Introduction from The Sports Time Traveler™
As I previously reported in the The Sports Time Traveler™, the NFL division titles in 1963 came down to the final games of the season on Sunday, December 15, 1963 in both the Eastern and Western Divisions.
WESTERN DIVISION
In the West, it was a straight forward scenario. Chicago (10 - 1 - 2) led 2-time defending NFL champion Green Bay (10 - 2 - 1) by half a game.
Green Bay (10 - 2 - 1) had the good fortune of playing the league’s worst team in their season finale, the San Francisco 49ers (2 - 11). So the Packers chances of winning were excellent and they were a 16 point favorite.
The Packers game was played on Saturday, December 14, 1963 in San Francisco. Surprisingly, the game was tied at halftime at 14. But in the 3rd quarter, Bart Starr connected for his 2nd 50+ yard TD pass of the game to give the Packers a 21 - 14 lead. That was all they needed and they held on to win 21 - 17. Starr was the star of the game passing 18 for 28 for 337 yards including those 2 TD passes of 50 and 53 yards.
Now that the Packers had won, the Bears (10 - 1 - 2) had to defeat the Detroit Lions (5 - 7 - 1) at home in Wrigley Field to win the division on Sunday.
The Lions were not going to be a pushover. Their losing record was deceptive. They had just ripped apart one of the top teams in the East the week before with a 38 - 14 victory over the Browns. And the week prior to that the Lions had tied Green Bay on Thanksgiving.
The game would start at 1:05pm CT at Wrigley Field on Sunday, December 15th, 1963.
EASTERN DIVISION
In the East, it was one of the oddest situations in NFL history. Here were the standings of the top 4 teams going into Sunday’s final game of the season:
1. New York 10 - 3
2. Pittsburgh 7 - 3 - 3 1.5 games back
3T. Cleveland 9 - 4 1 game back
3T. St. Louis 9 - 4 1 game back
Looking at these standing there is an immediate oddity.
How can Pittsburgh be in 2nd place if they are 0.5 games behind the 3rd place Browns and Cardinals?
It looks like an error.
It was not.
And it gets even stranger.
Looking at these standings you would not imagine that the final game of the season, which just happens to be between the 1st place Giants and 2nd place Steelers would be the battle for the division title.
How could a team that is 1.5 games back with only 1 game to play have a chance to win the division?
And yet this is exactly what the situation was on the morning of Sunday, December 15, 1963.
THE EXPLANATION
The NFL, in 1963, looked at winning percentage to determine a team’s place in the standings.
And they treated ties as if they hadn’t happened.
The Steelers at 7 - 3 - 3 had a winning percentage of .700 while the Browns and Cardinals at 9 - 4 had a winning percentage of .692.
Accordingly, the Steelers, were officially in 2nd place even though they were 0.5 games behind the 3rd place Browns and Cardinals.
THE EAST GETS EVEN MORE BIZARRE
It gets even weirder. Because the Steelers were playing the Giants, the Browns and Cardinals were technically eliminated from division title contention. How could that be if they were just 1 game behind the Giants?
Again, it comes to down to winning percentages. The Cardinals and Browns are out because any outcome of the Steelers - Giants game would leave them in 2nd place at best.
UH! CAN YOU EXPLAIN THAT ONE?
Yes, it sounds crazy, but it’s easiest to explain by showing a couple of examples.
Naturally, if the Giants won the final game it would clear up all the confusion.
Here’s what the final standings would look like if the Giants beat the Steelers and the Browns and Cardinals won their games as well.
1. New York 11 - 3
2T. Cleveland 10 - 4 1 game back
2T. St. Louis 10 - 4 1 game back
4. Pittsburgh 7 - 4 - 3 2.5 games back
The Browns and Cardinals would finish a game behind the Giants, with a lower winning percentage, and Steelers would fall all the way to 4th. In fact, even if the Cardinals and Browns LOST their final game and finished 9 - 5, the Steelers would still finish 4th, based on winning percentage, if they lost to the Giants.
THE STEELERS MIRACLE SCENARIO
But take a look at what would happen if the Steelers won the final game, even if the Browns and Cardinals also won.
The final standings in the Eastern Division would look like this with the Steelers winning the division even though their record would have them 0.5 games behind 3 other teams!
1. Steelers 8 - 3 - 3 (0.5 games back)
2T. Giants 10 - 4
2T. Cardinals 10 - 4
2T. Browns 10 - 4
THE STEELERS REASON TO BELIEVE
The Steelers have good reason to believe they can win the game despite being 7 point underdogs. Back on week 2 of the season they actually shut out the Giants 31 - 0. However, Y.A. Tittle, the Giants great quarterback did not play in that game.
TRAVELING BACK IN TIME TO EXPERIENCE THE GAME
Naturally, The Sports Time Traveler™ had to travel back in time, precisely 60 years to catch the Giants - Steelers game at Yankee Stadium.
The game was starting at 2:05pm ET on Sunday, December 15th. It was not televised live in New York. But it was on the radio on WNEW.
I caught the radio broadcast.
And now here’s my story on the game.
Giants vs. Steelers for the NFL Eastern Division Title
YANKEE STADIUM - December 15, 1963
I’m here in New York, exactly 60 years ago, and I just finished listening to the Giants - Steelers game that decided the NFL Eastern Division.
There was a sellout crowd at Yankee Stadium of just over 62,000 fans.
The game was huge for Pittsburgh. It was arguably the biggest game in franchise history as they entered the game having never won an NFL playoff game. And this this game was a de facto playoff game.
It was big for the Giants as well as they were trying to win the East for the 3rd straight year and the 4th time in 5 years. Each of their division crowns has been followed by a loss in the NFL title game. Their quarterback, the great Y.A. Tittle has never won an NFL championship. To accomplish that the Giants first must win this game.
The radio broadcast was sensational. The play-by-play call for most of the game was by one of my all-time favorite announcers, Marty Glickman.
In case you don’t know the back story on Marty Glickman, before he became one of the best sports play-by-play men, he was one of the two sprinters on the 1936 USA track team at the Berlin Olympics that were not allowed to run. Glickman contended for the rest of his life that he, and his fellow sprinter, Sam Stoller, were kept from running in the 4 x 100 relay because they were Jewish and American Olympic chief Avery Brundage bowed to pressure from the Nazi’s.
You can listen to Glickman’s radio call of the Giants - Steelers game just as I did at this link:
If you don’t have time to listen to the tape of the game, here’s what I thought were the highlights.
At the 2:00 mark, Marty Glickman describes the field conditions in which part of the field is frozen solid and parts of the field are not making footing inconsistent. This morning’s New York Times predicted a high temperature of just 26 degrees.
At 4:39 on the tape, Glickman explains that the Giants need win or a tie to win the division, while the Steelers would win the division if they win the game. The Steelers, if they win, would have an 8 - 3 - 3 record for a winning percentage of .727, while the Giants, with a loss, would have a 10 - 4 record for a winning percentage of .714.
The Steelers received the opening kickoff.
At the 7:20 mark listen as Steelers running back Theron Sapp fumbles at the Steelers 24 yard line on the 1st play from scrimmage and the Giants Jimmy Patton recovers it.
Sapp just had the best game of his career last week, rushing for 119 yards and scoring the winning touchdown on a 24 yard run with under 2 minutes to go in Dallas. It was that great run that put the Steelers in this de facto Eastern Title game today.
Despite the outstanding field position the Giants couldn’t move the ball at all, and actually lost 4 yards, and had to settle for a field goal that put them on the board first with an early 3 - 0 lead.
Listen again at 10:20 as Don Chandler’s kick off is taken at the 15 yard line by Gary Ballman. He runs it back all the way to the Giants 28 yard line, a 57 yard run return.
But the Giants defense stops the Steelers from gaining a 1st down and the Steeler also have to settle for a field goal attempt.
However, the kicker, Lefty Lou Michaels, who also plays defensive end, misses on the 30 yard field goal attempt.
The Giants take the ball back, but at the 15:10 mark on the tape, running back Joe Morrison fumbles on 2nd & 1 at his own 33 yard line.
Now the Steelers have great field position again. Listen next at the 17:00 mark as Steelers QB Ed Brown drops back from his own 33 on 3rd and 10. He completes a pass on the left side to Ballman at the 15. Ballman then races down to the goal line where he is stopped. And he fumbles! The Giants Erich Barnes recovers the ball in the end zone and runs it back all the way to the Giants 34.
The crowd noise is deafening as Glickman yells, “A fantastic play, they’ll be talking about that one for a long time.” at the 18:16 mark.
It’s an incredible turn of events.
Then at the 19:05 mark, the Giants almost get the game’s first 1st down, with a 12 yard run on 2 and 12 from the Giants 32. But when the chains come out, it’s short by inches.
Neither team has had a first down and this is the 5th possession of the game.
At the 20:29 mark on the tape, the Giants finally get a 1st down as they fake the run on 3rd and inches and Y.A. Tittle passes over the middle to Aaron Thomas to the Steelers 41 for a gain of 15 yards.
At 21:15 on the radio broadcast, Tittle throws a perfect pass deep to Del Shofner for a touchdown.
The kick hits the crossbar and is no good.
The Giants now lead 9 - 0.
Y.A. Tittle’s TD pass breaks his own NFL single season TD passing record with 34 in 14 games.
SPECIAL NOTE from The Sports Time Traveler™
I interrupt this article for a special note. Y.A. Tittle is so valuable to the Giants that earlier in the week he was named the MVP of the NFL for 1963.
This is quite remarkable given that Jim Brown broke the NFL’s all-time single season rushing record 2 weeks ago.
Tittle received 33 1st place votes to just 7 for Jim Brown.
Now back to the game.
At the 26:00 mark on the tape, the Steelers have finally been able to move the ball and have 1st and 10 from the Giants 48. On the next play, Steelers QB Ed Brown is intercepted by Dick Lynch at the Giants 10 and he returns the ball to the Giants 44.
It’s another huge defensive play for the Giants.
The Giants are then able to drive down field and have 1st and goal at the 5. Listen at this point, at the 34:35 mark, to Glickman for a really wild play.
Tittle pitches to Frank Gifford who looks to pass. But Gifford has nothing and he laterals to the center Greg Larsen. Larsen then laterals back to Y.A. Tittle. Tittle then laterals to Gifford again. And Gifford passes into the end zone for an incomplete.
With genuine excitement in his voice Glickman yells, “They were playing basketball with it, literally!,”
After a penalty pushes the Giants back to the 20 yard line, listen again at 36:10 at Tittle’s pass is intercepted at the 2 yard line ending the scoring threat.
GIANTS 9 STEELERS 0 - end of 1st quarter
The Steelers are stifled deep in their own territory after they had intercepted the ball and have to punt.
The Giants take over with good field position at the Steelers 47.
But the Giants can’t move it either and they punt away.
Now the Steelers mount a strong drive and reach the Giants 14 yard line where they go for it on 4th and 1.
Again the Giants defense comes up huge with a stop. But it’s very close.
Listen at 50:04 as Glickman announces the results of the chain measurement, “It is short. Giants ball! A magnificent stand by the Giants defensive unit.”
At 51:07 Glickman tells us that Alex Webster is available on the sidelines but has not played.
Webster, the Giants usual starting fullback, is considered one of the keys to the Giants offense, but he has been injured and was not expected to play. This was considered a huge blow for the Giants and one that turn the game in the Steelers favor.
The Giants drive stalls and they punt to the Steelers who take the ball on their own 38.
The Steelers again drive into Giants territory. Listen at 59:48 as Brown passes on 3rd and 10 at the Giants 37. It’s incomplete and the Steelers try for a 42 yard FG.
Stay with the tape and listen as the Steelers fumble the ball on the field goal attempt.
The Giants recover with 2:28 to play in the first half.
Keep listening, as the 1st play called by Tittle is a bomb to Del Shofner that is completed at the Steelers 13 yard line with 2 minutes to play in the half.
A few minutes later, at 1:05:30 on the tape, Tittle passes to Joe Morrison for his 2nd TD pass of the game, extending Tittle’s NFL single season record to 35 TD passes.
And this time the extra point is good.
The Giants take a commanding 16 - 0 lead just before halftime.
At this point we hear that in Chicago, the Lions lead the Bears 7 - 3 in the 2nd quarter.
Everything is going perfectly for fans in Yankee Stadium.
Then the Steelers take the kickoff and drive all the way the Giants 21 yard line. But once there, Brown fires 3 straight incomplete passes and Lefty Lou Michaels comes back on the field for his 3rd try at a field goal.
This time it’s good, and with just 7 seconds to play in the 1st half the Steelers are finally on the scoreboard.
GIANTS 16 STEELERS 3 - Halftime
The Giants take the 2nd half kickoff but quickly have to punt it away.
At 1:29:30 the Steelers John Henry Johnson runs 48 yards all the way to the Giants 10.
Then at 1:32:54, on 3rd down & 21 on the 21 yard line, Ed Brown throws for a TD.
Suddenly the Pittsburgh Steelers are back in the game with the score Giants 16 - Steelers 10.
Yankee Stadium is noticeably quieter now.
The game is in doubt after the Giants had been in control the entire 1st half.
At 1:35:50 listen as Glickman says, “The momentum right now seems to have gone over to the Pittsburgh Steelers.”
Keep listening at this point as an incredible sequence of bang-bang plays occurs.
Beginning at 1:36:00, the Giants have the ball 3rd and 7 at their own 24. Tittle throws to Frank Gifford who makes one handed catch at midfield. Glickman screams, “Talk about your big plays! Gifford came up with a magnificent catch. At top speed he reached down with one hand, his right hand. He pulled it off his ankle tops.”
This play invigorates the crowd and puts the ball on the Steelers 47.
On the next play Gifford catches a pass down to the 22.
And just one quick play later, Tittle throws a 22 yard TD pass to Joe Morrison (extending the record yet again to 36 TD passes in a single season).
The Giants drive covered 78 yards in 6 plays, but 76 of those yards were on the 3 consecutive pass plays.
GIANTS 23 STEELERS 10 - 8:49 to play
The Giants soon had the ball back again after a defensive stop.
At 1:42:40 on the tape, Tittle passes deep to Aaron Thomas at the Steelers 31. A 15 yard penalty is tacked on and the Giants suddenly have 1st and 10 on the Steelers 15. There is now 5:50 to go in the 3rd quarter.
Tittle throws to Gifford at the 1 yard line on the next play.
And we now hear that the Bears have taken the lead in Chicago 10 - 7.
It’s Bears 10 Lions 7 in Wrigley Field in Chicago.
At 1:44:35 on the tape, the Giants run it in from the 1 and the score is now 30 - 10 Giants in Yankee Stadium.
At 1:50:10 the Giants get the ball right back when Barnes intercepts Ed Brown in the end zone.
But the Giants end up punting right back to the Steelers.
With 50 seconds to go in the 3rd quarter, Brown connects on a 40 yard TD pass and the Steelers are back within 13 points after 3 quarters.
GIANTS 30 STEELERS 17 - end of 3 quarters
We now hear the Bears lead is up to 17 - 7. But soon after that we hear Detroit has scored again and it’s 17 - 14 Bears.
Meanwhile in Yankee Stadium the Steelers are finding ways to hang in the game. At 2:02:20 the Steelers recover a fumble on their 46 yard line with 11:20 to go in the game.
A few minutes later the Steelers try another field goal that is short and the Giants get the ball back.
At 2:08:30 the Giants are driving with 8:05 to go in the game from their own 25. Tittle throws to Gifford at the 40 for an important 1st down to keep the clock moving. Glickman exclaims, “Frank Gifford is playing a magnificent football game today!”
After the Giants miss a field goal attempt, the Giants Jimmy Patton intercepts Brown again with just over 5 minutes to go in the game. And that pretty much ices things.
We now hear that the Bears have defeated the Lions 24 - 14 in Chicago.
The Chicago Bears will be hosting the NFL Title game in 2 weeks. They’ve dethroned the 2-time defending champion Packers in the Western Division.
In Yankee Stadium, the Giants try another field goal attempt at the 2:19:30 mark on the tape. Listen to Glickman’s call with 2:30 to go on the game, “It’s good! It’s good! The Giants go up 33 - 17!”
At 2:27:10, listen as the crowd counts down the last few seconds of the game, Glickman announces, “The Giants have won it! 33 - 17. And the Giants are being mobbed. The goal posts are being shaken and they’ll come down in just a moment or two. And the Giants are trying to battle their way into their own locker room.”
Y.A. Tittle was sensational. He passed 17 or 26 for 303 yards and threw 3 TD passes.
Frank Gifford caught 5 passes for 94 yards.
And the Giants defense forced 5 turnovers.
The Giants have now won their 3rd consecutive Eastern Division championship and they will play the Bears for the 1963 NFL Title in 2 weeks on December 29 in Chicago.
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