Green Bay Packers (4-0) 27, San Francisco 49ers (2-2) 10
Sunday October 10th 1965 (at Green Bay)
GAME RECAP (GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTE)
(GREEN BAY) - The Packers played their best game of the season at Lambeau Field Sunday. And Don Chandler punctuated the performance with a record smashing 90 yard punt. Green Bay put all the pieces together - for 60 minutes, and the result was gratifying 27-10 over the high-scoring 49ers. The Packer offense came up with three touchdowns and two field goals on sustained drives. The defense was savage all afternoon. The audience of 50,852 was exceptionally noisy - from start to finish. And sunny, 60-degree weather added to the perfection of the day. Everybody had something to howl about today: The Packers are the only unbeaten in the league and they're leading the Western Division with a gaudy 4-0 reading. But there's no rest. The Packers now visit the Lions, who were handed their first loss Sunday, 31-7, in Baltimore. Most significant was the Packers' offense, which produced 20 first downs, 339 yards and scoring drives of 67, 70, 24, 80 and 46 yards. What's more, the Bays made their rush game go - with 186 yards, 116 by Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung. Bart Starr threw touchdown passes of 23 and 9 yards to Bob Long and Marv Fleming and Hornung scored the other TD on a two-yard smash. Chandler kicked field goals of 18 and 24 yards as the Bays scored in every period. Most spectacular was Chandler's amazing punt with five minutes left in the game. Standing three yards behind his own goal line (the scrimmage line was on the 10), Chandler was on the goal line when he got off a perfect spiral into a 10-mile wind. It landed on the opposite 25 and finally came to rest three yards behind the opposite end line. The punt was in the air for 75 yards and actually stretched out to 113 yards. The official distance is figured from the scrimmage line to the other goal line. The distance broke the modern record of 88 yards set by Bob Waterfield of the Rams on a quick kick in old City Stadium in 1948. The league, in a search of old feats recently, list a 94-yard punt by Wilbur (Fats) Henry of Canton as the pre-modern record set in 1923. It was a fitting finish to a perfect day for Chandler, who delivered the record on his 542nd punt since becoming a pro with the Giants in 1956. Earlier, Chandler electrified the crowd and broke the game open with a daring run in the first quarter. With fourth and four on his own 45, Chandler saw the 49er defense sag back except for Dave Wilcox, who came to try and blocked the boot. Tommy Crutcher blocked him to the left and Chandler scooted up the right for 27 yards to the 28. Two plays later Starr pitched to Long for a TD. Chandler, who finished with a 59.7-yard average on three punts, kicked off six times - twice five yards back of the end line. Oh yes, he also booted two extra points. And speaking about records, Starr had his mark of 294 straight passes without an interception snapped when Jim Johnson intercepted his 295th pitch on the 49er one-yard line in the second quarter. Bart's last interception was made in the second quarter of the third game in 1964 by Bobby Thompson of Detroit. While the interception ended a Packer threat, two minutes later Starr completed three straight passes to set up Chandler's second field goal and 13-7 halftime lead. The game marked the first appearance of Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung as a unit - at close to top speed. Taylor, whose 35-yard ramble, set
up Hornung's 2-yard TD run on the first play of the fourth quarter, finished with 73 yards in 19 trips. Hornung picked up 43 in nine trips and left the game when his shoulder gave him trouble. Elijah Pitts came on and ripped off 29 yards in three trips for two key first downs late in the game. The Packer defense had its hands full with the offensive leaders of the league, but the unit played it tough, holding Ken Willard, John David Crow and others to 103 yards rushing. John Brodie pitched 38 times and completed 21, including a fourth down 2-yarder to Monte Stickles for the only TD. Starr hit 13 out of 22 for 122 yards. A holding penalty ruined the Bays' opening drive, but the 49ers started with three straight first downs, giving the 49ers first shot at a score. Tommy Davis, however, missed the first of two field goals - from their 29. After an exchange of punts, the Bays moved 67 yards in nine plays for a 7-0 lead. Starr completed passes to Dowler and Long and Chandler had to punt - but he didn't, giving the Bays position on the 28. Starr then threw to Long, who was given rough treatment by Jerry Mertens as he caught the TD pass in the end zone. Forrest Gregg was hurt on the drive and Fuzzy Thurston played most of the left guard, while Dan Grimm shared work with Jerry Kramer. The 49ers raged back to tie the score, moving 69 yards in 12 plays. The big gainers were Brodie passes to Bernie Casey for 32 and Dave Parks for 18 to the Packer 12. On a third down pass, Willie Wood was found guilty if interfering with Stickles and the visitors had a first down on the 1. The Packers stopped Willard, Crow and then Willard again cold in three trips in a staunch goal line stand. Then, on fourth down, Brodie faked Crow into the line and threw off to the right to Stickles who got away from Herb Adderley for the TD. Now it was the Pack's turn to move, although the 49ers at this point got a little naughty. Elbert Kimbrough took a poke at Marv Fleming and the 49ers got a roughing penalty and a few plays later a fight threatened to break out. At one point, Starr gave 265-pound Roland Lankes quite a talking-to and two plays later the Bay quarterback, obviously a little het up, ran 14 yards to the 49er 13, with Boyd Dowler getting a good block on Mike Dowdle. The drive stalled and Chandler field goaled from the 18 for a 10-7 lead. After a 20-yard punt by Davis, the interception of a Starr pass, and a punt by Davis from deep in his own end zone, the Packers beat the clock just four seconds before the half ended. The 49ers came out for blood in the second half but the best they could do was a 52-yard field goal attempt by Davis. It was far enough but slightly wide. The Packers then put on an 8-yard TD drive in 10 plays. Taylor and Hornung ate up 25 yards and Starr passed twice to Carroll Dale for 12 yards. The big play was a 20-yard pass to Hornung to the 28, but on the same maneuver the 49ers, who knocked Starr out in San Francisco last year, were found guilty of roughing the passer. On third down from the 9, Starr hit Fleming in a crowd in the end zone for a 20-7 lead. The 49ers came back with a field goal - a 39-yarder to make the score 20-10, but the Packers got a lift from an unexpected source. Tom Moore took Davis' kickoff on the two and he raced 52 yards on a couple of fine "cuts" through stacks of 49ers, reaching the Frisco 46. Taylor slammed 35 yards on the sweep on the left side and Hornung took it over in three cracks from the 11, the 3 and finally the 2. The 49ers got a big chance to score when Miller recovered Starr's fumble on the Packer 16 with about eight minutes left in the game. Crow made two, Brodie passed to Casey for 7, but Crow was held for nothing when he fumbled and "recovered" when the play was ruled dead. Lewis, needing only a yard, just missed the first down and the Bays took over on downs. Then came Chandler's record punt and last, but not least, an interception of a Brodie pass by Wood, ending the 49ers last threat. Willie stole the ball on the four and returned to the 15, where the Packers ran out the clock.
SAN FRANCISCO - 0 7 3 0 - 10
GREEN BAY - 7 6 7 7 - 27
SAN FRANCISCO GREEN BAY
First downs 15 20
Rush-yards-TDs 27-103-0 33-186-1
Comp-Att-Yd-TD-INT 21-38-198-1-1 17-27-163-2-1
Sacked-yards 3-22 1-10
Net pass yards 176 153
Total yards 279 339
Fumbles-lost 4-0 1-1
Turnovers 1 2
Penalties-yards 4-46 4-46
SCORING
1st - GB - Bob Long, 23-yard pass from Bart Starr (Don Chandler kick) GREEN BAY 7-0
2nd - SF - Monty Stickles, 1-yd pass from John Brodie (Tommy Davis kick) TIED 7-7
2nd - GB - Chandler, 18-yard field goal GREEN BAY 10-7
2nd - GB - Chandler, 24-yard field goal GREEN BAY 13-7
3rd - GB - Marv Fleming, 9-yard pass from Starr (Chandler kick) GREEN BAY 20-7
3rd - SF - Davis, 39-yard field goal GREEN BAY 20-10
4th - GB - Paul Hornung, 2-yard run (Chandler kick) GREEN BAY 27-10
RUSHING
GREEN BAY - Jim Taylor 19-73, Paul Hornung 9-43 1 TD, Elijah Pitts 3-29, Don Chandler 1-27, Bart Starr 1-14
SAN FRANCISCO - John David Crow 13-61, Ken Willard 9-36, John Brodie 2-6, Gary Lewis 3-0
PASSING
GREEN BAY - Bart Starr 27-17-163 2 TD 1 INT
SAN FRANCISCO - John Brodie 38-21-198 1 TD 1 INT
RECEIVING
GREEN BAY - Boyd Dowler 5-46, Bob Long 3-48 1 TD, Marv Fleming 3-23 1 TD, Paul Hornung 2-25, Carroll Dale 2-12, Jim Taylor 2-9
SAN FRANCISCO - Monty Stickles 5-43 1 TD, John David Crow 5-28, Bernie Casey 4-56, Dave Parks 3-36, Rudy Johnson 2-27, Kay McFarland 1-11, Gary Lewis 1-(-3)
GOAL LINE STANDS KEYS - VINCE; WE'RE STILL YOUNG - CHRIS
OCT 11 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "Don Chandler's run certainly was a big play, but those goal line stands were the keys - even the one on which the 49ers scored. They were tremendous." It was a relatively expansive Vince Lombardi pinpointing the major teams in Sunday's successful skirmish with the supercharged San Francisco 49ers in Lambeau Field, which he termed "our best overall effort of the season." In making his selection, he obviously was mindful of the fact San Francisco trailed only 20-10, a modest deficit today, when the Diggers' hulking Clark Miller smothered a Bart Starr fumble on the Packer 16-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Four plays later, a desperate Gary Lewis thrust was blunted for no gain by the Pack's surging defensive wall, throttling the 49ers' only major second half threat. Although he conceded this day's performance had been his tigers' most proficient to date ("The offense and defense both played well.", Lombardi refused to rhapsodize. The Packer headmaster, who last week was quoted as saying "we have yet to play a complete game," decline to apply the term to Sunday's effort. "No," he declared with a vigorous shake of his head, "I wouldn't go so far as to say that - definitely not." Chandler's startling venture, although a spur of the moment affair was not entirely impromptu, Lombardi revealed. "We had talked about it during the week," he said. "We picked it up in the pictures - we noticed that the 49ers were not rushing the punter, and decided if the opportunity arose today, we would use it. Yes, it was a surprise when he did it," Vince conceded in reply to a question, "but I was not, of course, surprised that he did do it. He was pretty assured of a first down. The fact that he made the long run was tremendous." Informed that Chandler's final punt had broken the league's modern record, Lombardi declared, "I'm not surprised. I've seen Don make the same king of punts with the Giants a couple of times. And always," he noted with a grin, "from the end zone. They were 84 or 85 yards." Chandler's booming boot had been four yards short of the NFL's all-time record, set in 1923, it was also reported. The Packers major-domo laughed and shot back, "I don't count those." Lombardi expressed pleasure with three other athletes who are more accustomed to carrying the ball in his attacking format. "It was Taylor's best day, by far," he said. "And Hornung had a good day, too. So did Pitts, the little while he was in there." Did he by any chance consider it had been the Packers' top defensive performance? "I couldn't say that - we played a fine defensive game against Baltimore, too. We moved the ball better. And the goal line stand was tremendous - almost two of them. We did a very good job on Park (49er Dave, who caught three touchdown passes against Baltimore a week earlier), too, and that was a great rush on Brodie (quarterback John)." The running game had appeared to be more effective in the second half than in the first, a Milwaukee writer ventured, seeking an explanation. "We didn't do anything different in the second half. It's the same thing we've been doing all year - the same thing, in fact, that we've been doing for the seven years I've been here. It just worked today. Don't ask me why - I don't have any answers." Sidestepping a suggestion there had been "some dirty football," Lombardi said, "I'd rather not discuss that. Spirited, yes, it was spirited and rough. But dirty, I don't think so." This last triggered a report on the Pack's casualty list, Vince revealed that Dowler (Boyd) had got a shoulder injury, Nitschke (Ray) a leg and Gregg (Forrest) a knee. "Doug Hart? He was just a little shaken up. He's all right." And how does it feel to be leading the NFL's Western Division with a 4-0 record? "Ask me about it in about 10 games from now," Lombardi joked, then more seriously confided, "It's always nice to be in first place, coach. I'm real happy. But you have to be a little fortunate."...If he should ever find himself at liberty as a member of the coaching fraternity, the 49ers' slightly sardonic Jack Christiansen might find a home in show business. Quick with a quip, the ex-Detroit Lion defensive ace had a ready reply when one scribe asked him if any of the Packers had impressed him. "Not unless you do down all 40 names on the Packer roster," Christiansen cracked. "They only had 39," a San Francisco scribe facetiously interjected. "McGee (Max) didn't play." "He was suited up," Christiansen retorted. Earlier, in a somewhat more serious vein, Chris had offered, by way of explaining the scoreboard, "We're still a young team - we have to correct our mistakes. You have to know what people you can fool, and when you can and when you can't." Asked to comment on Don Chandler's surprise 27-yard dash from punt formation that keyed the Packers' first touchdown, the 49er coach said dryly, "We have a return just like every other team in the league. The defensive team is supposed to hold up its men and make sure the ball is kicked, then peel back to one side or the other. Evidently, we've been doing it too quick. They probably spotted it on the films and decided if they got into good field position, they'd try running off a punt formation. They got into good field position, and they did run with it. It's as simple as that. This is nothing new - it happens six to a dozen times a season. I've been guilty of it myself. We're just going to have to correct the situation. If you don't stress it in practice, this sort of thing happens. We've been trying to get back on a punt return and have been stressing that. There's nobody to blame but the coaches for what happened on that one." Offensively, the 49ers' task had been complicated by the Packers' front four, Christiansen also admitted. "Davis (Willie), Kostelnik (Ron) and Jordan (Henry) are great pass rushers," he said. "They put probably a little more pressure on that we've had on us this year." Requested to assess the Western Division race. Jack observed, "I think the last two teams we played are real close - Baltimore and Green Bay. They're probably the two finest we've played. They both have a real good defense, solid offenses and great quarterbacks to lead them - to run their offense and use their personnel. And both have great running backs, so they're just about alike." Christiansen, whose outlook had not been improved by the discovery that an injury to Mike Dowdle would sideline the middle linebacker from 2 to 6 weeks, was asked if he had been "satisfied" with any phase of the game. "I was satisfied with Green Bay," he somberly quipped. "I thought they did a great job. With ourselves, I wasn't satisfied with much of anything - our offense or our defense."...GUEST SOLOIST: Vaughan Monroe, a former operatic aspirant who owns one of pop music's bigger voices, treated the capacity house to a booming rendition of the national anthem accompanied by the Packer Band...TRIBUTE: Three members of the Packer Band, Herb Hall (saxophone), Elmer Knapp (trumpet) and Director Wilner Burke were saluted in a brief pregame ceremony. They represent a combined 77 years of service with the Pack's crack musical unit.
'DON'T KNOW WHY I RAN' - CHANDLER
OCT 11 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - If 50,852 Lambeau Field witnesses were startled by Don Chandler's unscheduled flight from punt formation Sunday afternoon, they had nothing on the soft-spoken hero of the piece. Chandler, who later reversed his field completely by detonating a record 90-yard punt to cap a memorable day with the toe, quietly confessed, "I really don't know why I did it. I had to option to go, and I did. When I saw Wilcox (San Francisco 49er linebacker Dave) go up in front of me (in a bid to block the kick), I decided to go. It was just there - I saw the alley down the right side and took off." He had waited "a long time" before making his move, it was noted. The ex-New York
Giant grinned and nodded, "I should have been watching the ball instead of them." Had Packer Coach Vince Lombardi made any comment to him when he reached the sidelines in the wake of that 27-yarder excursion? Chandler, blessed with a puckish sense of humor, first quipped, "That's enough for today," then laughed and quickly added, "The coach didn't say anything to me about it." Although the Packer faithful may have been taken by surprise to see the balding booter in full flight, it was not his maiden voyage, "I did it several times when I was with the Giants," he reported. And, it develops, it wasn't his longest such sortie. "I had one for around 30 yards or so against Dallas a few years ago," Chandler said. "It looks great when it works, but when it doesn't..." a San Francisco scribe jested. Chandler grinned back and replied, "Might as well pack your bags." Don, who had embroidered his performance by kicking two field goals and booming a pair of towering kickoffs behind the end line, had a surprise of his own before the press conference dispersed. "It's news to me," he said, shaking his head, when informed that his prodigious punt, which actually had traversed 113 yards from the point of impact. had erased the modern NFL mark of 88 yards, set by the Los Angeles Rams' Bob Waterfield against the Pack at old City Stadium in 1948. "I knew I hit it real good," Chandler admitted, "but I never thought it would go 90 yards." Humorist Henry Jordan, pausing his way out of the door, couldn't resist a parting shot. Referring to Chandler's impromptu canter, he cracked, "I still think you're getting too old for that stuff." A few doors down, Bart Starr was unusually exuberant, despite the fact his non-interception record had come to an end. "We won a big game today," he declared, "and our running game was going. That really makes me happy. Any time it does, in fact, it makes our whole team happy." He sobered quickly, however, when asked about a second quarter "disagreement" with the 49ers along the Green Bay sidelines. "I'd rather not discuss it," the gentlemanly field general said. And the record? "I never thought about it, really. This is a game you have to play with abandon. You can't play it cautiously, or you can hurt yourself and your team. That record should have been broken a long time ago," Starr concluded. "I've been awfully lucky." Mountainous Marv Fleming, whose third quarter stab in the San Francisco end zone staked the Pack to a 20-7 lead under rather inconvenient circumstances, explained, "I was turning in on that one. I slipped as I crossed the goal line - and I saw the ball at the same time. Who tackled me?" Marvelous Marv laughed and said, "It seemed like everybody did." The recipient of Starr's first touchdown strike in the opening quarter, fast rising Bob Long, reported, "I was leaning a little bit on that one - I knew it was real close to the sidelines and to the flag. It was a beautiful pass - Bart put it up there right where it had to be." He had, it appeared, had a stride of defender Jerry Mertens. Herb Adderley, dressing at the next locker, answered that one himself. "He has a stride on everybody he plays," Herb asserted. Another receiver, casualty Boyd Dowler, gingerly rubbed tonic into his hair and confessed, "My shoulder's pretty sore. I hurt it in the first half and came back in and I hurt it again. It happened when Dowdle (49er linebacker Mike) got hurt - the time that Bart ran the ball for a pretty good gain. I peeled back on Dowdle and we had a pretty decent collision. He went out, and I did, too." A previous leg injury hadn't bothered him? "I forgot about the ankle," Boyd said with an ironic smile, "pretty quickly."
HANK JORDAN IS A DANDY TACKLE
OCT 11 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - To slightly alter a onetime song hit, "T'was a Most Unusual Day" in Lambeau Field Sunday. Henry Jordan failed to make a single tackle. That's right, the Packers' All-Pro defensive tackle failed to make a tackle. But then tackling isn't everything a tackle is supposed to do, particularly when the enemy doesn't run at him to give him a chance to make a tackle. Confronted with these horse collar statistics, as carefully charted play by play, Jordan freely acknowledged after the game, "That's right, not a tackle. I could have played better, but you can play a good defense without getting a tackle." Explaining further, the genial (at least off the field) veteran pointed out, "They didn't run up the middle very much and that kind of surprised us. The scouting reports were that against Baltimore and Pittsburgh all they did was run up the middle." According to the chart, the 49ers ran only three plays anywhere near Jordan's position, outside of the five, from inside the Packer 10, three of those from the one. On all three from further out, Jordan appeared to be wedged to the outside, missing the tackle, but in reality, he was covering to the outside with the middle linebacker assigned to fill the gap between the tackles. Inside the 10, however, Henry did his share of jamming the center, which piled up three straight dives. What's the strategy in that situation? "You just get as low as you can and penetrate straight in as best you can," he said. Although he didn't get a tackle, Jordan almost came up with a very big play, managing to get one hand on San Francisco's Ken Willard in the 49er end zone during the second quarter, only to see him slip away from the possible safety. And, although frustrated in the tackle department, Jordan did manage to launch at least seven pretty fair attacks on passer John Brodie, forcing him to thrown a bit quicker, if not actually nailing him. It all contributed to Jordan's postgame observation that "the defense as a whole played pretty well, I thought." And so it did. It also left the charter highly impressed with his varied moves, even if they didn't add up to any impressive statistics on this particular day...HEAD ON CENTER: Jordan's biggest asset appears to be his quickness. Playing anywhere from almost head on center Bruce Bosley to the outside shoulder of guard John Thomas, Jordan made alternate use of his hands to straighten up and then ditch the blocker and his shoulder to simply bull him over. He also exhibited a fancy jig on occasion, faking one way and then darting, or sometimes looping, the other. The charter's observations also confirmed that a defensive tackle, even if not in the middle of the action, has more than a nodding acquaintance with the ground, meeting it on about 99 percent of the plays. The impressive part of Jordan's meeting with the turf, however, was his rubber-like ability to bounce back up and continue the pursuit. Tackles or no tackles, this tackle is a dandy tackle.
'DETERMINATION' HIGHLIGHT: VINCE
OCT 12 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - It could be said today that the Packers put the foot to the 49ers at Lambeau Field Sunday. And we're not referring necessarily to Don Chandler's record-breaking 90-yard punt. The Packers ripped off 186 rushing yards, a high mark for the league season. And the total is two yards more than the Bays rushed for against the Colts (106) and Bears (78). Asked about the Pack's rushing, Coach Vince Lombardi remarked today that "we didn't do anything different than we did in the other games. It just worked better, that's all." Lombardi, looking at the game overall after viewing pictures Monday, said "we played a fine game offensively and defensively. And we had determination." He pointed out that "the extent of our determination was shown in the goal line stands." The Packers held the high-powered 49er rushers for zero yards in three cracks on the Bays' one-yard line early in the second quarter before John Brodie just gave up his ground game and flipped to Monte Stickles for the TD. In the fourth quarter, the 49ers had the ball on the Packer 16 and lost it on downs. They needed a yard on the Packer 7 and John David Crow and Gary Lewis were stopped cold on third and fourth downs. Lombardi said he thought one of the highlights was the fact that "we scored so quickly when we had to." This pointed up the Bays' determination on offense. Green Bay scored each time after the 49ers counted. The visitors tied the score 7-7 in the second quarter, but the Bays banged right back for Chandler's 18-yard field goal and a 10-7 lead. The 49ers counted their field goal late in the third quarter and the Pack zoomed back in four plays to add another TD and ice the game in the fourth period. Getting back to the "foot," the 49ers zipped for 29 yards in three of their first four plays. They finished with 103 yards on the ground for the day. Chandler's 27yard run off a punt was the Pack's first "rush" explosion, setting up Bart Starr's 23-yard TD pass to Bob Long. Starr got off the next large rush - a 14-yard run in the second quarter to set up Chandler's first field goal. Paul Hornung got off a 10-yard rush to help key the second TD - Starr's nine-yard pitch to Marv Fleming. Then, the Packers put the two longest jaunts of the day back to back. Tom Moore raced 52 yards with a kickoff (it doesn't count in the rush total) and on the first play from scrimmage Jim Taylor ran around left end, behind a good block by Fuzz Thurston, for 35 yards. Near the end, Elijah Pitts got off runs of 11 and 10 yards. The Packers finished with 5.7 yards per rush compared to the 49ers' 3.9. Unhappy with the verbal support accorded the Packers vs. the Bears a week ago, Lombardi was very pleased to note the change in the crowd's response Sunday, pointing out "we appreciate the great support we got from the fans. It had a great deal to do with our performance." The fans gave the Bays a hearty reception when they came out on the field. And when Starr moved the team to the scrimmage line for the first play, he waved his arms for a brief spell of quiet. When the 49ers moved up for their first offensive play, QB John Brodie apparently couldn't hear a thing and then regrouped his team while Ray Nitschke happily waves his arms for quiet. It was a wonderful display of fan backing - to say the least. The Packers came up with a few injuries Sunday, Boyd Dowler, Forrest Gregg and Nitschke, but Lombardi said it's too early to determine his availability for next Sunday's assignment - the Lions in Detroit.
SUNDAY'S TWO RECORDS RECALL TWO BY WATERFIELD
OCT 12 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - There was a bit of drama, and some history repeating, at Lambeau Field Sunday. A year ago, Paul Hornung booted a once-in-a-lifetime 52-yard field goal after a free kick. It was the first time in pro grid history anybody had hit a three-pointer on the rare rule. Sunday, Don Chandler established a modern punting distance record with a gigantic 90-yard boot. And the first guy to reach Chandler and hug him - on the field - was Hornung. This was a heartwarming moment because it was former Giant Chandler, who relived Hornung of his placekicking chores. Actually, two league records were involved in Sunday's game - the punt and Bart Starr's interception mark. The situation was quite similar when Bob Waterfield of the Rams set the original punt distance record of 86 yards against the Packers at old City Stadium Oct. 17, 1948. Though not the same as Starr's, there also was an "interception" record set that day. Waterfield tied a league mark by having seven passes intercepted - a record that stood until 1950 when Jim Hardy of the Cardinals had eight stolen. Starr ran his string of pass attempts without interception to a record 293 when Jim Johnson intercepted in the second quarter. He was last intercepted in the third game of 1964 at Detroit. Chandler and Waterfield both had benefit of the wind, though the wind for Waterfield was estimated at about 25 miles per hour. Don had a 10-mile southwest breeze going. The wind was strong enough to make the Packers take their choices of the goal rather than receive after winning the coin toss. Waterfield had a third and 22 situation on his own 8-yard line when he pulled a quick kick, a maneuver that is virtually unheard of now. The ball landed on the Packers' 26 and rolled down to the 4. Ted Cook picked it up there and returned to the 17. Waterfield's boot sailed about 70 yards in the air. Chandlers' boot traveled 75 yards in the air - from his own goal line (the line of scrimmage was on the 10) to the opposite 75 and it kept rolling to a point about three yards behind the end line, making the actual distance 113 yards. Like an outfielder watching a home run, the intended receiver, Kermit Alexander, took a couple of looks at the sky-high spiral, ran back a bit and then relaxed. Kermit thought it was a good idea nobody was on the bases. Chandler's long boot boosted his average from 39.8 to 43.2. Waterfield finished eighth in the league in '48 with a 42.8 average. Incidentally, the Packers won that '48 game 16-0 and a highlight was the interception of seven passes and recovery of two fumbles. Cook intercepted two, and Tony Canadeo, Bob Forte, Gene Wilson, Bob Flowers and Irv Comp once each.
TEXAS TECH'S ANDERSON BIG THREAT AGAINST EVERY TEAM BUT TEXAS
OCT 12 (Lubbock, TX) - Out here in West Texas, football enthusiasts think Donny Anderson is the greatest thing since irrigation. Particularly irritating to West Texans, however, is the theory that Anderson, an All-American last season, is a terror against any team but Texas, which annually trounces the Red Raiders. Such was the case this year when the top-ranked Longhorns riddled Tech, 33-7, permitting Anderson a scant 15 yards on eight carries. "I told you do," chanted the disbelievers. "Not so," responded the faithful. Bill Holmes, the Tech publicist, explained that one must investigate further to get the true picture. He pointed out that it rained during the Texas game, that the Tech attack was funneled into the middle of the heavier Texas line, that three good Raider blockers were injured and that as Tech's heaviest back (210 pounds) Anderson was utilized for blocking...CAUGHT FIVE PASSES: Holmes reported also that the versatile senior "caught five passes for 39 yards, returned four kickoffs 77 yards and punted eight times for a 40-yard average with only 15 yards total return." And, perhaps as an afterthought, he noted that Anderson got 26 yards on a swing pass "and the Texas safety who was trampled underfoot was carried off the field." With that issue settled to his own satisfaction, Holmes could turn to more pleasant topics such as the Raiders' 28-24 verdict over Texas Christian Saturday. Anderson sped 54 yards for one touchdown, returned a kickoff 67 yards to arrange another, and took a 30-yard pass in a critical fourth period drive that produced the winning score. Overall, he compiled 105 yards rushing, 92 more on seven pass receptions, 92 on kickoff returns, and 14 on a punt return. Southwest Conference statistics attest to Anderson's versatility: No. 1 in pass receiving, No. 2 in kickoff returns, No. 5 in punting, No. 7 in rushing and tied for first in scoring. Anderson was the first draft choice of the Green Bay Packers in 1964.
PERSONALITY PARADE
OCT 12 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - If rules are made to be broken, as has been suggested, why make them in the first place? Or better yet, if nobody really cares if they are broken, why not change them? This is the question facing baseball these days in regard to the spitball. And the NFL might want to think about it as well. It apparently has become a common thing in major league baseball for pitchers to employ the spitter. And Braves Manager Bobby Bragan proved that nobody cared about it. In the World Series, the pitchers aren't even denying it (although they aren't admitting it, either) and the managers are "so what-ing" it. Now, to the NFL. Two instances appeared in the 49er game Sunday that border on this situation although technically. Very technically. The rules involved may not have been broken. In the first period, in full view of the entire stadium-load of fans, San Francisco's Elbert Kimbrough wielded a full right cross at the chin of Marv Fleming. The fact that he didn't connect, although he quite meant to connect, maybe saved him from being banished. At least that's the way it appears to us since the rule clearly reads: "All players are prohibited from (a) striking with fists; (b) kicking, etc., etc." It also says "Penalty - For fouls in (a), (b) and (c); Disqualification and loss of 15." It should be noted, however, that this is football, not boxing, and an even obvious attempt to strike another player with a fist should bring banishment from the game. There was really no excuse for letting Mr. Kimbrough get away with it. The other instance was on the Packers' side. The 49ers put up a big howl about intentional grounding when Bart Starr apparently tossed the ball away on first and 10 at the Frisco 44 in the second quarter. And Starr probably had every intention of doing just that since he was under heavy pressure. But the rule reads "it is not considered intentional incompletion of a forward pass if (2) The ball crosses the scrimmage line within a reasonable distance of any player." And there were several 49ers within what must be considered reasonable distance. Again, however, it was largely a technicality that saved a penalty on the Packers...REVIEWING THE WEEKEND: The forgotten man of this year's Packer team is, or maybe was is the better word, Fuzzy Thurston, but he turned in a great job Sunday and Line Coach Ray Wietecha had a special pat on the back for him when he came off after his block on Taylor's long run set up Hornung's touchdown.
RON KRAMER, GAIL COGDILL 'RETURN' FOR PACKER GAME
OCT 13 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Ron Kramer undoubtedly has taken over the Lions' camp this week. With some help from Gail Cogdill. These two players are expected to make their 1965 debut against the Packers in Tiger Stadium Sunday. And, oddly enough, these are the same gents whose names crossed paths last winter. Remember? Kramer didn't want to play in Green Bay anymore (can you imagine that?) and asked to be traded to his hometown team. Coach Vince Lombardi, wanting an all-pro for an all-pro, asked for Cogdill in return. Harry Gilmer, who had just taken over the club as head coach, was reluctant to part with Cogdill. The league finally stepped in and forced the Pack to take a first draft choice for R.K. The Lions started Kramer out at defensive end rather than create a problem at tight end, where the skilled Jim Gibbons holds forth. That didn't work and big Ron now backs up Gibbons, although both will play on short yardage situations. Meanwhile, Cogdill fractured his right kneecap in the final preseason game and missed the first four league games. However, the medics gave Gail the green light for Sunday and he likely will be in the starting lineup. What about Kramer for Sunday? "He's a cinch to see a lot of action against you," Lyall Smith, the Lions' new publicity chief, said Wednesday, adding: "Naturally, he wants to play against his old team and I'm sure he will get his chance. Ron had some bad ribs earlier in the season and really didn't work much, but Gilmer said just the other day that he has been moving and running well again. Ron caught his first pass as a Lion in the Colt game and it went for eight yards. Cogdill could have played against the Colts, but his knee was a little tender and they decided to wait." The Lions may be last in the league in offense, but the return of Cogdill and the presence of a souped-up Kramer could trigger a Lion scoring explosion. "We played only one
good offensive game this season and that was against the Vikings," Smith said. The Lions won that in the last few seconds on a pass from Milt Plum to Amos Marsh, 31-29. "We're a little mixed up today on what is offense and defense." The Associated Press Tuesday selected the Pack's kicking specialist, one Don Chandler, as its defensive player of the week. Though he didn't make a tackle, block a kick or recover a fumble. Chandler won the award, the AP said, with the favorite weapon of defensive-minded coaches - the punt. But one of those punts he didn't punt. That would be his 27-yard run off a punt that set up the Pack's first TD against the 49ers. The big punt, of course, was his record 90-yarder that stifled any final hopes the 49ers might have had in the fourth quarter. Told about his selection, Chandler remarked to the AP: "That's a new one. I can't remember making a tackle all season. I never quite figured out myself whether the punt was an offensive or defensive weapon." The Packer had more fun talking about Chandler's run (like a pitcher hitting a homer) than his punt: "Max McGee is a very witty person, as you may know," Chandler said. "He told me it was the only run in football history where television broke off for a minute commercial and came back for the finish of the play."
PERSONALITY PARADE
OCT 13 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - "I didn't get tired until that last punt of Chandler's (a record 90-yard detonation). We had just had the ball, of course. Then to have to cover the punt and run about 80 yards, it's pretty tough. Then you realize you're playing again." Voluble, barrel-chested Fuzzy Thurston wasn't complaining, it should be emphatically understood. He was merely discoursing upon the rigors of going full tilt for three quarters - as he was called upon to do in last Sunday's 27-10 Packer conquest of the bristling San Francisco 49ers - after viewing such proceedings from the obscurity of the bench, for the most part, for weeks on end. It was, for the record, his first protracted appearance in Packer livery since the season began back on Aug. 14 - admittedly an extended "vacation" for one with the chunky Menasha resident's acknowledged pride of performance and professional pedigree, including all-pro honors in both 1961 and 1962. Last Sunday's unscheduled assignment, occasioned when Forrest Gregg sustained a knee injury near the close of the first quarter, proved "a little difficult at first," Fuzzy imparted. "When you haven't been playing, it's hard. You can practice all year, but it's not quite like playing in a game." And how did he feel about his efforts? "I felt like I did an adequate job," was the forthright assignment. "Some things I did wrong, but I was happy with what I did in general, considering how long it's been since I played to any extent." "My timing," he added with pardonable satisfaction, "was pretty good, in fact, better than I anticipated it would be." Thurston, who had been a fixture at left guard from the time of his acquisition in '59 from the Baltimore Colts until midseason a year ago when he was felled by a shoulder injury, is in the dark about his chances of continued activity. "I hope I'll be able to play more, but I don't have any idea what the plans are. I just know I'm ready to play - I've had that attitude all along. Playing the kind of season we do, five exhibitions that are played just like league games, and then 14 league games, I knew the opportunity would come. That's why I hung in there." And "hung in there" is a singularly appropriate phrase. All along, the thickset Altoona, Wis., native has sparkled as a member of the platoons, hurling himself at enemy kickoff and punt returners to underscore his philosophy. Thurston is not, he candidly confided, overly optimistic about seeing steady employment. "I'd like to start, but it's pretty tough playing behind Forrest Gregg, who undoubtedly is as good an offensive lineman as there ever had been. That's one reason why I haven't been too upset," Fuzzy continued, "because Forrest is as fine a lineman as I've seen." He has never become discouraged over surrendering his starting status? Without hesitation, the offseason restauranteur replied, "Oh, no. The team is more important than I am. It probably would be pretty tough if we were losing, but as long as we're winning, I feel pretty good." But, always the competitor, Fuzzy is making no apologies for himself. If there has been any physical attrition, he is unaware of it. Now 30, the sturdy Menashan declared, "I feel I'm as good a football player as I've ever been - i not better. And I'm real happy - it's always nice to play."
CONTROL OF KARRAS KEY FOR PACKERS
OCT 14 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - They threw the game ball to John Unitas after the Colts walloped the Lions in Baltimore last Sunday. "Please...say they gave the ball to Alex Sandusky," pleaded the star quarterback, "he's the one who earned it. He kept Alex Karras off me." Said Sandusky, "While I know that our defensive line had a good day, I don't feel like I dominated or even controlled Karras. When you play against a guy like Karras you don't knock him down or drive him back - you just try to hold him off, keep him away from the passer. He's as quick as a cat and has a two-way move, meaning he can go to the inside or outside." Karras had an opinion, too: "The guy (Unitas) was brilliant, that's all. Even if I didn't have anybody to block me I don't think I could have gotten to him before he threw." Now the Karras scene shifts to Detroit where the Packers meet the Lions Sunday. And the above conversation reminds of a picture Bart Starr had in his recreation room. It is a blowup of about a half a dozen Lions draped all over Starr as he retreated to pass in the Thanksgiving Day classic in 1962 when the Lions ended the Packers' 10-game winning streak. Somebody added an inscription on that picture - just above the mass of football bodies. It was one word, "Fuzzy!" This merely points up the Lions' strong suit - their defensive front four of Darris McCord and Karras on the left side and Roger Brown and Sam Williams on the right. Karras and Brown are tackles, McCord and Williams the ends. Ringleader of the four is Karras, who, they say, is having his best year. The Lions call him their "250-pound mosquito" and after the Lions nipped the Redskins the Washington coach, Bill McPeak, said "he's the greatest tackle in football. Most defense linemen have one or two moves. He has at least three. He's just a tremendous football player." The aforementioned Fuzzy - one Fuzzy Thurston - won't be playing across from Karras. That duty will fall to Jerry Kramer and Dan Grimm, who shared the right guard (same as Sandusky) job last Sunday. Grimm, incidentally, started vs. the 49ers, but Kramer, sore ribs and all, saw some action. The left guards, Thurston and Forrest Gregg, who has a leg injury, face the 300-pound Brown. Bob Skoronski goes against Williams and Steve
Wright's foe will be the skilled McCord. Karras is making a big comeback this year and that also goes for our Paul Hornung. These two sat out 1963 with the suspension. A groin injury ruined Karras' efficiency last year, while Hornung was plagued with a shoulder injury - plus the kicking problems. Detroit's defensive line has been hard on passers. The unit, which rarely has the help of the blitz due to its singular strength, threw the passer 16 times for losses totaling 129 yards. Only one team did better - the Colts with 17 for 155. The Lions blitzed (their linebackers) some against Baltimore, but, oddly enough, this at times cuts down on the mobility of Karras and Brown. The Lions have allowed the fewest first downs in the four games to date - 52, and have made the most interceptions - 12. Lion Coach Harry Gilmer announced in Detroit today that Ron Kramer, the Packers' former tight end, will make his first start as a Lion Sunday. He will replace Jim Gibbons and Gilmer added that "Gibbons has been dropping passes lately."
GREEN BAY FOES SHOW RESPECT FOR DOUG HART
OCT 14 (Green Bay) - Green Bay's Doug Hart may be a new boy on the block but NFL's tough guys respect his turf. "I had expected to be worked over pretty good," said the lean cornerback, "but for some reason they just haven't been throwing my way very often." The 190-pound Hart, who saw little action last season behind the veteran Jess Whittenton, has become a secure member of one of the NFL's top defensive backfields. Whittenton's retirement left Hart and Bob Jeter fighting to succeed him, but Jeter was injured in preseason play and Hart has held the job ever since...STUDY OF SUCCESS: His climb to right cornerback on the league's only undefeated team could be a case study of football success without publicity. The NFL draft of 1962 ignored him. "I guess nobody ever heart of Arlington (Tex.) State," explains Hart. Signed as a free agent with St. Louis for the 1963 season, the Cardinals cut him. Hart returned briefly to his home at Arlington, right outside Dallas. The Packers were playing an exhibition game against the Cowboys and they picked Hart up on waivers. He returned to Green Bay with the club to spend the entire 1963 season on the Packers' taxi squad. He recalls it as the most anguishing experience he's ever had. Hart was the only member of that group to make it to the parent squad...WAS APPREHENSIVE: "You could say I was apprehensive that year. I saw all those fast guys and wondered if I could keep up. I never thought of quitting, though." In his four league starts this season, Hart's presence has been notable because of the absence of mistakes. His quick moves, sure speed and excellent coverage have made him at home with Herb Adderley, Willie Wood and Tom Brown. Opposing clubs have sent some pretty fair pass catchers into his territory, but Hart's bad manners have discouraged their overtures and there has been no concentration in his zone.
GREGG LOST TO PACK FOR DETROIT INVASION
OCT 15 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers are better off in the offensive line than they were a year ago. Despite the loss of Forrest Gregg for the showdown in Detroit Sunday. Not that Gregg won't be missed (banish the implication, folks), but just hark back to '64 for a moment. Jerry Kramer was lost early, due to his illness, and then Fuzzy Thurston developed a nasty shoulder problem. Coach Vince Lombardi then had to make changes that affected all five position. Center Bob Skoronski went to left tackle, Norm Masters went from left to right tackle, Gregg went from right tackle to right guard, Dan Grimm moved in at left guard and then-rookie Ken Bowman took over center. Today, the situation isn't as complicated or upsetting following announcement by Lombardi that Gregg is out of the Lion match with a leg injury. Thurston, who came off the bench to make a strong comeback against the 49ers last Sunday, will move into left guard - a new position for Gregg, by the way - and the rest of the line will remain the same, with Jerry Kramer or Dan Grimm at right guard, Steve Wright and Skoronski at the tackles and Bowman at center. Versatility has always been a keynote of Packer offensive lines and this was evidenced smack in the middle of a touchdown drive in the opening game in Pittsburgh this season. Skoronski was hurt and, zing, Thurston went in at left guard. Wright moved from right to Skoronski's spot at left tackle, Gregg moved from left guard to right tackle and Kramer and Bowman stayed put. Lombardi also announced that Ray Nitschke and Boyd Dowler are in the "doubtful" category for Sunday due to injuries...CURRY FIFTH LBER: If Nitschke is held out, Lee Roy Caffey would go into the middle linebacking spot and Tommy Crutcher would go into Caffey's right linebacking position, while Dave Robinson would remain at left linebacker The fifth linebacker is Bill Curry, who also backs up Bowman at center. Dowler has a shoulder injury - and he had it last Sunday, but you never would have guessed it. On the Packers' first touchdown drive, Dowler caught a short pass from Bart Starr and he had a sure five yards. But he put that sore shoulder down and ran smack into a defender and came up with an eight-yard gain. Jim Taylor was held to three yards on the next play and the Bays had a first down but it might have been third and three if Dowler hadn't lowered the shoulder. Later in the game, Dowler finished 49er linebacker Mike Dowdle (6-3, 248) for the day - and for four weeks - with a jarring block. The raw-boned pass catcher laughed after the game, "Maybe I'm stupid, with my shoulder, but that's the only way you can play the game." While the possible loss of Dowler is damaging enough, the blow is softened by the return of Max McGee, another shoulder case, who is ready to go. McGee would go to his old spot at left end, while Bob Long handles the flanker spot. The Packers tapered off a spirited week of practices today with a light drill. They'll fly to Detroit at 11:45 Saturday morning in a United Airlines charter and then practice in Tiger Stadium in the afternoon. This is the first time the Packers have worked out on the Motor City in years - since before the 13-year Thanksgiving stand. Last year's game was on a Monday night. In fact, this will be the Pack's first Sunday game in Detroit since 1950.
LIONS' STUDSTILL NFL'S TOP PUNTER
OCT 16 (Detroit-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - With all the excitement this week over Don Chandler's record 90-yard punt, the Lions' little punter, Pat Studstill, has been virtually overlooked. Studstill's middle name ought to be Punt. Several years ago, he blocked two punts by Boyd Dowler and had the cleat marks on his chest to show for one of them. Later, he won the league punt return championship. Pat presently is leading the league with his 46-yard punting average. Chandler has raised his from 39 to slightly over 43, and he expects to add to that when the Packers and Lions clash in Tiger Stadium Sunday. No athlete has ever led the league in punting and punt returning during a career, but Studstill could be the first. What's more he led the league in kickoff returns last year. He'll bear watching despite his size, 5-11 and 175 pounds. The Lions' chief ball carriers are Joe Don Looney and Nick Pietrosante, who picked up 253 yards between them for a three-yard average. Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung have rushed for 306 yards and are averaging nearly four yards per carry. Boyd Dowler and Terry Barr are just about one-two in receiving. Dowler leads with 15 for 203 yards, while Barr, who plays flanker, caught 14 for 204. Milt Plum, the Lions' leading passer who has a sore knee,
has been intercepted nine times, while Bart Starr has yielded only one. Each has thrown five TD passes. Gail Cogdill, the Lions' leading receiver in 1964, will be making his first start Sunday since injuring his knee in the final preseason game at Canton, O. "I not only want to play, I have to play. My mother has never seen me in a game since I left college in '59. She will be here Sunday before she leaves the country to live in Germany for three years. I'd like to catch a couple of passes as a going-away present for her," Cogdill said. Starr has pitched against Detroit in 18 games in his 10-year career and came up with 189 completions in 337 passes for 2,428 yards and five touchdowns. The Lions have intercepted 14 of his passes. Plum worked against Green Bay six times, the last five since he came here from Cleveland. His record vs. the Pack is 64 completions in 132 attempts for 746 yards, six TDs, and eight interception.
PACKERS' DEPTH TO GET TEST IN LION CONTEST
OCT 16 (Detroit) - The Green Bay Packers' vaunted depth may be in for another test Sunday as the Packers, with one regular out and two others doubtful starters, risk their undefeated status against the defensive-minded Detroit Lions. Guard Forrest Gregg, who has started in all 84 Packer games since Vince Lombardi became coach in 1959, will definitely be sidelines because of a leg injury suffered last Sunday against San Francisco. Middle linebacker Ray Nitschke and end Boyd Dowler are both on the doubtful list. Nitschke suffered an ankle injury and Dowler hurt his shoulder against the 49ers...LIONS HEALTHY: Should Nitschke be unable to play, Lombardi would probably use Tommy Crutcher in Lee Roy Caffey's linebacking spot and bring Caffey into the middle. Veterans Max McGee and Bill Anderson could spell Dowler. The Lions, who dropped their first game a week ago to the Baltimore Colts, should be healthy for the Packers. Gail Cogdill, out of action since splintering a kneecap in the Lions' final preseason game, is expected to make his first appearance of the campaign at split end. At tight end, the Packers will have to contend with Ron Kramer, their long-time teammate who signed with Detroit after playing out his option in Green Bay...PLUM TO PLAY: Quarterback Milt Plum, who sprained his ankle against the Colts, is expected to play. Waiting in the wings should Plum falter is George Izo, who completed two of five passes in his Detroit debut last Sunday. Statistically, the Packers have the edge on the Lions, picking up 66 first downs to Detroit' 56, rushing for 504 yards to the Lions' 343, and passing for 672 to the Lions' 478. The Lions, rated as perhaps the strongest team defensively in the NFL, having yielded more points than Green Bay, 70 to 50. However, Detroit has been stingier with first downs, 68 to 52, and with yards gained overall, 1,194 to 964.
SURLY LIONS BAR PACK'S PATH
OCT 17 (Detroit-Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Packers and Lions are both teed off. This afternoon's clash in Tiger Stadium could be a real blood bath. The Lions can send the Western Division lead into a three-way tie if they beat Green Bay, assuming the Colts keep rolling against the Redskins. The Packers can drop the dangerous Lions two games off the pace by wining. Kickoff is set for 1:35 (WJPG and WBAY-TV) and the join will be loaded with close to 55,000 Lion fans - plus a few scattered Packer Backes. But what's this about blood? The Lions are boiling over a midweek, full-go scrimmage their new coach, Harry Gilmer, called in an effort to see why his team isn't scoring. Halfback Tom Watkins and end Pat Studstill got into a fist fight. Mike Lucci was named to start in place of Ernie Clark and Ernie got into a heated discussion with the coach. Gilmer also picked Ron Kramer to open in place of Jim Gibbons, who, Gilmer said, was dropping too many passes. The Lions were fresh from a lathering by the Colts. Gilmer pulled the scrimmage chiefly to get his offensive linemen "to fire out and hit somebody, hit 'em quick and low." All wasn't peaceful in the Packer camp either. Despite the fine win over the 49ers. Coach Vince Lombardi, a master at getting a team ready, had the needle out early. He frequently praised play here and there, but he demanded perfection and that left little room for "happiness" among the players. Lombardi ended Friday's drill abruptly with a sharp "talking to" on the field. The players slowly walked off the field. They were thinking - of the job ahead. The Packers could be walking into a real Lions' den and Vince just wants to make sure they're in full battle dress. At the moment, today's game shapes up as a fierce battle between the Lions' always-murder defense and the Packers' skillful offense. The Bay scoring unit has two injured and one won't play at all - guard Forrest Gregg, whose spot will be filled by Fuzzy Thurston. The other offensive hurtee is Boyd Dowler, the pass catcher who won't play unless his sore shoulder comes around. The rest of the offensive guns are ready and the major job will be keeping Bart Starr's uniform clean in the face of Detroit's defense, led by Alex Karras and Joe Schmidt. Detroit was vulnerable a week ago to John Unitas' passing and Starr likely will test his wing early. But Bart likes to balance things off and a good deal of Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung will be seen. One of the mysteries of the season has been Detroit's offense, and, of course, Gilmer is looking for something of an explosion - what with the scrimmage and personnel switches. Quarterback Milt Plum came out of the Colt game with a sore knee, but he is supposed to be ready. Backing him up is George Izo, the former Redskin and Giant. Kramer is sure to kick up a storm since this will be his first start
against his former teammates. He's a tremendous blocker and can make the big catch - as all good Packer fans know. Ray Nitschke, the Pack's ace middle linebacker, isn't likely to play and the Lions are sure to exploit his successor, Lee Roy Caffey, and the man who will fill Caffey's right linebacking shoes, Tommy Crutcher. The Packers will have to keep a special eye on two new Lions - Wayne Rasmussen, a sophomore defensive back who intercepted his fourth pass (on Unitas, yet) last Sunday, and Joe Don Looney, the powerful rusher who prepared last week by wearing lead weights on his shoes. This will be the 64th game between the Packers and Lions, and it ranks second only to the Bear-Packer series in longevity - and ferocity. Today's game could be the fiercest.
