderson of Texas Tech, was chosen by Green Bay as a future. He still had a year of college eligibility.
PACKERS BATTLE COWBOYS, THEN FIGHT FOR ELKINS
NOV 29 (Dallas-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers start the battle of Texas and the AFL today. They take on the Cowboys in the Cotton Bowl this afternoon. And they launch the fight to get the signature of first draft choice Larry Elkins, the pass catching star from Baylor, who was the first player chosen in the AFL. The Packers had drafted just three players up to Press-Gazette deadline time Saturday night. They selected Donnie Anderson, the fast moving halfback from Texas Tech, as a junior eligible on the seventh pick in the first round. The choice was owed to Green Bay by the Eagles as final payment on the Ringo-Gros trade. After naming All-American Elkins as their own first round pick, the Packers selected 260-pound Alphonse Dotson, a fast-moving tackle from Grambling. The draft was sure to go all night and perhaps well into Sunday morning. Fortunately, the Packers have a 3 o'clock kickoff time. Packer offensive coach Tom Fears met Elkins in Waco, Tex., shortly after the flanker was chosen. Elkins' team was meeting Rice in a Southwest Conference game and the star receiver caught four passes despite the fact that he was double-teamed. Elkins was to return to Dallas with Fears and then sit on the Packer bench for the Cowboy game. Elkins will be a tough customer to sign. He was drafted by the Houston Oilers who plan on teaming him up with his former Baylor passer, Don Trull, who was drafted a year ago. Elkins, who may make four or five All-America teams, finished fifth in the nation with 50 pass catches for 950 yards and seven touchdowns. He set a two-season NCAA pass catching mark, beating the record set by Hugh Campbell of Washington State. Coach Vince Lombardi said that Elkins has "good hands, good attitude, leadership qualities and intelligence. He was rated excellent by our scouts and they said he could make any team as a flanker." Elins stands a shade under 6-2 and weighs 190. He is exceptionally fast. Lombardi said he was impressed by Dotson's speed and noted that "we are figuring on his as a defensive lineman." Willie Davis, also a Grambling product, spoke highly of Dotson. "He played fullback as a sophomore and that should give you an idea of his speed. He weighed 230 and stood 6-3 then, but he shot up and easily goes 6-4 and 260 now. He's the lean type and this greatest forte is rushing the passer. He plays inside tackle and they used the same defense as we do. He's a dedicated athlete and was an honor student at Houston, Tex., High and in college," Davis said. The selection of a future as the Packers' first player pick came as a big surprise, but the Packers' pleasant habit of drafting late (which means you're a winner) figured in the decision...'HAD TO PICK HIM': Lombardi said, "We had seen him play a number of times and were impressed with his performance. We have been drafting late and in order to get a back of his caliber we felt we had to pick him a future. Even though we have to wait a year before he is eligible and because
he is a good back, we felt he is worth waiting for." The Packers will make no effort to woo Anderson since he has a year of eligibility left and figures strongly in Texas Tech's plans for 1965. The Packers received two choices on the third round - Dallas' and their own. The Packers face a "must" situation in their fight for second place and a spot in the Playoff Bowl in Miami. The Cowboys are expected to start John Roach, the ex-Packer at quarterback.
