NFL Championship Game, 1960
Encyclopedia
The 1960
1960 NFL season
The 1960 NFL season was the 41st regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, Pete Rozelle was elected NFL commissioner as a compromise choice on the twenty-third ballot. Meanwhile, the league expanded to 13 teams with the addition of the Dallas Cowboys. Also, the Cardinals...

 National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 championship game
was the 28th NFL title game. The game was played on Monday, December 26, 1960 at Franklin Field
Franklin Field
Franklin Field is the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, field hockey, lacrosse, sprint football, and track and field . It is also used by Penn students for recreation, and for intramural and club sports, including touch football and cricket, and is the site of Penn's graduation...

 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

.

In addition to the 1958 NFL Championship Game, in which the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 in sudden death overtime, the 1960 game has also been called a key event in football history. The game marked the lone playoff defeat for Packers coach Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...

 before his Packers team established a dynasty that went on to win five NFL championships, including both the inaugural Super Bowl
Super Bowl I
The First AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later known as Super Bowl I and referred to in some contemporary reports as the Supergame, was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.The National Football League ...

 and Super Bowl II
Super Bowl II
The second AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later to be known as Super Bowl II, was played on January 14, 1968 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida....

, in a span of seven years. The American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

 was playing its first season and would hold its inaugural title game
1960 American Football League Championship Game
The 1960 American Football League Championship Game was the first AFL title game. The game was played on New Year's Day 1961 at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston, Texas.-Background:...

 less than a week later. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle
Pete Rozelle
Alvin Ray "Pete" Rozelle was the commissioner of the National Football League from January 1960 to November 1989, when he retired from office. Rozelle is credited with making the NFL into one of the most successful sports leagues in the world....

 convinced owners to move the league's headquarters from Philadelphia to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

, and with Congressional passage of the Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961
Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961
The Sports Broadcasting Act of 1961 affects Title 15 of the United States Code, Chapter 32 "Telecasting of Professional Sports Contest" -Overview:...

 received an antitrust exemption that allowed the league to negotiate a common broadcasting network representing all of its teams, helping cement football's ascendancy as a national sport.

Background

The game matched the Eastern Conference champion Philadelphia Eagles
Philadelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

 (10-2), who were making their first appearance in a championship game since 1949, against the Western Conference champion Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

 (8-4) who were making their first appearance since 1944. Due to the lack of lights at Franklin Field, the scheduled kick off time was set for 12 p.m. EST because the league was concerned about the possibility of sudden death overtime, as had occurred at the 1958 NFL Championship Game. The game was played on a Monday, as the NFL did not want to play on Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...

.

The Green Bay team came into the game with a record of eight wins and four losses, coached by future Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...

r Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...

, finishing in first place in the Western Conference ahead of the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

 and San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...

 who had tied for second place with identical records of seven wins and five losses. The much-feared Baltimore Colts led by quarterback Johnny Unitas
Johnny Unitas
John Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...

, had stumbled to fourth place and a record of six wins and six losses. Green Bay had won six league championships before, most recently in 1944, but the intervening years saw a decline with the team winning only one game in the 1958 season.

At the time, Lombardi was better known as having been an assistant coach for the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. He had received his first opportunity as a head coach when he was hired by the Packers in the 1959 season leading the team to a record of seven wins and five losses. On the field, the Packers were led by quarterback Bart Starr
Bart Starr
Bryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr is a former professional American football player and coach. Wearing #15, he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971 and head coach from 1975 to 1983, compiling a record of 52–76–3 ....

, another future Hall of Famer, who was then lightly regarded, having thrown eight interceptions to go with his four touchdown passes in the 1960 season. Starr had shared the quarterbacking responsibilities with Lamar McHan
Lamar McHan
Clarence Lamar McHan was a professional American football quarterback in the National Football League. McHan played football collegiately at the University of Arkansas. He was ninth in the 1953 Heisman Trophy balloting.McHan played for the Green Bay Packers from 1959-1960...

, who won all four of the games he started, while Starr had four losses to go together with his four wins. In his four previous seasons in the league Starr had more interceptions than touchdowns in each season and he finished the 1960 season having passed for 1,358 yards, completing 98 of 172 passes for a completion percentage of 57.0. Other names that would shine during the dynasty the Packers built during the 1960s, such as halfback
Halfback (American football)
A halfback, sometimes referred to as a tailback, is an offensive position in American football, which lines up in the backfield and generally is responsible for carrying the ball on run plays. Historically, from the 1870s through the 1950s, the halfback position was both an offensive and defensive...

 / placekicker
Placekicker
Placekicker, or simply kicker , is the title of the player in American and Canadian football who is responsible for the kicking duties of field goals, extra points...

 Paul Hornung
Paul Hornung
Paul Vernon Hornung is a retired Hall of Fame professional football player who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1957-66...

, linebacker Ray Nitschke
Ray Nitschke
Raymond Ernest "Ray" Nitschke was a professional football player who played his entire career as a middle linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the NFL. Wearing #66, he played fifteen seasons, from 1958-72....

 and fullback
Fullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...

 Jim Taylor, were also at early points in their playing careers. These three all would later be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The 1960 game represented a chance for Philadelphia to add to the two titles they had won in 1948 and 1949, but the team had declined to only two wins in 1958. Head coach Buck Shaw
Buck Shaw
Lawrence T. "Buck" Shaw was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach for Santa Clara University, the University of California, Berkeley, the San Francisco 49ers, the United States Air Force Academy, and the Philadelphia Eagles...

 was in his third season with the Eagles, and in what turned out to be his final year as a head coach, and had turned around the team from a 2-9-1 record in 1958 to seven wins in 1959 to a divisional championship and the league's best record in 1960. The Eagles were led on the field by quarterback Norm Van Brocklin
Norm Van Brocklin
Norman Mack "Norm" Van Brocklin , nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football player and coach. He was also a first rate punter in college and in the NFL...

, who was ranked second in the NFL with 2,471 passing yards and 24 passing touchdowns, behind Johnny Unitas of the Colts in both statistics, and was playing in his final game before he retired.

Game summary

A capacity crowd of 67,325 Philadelphia fans gathered at Franklin Field, then (as now) the home field of the University of Pennsylvania football team
Penn Quakers football
The Penn Quakers football team is the college football team at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA. The Penn Quakers have competed in the Ivy League since its inaugural season of 1956, and are currently a Division I Football Championship Subdivision member of the National...

, with 7,000 temporary seats having been added. The Philadelphia Eagles were major underdogs going into the Championship game. The game-time temperature was 48 degrees, creating difficult field conditions for both teams as the frozen playing surface thawed in spots leaving scattered puddles.


On the first play of the game, a lateral from Van Brocklin deflected off the hands of receiver Billy Ray Barnes
Billy Ray Barnes
William Ray Barnes is a former professional American football player and coach.-Early life:Barnes' sports career began at Landis High School were he was a three sport star and led his 1953 football team to an undefeated season.-College career:In the fall of 1953, Barnes enrolled at Wake Forest...

 and was intercepted by Bill Quinlan
Bill Quinlan
William David Quinlan is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League for the Cleveland Browns, Green Bay Packers, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions, and the Washington Redskins. He also played in the Canadian Football League for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats...

 of the Packers, giving Green Bay possession at the Philadelphia 14 yard line. After Jim Taylor gained five yards on first down, the Packers were unable to score, turning the ball over to Philadelphia at the six yard line. A fumble on the Eagles' third play after gaining possession by Bill Barnes was recovered by Bill Forester
Bill Forester
George William Forester was a professional American football linebacker in the National Football League. He played eleven seasons for the Green Bay Packers and was selected to four Pro Bowls...

 of Green Bay at the 22-yard line of Philadelphia. Two Paul Hornung rushes gave the Packers a first down at the 12 yard line, but two incomplete passes and another Hornung rush came up short. Lombardi elected to kick on fourth down, with Hornung connecting from 20 yards out and giving the Packers a 3–0 lead. Hornung kicked a second field goal in the opening minutes of the second quarter from 23 yards out, after a Packers drive stalled on the 17 yard line, putting Green Bay up by six points. On a pair of passes from Van Brocklin to Tommy McDonald of 22 yards and 35 yards respectively, the Eagles scored a touchdown and the extra point by kicker Bobby Walston
Bobby Walston
Robert Harold Walston was an American football wide receiver and placekicker in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at the University of Georgia and was drafted in the 14th round of the 1951 NFL Draft.Coached Receivers, Kicking from 1966-67 for the...

 gave them their first lead of the game. After getting the ball back from Green Bay, Van Brocklin connected on a pass of 41 yards to Pete Retzlaff
Pete Retzlaff
Palmer Edward "Pete" Retzlaff, nicknamed "Pistol Pete" and "The Baron", is a former professional American football player and general manager....

 that was followed three plays later by a 22-yard pass play to Ted Dean that put the Eagles on the Packers' eight-yard line. After three incomplete passes, a field goal by that gave the Eagles a 10–6 lead. On the following drive in the waning minutes of the first half, Green Bay took the ball to the Philadelphia seven yard line. The threat fizzled after Bart Starr was sacked for a loss and the field goal attempt by Paul Hornung was wide left from 12 yards out.

A drive by the Packers in the third quarter advanced to the Philadelphia 34 yard line, but Green Bay failed to convert on fourth down, turning the ball over to the Eagles and losing Hornung to a shoulder injury. The Eagles promptly marched down deep into Green Bay territory but a Van Brocklin pass was intercepted in the end zone by John Symank
John Symank
John Richard "Johnny" Symank was an American college and professional football player who was a defensive back in the National Football League for seven seasons during the 1950s and 1960s. Symank played college football for the University of Florida, and thereafter, he played professionally for...

. The touchback gave the Packers the ball on their own 20 yard line. In punt formation on fourth down, Max McGee
Max McGee
William Max McGee was a professional football wide receiver who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1954-67. He served as the team's punter during a few years of his career. McGee may be best known for his performance during the first Super Bowl game. Prior to his NFL career, he played college...

 ran for 35 yards to give Green Bay a first down in Philadelphia territory. Despite the successful run on the fake punt, Lombardi was not pleased, saying "We punt the ball; we don't run the ball" when the team sets up for a punt.

In the final quarter, continuing that same drive, the Packers advanced deep into Philadelphia territory on runs by backs Tom Moore and Jim Taylor and retook the lead with a seven-yard pass from Bart Starr to McGee at the 1:53 mark. The extra point kick by Paul Hornung coming off the bench gave Green Bay a 13–10 lead. On the ensuing kickoff, Ted Dean
Ted Dean
Theodore Curtis Dean is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings...

 received the ball on his own three yard line and returned the ball 58 yards, giving Philadelphia excellent field position at the Green Bay 39 yard line. Dean provided what turned out to be the margin of victory for the Eagles with a five-yard touchdown run on a sweep led by a key block from guard Gerry Huth
Gerry Huth
Gerald Bernard Huth was an American football guard in the National Football League for the New York Giants, the Philadelphia Eagles, and the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football at Wake Forest University and was drafted in the twenty fourth round of the 1956 NFL Draft....

 with 5:21 left in the fourth quarter, capping off a 32-yard drive in which Van Brocklin passed the ball only one time. With Green Bay having no time outs left, Chuck Bednarik
Chuck Bednarik
Charles Philip Bednarik is a former professional American football player, known as one of the most devastating tacklers in the history of football and the last two-way player in the National Football League...

, the last Eagle between Taylor and the end zone, tackled Jim Taylor on the final play of the game at the Eagles' 10-yard line and remained sitting atop Taylor as the final seconds ticked off the clock, ensuring that Taylor could not get up off the ground and that the Packers could not run another play. Bednarik had played both defense and offense, and was in for every play of the game.
The Eagles won despite being outgained in the game 401 yards to 296, with only 13 first downs as compared to 22 for the Packers. It would prove to be Packers' coach Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...

's sole career playoff loss as a coach, and is the Eagles' most recent championship. Lombardi would later rue his decision to go on fourth down on several occasions deep in Philadelphia territory rather than attempt field goals on such plays,saying "When you get down there, come out with something. I lost the game, not my players."
  • First Quarter
    • GB-20 yard FG 3-0 GB
  • Second Quarter
    • GB-Hornung 23 yard FG 6-0 GB
    • Phi-McDonald 35 yard pass from Van Brocklin
      Norm Van Brocklin
      Norman Mack "Norm" Van Brocklin , nicknamed "The Dutchman", was an American football player and coach. He was also a first rate punter in college and in the NFL...

       (Walston
      Bobby Walston
      Robert Harold Walston was an American football wide receiver and placekicker in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles. He played college football at the University of Georgia and was drafted in the 14th round of the 1951 NFL Draft.Coached Receivers, Kicking from 1966-67 for the...

       kick) 7-6 PHI
    • Phi-Walston 15 yard FG 10-6 PHI
  • Third Quarter
    • No scoring
  • Fourth Quarter
    • GB-McGee
      Max McGee
      William Max McGee was a professional football wide receiver who played for the Green Bay Packers from 1954-67. He served as the team's punter during a few years of his career. McGee may be best known for his performance during the first Super Bowl game. Prior to his NFL career, he played college...

       7 yard pass from Starr
      Bart Starr
      Bryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr is a former professional American football player and coach. Wearing #15, he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971 and head coach from 1975 to 1983, compiling a record of 52–76–3 ....

       (Hornung kick) 13-10 GB
    • Phi- Dean
      Ted Dean
      Theodore Curtis Dean is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and the Minnesota Vikings...

      5 run (Walston kick) 17-13 PHI
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