Green Bay Packers (8-5) 17, Chicago Bears (5-8) 3
Sunday December 5th 1964 (at Chicago)
GAME RECAP (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE)
(CHICAGO) - Willie Wood was a 12th man in the Packers' offense in snow-bound Wrigley Field Saturday afternoon. The sprightly defensive back snaked back punts 64 and 42 yards to set up touchdowns by Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor and then returned an interception 28 yards to set off a nine-yard field goal by Hornung. Thus, Wood was the difference in the Packers' 17 to 3 victory over the Bears in this typically-bitter and defense-minded Packer-Bear collision before a frozen crowd of 43,636. The 92nd game between pro football's oldest rivals, and the first on a Saturday, closed out with the fans pelting the Packers with snowballs and booing Bill Wade, who had replaced the injured Rudy Bukich at quarterback. The Packers drew one game closer to the lucrative second place finish in the Western Division - plus a berth in the Playoff Bowl in Miami. They can win second by scoring their ninth victory in the final in Los Angeles a week from today. Ironically, Wood also figured in the Bears' lone score. The Bears recovered his fumble of a punt and they turned it into Roger LeClerc's 31-yard field goal with one second left in the half. The Packer offense, worked over vigorously by the Bears, didn't have to work hard for the three scores. Wood's first return of 64 yards early in the second quarter put Bart Starr's men on the Bear 16. Four plays later, Hornung rammed five yards and kicked the point for a 7-0 edge. Early in the third quarter, Wood took another punt by Bobby Joe Green and returned 42 yards to the Bear 13. Taylor bolted into the end zone like an enraged bull on the first play and Hornung's kick made it 14-3.
PRECIOUS BUNDLE
Later in the third period, Wood stole Wade's pass and returned 28 yards to the Bear 46. Starr got the Bays to the Bear two and Hornung kicked his first field goal on the fourth play of the fourth quarter. Wood stretched his four returns out to 138 yards - practically a one-man offense. That doesn't seem like much scoring, but it was
field goal on the fourth play of the fourth quarter. Wood stretched his four returns out to 138 yards - practically a one-man offense. That doesn't seem like much scoring, but it was a precious bundle. And the Bears were held without a touchdown by the Pack for the first time since that 49-0 business in Green Bay in 1962. Taylor was a marked man and the Bears gave him the usual Bear treatment. But Jarrin' Jim was up to the task and he became the first man in NFL history to pass the 1,000 mark in rushing in five straight seasons. The muscle man finished with 89 hard yards in 21 carries to boost his total to 1,005. Taylor broke the record with a 17-yard jaunt with 3:20 left in the game. The Packer defense had to contend with the amazing little Johnny Morris, who went into the game with a record 90 pass catches - an average of 7 per. But Morris came out with only two catches for 24 yards and the Packers' big man on Johnny was Herb Adderley, the left cornerback, who dogged Morris brilliantly.
ADDERLEY STEALS TWO
Adderley made two interceptions off Morris. The first was a great stretch-out catch, with Morris at his side, on the Packer 24 in the first quarter. The second was a real crucial. He took the ball away from Morris in the end zone to kill a Bear threat just after the Packers scored in the second quarter. The Packer defense was rugged, with Ray Nitschke, Lee Roy Caffey, Lionel Aldridge and Hank Jordan - plus Wood and Adderley, playing key roles. The Bears advanced in the midfield areas, but the Bys cut their pass average down to an amazing 2.5 yards per attempt. The Bay offense was marked by something of a "return" by Hornung. The versatile threat carried 10 times for 41 yards and scored his first TD since early in the season. He started at left half and with Taylor bombing away the Bays reminded of their championship days. However, Paul missed on field goal shots from the 38 and 33-yard lines. The Packers put the emphasis on the rush, moving 39 times for a healthy 170 yards, while Starr passed only 13 times. He completed nine for 75 yards. The Bays went without the injured Max McGee and Bob Jeter showed up in his left end spot - at least for the first few plays. Then Boyd Dowler shifted to left and Jeter went to flanker. Oddly enough, this started out like a high scorer. The Bears took the opening kickoff and reached the Packer 29 and they settled for a field goal shot. LeClerc missed from the 39. The Packers lost three yards in their first three plays and Jerry Norton had to punt. The crowd started to sizzle, but on the Bears' second play, Adderley made his first interception. The Packers then put together three first downs and fine third down plays cemented two of them. Starr ran 12 yards to midfield for one and then passed 15 yards to Ron Kramer to the Bear 39 for the other.
GREMMINGER BLOCKS
The attack stalled and Hornung tried a field goal from the 39, but it was low and deflected. With Bukich passing and Jon Arnett running, the Bears got a couple of first downs early in the second quarter, but Green was soon forced to punt. Wood took the ball on the 20 and raced up the sidelines, dodging and twisting, and then got loose on a good block by Hank Gremminger. Green shoved him out of bounds on the Bear 16. From there Taylor hit for five and then Hornung went 2, 4 and 5 for the score. Hornung converted at 3:12 and he had the first seven of his 11 points for the day.
STARR FUMBLES
The two clubs passed the ball back and forth the rest of the first half. The Bears pieced together three first downs on running by Arnett and Joe Marconi and reached the Packer 31, but Adderley took care of that by stealing Bukich's pass at Morris in the end zone. After a 14-yard pick up by Taylor and two Packer penalties, Starr fumbled when hit by Earl Leggett and Doug Atkins and Dick Evey recovered on the Packer 27. Things looked dark, indeed, but on the first play Bukich fumbled the ball and Lionel Aldridge recovered. The Bears couldn't do anything and lost Bukich with a shoulder injury in the bargain and Green punted. Wood took off for a few yards but fumbled and Rabold recovered on the Packer 27 with 32 seconds left. The Bears kept the ball for four plays in the brief time, thanks to timeouts and a holding penalty, and, on the fifth, LeClerc kicked his field goal. It took Wood to explode the Packers in the third quarter. After an exchange of punts, Wood returned Green's boot from the Packer 45 to the Bear 13, after which Taylor crashed in for the TD at 7:49. The Bears came right back with Ron Bull and Rick Casares running and reached the Packer 44. Again Wood came to the rescue, stealing Wade's pass on the 26 and returning 28 yards to the Bear 46. Starr's first pass to Jeter was intercepted by Bennie McRae, but the Bears roughed Starr, bringing about some fisticuffs between Dave Whitsell and Forrest Gregg, and the Pack kept the ball.
PLEASANT RIDE
They froze it with Taylor and Hornung running to the Bear seven as the third quarter ended. The Bears tightened and on fourth and three Hornung hit his field goal from the nine on the fourth play of the last quarter. That was the game. Moments later, Dan Currie recovered a fumble by Arnett, setting up Hornung's field goal miss from the 33. After a Bear punt, the snowballing started and the Packers moved out of range. With Tom Moore and Taylor running, the Packers moved from their own 7 to midfield, where a holding penalty ruined a fine 31-yard run by Moore. A Norton punt, three Wade passes. And the Packers were assured of a pleasant ride to California today.
GREEN BAY - 0 7 7 3 - 17
CHICAGO - 0 3 0 0 - 3
GREEN BAY CHICAGO
First Downs 15 14
Rushing-Yards-TD 39-170-2 27-118-0
Att-Comp-Yd-TD-Int 13-9-75-0-0 32-17-98-0-3
Sack Yards Lost 2-11 2-19
Net Passing Yards 64 79
Total Yards 234 197
Fumbles-lost 3-2 3-2
Turnovers 2 5
Yards penalized 5-45 4-40
SCORING
2nd - GB - Paul Hornung, 5-yard run (Hornung kick) GREEN BAY 7-0
2nd - CHI - Roger LeClerc, 31-yard field goal GREEN BAY 7-3
3rd - GB - Jim Taylor, 13-yard run (Hornung kick) GREEN BAY 14-3
4th - GB - Hornung, 9-yard field goal GREEN BAY 17-3
RUSHING
GREEN BAY - Jim Taylor 21-89 1 TD, Paul Hornung 10-41 1 TD, Tom Moore 6-22, Bart Starr 2-18
CHICAGO - Jon Arnett 11-59, Rick Casares 3-16, Joe Marconi 6-16, Billy Wade 2-13, Rudy Bukich 2-7, Ronnie Bull 3-7
PASSING
GREEN BAY - Bart Starr 13-9-75
CHICAGO - Billy Wade 18-11-77 1 INT, Rudy Bukich 14-6-21 2 INT
RECEIVING
GREEN BAY - Jim Taylor 4-14, Boyd Dowler 2-36, Ron Kramer 1-15, Tom Moore 1-5, Paul Hornung 1-5
CHICAGO - Jon Arnett 5-43, Mike Ditka 4-30, Joe Marconi 4-(-5), Johnny Morris 2-24, Rich Kreitling 2-6
WOOD CREDITS 'TEAMS' FOR 1ST BALL
DEC 6 (Chicago-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "Hey, Wood." The salutation came from Hank Gremminger, Packer defensive captain, and was shortly followed by a spinning football, which arched its way toward locker No. 24 in the boisterous Green Bay dressing room in the depths of ancient Wrigley Field Saturday afternoon. Putting up his hands just in time, Wood flagged down Gremminger's pass and, flashing a startled smile, the five-year veteran smiled again and proudly confided, "That's my first one."...CREDITS 'TEAMS': Always the soul of modesty, he credited the bulk of his success (he reeled off 64 and 42 yards punt returns and sprinted 28 yards with an interception to set up all 17 Packer points) to "our special teams." "They were putting out a hundred percent," he said. "Everybody was coaxing me to bring it back. They said, 'Bring it back - we'll block for you." And they did just that." The football fates also had taken a hand on his first runback, Willie explained. "The ball looked like it was going to go out of bounds. But then, it took a good bounce and came right to me. By that time, the defense has relaxed. Gremminger got a good block around midfield to spring me, too." "I had a blocker in front of me," he continued, "and I was trying to set him up so he would clear out Bobby Joe Green (Bear punter and last man in his path), and I guess I just wasted too much time on that. The pursuit caught up with me." "But if I had tried to outrun Green," Willie pointed out, "he probably would have got me anyway." Acrobatic Herb Adderley, another defensive hero (he waylaid two Bear passes and shadowed Bear record breaker Johnny Morris into frustration) volunteered, "I was just doing the best I could - he's one of the top boys in the league." Then he revealed, "I was really relaxed. I just made up my mind I was going every place he was going - whether I was late or too soon. As far as those interceptions are concerned, they're just luck. Being in the right place at the right time, I could have had four, actually," he grinned. "I dropped two of them - that is, two of 'em bounced off my fingers."...TAYLOR SETS MARK: It was a day to remember for blockbusting Jim Taylor, just returning from a long-delayed shower following a postgame television engagement. Taylor, who minutes earlier had become the first man in NFL history to gain 1,000 yards in five consecutive seasons, conceded, "Yeah, I had a real big incentive today - the 1,000 yards and national TV, and all. Then, too, we had to redeem ourselves on national TV - we've played some real bad ones on it," he said. "And, of course, there was second place - and the way the Bears mutilated us down here last time. They really wiped us out." Had he known during the game that he had scaled the 1,000-yard plateau? "No, I never did know during the game. In fact, I didn't know it until I got on the TV show after the game. It was a real great feeling," Taylor, minus a huge chunk of skin on the bridge of his nose, informed with a grin. "That long run, that off-tackle play near the bench in the fourth quarter gave it to me." Paul Hornung, who celebrated his return to combat by scoring the Packers' first touchdown and later added a nine-yard field goal, reported, "I didn't have any trouble with my neck at all, thank heaven. I felt pretty good. Of course, I haven't played in three weeks." Rotating his neck to illustrate the improvement, Hornung added, "I'm going to have it checked thoroughly when the season's over. I might got to Mayo's - some of those specialists have needle machines to take care of these things. I had it done once before when I was in service."...NECK TO TOE?: Was the neck problem related to his kicking woes? "No," he replied in a low voice. "I just can't get the darn thing between the goal posts." Asked about the rumored $500 fine, the Golden Boy responded without hesitation. "It was just a gag. We were joking about it before the game."...Burly Mike Ditka, the Bears' All-Pro tight end, wasn't sure who - or what - hit him in the third quarter. "I was just knocked out - I don't know who hit me. It could have been a band member," he said wryly. Turning to the Packers, he noted, "Mr. Wood (Willie) did a nice job. And they gave that little extra effort on their kicking teams. That's what it takes to win ball games." Slowly pulling on a sock, he added, almost under his breath, "It really hurts to lose like that - both touchdowns set up by punt returns." Rick Casares, one of the few remaining Bruins in the now almost-deserted dressing room, shook his head over the Bear fans' treatment of teammate Bill Wade. "I've been in this game a long time (10 seasons) and I guess that sort of thing is an occupational hazard, but this is so pointed, it's awkward. You can take the booing for a bad play, but the point this has reached is really bad."
TWO PLAYS DIFFERENCE, ADDERLEY GREAT, VINCE
DEC 6 (Chicago-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Vince Lombardi and the Chicago Bears' ageless mastermind, George Halas, were in complete agreement on what spawned the Packers' 17-3 decision over their immemorial rivals in frigid, snow-banked Wrigley Field Saturday afternoon. "We made two big plays on those punt returns (64 and 42 yard excursions by Willie Wood)," Lombardi declared. "That was the game." Halas, holding surprisingly lighthearted court in the famed "Pink Poodle," unwittingly echoed the Packer headmaster a half hour later, "Two plays beat us," he said matter-of-factly. "Those two punt returns beat us." In his analysis, Lombardi also noted that, "We made three interceptions (two by Herb Adderley and a third by Wood)." Adderley, Vince observed, "did an excellent job" on the Bruins' record-breaking Johnny Morris, "particularly when you consider Morris had caught 90 passes going into this game." "How many did he catch today, by the way?" Lombardi wanted to know. Informed that Morris had been held to two receptions, Lombardi laughed and added, "then Herb did a great job." The Packer major-domo, declining to comment on the conduct of the Chicago fans, who pelted the Packer huddle with snowballs in the north end zone during the fourth quarter, found, "The field was in pretty good shape." "It wasn't conducive for a great offensive game," he noted with a dry smile, "and neither was the weather. But it was the same for both teams. The field was excellent for what they had to cope with (the Windy City had been bombed with 12 inches of snow within a 72-hour period prior to the game)."...PRAISES JETER: Lombardi praised the performance of reserve flanker Bob Jeter, who made his first NFL start in behalf of the injured Max McGee. "He did very well," Vince asserted. "He blocked very well." In this connection, he also noted, "Bob was wide open on that long pass (intercepted by the Bears' Bennie McRae, a development which in turn was voided by a penalty), but the ball was underthrown. I don't know if that was the play or not, but I think Bart (quarterback Bart Starr) was hit just as the ball was thrown."...HORNUNG FINED?: Had Packer defensive planning been beamed at a specific Bear quarterback, namely Rudy Bukich? "We don't play for a specific quarterback," he replied, "but we are cognizant of what one quarterback does over another." What about a report that Paul Hornung had been assessed a $500 fine by the NFL for a somewhat nebulous reason? a Chicago scribe wanted to know. "That's an outright lie," Lombardi declared, "and I wish you would print that." Turning at the press conference, he fired a postscript over his shoulder, "I wouldn't have started him," he rapped, "if he had been slapped with a $500 fine."...Taking sardonic note of Adderley's airtight coverage of Morris, Halas observed, "he did a fine job - he must have taken an extra shot of adrenaline before the game to do it." Conceding Green Bay's defense had done a "great job," Papa Bear added cynically, "The Packers kicked the hell out of us - they outgained us by 37 yards." Asked about a near miss on a "touchdown" pass to Joe Marconi in the south end zone late in the second quarter, Halas declared, "I think they held Marconi all the way." Then, softening this assertion with a wry grin, he appended, "The movies will show more clearly - I'm not that sharp on the sidelines." He refused to speculate that a second quarter injury to quarterback Rudy Bukich might have cost him victory. Bukich, he revealed, had suffered "a slight separation of the left shoulder." "He was kneed," Halas said. "I don't think it was deliberate - but that's what happened. It was on a handoff that misfired. It definitely was not on a rollout, as it may have appeared." The 69-year-old wonder also declined the fans' treatment of Bukich's successor, Bill Wade, the ex-Ram who only last season maneuvered the Midway Monsters to the world championship, except to say, "I think it's unfair. He's a great quarterback and a great man - a great man." Returning to the sardonic approach, Halas interjected apropos of nothing in particular. "The Packers and the Bears are not the only favorites who are not winning championships. The Wolverton Wolverines, who have been English soccer champions the last two or three years, have won only three of 22 games this season, I have discovered."...TAYLOR A GREAT GUY: Continuing in this vein. he returned his attention to the statistics and snorted, "Imaging that, we only threw Jim Taylor for 11 yards in losses. Possibly that's the most he's ever lost in a game." He shook his head, then added, "That Jim Taylor is a great guy. Will you please tell him I won't be able to see him at the Pro Bowl this year (he coached the Western all-stars last January.)" Halas flashed a sly smile and concluded, "I would like to have seen him there."...PACKER PATTER: One hardy Packer fanatic demonstrated courage "above and beyond the call of duty" early in the fourth quarter. Waving a "Green Bay" pennant, he parades unwaveringly up and down the aisle in the "third base" boxes, despite an unremitting barrage of snowballs from Bear partisans. One Chicagoan eventually broke the pennant "stick" as the grandstand "game" reached a fever pitch, but even this disaster failed to dissuade our hero. He picked the slightly soiled green flag off the slush covered concrete and resumed his parade, continuing to wave it aloft. The development elicited another hail of snowballs, which eventually forced this surprisingly valorous citizen to retreat...The fans, who earlier had set up a "We want Rudy (Bukich)" chant, later vented their displeasure upon the luckless Wade in the same manner, pelting him with snowballs as the Bears huddled in the north end zone...Dick Butkus, the Bears' recently signed No. 1 draft choice from the University of Illinois, was a guest of the Bruins in the press box.
PACKERS SHIP LONGIES HOME, EYE LA WARMTH
DEC 6 (Chicago-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Weatheritis: Packer equipment manager Dad Braisher cupped his hands around his mouth and yelled in the dressing room before the game: "Don't pack that underwear." Braisher said the longies will be shipped back to Green Bay. No such equipment is needed for the final in Los Angeles - it is hoped. Most of the players cut the longies off just above the knee, creating some bizarre costumes. The winter flannels (they're not red anymore) reflect the snow bowl conditions in Wrigley Field. Really, it's not so cold but this old metropolis had 12 inches of snow since Thursday and schools were closed Friday for the first time in history. It was only 28 at game time. A heat wave compared to the near-zero practice conditions in Green Bay last week. And the sun was shining at the start. Snow was piled five feet high around Wrigley Field. Most of it had been shoveled from inside the field. The Bears, President Muggsie Halas, said, were lucky enough to get three snow shovel trucks from the hard-press city of Chicago. Snow was piled up 10 inches on the $6 seats close to the field when the Packers arrived a couple of hours before the game but the ushers swept them off. Considering the conditions, the field was fast. The tarp was removed a half hour before the teams came out to drill at 12:20. It had been covered since Thursday and the snow kept it from freezing. The first base end zone was soggy, but the rest of the field was dry by comparison. Mike Ditka, the Bears' tight end, scratched his cleats into the turf before the game and explained. "This is Heaven." Ditka was on the field along with Johnny Morris, Rudy Bukich and Forrest Gregg for the pregame television tape.
PACKERS 'DON'T CARE' ABOUT VIKINGS, WANT TO BEAT RAMS FOR 2ND
DEC 7 (Palo Alto, CA-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The voice on the jet's intercom came through soft and clear: "You may be interested to know," it started, "the Giants are leading the Vikings in the third quarter 21-20." The Packers, flying from Chicago to San Francisco in a United Airlines jet Sunday afternoon, were indeed interested since a loss for the Vikings would clinch second place for the Packers, assuming, of course, the Colts beat the Lions. "I don't care what happens to the Vikings," said sophomore guard Dan Grimm when he heard the pilot's announcement. "I want to beat the Rams." As it turned out, the Vikings and Lions both won and it now becomes necessary for the Packers to whip the Rams in the 1964 finale in Los Angeles next Sunday. In order to finish second and gain a berth in the Playoff Bowl in Miami Jan. 3. But it appears the Packers aren't losing any sleep over what happened to the Vikings and the Lions. They are anxious to make up for a poor showing in a 27-17 loss to the Rams in Milwaukee Oct. 25. "We were terrible that day," said Grimm, "and the entire squad feels the same way." Ray Nitschke said, "It makes me mad to think about it. What better incentive could we have next Sunday." While the upcoming game is the next concern, the Packers mulled over their victory with great glee on the flight here. Coach Vince Lombardi led the ear-to-ear grinning and many of the 60-odd "civilians" aboard the giant plane expressed their pleasure by congratulating the players. There's something special about beating the Bears in Chicago - especially in view of three Bears' big win over Green Bay a year ago. The Packers now have trimmed the Bears in Chicago four of the last five games. There were some interesting developments from the 17-3 victory. Willie Wood, whose two punt returns and interception runbacks, set up three Packer touchdowns, was virtually a one-man punt returner since he had to "protect" Elijah Pitts. Pitts, who goes back with Wood on all punt returns, said, "I was favoring this bad leg of mine so Willie decided to take everything down the middle and on his side. I didn't have to run any back all afternoon and I'm glad I didn't the way Willie was going." Wood covered about two-thirds of the field. Pitts has a muscle pull in his leg and didn't play except to go back on punt returns. "I'm going to cut loose this week and I don't care what happens because I want to play. Maybe the weather out here will help me work it out," Pitts said. Herb Adderley, who intercepted two passes and did such a great job guarding Johnny Morris, said, "Johnny congratulated me right out there on the field. He's a fine competitor and when you keep him down you feel like you did something." Herb limited Morris to two catches Sunday and the record-breaking Bear flanker caught only five in the two games against Green Bay. This was a vicious game and the play in the line, plus the tackling and blocking, was fierce. Bob Jeter went the route at flanker in the absence of injured Max McGee (Boyd Dowler went to left end) and while Jeter didn't catch a pass the "forgotten" pass catcher actually shook up two Bear defensive backs with jarring blocks. He dropped Richie Petitbon and Bennie McRae. The roughest tackle of the day was made by Nitschke on Iron Mike Ditka, the Bears' strong tight end, and it evened a score. Ditka flattened
Ray in the 1963 opener with a block and Nitschke never quite forgot it. Midway in the third quarter, Mike caught a five-yard pass and Nitschke lowered the boom. Mike was out cold and had to be helped from the field although he returned in the fourth period. Ditka creates quite a problem for linebackers because he rarely goes straight for a block. Generally, he circles and catches the linebacker from the blind side. Hank Jordan became a Packer captain for a few seconds before the half ended. Captains of both teams left the field since the last play was a field goal and the officials didn't have anybody to make a decision on kicking off. The Packers had to make the decision since the Bears won the toss and decided to receive to start the game. The officials grabbed off Jordan as he left the field, and Henry said, "I just told them we would receive. They could have kicked off if we wanted the wind, but there wasn't much wind." The Packers are headquartering at Rickey's Motel here and will train at Stanford University. No practice was scheduled for today, but the team will look at the Bear pictures.
40-MAN LIMIT, 10 ROOKIES HELP OFFSET PACK LOSING DOTSON
DEC 8 (Palo Alto, CA-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - That 40-player limit is looking better all the time. The NFL went to 40 players for the first time in history for the 1964 season. And Coach Vince Lombardi, looking to the Packers' future, kept 10 rookies. "Right now, I'm glad we got them," Lombardi said Monday after revealing that Alphonse Dotson, the Packers' No. 2 draft choice, had signed with Kansas City of the AFL. And the coach added with a chuckle, "maybe a 36-player limit wouldn't be a bad idea for 1965" in view of the fact that five Packer picks, including No. 1, Larry Elkins, have decided to play in the AFL...RARE CASE: The Dotson thing was a rare case. Big Alphones, a defensive tackle, was a junior eligible but there were indications that he intended to play pro in 1965. The Packers went after him, but they pulled off when they were advised that he intended to play another year at Grambling, Lombardi said, adding: "That's when the other league stepped in and signed him anyway."...PEACEFUL MONDAY: Incidentally, four members of the Packers' current rookie crop are linemen - center Ken Bowman, who is a regular starter; guard John McDowell; and tackles Lloyd Voss and Steve Wright. The Packers spent a peaceful Monday and while there was no practice the players looked at an interesting film entitled: "The Massacre at the Corner of Clark and Addison" and now you know where Wrigley Field is located in Chicago. Lombardi said he was impressed most by the "hard hitting. And it wasn't only in the line. It was all over the field." Though the Bays' 17-3 win was mostly a defensive show, the Packers easily could have had a 300-yard offense - not to mention a couple of more scores, Lombardi pointed out. The Packers finished with 234 yards, including an impressive 170 rushing and 64 passing. But penalties on two good-looking plays killed off 67 offensive yards. The plays actually "lost" 108 yards with the two infractions...PRACTICE MANEUVER: The first was the picture maneuver of the day - Bart Starr's 47-yard aerial to Boyd Dowler in the second quarter. Dowler, playing left end, made a twisting run of 30 yards after catching the ball to the Bear 19. But the Bays were called for clipping. In the fourth quarter, Tom Moore got off a 31-yard scamper around right and to the Bear 20 but the Packers were nicked for holding. Thus, instead of being in range for two scores, the Bays were set back to their 31 and 44-yard lines. And speaking of penalties, the officials were faced with a not-in-the-book infraction of some kind. The Bears, at times, had only a dozen players more or less sitting on the bench. With 11 players on the field, this meant that roughly 20 players were just plain missing...UNDER THE STANDS: It developed that the "missing" were under the stands apparently to keep warm. The Bear bench was around the 20-yard line in left field, close to the entrance leading into the dressing room. The officials also had to be concerned with the snowballing of the Packers midway in the fourth quarter. "All I could think of was a snowball hitting Bart Starr in the head when he went back to pass," Lombardi said. The real barrage of snowballs started when the Packers started a drive from their own seven-yard line deep in left field. Starr apparently had no intention of passing because the Bays moved out of snowball range beautifully on six straight running plays that brought the ball to midfield...LOMBARDI HIT: Lombardi caught a snowball in the shoulder when he went across the field after the game to appear on television. The Packers went to work today in preparation for the Ram game Sunday. And they found their shoes in excellent condition. Cleaning the shoes is always a problem after a game is played on soggy turf. "That Wrigley Field mud was really caked hard on the shoes, and it wasn't easy getting it off," said Dad Braisher, equipment manager, Monday night. "I usually hire some kids to clean up the shoes but none of these kids wanted to work. And it took me three hours to finish the job," Dad said. Braisher had tried to hire some students from Stanford University where the Bays are practicing. But no dice.
KRAMER 'DRAINS'
DEC 8 (Rochester, MN) - Jerry Kramer, 1963 All-NFL offensive guard on the Green Bay Packers, was in satisfactory condition Monday night in St. Mary's Hospital after undergoing minor surgery. A Mayo Clinic surgical team established a drainage system in his body to relieve an abdominal abscess - classed as a condition similar to a boil, only inside the body. Doctors said it was not a major operation. They said his condition is a chronic pocket of infection which could not be resolved without establishing the drainage. He will be kept under observation for an indefinite period.
RAMS RUN OUT?
DEC 8 (Los Angeles) - The end of the professional football season won't come too soon for the Los Angeles Rams. They've just about run out of players. Mercifully, the season ends Sunday for the Rams against the Green Bay Packers here, and even at that, Coach Harland Svare is hard pressed to field a healthy hand. Nine players, most of them essential to any winning effort, are sidelined or will be playing with aches and pains. Three of them were hurt last Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. Injured were center Joe Wendryhoski, who suffered a torn muscle in the collar bone and neck area; Roger Davis, left guard, who suffered a strain and torn back ligaments, and Lamar Lundy, defensive end, who suffered a broken right hand. Others ailing are Marlin McKeever, Bill Munson, Lester Josephson, Ben Wilson, Dave Jones and Mike Henry, who all might be able to play Sunday.
WHAT ABOUT CLARIDGE? PACK ROOKIE QB 'UNDERSTANDS'
DEC 9 (Palo Alto, CA-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Bart Starr is leading the league in passing. Zeke Bratkowski provides strong relief. And what about Dennis Claridge? Dennis, the former Nebraska menace, hasn't played a second in a league game, but he ranks now as the Packers' quarterback of the future. Quarterback is a tough position to break into right from the start and that's the understatement of the season. Young Bill Munson of the Rams - Green Bay's next opponent - did it this season but defenses have caught up with him and his inexperience is handicapping his team. What does Claridge think of going from stardom at Nebraska to the role of student in the major leagues? "A lot of guys step into situations where the quarterback position is open - like Munson, but I didn't expect to see a lot of action with the Packers. Bart is so good and Coach Lombardi basically sticks with one quarterback. I understand the situation perfectly and I realize I have so much to learn." The strong-armed 220-ponder admitted, however, that "I can hardly not be disappointed at not playing, but I suppose this is because I had played so much in the past." Blessed with speed afoot, the power of a fullback - not to mention an exceptional ability to get rid of the ball in a hurry, Claridge was something of a three-way standout in training camp. He played both running back spot as well as quarterback and even scored a touchdown as a fullback during the exhibition season. "Switching around to the different positions might have hurt me. Then I had to go to the All-Star camp and I didn't accomplish a thing there. During the season, I pulled a hamstring and that set me back. I had never pulled a muscle in school, but I did more running here than I ever did before. I certainly got into good condition since we are required to run an extra 20 yards or so each time we carry the ball." Claridge works closely as a junior member, firm of Starr and Bratkowski, Inc. He pointed out: "During a game I figure out what I would do and then compare it with what Bart does. Then Bart or Zeke will tell me what's wrong or good with my thinking. I've been a good listener and they certainly have taught me a lot. The most difficult thing for me and I believe for all rookie quarterbacks is learning the defensive keys and recognizing them immediately - without thinking about it. I thought there was a great difference going from high school to college, but this step to pro ball is even greater. You gain an overall knowledge of the game that you never knew before in pro ball." Claridge wears contact lenses in practice and in the games. "I can't see a thing without glasses, but I have no trouble spotting receivers with them on. This has never been a handicap for me." The promising rookie from Robbinsdale, Minn., has two goals at the moment - "I'd like to be a first string quarterback some day and of course I want to be a dentist," he said, adding: "I'm going back to school (Nebraska) after the season and continue my studies. I've wanted to be a dentist ever since I was in high school." As to the Packers in '65, Claridge said, "I hope to stick chiefly with quarterbacking and maybe see some action." The Packers went back to the practice field at Stanford University Tuesday and Lombardi put them through a stiff drill, explaining, "We'll work hard earlier in the week and then take it easier later in the week." Normally, the Bays just loosen up on Tuesdays, but they've been away from the practice field for two days since the last game was on Saturday. All hands are in good condition except Max McGee, who is still bothered by a groin pull. The Packers practiced in unusually balmy weather for the Bay area Tuesday. It was 60 and sunny, thank you.
PACK, COLTS EACH LAND 5 PLAYERS ON ALL-NFL TEAM
DEC 9 (New York) - Baltimore and Green Bay each placed five men on the annual all-NFL team selected Wednesday for the Associated Press. The selections were made by a 42-man committee of three from each of the 14 league cities. Quarterback Johnny Unitas of the Colts and fullback Jim Brown of Cleveland were near unanimous for the offensive team. Johnny Morris, the Chicago Bears' record-breaking pass catcher, was an overwhelming choice for flanker back. Lenny Moore, Baltimore's big touchdown punch, scored decisively as the running back. Frank Clarke of Dallas took over the split end job, won by the ailing Del Shofner of the New York Giants in the previous three years. Mike Ditka, the Bears' powerful tight end, was one of seven repeaters. Dick Schafrath of Cleveland and Forrest Gregg of Green Bay again were the offensive tackles, although Gregg moved to guard in mid-season when Vince Lombardi shuffled his Packer line...GRAY REPLACES J. KRAMER: Jim Parker of Baltimore, a hardy perennial, was an all-star guard again, but ex-Packer Ken Gray of the St. Louis Cardinals took over the other guard job, held for two years by Green Bay's Jerry Kramer, who recently underwent surgery. Mick Tingelhoff, signed by the Minnesota Vikings as a free agent in 1962, took over the first string center job, beating out Jim Ringo of Philadelphia, the incumbent, Bob DeMarco of St. Louis and Mike Pyle of the Bears. Green Bay put four men on the defensive unit, including Willie Davis at end, Henry Jordan at tackle, Ray Nitschke at middle linebacker and Willie Wood at safety. Gino Marchetti, Baltimore veteran end, who came out of retirement just before the season started, and Bob Boyd, a cornerback, were the Colts' contribution to the defensive team. Bob Lilly, Dallas giant who is regarded by many as the best lineman in the NFL, made the club at defensive tackle. Joe Fortunato, the consistent Chicago Bear left linebacker, and Maxie Baughn, who had a fine year for the Philadelphia Eagles, were the corner linebackers. The only rookie to make the first team was Paul Krause, Washington's fine safety from Iowa, whose 12 interceptions lead the league. Pat Fischer, at 5-foot-9 the smallest man to play regularly, won the other corner back job on his great season as a
pass interceptor and defender for the Cardinals. Broken down into divisions, the Western Conference had 14 men among the first 22 and the Eastern Conference eight. The repeaters from 1963 were Ditka, Gregg, Schafrath, Brown, Jordan, Fortunato and Parker. Y.A. Tittle, the all-star quarterback of the Giants and also the most valuable player in 1963 did not receive a vote.
SHORT PASSES STYMIE PACKER INTERCEPTORS
DEC 10 (Palo Alto, CA-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers intercepted 31 passes in 1962. They dropped off to 22 in 1963. And in 13 games thus far this season they only have 14. Sakes alive, men, it looks like our pass defense is going to pot. But don't you believe it. There's a short-pass trend brewing in the NFL and it's rapidly becoming the latest rage. It started last year and it's currently reaching a peak. Guess who the Packers' No. 2 receiver is? It's not a pass catcher by trade, but a big, burly fullback by the name of Jim Taylor, who has caught 34 passes - mostly those short safety-valve pitches. Boyd Dowler tops the catchers with 41 while Ron Kramer has 31 and Max McGee 30. Tom Moore has 17, Paul Hornung 9, Elijah Pitts 6 and Marv Fleming 2. But about that drop in interceptions. Norb Hecker, coach of the Pack's defensive backfield, pointed out a few interesting facts...75 LESS IN LEAGUE: "Sure, we haven't intercepted many this year, but do you know that there are nearly 75 less interceptions in the league at this stage of the season, compared to the same period a year ago. Everybody is throwing short passes and we'll give those any time. It takes 10 of them to make a touchdown, but just one bomb can score a touchdown, too. Our opponents have completed 54 percent of the passes thrown against us, and we try to stay below 50 percent. But that short pass is the difference. A lot of those passes are caught behind the line of scrimmage. Remember our game against the Bears in Green Bay last year? Wade completed 18 passes, and that's a lot of completions, but 16 of them were caught behind the line. Most teams are playing ball control now with the pass."...LBERS STEAL FIVE: Packer linebackers have intercepted five of the 14 passes. Dan Currie and Ray Nitschke each have two, and Lee Roy Caffey has the other. Herb Adderley leads with four and Willie Wood has three and Hank Gremminger and Doug Hart one each. The Packer defense gets the best training in the league because day after practice day it works against the league's most effective aerial game. The Packers' pitchers, Bart Starr and Zeke Bratkowski, have a combined completion percentage of 58.8, tops in the league, and they had only five intercepted between 'em, also tops in the loop. And you'd be surprised how much the Packers emphasized passing in practice. In Wednesday's intensive preparation for the Ram game next Sunday, roughly eight out of 10 plays were passes. This is most unusual in view of the fact that the Bays lead the league in rushing. The Packers have put in two exceptionally frisky workouts, and Coach Vince Lombardi came away from both of them smiling. Sunday's match in Los Angeles may be the windup but it's a "big game" since it determines whether the Bays finish second or possibly drop all the way to fourth...EYE PLAYOFF BOWL: A second place finish would give the Bays a four-figure chunk of the championship game money and also boot them into the Playoff Bowl in Miami. The cheers in practice were reserved for Norm Masters, who is developing into some "competition" for Willie Wood in punt returns. Masters went back with the punt returners and caught three in a row - one a real stretch case, for which he brought the house down. Wood joined Paul Hornung in field goal kicking practice and just to get his punting foot warmed up, Dowler kicked a couple of three pointers. To make the day complete, the California kicking coach, one Ben Agajanian, made a surprise visit. He was inspecting his far-flung business interests and said he just had to check his ace pupil, Caffey. Before it was over, Caffey was kicking off without the shoestring. This is the time of the year for the boys to make their retirement announcements, but we can't find a soul ready to give in. Even Dave Hanner, who is finishing his 13th season, isn't saying a word. "Wait'll next week," Dave said. A year ago Bill Forester announced his retirement here, but nobody believed him. Dick Voris, former Packer personnel chief now on the 49er coaching staff, visited the Packer camp Wednesday evening and couldn't help wax enthusiastic about his team's 28-7 victory over the Rams. Voris had reason to howl. He coaches the defense and the Rams got 56 yards all afternoon and no first downs rushing. Horrors, the Rams are bound to improve next Sunday. Against the Pack, of course.
PACKERS SIGN 10TH PICK, MARSHALL
DEC 10 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers announced today they had signed their 10th round draft choice. He is Richard (Buc) Marshall, a tackle on the Stephen F. Austin College team. He agreed to terms at Necogdoches, Texas, Wednesday.
GREMMINGER INJURED BUT EXPECTS TO PLAY
DEC 11 (Palo Alto, CA-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Hank Gremminger had breakfast served in bed Thursday morning. By Tom Moore. Gremminger could barely get out of the pad and the flight upstairs to where the Packers eat three squares a day was a bit too much. So roommate Moore brought him over a tray of eggs, bacon, toast, orange juice and coffee. After breakfast, Henry had a visitor. It was Dr. Jim Nellen, who was making his first "house" call of the week. Almost forgot to report what's wrong with Henry - the Bay's defensive captain, in a workout against Ram offensive plays, received a leg bruise in a collision with Tom Brown, who was playing the role of the Rams' Bucky Pope. It didn't bother Henry at the time, but it stiffened up overnight. Gremminger was able to hobble out to practice Thursday, but he worked by himself and finally loosened up some. After lunch. Gremminger made his way cautiously to Trainer Bud Jorgensen's quarter for a treatment and the Madisonian, by way of Dallas, laughed: "Bud, if I'm not better after this treatment, I'll boot you all the way back to Green Bay." When Gremminger left, Jorgie smiles, "He'll play if he has to crawl out there." Incidentally, this is one of the few times in Gremminger's nine year career that he has been noticeably hurt. He never complains and has a fine knack of shaking off injuries. If Gremminger can't go, his spot will be filled the aforementioned Mr. Brown. Which seems like quite a coincidence in view of the fact that Tom started it all. It appears now that Max McGee will be lost for the 1964 finale and it hurts the Taxi, who pointed out, "I always have a good day in the Coliseum." McGee is one of a few receivers in the league who is averaging 20 yards a catch - a real rarity in these short pass days. Bothered with a hard to heal groin pull, McGee can run straight ahead but can't cut to either side. "I'll have to shoot for the Miami game and maybe I can do something in that one," Max said...The Packers went back to Rickey's (their headquarters here) right after today's short drill and then flew down to Los Angeles. The team is staying at the Sheraton West. They'll drill Saturday morning at Manual Arts High (there's a championship high school game in the Coliseum). "Hey, that's my alma mater," said Tom Fears when he heard where the drill was scheduled...The Associated Press came out with its annual All-NFL Thursday and five Packers made the top squad - Forrest Gregg, Ray Nitschke, Willie Davis, Henry Jordan and Willie Wood. This was the first time Nitschke had received such an honor since Bill George and Joe Schmidt had dominated his position, middle linebacker, for the past six years. Nitschke accepted congratulations from his teammates with modesty and quickly explained that "Joe Schmidt was out of there and he's a great one." Actually, Schmidt
wasn't hurt until the ninth game and, besides, Ray is having an excellent season. He certainly deserves the honor. The biggest shocker in the AP team is the absence of Jim Taylor - even from the second team. We voted in the AP (each league city has three votes), and the ballot contained a spot for two running backs. We named Taylor and Jimmy Brown, who are in a class by themselves on pure "running." The final announcement listed a running back and fullback, Lenny Moore and Brown, on the first team and running back Charley Taylor and fullback Bill Brown on the second team. With all due respect to our fine foes in Minnesota, how can you pick Bill Brown over Jim Taylor? No way...They don't sell the Los Angeles papers on the newsstands at Rickeys, and it's just as well. There are reports here that the LA press has been riding the Rams unmercifully all week. This adds up to only one thing: The Rams will be breathing fire Sunday.
4 PACKERS ON SPORTING NEWS' ALL-WEST TEAM
DEC 11 (St. Louis) - The Sporting News today named Sonny Jurgensen of the Washington Redskins and Johnnny Unitas of the Baltimore Colts as quarterbacks on opposing Eastern and Western division all-star teams of the NFL. Named on the offensive team with Jurgensen of the Eastern Division were Jimmy Brown of Cleveland, Charley Taylor of Washington and Gary Ballman of Pittsburgh. Unitas' teammates on offense were Jim Taylor of Green Bay, Lenny Moore of Baltimore and Johnny Morris of Chicago. teammates with modesty and quickly explained that "Joe Schmidt was out of there and he's a great one." Actually, Schmidt wasn't hurt until the ninth game and, besides, Ray is having an excellent season. He certainly deserves the honor. The biggest shocker in the AP team is the absence of Jim Taylor - even from the second team. We voted in the AP (each league city has three votes), and the ballot contained a spot for two running backs. We named Taylor and Jimmy Brown, who are in a class by themselves on pure "running." The final announcement listed a running back and fullback, Lenny Moore and Brown, on the first team and running back Charley Taylor and fullback Bill Brown on the second team. With all due respect to our fine foes in Minnesota, how can you pick Bill Brown over Jim Taylor? No way...They don't sell the Los Angeles papers on the newsstands at Rickeys,
Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung (5) in action against the Chicago Bears
Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr (15) holds the ball as kicker Paul Hornung kicks against the Chicago Bears at Wrigley Field.
and it's just as well. There are reports here that the LA press has been riding the Rams unmercifully all week. This adds up to only one thing: The Rams will be breathing fire Sunday.
4 PACKERS ON SPORTING NEWS' ALL-WEST TEAM
DEC 11 (St. Louis) - The Sporting News today named Sonny Jurgensen of the Washington Redskins and Jonnny Unitas of the Baltimore Colts as quarterbacks on opposing Eastern and Western division all-star teams of the NFL. Named on the offensive team with Jurgensen of the Eastern Division were Jimmy Brown of Cleveland, Charley Taylor of Washington and Gary Ballman of Pittsburgh. Unitas' teammates on offense were Jim Taylor of Green Bay, Lenny Moore of Baltimore and Johnny Morris of Chicago.
CANTON BULLDOGS FINALLY FOLD
DEC 12 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - An inglorious footnote was added to the history of professional football last week. In an era of unprecedented prosperity for the pro game, the Canton (Ohio) Bulldogs were thrown out of the United Football League because the club was broke. Thus ended dismally the Canton football story, in its day as glamorous a chapter (if somewhat more rough-hewn) as that of the Green Bay Packers. For Canton, site of pro football's new Hall of Fame, was once the heart of the game, the birthplace of the NFL and its Bulldogs the greatest team in the roughneck youth of the sport. Pro football itself was not born in Canton (an honor generally conceded to the oil field towns of Pennsylvania), but it was there and in the neighboring communities of Massillon, Columbus, Akron and Dayton that the once despised sport managed to put down its first firm roots. From such early club as the Bulldogs, Massillon Tigers, Columbus Panhandles and Dayton Triangles sprang the NFL...FIRST GAME IN 1895: According to most sports historians, the first football game between teams of paid players was staged on Aug. 31, 1895, at Latrobe, Pa., between the Latrobe YMCA and neighboring Jeannette. The sport spread rapidly through Pennsylvania in the next few years, faded, and then popped up anew in nearby Ohio. The eruption occurred in the rival cities of Massillon and Canton in 1905, all because a Massillon sportswriter couldn't resist a bargain. He picked up a cheap lot of football jerseys at a close-out sale, hired a bunch of guys to wear them and challenged Canton to a game. Because the jerseys had striped sleeves, the team was inevitably called the Tigers. Nobody remembers why the hastily recruited Canton club was given the name of Bulldogs, but it was an appropriate handle. One of the first big stars to wear the name was Michigan's fabulous Willie Heston, who had finished his college career and saw - or thought he saw - a chance to pick up an easy $600. As it happened, Willie wasn't up to it. Hog fat and wheezy, he slipped on a patch of glare ice the first time he carried the ball, sprawled on his fanny and was promptly creamed. Aside from the Heston fiasco, the story of the first Canton-Massillon donnybrook is a classic. Space doesn't permit a full account; suffice to say that Massillon won through a cagey bit of skullduggery that is unforgiven to this day. The rivalry, white hot from its inception, was resumed in 1906 and ended in a standoff as each team won a game. The rest of the season was financially disastrous for the Bulldogs (being broke is not a new experience with them) and pro football marked time in Canton for another decade...MEMORY LINGERED: The memory lingered, however, as fans continued to rehash the colorful clashes. Inevitably, someone was bound to grubstake another try. It came in 1915. The renaissance of the Bulldogs was led by the legendary Jim Thorpe, most famous athlete and greatest football player of his time. With Thorpe terrorizing all opposition, the Bulldogs dominated the slowly expanding pro football horizon until the early 1920s. Jim wasn't the whole show, by any means. Others who helped write the Canton story included Greasy Neale, Indian Joe Guyon, and the Packers' own Cub Buck, who was opening holes for Thorpe when Curly Lambeau was still in high school...FLARED AGAIN: The Massillon rivalry promptly flared again, higher than ever, and in the World War I years the annual collision was usually billed for the "championship" on the grounds that no other pro club stood a chance against the Bulldogs. Even Massillon had to load up with ringers from other teams to make a fight of it. There was a double method in the Tigers' madness. Not only did they need the talent to face the snarling Bulldogs, but every star they hired was one less Canton could turn loose against them. On one occasion, so the story goes, Massillon's bench was loaded with no less than 45 big name players. Only 11 got into action, but they weren't available for Canton either...CROWDS WERE 'HUGE': The meeting drew what were then huge crowds of 8,000 spectators and free-wheeling crowds they were. Everybody bet their shirts and sidelines tempers went up as the odds against collecting their bets were lengthened until there were more fights off the field than on. The rival railroad stations were yearly battlegrounds as invading rooters fought their way off and on excursion trains before and after the games through a hostile reception committee. For all its intensity, the pro football virus was not localized between Canton and Massillon. It spread slowly through Ohio, thence to Chicago and on into the northwest to Minneapolis. In 1919, a wandering bug bit a couple of young fellows named Earl Lambeau and George Whitney Calhoun, and they proceeded to infect Green Bay. That same year, the first professional league was organized in the show room of a Canton automobile agency. With Thorpe as president of the American Football Assn. went into action with clubs in Canton, Rochester, Columbus, Akron and Dayton. A few years later Thorpe was replaced by Joe Carr and the circuit became the NFL...CLASS OF EARLY LEAGUES: Except for one year, Canton remained a member of the league from 1921 until 1927. The NFL dates its beginning from 1921 and in the early years the still potent Bulldogs were the class of the struggling organization. They won titles back-to-back in 1922 and 1923 with records of 10-0-2 and 11-01, the only club in the long history of the circuit to go through two successive unbeaten seasons. The record, however, is subject to skepticism. In those game, all games in a season were not with league rivals, but the NFL subsequently tinted its early history by including the entire schedule in the official standings. The Packers' 1921 record, for example, is 6-2-2 in the league archives, but only four of those games were against league competition, of which Green Bay won one, lost two and tied two...NEVER MET PACKERS: The Bulldogs won again in 1924, but they were operating out of Cleveland that season. They went back to Canton in 1925 as the league ballooned to 20 teams, but the glory days were over. The Bulldogs slumped to a 4-4 mark in 1925, sank to 1-9-3 in '26 and disappeared from the league permanently in 1927. Curiously, although the Packers were coming up as the Bulldogs were slipping, the two teams never met. Tradition dies hard, though. When the Bulldogs collapsed this past season, they died as they had lived - as champions/ Off to a slow start, the 1964 Canton Bulldogs split their first four games, then came on with a rush to win the next 10 and the UFL's Western Division title. The day before they were kicked out of the league, they finished in appropriate style by whipping Indianapolis in the championship playoff.
WIN OVER RAMS SUNDAY UP TO PLAYERS - LOMBARDI
DEC 12 (Los Angeles-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Its up to the players Sunday. The Packer players, that is. Coach Vince Lombardi is a firm believer in his own pet theory, which goes: "There are only two places in this league, first or last." The thinking, of course, is that if you're not first you might as well be last. "It's up to the players Sunday," Vince said upon herding the Packers into this city Friday afternoon, adding: "It's their game." Financially, Sunday's game means quite a bit to the boys from Wisconsin. A victory would finish them second and cut them in on the championship game money. If Cleveland wins, what with its larger stadium, each second place could receive as much as $1,500. Then there is the Playoff Bowl in Miami. The Packers had what Lombardi called "a good practice week up there, but we lost Gremminger." The Bays drilled at Stanford University in Palo Alto, and defense back Hank Gremminger injured his leg, a bruise above the knee, when Tom Brown ran into him. Gremminger might miss the game, but Hank says, "I'll be ready."...The Packers flew down from San Francisco in one of United Airlines' powerful 727 commuter jets. The commercial flight took just 40 minutes and 113 persons were aboard, including Alfred Hitchcock, the noted mystery story writer. Apparently Hitchcock took no note that the Packers were in the crowd. He was permitted to go on earlier than the other passengers, was the first off, and huddled behind a newspaper enroute. Paul Hornung, timing the takeoff, said, "We took only 22 seconds to get in the air from a standing start." Once in the air, the plane goes practically straight up. Coach Phil Bengtson marveled at the flight, which normally takes nearly two hours in a piston plane and laughed: "It wasn't too many years ago when we (the 49ers) got on a train in San Francisco and rode all night to get to Los Angeles."...Times and people have changed and some of the same writers who were praising the Rams at the start of the season are really digging them now. Too many of the big-city papers are ripping their home teams apart for anything less than a win and this, of course, is a reason why the home team is booed in most every city but Green Bay and Milwaukee. We had heard about the treatment the Rams are getting and the first column we read Friday gave them bloody blazes. Here are a few paragraphs by Morton Moss in the LA Herald-Examiner: "We don't remember a team that had so much trouble with patterns. There's been a complete breakdown. Most clients are mystified. They're beginning to wonder if the Rams are doped or just dopes. Can a pass pattern be so difficult? And how is it the Ram receivers suddenly succumbed to mass amnesia? The Ram defense wouldn't have convinced a jury composed of the players' families. The play calling would have appealed to the crowd at a retarded Junior High's six-man ball opener." And so it goes. The Rams are being needled something fierce and they are sure to react like a shot vs. the Pack. But this kind of treatment certainly will hurt the Rams in the long run...You may already know the score by the time you read this, but we're picking the Giants to win in an upset over the Browns today.
PROUD PACKER DUEL RAMS FOR FLORIDA TRIP
DEC 13 (Los Angeles-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Wisconsin Packers play in California today for the right to play in Florida. And that's your geography lesson for the season. Besides the chance to visit Collins Avenue and the Orange Bowl Jan. 3, the Packers have another matter on their mind today and it has to do with pride. The Packers, to a man, feel they were not themselves in Milwaukee back on Oct. 25. They took an early 17-0 lead on the Rams and then blew it and the game 27-17. Our boys get the opportunity to redeem themselves in the Coliseum this afternoon (kickoff at 3:00) and erase their only really bad performance of the season. The Packers are favored by some 15 points today and, ironically, that was about the same odds they were favored by in the earlier Ram game. By winning, the Packers can finish with a 9-5 record and a clean-cut second place - plus the berth in the Playoff Bowl against the second placers of the Eastern Division. It is noteworthy that the Packers' two "worst" losses were to the two West Coast clubs. Besides the 10-point spread against the Rams, they lost by 10 to the 49ers in San Francisco, 24-14. The other three losses were by a total of three points - one pointers to the Colts and Vikings and a three-pointer to the Colts...BROWN FOR GREMMINGER?: It has always been difficult for the Packers to win in Los Angeles - even when the championships were at stake in 1960, 1962 and 1963. As a result, a good crowd of 45,000 will be on hand to see if the Rams can salvage something from their poor finish. The Packers may have to go without two regulars - Max McGee and Hank Gremminger. They played without Maxie a week ago and stopped the Bears 17-3, but the loss of Gremminger should be of great comfort to the Rams. McGee and Gremminger were both running well in Saturday's light drill, but both have trouble opening up - much less
cutting. McGee has a groin pull and Gremminger a bruised muscle just above the knee. Gremminger would be replaced by the gent who kayoed him - rookie Tom Brown. These two came together on a pass play last Thursday. Boyd Dowler will go into McGee's spot, and Bob Jeter will move out to Dowler's flanker position. Otherwise, the Packers are in good condition in their drive for their second best finish under Coach Vince Lombardi. They had 7-5 in his rookie season, 1959, and then followed with 8-4, 11-3, 13-1 and 11-2-1. The Packers likely will look at Roman Gabriel, the Rams' strong-armed passer, who worked the victory in Milwaukee. Gabriel had been benched the last few games in favor of the good-looking rookie, Bill Munson. Reportedly, the veteran is either in the doghouse or about to be traded, but he is still the Rams' best bet. Paul Hornung has looked exceptionally good in practice this week and it's possible he could come up with his best showing of the season. He undoubtedly will start in a backfield with Jim Taylor, Bart Starr and Jeter. This usually is the "last game" for a few of the veterans and three of them are possibilities - Dave Hanner, Jerry Norton and Fuzzy Thurston. However, none of them is talking retirement. Norton, a 13-year veteran, put it this way: "Why should I quit? I feel great and I watch my conditioning. I know they drafted a kicker, but I feel that I can get the job done next year." The Packers will fly out right after the game via commercial jet and then catch a charter to Green Bay out of Chicago. The squad will break up Monday and they'll regroup about Dec. 27 in Miami. If all goes well today.
