The Sports Time Traveler™ is having a great time back here in 1963 on my extended virtual trip.
Here’s my report on the top games from college, the NFL and the AFL from “last weekend” (November 16 - 17) in 1963.
#2 Navy at Duke
Duke (5-2-1) hosted #2 Navy (7-1-0) in front of a sellout crowd of 41,000 in Durham on Saturday. They saw a very entertaining first half in which 56 points were scored.
Navy struck first sailing 68 yards on their 10 play opening drive which culminated in a Roger Staubach 4 yard keeper.
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But Duke responded immediately with a 7 play, 65 drive for a touchdown.
And it was game on.
Staubach got the lead right back. He engineered a 72 yard touchdown drive that was highlighted by a 44 yard run in “Roger the Dodger” style.
New York Times reporter Lincoln Werden described Staubach’s great run, “While much attention was paid by spectators and the Duke defense to the passing of Staubach, his most brilliant performance was his running… he spun, dodged and weaved on a 44 yard burst that had the stands in an uproar.”
Not to be outdone, Duke struck right back, marching 70 yards for a touchdown.
However missed extra points by the Blue Devils enabled Navy to hold a 14 - 12 lead, which they extended to 17 - 12 on a field goal.
Then Duke came back with a touchdown to take the lead for the first time. They made the extra point this time and Duke went up 19 - 17.
It was a short lived lead.
Navy ran off 68 yards in just 5 plays to re-capture the lead 24 - 19.
Then Navy scored again on a pick 6 and they were up 31 - 19.
But Duke didn’t fold.
They drove 71 yards and scored a touchdown as time ran out in the first half. They missed another extra point and the score stood at 31 - 25 in favor of Navy at the break.
Staubach had been brilliant in the first half. Werden described two more 2nd quarter plays in which Staubach further earned his nickname, “He sped through the opposition for 27 yards after Duke thought it had him trapped… he provided his poise and coolness when a Duke tackler had him by the ankle. Staubach, showing no concern, flipped a pass to Ejuggerud for a 15 yard gain.”
Jack Horner of the Durham Sun called it, “One of the most exciting first halves ever witnessed in Duke Stadium.”
Staubach had run for 95 yards on just 6 rushes and passed for another 87 yards in the 1st half.
Duke made some incredibly effective adjustments on defense that stopped Staubach cold in the 2nd half during which he lost 23 yards rushing and only passed for 35 yards.
But Duke couldn’t score either.
Duke had the ball 7 times in the 2nd half. On each drive they made it into Navy territory, and on each drive they were stunted. On 4 of those drives Duke started with the ball on the Navy side of the field at the 38, 39, 47 and 44 yard lines. On every one of those possessions Duke could not get a first down.
The score was still 31 - 25 in favor of Navy as they held the ball on their own 7 yard line with 2 minutes to play. With the game still in doubt came the play that decided the contest. Staubach handed off to Navy’s halfback, Johnny Sai, who broke a run off tackle for 93 yards to set a Navy rushing record. That made the final score 38 - 25 Navy.
Navy had escaped with the victory, mostly due to the 1st half performance of Roger Staubach. Horner wrote, “Staubach was clearly the difference. If it hadn’t been for the eel-slick junior from Cincinnati, Coach Bill Murray’s fired-up Blue Devils might have sunk the Middies and their hopes of meeting Texas in the Cotton Bowl on New Year’s Day.”
TCU at #1 Texas
#1 Texas (8-0-0) hosted TCU (3-3-1) on Saturday. Texas has been the dominant #1 team in the nation all season. They opened the season with 4 blowout wins, all against major football programs, by a combined score of 130 - 21. The last of the 4 was their signature win, a 28 - 7 slaughter of the current #5 Oklahoma.
It’s the Texas defense though that has to get the credit for the only perfect record among top tier teams. They’ve allowed just 52 points in 8 games for an average of just 6.5 points per game.
In contrast, in their last 4 games the Longhorns offense seems to be just casually grazing their competition. They’ve won all 4 games, but by just an average margin of just 5 points. And Texas hasn’t put up more than 17 points since the Oklahoma game. The offensive low came last week when Texas managed just 7 points against Baylor in a 7 - 0 Longhorns victory.
This gave TCU some additional hope as they had upset Texas here at Memorial Stadium the last 2 times they visited.
In 1959 TCU knocked off a Texas team that was ranked #2.
And in 1961, 2 years ago, TCU beat Texas when the Longhorns were #1 and undefeated coming into the contest (the same as the Longhorns were coming into last Saturday).
Things started out well for TCU. After they stopped Texas on the opening drive, Texas punter, Kim Gaynor, had to kick into a 25 mile an hour wind and that enabled TCU to take over the ball at the Texas 36. They drove it to the Texas 16. Stopped on 3rd down, TCU coach Abe Martin elected to go for it on 4th down.
They didn’t make it.
TCU never got another chance. Texas built a 10 - 0 lead at halftime. And extended it to 17 - 0 early in the 3rd quarter and that’s how it remained.
Texas recorded their 2nd consecutive shutout and 3rd of the season.
OTHER GAMES AMONG THE TOP 10 TEAMS
#3 Mississippi shut out host Tennessee in Memphis 20 - 0 to preserve their undefeated, one tie record.
#4 Michigan State came from behind at home to beat Notre Dame 12 - 7. A 4th quarter 85 yard sprint by 152 pound halfback Sherm Lewis in the 4th quarter proved to be the game winner.
It was a throwback game in which there were a combined 2 passes completed by the 2 teams in the entire game. Michigan State recorded 0 passing yards and Notre Dame had just 7.
#5 Oklahoma defeated Missouri 13 - 3
#6 Pitt stopped Army 28 - 0
#7 Alabama beat Georgia Tech 27 - 11.
In the Alabama game, Joe Namath completed just 1 pass, but coach Bear Bryant had nothing but praise for the junior QB. He was quoted in the Birmingham News, “Namath is great. What ever has to be done to win is what Joe’s going to do. I think you saw that out there today.”
Namath effectively drove the team, especially on the 10 minute, 75 yard touchdown drive that sealed the game in the 4th quarter.
#8 Illinois over Wisconsin 17 - 7
#9 Auburn shutout Georgia 14 - 0
#10 Nebraska survived against Oklahoma State 20 - 16 after leading 20 - 3 going into the 4th quarter
The AP College Football Poll
Today (Tuesday, November 20, 1963) the AP poll came out and there was a little movement from the prior week.
1 - Texas 9 - 0 - 0 (45 1st place votes)
2 - Navy 8 - 1 - 0 (6 1st place votes)
3 - Mississippi 7 - 0 - 1
4 - Michigan State 6 - 1 - 1
5 - Pittsburgh 7 - 1 - 0
6 - Oklahoma 7 - 1 - 0
7 - Alabama 7 - 1 - 0
8 - Illinois 6 - 1 - 1
9 - Auburn 7 - 1 - 0
10 - Nebraska 8 - 1 - 0
NFL GAMES FROM NOVEMBER 17
Packers at Bears at Wrigley Field
The game of the week was the Packers at the Bears at Wrigley Field. This pitted together the teams with the best records in the NFL, as both clubs stood at 8 - 1.
The winner would take over 1st place in the Western Division.
The Bears beat the Packers in their first meeting on opening day, in Green Bay, 10 - 3.
Since that game, the Packers had won 8 straight.
While the Bears only loss was an inexplicable 20 - 14 setback at the hands of the NFL’s worst team, the San Francisco 49ers.
Special Note from The Sports Time Traveler™
I interrupt this article to share the back story on the 49ers - Bears game from October 20, 1963.
The 49ers had come into the October 20 game winless as they faced the undefeated Bears. Moreover the 49ers had lost their prior 2 games, to mediocre teams, by a combined score of 46 - 6.
The 49ers got a 45 yard return on the opening kickoff from 4 yards deep into their end zone, and then marched the remaining 59 yards for a TD in 10 plays for the team’s first touchdown in 11 quarters of play.
The stunned Bears fell behind 17 - 0 in the 2nd quarter.
The Bears clawed back, as all great teams do, and with 1:43 left in the game they took possession of the ball down by 6 points. But 49ers linebacker Ed Pine intercepted a pass from Bears QB Rudy Bukich and that sealed the biggest upset to date in this 1963 season.
Now back to last Sunday’s Bears Packers game at Wrigley Field.
Prior to 49ers upset win over the Bears, the biggest upset in the NFL in 1963 had been the Bears victory in Green Bay on opening day, September 15, 1963.
Another Note from The Sports Time Traveler™
I interrupt this article yet again for the short back story on the opening day victory by the Bears over the Packers.
The largest crowd in the history of Green Bay, 42,327, had come out to see the two-time defending NFL champion Packers start the season. The Bears limited Green Bay to just 9 first downs and forced 5 Packers turnovers in the 10 - 3 shocker.
Now once again, and without further interruption, we go back to the game on November 17, 1963, between the Packers and the Bears at Wrigley Field.
Now as the Bears hosted the Packers there was no upset to be had here. Just the 2 best teams in football this season duking it out.
The Bears have proven themselves to have the best defense in football allowing under 9 points per game. While the Packers have the most reliable offense having scored 30+ points in every contest after the opening day loss, except for last week when they were 2 shy of 30 in defeating the Vikings 28 - 7.
You can watch the highlights of the Packers vs. Bears game at Wrigley Field on Nov 17, 1963 at this link
Packers at Bears Highlights - Nov 17, 1963
At the start of the tape you can see 2 of the greatest coaching legends, George Halas and Vince Lombardi, amicably greet each other on the field.
At the 1:12 mark watch as Bears QB Billy Wade hits tight end Mike Ditka for 16 yards early in the 1st quarter. That set up a Bears field goal and a 3 - 0 lead.
The Bears followed that shortly with another field goal to move out in front 6 - 0.
On the next kickoff, at the 2:00 mark on the tape, the Packers Herb Adderly took the ball from inside his end zone for a brilliant 35 yard run, breaking several tackles. But he fumbled, giving the ball back to the Bears with excellent field position.
3 plays later, at 2:35 on the tape, watch as Bears halfback Willie Galimore galloped i27 yards into the end zone and the Bears now led 13 - 0.
In the 3rd quarter a Bears field goal extended the lead to 16 - 0 and that’s how the game stood going into the final quarter.
At the 3:50 mark on the tape, watch as Zeke Bratkowski tried to pass Green Bay back into the game. But a spectacular interception by Dave Whitsell gave the ball back to the Bears at their 35 yard line, busting up the Packers drive.
The Bears drive stalled, but went far enough to allow Roger LeClerc to kick his 4th field goal, putting the Bears up 19 - 0.
At 4:18 on the tape, came the final pounce by the Bears. Bratkowski was intercepted again. Bennie McRae raced down the sidelines 45 yards before being pushed out of bounds at the Packers 5. Then Billy Wade ran wide right, faked a throw and ran it into the end zone.
The Bears were up 26 - 0.
A late Green Bay touchdown avoided the shutout as the Bears won it 26 - 7.
It was a magnificent performance for the Bears that was aided by 2 Packers fumbles and 5 interceptions.
NOTE From The Sports Time Traveler™
The Bears enormous win over the defending champion Packers was further celebrated days later when Willie Galimore graced the cover of Sports Illustrated with the caption, “THE BEARS ON TOP.”
49ers at Giants at Yankee Stadium
62,983 Giants fans were on hand on Sunday to see the Giants take on what Gene Ward of the New York Daily News referred to as, “one of the worst NFL organizations ever to visit Yankee Stadium.”
The 49ers are having a miserable season, losing games by an average of 17 points (how did they beat the Bears!).
And the 49ers were 17 point underdogs against the surging Giants who have won their last 4 straight by an average margin of 22 points.
Yet following the adage, “On any given Sunday…” the 49ers gave at least the bettors a real scare when 2 minutes into the 2nd quarter they scored a touchdown to cut the Giants lead to 3 points at 10 - 7.
The score was still 10 - 7 Giants with 5 minutes to play in the half, when Giants QB Y.A. Tittle connected with Frank Gifford on a 10 yard TD pass. Ward called Tittle’s throw, “a perfect pitch”, because, “If it had been anything else but a strike,” the 49ers defensive back would have had it covered.
The Giants then managed a field goal right before the half for a 20 - 7 lead.
But 49ers QB Lamar McHan outpassed the Giants Y.A. Tittle 185 yards to 119 in the first half and the 49ers were still inside the spread.
In the 3rd quarter however Tittle crushed any 49ers hopes for striking gold inside the House that Ruth Built.
Tittle got the Giants going in the opening moments of the 2nd half with a 45 yard pass on a naked bootleg play in which he rolled left, away from his blockers and then passed back across the field to Joe Morrison for a touchdown.
The play was so sensational that the New York Times wrote an entire article on it including a diagram to explain it.
Giants coach Allie Sherman told the Times about the play, “To do what Tittle did is the maximum mechanical difficulty for a passer.”
A few minutes later, Tittle threw a 40 yard pass to Del Shofner. He fell down, got up and raced 30 more yards for a TD.
On the ensuing kickoff the 49ers fumbled and 3 plays later Tittle threw a 10 yard TD pass to Morrison.
It was Tittle’s 3rd TD pass of the 3rd period and suddenly the Giants led the game 41 - 7.
Even though the 49ers took the next kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, the game was effectively settled.
Glynn Griffing came in to play in the 4th quarter and he threw his 2nd career TD pass with 2 minutes remaining that made the final score New York 48 - San Francisco 14.
The Giants wound up with a whopping 568 yards on offense to just 228 for the 49ers.
Not only did the Giants beat the point spread, they doubled it.
Tittle completed only 16 of 31 passes, but he threw those 16 passes for 284 yards and 4 TDs.
The win meant the Giants would remain in at least a tie for 1st place in the Eastern Division pending the outcome of the game in Cleveland.
Cardinals at Browns in Cleveland
75,932 fans came out to see home town Browns try to get back on track against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
The Browns looked like they were on their way to a championship season when they won their first 6 games, all by double digits, and scored at least 35 points in each contest.
Then disaster struck 3 weeks ago in the form of a 33 - 6 demolition by the Giants that was followed by lackluster performances in each of the prior couple of Sundays.
This all had the Browns likely seeing red, literally, as the Redbirds were in town this past Sunday.
On the 2nd play of the game, all seemed to be right for the Browns as the incomparable Jim Brown rushed 59 yards for a TD.
And then the Browns offense sputtered.
Still they held a 7 - 3 lead late in the 2nd quarter.
And that’s when things turned.
Cardinals QB Charley Johnson completed a 41 yard TD pass to put St. Louis up 10 - 7 with 2:17 to play in the 1st half.
When Cleveland got the ball back, QB Jim Ninowksi, who was back as the starter replacing Frank Ryan, tried to run the ball himself. He then lateraled to Jim Brown who picked up 8 yards. But Brown fumbled the ball on his own 29. And this was followed by a field goal with seconds to go in the half.
It was a very bittersweet moment for Jim Brown and Browns fans. The 8 yards gained by Brown prior to the fumble, meant absolutely nothing for his team on the field, however they were of monumental significance from a statistical perspective.
Jim Brown had just become the NFL’s all-time leader in total yards gained by all means (running + receiving + receiving), surpassing Ollie Matson’s career record of 11,317 yards.
Jim Brown had set the all-time record at just the age of 27, in just the middle of only his 7th season.
Such has been the dominance and greatness of Jim Brown.
But it was the Cardinals that led the game 13 - 7 at the break. And the Browns players were subjected to heavy booing from the hometown fans as they headed to the locker room.
SPECIAL NOTE From The Sports Time Traveler™
Football Reference does not track the statistic of yards gained by all means (rushing + receiving + returns), but in yards gained from scrimmage (rushing + receiving) Jim Brown stand only 28th in the all-time list today.
However, Jim Brown is the overwhelming #1 all-time NFL leader in yards from scrimmage per game at 125.
Brown retired early at just age 29, at the height of his career, and thus only played in 118 NFL games.
The all-time leader in yards gained from scrimmage is Jerry Rice, who played in 303 games, but had an average in yards from scrimmage per game of just 78.
There is no one in NFL history who could advance the ball on the ground as prodigoulsy as the great Jim Brown.
He deserves consideration as the Greatest of All-Time.
Now back to 1963.
When the 2nd half opened, the Browns started to drive, and on the 7th play Ninowski’s pass was intercepted and the Cardinals took over the ball at the Browns 34.
Ninowski then threw another interception later in the quarter when the Browns had the ball on the Cardinals’ 10 yard line, negating a possible go ahead scoring drive.
After trading punts, the Cardinals then went on a 77 yard touchdown drive early in the 4th quarter that all but sealed the game at 20 - 7.
A late game TD pass by Ninowksi made the final score look closer than it was at 20 - 14.
Jim Brown finished the game with 154 yards rushing on 22 carries, but his own fumble and 3 other turnovers were too much to overcome, especially with Cardinals QB Charley Johnson connecting on 25 of 34 passes for 285 yards and 2 TDs.
Colts at Vikings
This game had a wild finish with the 2 teams combining for 5 touchdowns in the 4th quarter.
With the Vikings ahead 34 - 23 in the middle of the 4th quarter, Unitas threw a 60 yard TD pass to narrow the score to 34 - 30.
Then, with just 1:10 to play the visiting Colts took over the ball at their own 12 yard line with the Vikings still leading 34 - 30.
Watch what happened with 5 seconds on the clock:
Johnny Unitas capped an 88 yard scoring drive with a magnificent touchdown pass and the Colts stunned the Vikings 37 - 34.
NFL Standings after November 17 games:
EASTERN DIVISION
New York 8 - 2
Cleveland 7 - 3
St. Louis 7 - 3
Pittsburgh 6 - 3 - 1
Dallas 3 - 7
Philadelphia 2 - 7 - 1
Washington 2 - 8
WESTERN DIVISION
Chicago 9 - 1
Green Bay 8 - 2
Baltimore 5 - 5
Detroit 4 - 6
Minnesota 3 - 7
Los Angeles 3 - 7
San Francisco 2 - 8
NFL Rushing Leaders after November 17 games:
Jim Brown 1,447 yards 7.1 per attempt
Jim Taylor 699 yards 3.9 per attempt
Tommy Mason 589 yards 4.9 per attempt
Jim Brown has twice as much rushing yards as any other running back in the NFL.
AFL GAMES
Jets at Broncos
The Jets scored 2 first quarter touchdowns and then held on in the Mile High city to beat the Broncos 14 - 9 in front of a crowd of 14,247.
That broke a 5 game losing streak for the Jets.
The Jets did it by shutting down the Broncos passing game. The Broncos tried Mickey Slaughter at QB in the first half and John McCormick in the second half. They combined for just 6 completed passes in 21 attempts.
Chargers at Bills
The AFL’s best team, the San Diego Chargers, took their show to Buffalo on Sunday. They were greeted by an AFL all-time record crowd of 38,592.
Bills QB Jack Kemp threw 23 of 37 for 239 yards. But in key plays it was the Chargers QB, the 14 year veteran, Tobin Rote, who proved superior. Rote’s 17 yard 3rd quarter TD pass to Lance Alworth turned out to be the game winner in a Chargers 23 - 13 victory.
AFL Standings as of November 17, 1963:
EASTERN DIVISION
Houston 6 - 4
Buffalo 5 - 5- 1
Boston 5 - 5 - 1
New York Jets 4 - 5 - 1
WESTERN DIVISION
San Diego 8 - 2
Oakland 6 - 4
Kansas City 2 - 6- 2
Denver 2 - 7 - 1
That’s all for this week. The Sports Time Traveler™ will continue weekly coverage of the 1963 football season.
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