GLAD IT'S OVER - TIRED OF MENTAL PRESSURE: PITTS

JAN 17 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Cherubic Elijah Pitts dropped heavily into his seat on the Packers' chartered plane at Los Angeles International Airport Monday morning and happily announced, "I'm glad it's all over...I'm tired of all that mental pressure." A heartfelt observation, it climaxed a heartwarming, Hollywood type success story, one which saw the chunky, 27-year-old alumnus of tiny Philander Smith College vault from third string status to NFL stardom in the short space of three months, an arrival capped by his two-touchdown performance in Sunday's Super Bowl decimation of the Kansas City Chiefs. Pitts, who suddenly became Jim Taylor's running mate following the departure of Tom Moore for Los Angeles and an injury to incumbent left halfback Paul Hornung in the Packers' 17-0 decision over the Bears at Chicago Oct. 16. pointed out. "When you've been sitting on the bench for five years, you're not sure you can do it." "The first few times I got on (a touchdown)," he added earnestly, "I thought I was lucky, Then, after a while," Elijah chuckled, "I thought, 'I'm not lucky, I'm good.' I don't mean it the wat it sounds," he was quick to append. "What I mean is, I then knew I could do the job - had the confidence. That confidence is important. And Paul (Hornung) helped me to get it. Every time I came off the field, he'd talk to me, tell me things I could do." Elijah, who added luster to a personally memorable 1966 season by forging the Pack's third and fifth touchdowns in a 35-10 triumph, was still shaking his head in wonder over that first visit to paydirt. "Nobody touched me," he said. "Our guys blocked like cray - they really blew 'em out of there. It looked like a trick. On the second one, all the holes were closed and I went to the outside. Our offense is designed that way - you have to do a lot of looking."...Although the Chiefs' voluble showboat, Fred Williamson, made much of his intent to "drop the hammer" upon Boyd Dowler, the Packer flanker exited early in the first quarter for a vastly different reason. "I blocked Johnny Robinson," Dowler confessed, added wryly, "I got into him pretty good. It must have been a mistake."...Center Ken Bowman, called upon in the second quarter after starter Bill Curry suffered an ankle injury, was not entirely happy with his efforts. "It's just like anything else," he observed. "Like a gate - if you don't use it, it gets rusty. It took me a quarter and a half to adjust. After I adjusted, I didn't think I did too badly." "I've got a lot of things to do in the offseason - I can see that," Bowman added. "I've got to practice, and get quicker."...Max McGee, congratulated from every side for his masterful pinch hitting performance, did not forget the man he replaced. "Boydie (Dowler) would have done the same thing," he was quick to inform all within earshot, "if he'd played."...Inevitably, Jim Taylor's 1967 plans came up for postgame discussion. The Bayou Bronco, it frequently has been rumored, will not be in a Packer uniform next season, but he declined to confirm or deny the report. "I have nothing to say about that," he told newsmen with an enigmatic smile. "I have some time to think about it."...How did the Packers assess the Chiefs' much heralded Otis Taylor? Herb Adderley, who was in an excellent position to judge, said, "I was impressed. He has good speed, good hands, good moves. He could play in our league without doubt."...Bob Skoronski, the Pack's articulate offense captain, paid sincere tribute to the vanquished. "They have a fine football team," he said. "They're aggressive and hustlers. All they need is experience." Turning to the element of victory, he concluded, "I think the other guys in the league, ones we saw around here while we were getting ready for the game, got us up as much as anything."...Bob Brown, the Packers' awesome right tackle, proved himself a highly versatile citizen. Brown, rapidly gaining stature throughout the NFL, filled in at all four positions in the defensive line - with distinction. Surprisingly, the giant (6-5 and 260) freshman didn't find the challenge unsettling. "No, I wasn't nervous," he confided aboard the Packers' Green Bay bound charter. "It was just another game, I thought. It was a big game, but I wasn't shook up at all. It was another ball game, and I had a job to do." Brown, who began to see heavy action in the third quarter, came within inches of his first major league interception when he batted a Len Dawson pass to the ground. "I really should have intercepted it," Bob confessed, then pointed out, "the ball is right on you before you realize it. Perhaps if I had it to do over again, I would have intercepted it."...The press credential issue for the Super Bowl soared to a final 1,063, an all-time record for a one-day professional sports event in the United States. It eclipsed by 223 the number of credentials given out for the NFL title game in Dallas two weeks earlier...Marv Fleming, who again demonstrated he must be ranked among the NFL's premier tight ends, found that the Chiefs "cover differently than NFL defenses do. They're rough and aggressive but I seemed to have more mobility than I do when we're playing in our league. I don't know if that's because I don't catch as many passes as some of the others or what, but they seemed to cover me more loosely."...Many familiar, former Green Bay area faces were in evidence during the weekend. Among them were Bob Mondard, Green Bay East basketball immortal who now lives in San Diego, and Nap Van Sistine, onetime West De Pere cage coach who proudly announced he hasn't missed a Packer appearance in Los Angeles since he moved here 21 years ago...Football was not the only weekend diversion for all Packerphiles. Two of them, Jack Koeppler and Dr. Eugene Brusky, hied themselves to the links Saturday for an 18-hole tour of the Los Angeles club. "What a track," Koeppler later enthused. He was happy to settle for an 85, reporting, "I was satisfied, considering I hadn't played since Labor Day."

PACKERS PLAYED FOR 'HISTORY OF LEAGUE'

JAN 18 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - The Super Bowl was a different kind of game...unlike any the Packers ever did or ever will play. It was still football, mind you, but the impact and-or the meaning was beyond the ordinary league game or even the annual NFL championship game. Doug Hart, who joined with teammates Ron Kostelnik and Bob Long at the weekly luncheon of the Mike and Pen Club Tuesday noon at the Beaumont Inn, explained it this way: "This game wasn't so much ourselves as it was for the 520 other players in the NFL. You had the whole history of the league, Johnny Blood and all the buys who built up the league...it was all at stake. We had all these things on our mind and as a result we might have been a little tight emotionally." The three players agreed that "you have got to have emotion, but you can't be over-emotional. Then you will make mistakes." Kostelnick felt that "this might have been our trouble in the first half." The Chiefs played the Packers virtually even in the first half, which ended 14-10, Green Bay. The Packers dominated the second half, 21-0...'PLANTING OUR FEET': At one point in the second quarter, Defense Coach Phil Bengtson gathered around the defensers on the bench and "told us to start doing the fundamental things, like planting our feet right when we make a tackle," Hart said. Coach Vince Lombardi made no special plea between halves, said Hart, explaining: "He rarely does. It had to do with the strategy of the game and how we were playing." The defensive back recalled that "the only time he said anything unusual (other than the business of the game) between halves was in Detroit, when we were behind 21-3. He said, 'Let's go out and play so that when you come back you can be proud of the way you played.'" The Packers scored 28 points in the second half to win 31-21. After the Super Bowl victory, Lombardi "told us that we have a lot to be thankful for and that he was proud of us." The players felt that "we went into the game feeling we could win but before the half we realized that we had a tough ball game on our hands." The discussion got around to the large number of play passes (when the quarterback fakes off to a back before sliding back to pass) and Kostelnik said, "I've never seen any team use that many in a National League game. But in the second half we knew that they had to pass and we threw some blitzes at him (quarterback Len Dawson)." Hart said "there was somebody free all the time for a pass and we even noticed that same thing was true in their game against Buffalo. Only Red Kemp (Buffalo quarterback) couldn't find them."...'BREAK EVEN' CLUB: The consensus was that Chiefs would be a "break even" club in the NFL. Long said, "They would have to alter their thinking in our league." The Chiefs' most successful pass was the quick slant-in from the right or left side by Otis Taylor or Chris Burford. If anything, the Packers "gave" the Chiefs this type of short gainer, which, Hart said, "had been used a lot by Detroit during the season." The slant-in was popularized by the Colts in their 1958-59 championship seasons, with John Unitas throwing to Lenny Moore and Raymond Berry. The three guests were asked what they planned to do with their championship money (over $23,000 for two games)...Hart just smiled. Kostelnik said, "The bank is only down the street from where I live," and Long said he's planning to open some Pizza Huts starting in Oshkosh. "I might even call them Flakey's Pizza Huts," said the fleet end, who answers to the name Flakey.

BOB LONG DECLARES HE'S LEARNIING ABOUT PATIENCE FROM PITTS

JAN 18 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Most of the Super Packers, aside from the eight currently exercising with the West Pro Bowl squad in Los Angeles, are content for the moment to revel in last Sunday's history making conquest of the chastened Kansas City Chiefs. All, perhaps except Bob Long, the lanky greyhound who aspires to be the world's greatest flanker - and has the assets to achieve that lofty eminence. "I'm eager," the ex-University of Wichita basketball luminary, presently at leisure in his Green Bay apartment, confesses, "I'm looking forward to next year." "It's been a long season - in fact, it's been an extra long one for me," Long admitted. "As a matter of fact, it's been almost like two seasons - the first one before my knee was operated on, and the second one from that point until now." "But I'm eagerly looking forward to next year already," he declared with infectious enthusiasm. then explained, "I don't know quite how to put this - I don't want to say this season has been disappointing...It isn't disappointing, it couldn't be - it's been a most fantastic year for the team as a whole." The personable Vandergrift, Pa., native paused, before adding, "I guess what I'm trying to say is that, personally, the seasons wasn't quite what I expected and hoped it would be. Way back in July, when I came to training camp, I had set my sights high and again, personally, I was real disappointed in what happened. The biggest disappointment was that it went on so long." Bob had unhappy reference to the knee injury, which struck late in July and plagued him until he went under the knife at the end of September. Elaborating on this point, he noted, "The first two years up here, I learned. Then last year, I started five or six games and had pretty good luck. So it looked like this might be a good year for me. And it really did look that way - until I got hurt." Long, a mercurial citizen who ran freely during spot appearances in Super Sunday's spectacular, continued, "I was really down in the dumps for a long time, trying to get that thing worked out." "One of the biggest satisfactions is that I did come back. I don't know how many there have been, but this has been a season for knee injuries. Johnny Morris of the Bears, who had the same operation a week before I did, didn't play the rest of the year, for example. I remember particularly the date of his operation because, shortly after I had mine, I saw a picture in the paper of Morris working out with weights to strengthen his leg. I cut it out and put it up in my locker to remind me to do the same thing."...'BETTER AND BETTER': "I saw Morris out in Los Angeles last week," the 24-year-old Pennsylvanian chuckled, "and he told me the Bear coaches and players have been giving him a bad time. He said they told him, 'Bob Long's playing - how come you're not?'" Bob, who was back on active duty only five weeks after surgery, now is happy to report, "The leg's coming back better and better all time." Explaining, "that kind of thing is hard to bounce back from, particularly for a flanker, because you have trouble making those sharp cuts. And I started getting a little fluid on the knee, since the operation, because of running on the hard ground in practice here. What saved me was that, when we went out to play Baltimore, we had soft ground to practice and play on. Also Los Angeles for our last regular season game and in Dallas. Even in Tulsa, when we worked out for the NFL title game, it was soft and again, of course, this last week in California. So, for the last three or four weeks, the leg has been close to perfect."...PITTS GIVES INSPIRATION: Again reflecting upon his 1966 tribulations, he volunteered, "I think one of the things that keep you going is a guy like Elijah Pitts. He's one of the greatest halfbacks around, and he had to be patient." Long, a basketball headliner who had played only seven games of collegiate football before being signed to a Packer pact, says with characteristic fervor, "One of the biggest thrills of my life has been to play with this club. So many guys have helped me. These injuries get you down mentally, and an awful lot of guys did a lot to help me. They had had injuries before, and I hadn't ever had one." "I also definitely have to give some of the credit to Coach Lombardi. Admittedly, he's a tough man, but he got on me enough that it made me come back. Possibly on a different team or under a different coach, had they used a different psychology, I might not have come back at all this season. The coach and the entire organization make you want to come back."...'A GREAT BANK': "As it turned out," Bob laughed, in obvious reference to the $23,500 payoff per player for the winning share of those two title games, "it was a great break for me." Long, who recently has been living in Wichita, has decided to go "all the way" and make Green Bay his home. "In fact," he confided, "I think I'm going to buy Bob Skoronski's house - he's moving to Wausau. I'm looking forward to playing on the Packer basketball team the rest of the winter. I don't have anything definite on a job but I'm looking into something right now." The fleet-footed flanker, who observed "these two championships kind of make up for my not having had the kind of year I hoped to have," reported he had informally predicted the title triumphs. "Back in training camp, I printed 'World Champions' on the cover of my personal notebook - one in which I keep notes on pass patterns we beat defensive backs with and so forth - and it kinds of worked out that way."

DON MURPHY PROUD OF PACKER VICTORY

JAN 19 (Green Bay Press-Gazette) - Don Murphy, the Green Bayite who loaned Curly Lambeau $250 to buy a football franchise for Green Bay more than 40 years ago, watched the Packers beat the Chiefs via television at his home in St. Petersburg, Fla., and noted: "Things sure have changed...now everybody has a chance to play. It's really a marvelous thing." Murphy, who will turn 71 on Feb. 10, said he was "most impressed by Bart Starr. He knew when the call the right play." The former owner was so proud, according to Bill Buchalter of the St. Petersburg Times, that he had trouble expressing his satisfaction about the victory, preferring to punctuate questions with "yes, sir" and "yes, I do." But Mrs. Murphy told it best: "They'll be no living with him for a while. His chest is as wide as Central Avenue." Murphy went to Canton, O., with $250 of his money to buy the franchise in the newly-formed National Professional Football League. "We had some argument with George Halas over the size of Green Bay, but we got it anyway," reminisced Murphy. Murphy retired from the lumber business in Green Bay 17 years ago and moved to St. Petersburg...Scores of wires of congratulations have been received by the Packers and Coach Vince Lombardi...all saluting the Bays for winning the world title. One of them was from Grace Garland Lambeau, former wife of Curly, who wrote: "Had Curly been here he would have been very proud of the Green Bay Packers and their great coach, Vince Lombardi." Another wire came from Colts' Corrals, the Baltimore organization which raised so much havoc over "that" field goal in the sudden death playoff a year ago. The Colt fans were pleased with Green Bay's victory over Kansas City. Among others who sent wires were Art Rooney of the Steelers; Stormy Bidwell of the Cardinal; George Sauer of the Jets and a onetime Packer; Lou Spadia of the 49ers; Carroll Rosenbloom of the Colts; Walter Kennedy, president of the NBA; Johnson Spink, publisher of the Sporting News; Col. Frank Kerritt, athletic director of Air Force Academy; Rep. John Byrnes; and Blanton Collier of the Browns...Peace and quiet has settled over the famous building at 1265 Highland Ave...well, not exactly. The athletes have departed, of course, but the big crush now is mail. Chuck Lane, publicity director, said "we've been getting 500 letters a day from fans all over the country and we're answering all of them." Most of the fans request pictures of the players, some offer suggestions on "winning" football, and others congratulate the team. Lombardi was in the office Wednesday and spent part of the time viewing pictures of the Super Bowl victory...Today's congrats go to Paul Hornung, the Packers' flamboyant halfback, who was married to Pat Roeder in Santa Monica Wednesday. The Packers' best-liked player took a lot of kidding about his bachelorhood during his career here and some of them were certain he'd never marry. But, presto, the knot has been tied. Not playing in the Super Bowl (he was the only players of the 80 eligibles who did not play) had to be a disappointment for Hornung. "He (coach Lombardi) asked me if I wanted to go in...but the score was 35 to 10," Hornung said in the dressing room after the game.

LOMBARDI HAS 'NEW WRINKLE' EVERY WEEK

JAN 21 (Little Rock, AR) - Elijah Pitts, star halfback for the Green Bay Packers, said Friday Packer coach Vince Lombardi has a "new wrinkle" each week when he is preparing his team for a ball game. "I've seen other coaches who you could anticipate what they were going to say," Pitts said, "but Vince is different. If he doesn't let you out of the dressing room when he gets through with his pep talk, you're ready to go through the walls." Pitts arrived in Little Rock Friday. The mayors of Little Rock and North Little Rock proclaimed Saturday as "Elijah Pitts Day" with a parade and other events scheduled. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound Pitts, who got his chance at starting halfback this year when Paul Hornung suffered a pinched nerve in his neck, said Lombardi doesn't say much at halftime when he feels the Packers are giving a good effort. "He never said a thing at the half of the Kansas City game," Pitts said. "The worse he ever got on us was a couple of years ago when we were ahead by two or three touchdowns." "If we are behind but playing good, he won't say much," he added. Pitts considers Lombardi a perfectionist and says Lombardi's ability to transmit this quality to the team has been extremely important. Pitts scored two touchdowns against Kansas City when the Packers captured a 35-10 victory in the Super Bowl. He also scored two touchdowns in the NFL championship game against Dallas.