The Erie Week - Bills, Browns & Broadway Joe

60 years ago this week, the 3 climactic games of the football season all had a connection to Lake Erie

Happy 2025 to all of you in the present time. I’m writing here virtually from 1965.

My friend Darin Hayes, host of the Pigskin Podcast, is from Northwest Pennsylvania. And he can attest that football fans from within a hundred miles of the shores of Lake Erie are some of the most passionate pigskin fanatics that exist anywhere.

Well, the past week here in 1965 has seen a finish to the football season like never before for fans that live near Lake Erie.

Both the AFL and the NFL championship games took place last weekend right near the Great Lake.

Then on January 1st, in the Orange Bowl, Joe Namath, who grew up in northwestern Pennsylvania, was the key player in the game pitting his #1 Alabama against the defending national champion Texas Longhorns.

We’ll start with the AFL Championship. Then go to the NFL Championship. And we’ll finish up with the most exciting contest, the Orange Bowl. So stick around for that one.

AFL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

BUFFALO - December 26, 1964

I started the week in Buffalo where the AFL Championship game was being played in front of 40,242 fans at War Memorial Stadium on a cold and damp day.

The San Diego Chargers came to Buffalo as the defending AFL Champions, having slaughtered the Boston Patriots 51 - 10 for the 1963 title.

But the Chargers were missing their star wide receiver Lance Alworth, who had caught passes for 1,235 yards during the season and scored an AFL league leading 13 TDs.

The Buffalo Bills came into the game with confidence. They had just completed a near perfect season. They had a 12 - 2 record. But in both defeats they had been ahead late in the game. In addition, the Bills led the AFL in both offense and defense. And they had already defeated the Chargers twice in the regular season including a 30 - 3 thrashing in Buffalo.

Yet it was the Chargers who struck first, in what Mal Florence of the Los Angeles Times called, “a dazzling four-play series at the game’s outset.” 54 of the 80 yards the Chargers piled up on the Bills’ defense came from fullback Keith Lincoln. The result was a touchdown and an early 7 - 0 lead.

Florence called it, “the most stylist touchdown surge of this or any season.”

Lincoln had been the star of the 1963 AFL Championship game a year ago, when he rushed for 206 yards and caught passes for another 123 yards for a total of 329 yards.

NOTE from The Sports Time Traveler

Lincoln’s 329 total yards in the 1963 AFL Championship Game remains the most yards ever gained in a professional football championship game.

Now back to 1965.

However, before any California fans could conjure up the idea of back-to-back championships for the Chargers, the whole concept came crashing down just a few minutes later.

Mal Florence described what happened, “Early in the opening quarter… Lincoln was blind-sided by (Bills) linebacker Mike Stratton while accepting a flare pass and retired with a broken rib.”

Now, without Alworth or Lincoln, San Diego’s offense was stifled.

Florence wrote, “With the San Diego offense stricken, Buffalo moved slowly but surely to its first AFL championship.

The Bills, led by the steady play of QB Jack Kemp, and nearly 200 yards rushing from the combined effort of Cookie Gilchrist and Wray Carlton, scored 20 unanswered points to win the game 20 - 7.

It was the first major professional sports championship for a team in Buffalo.

You can watch the highlights of the game in this YouTube video:

NFL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

CLEVELAND - December 27, 1964

The day after the AFL Title game, I traveled about 200 miles to the southwest, right along the shores of Lake Erie, for the NFL Championship game.

79,554 fans packed Cleveland Municipal Stadium for the championship bout between the Eastern Division champion Cleveland Browns and the Western Division champion Baltimore Colts.

That’s right the Colts played in the Western Division here in the 1960s, despite being several hundred miles to the southeast of Cleveland.

The 12 - 2 Colts were the heavy favorites. After an opening game loss in Minnesota, the Colts, behind 31 year-old NFL MVP Johnny Unitas, reeled off 11 consecutive wins. 8 of them were by double digits and 2 were shutouts. By the time the winning streak reache 11, the Colts had clinched the West, and then lost a meaningless game in week 13.

The Browns, 10 - 3 - 1, had a much more difficult path the championship. They had to beat the defending Eastern Division Champion Giants in New York on the final day of the season to secure their spot in the Title game. They did so convincingly with a 52 - 20 rout.

The Browns had the most explosive player in football in Jim Brown. Brown led the NFL in every major rushing category with 1,446 yards, 5.2 yards per carry and an average of 103 yards per game.

They also had a pinpoint passer in Frank Ryan who was working on his Ph.D. in Mathematics from Rice University

NOTE from The Sports Time Traveler

Frank Ryan earned his Ph.D. later in 1965. He is likely the only NFL QB ever to earn a doctorate in an academic field during the time he was a NFL starter.

After a scoreless first half, the Browns offense came to life in the 3rd quarter.

At the 14:34 mark on the video below watch as Ryan pitches the ball to Brown for a 46 yard run. A moment later Ryan threw a perfect pass into the end zone for receiver Gary Collins.

Later in the quarter Collins caught a 42 yard Ryan pass for another TD and the score at the end of 3 quarters was 17 - 0 Cleveland.

Meanwhile the Browns defense was containing the MVP, Unitas. Johnny only passed for 95 yards for the entire game. It was his only game of the year with less than 100 yards. In addition, Unitas had 2 passes intercepted after throwing only 6 picks the entire season.

The Browns went on to win the game 27 - 0 in a stunning and decisive championship victory.

NOTE from The Sports Time Traveler

The 1964 NFL Championship was the last championship by a Cleveland professional sports team until the LeBron James’ led Cavaliers took the NBA Title in 2016.

You can watch the highlights of 1964 NFL Championship game by going to this YouTube video link:

1964 NFL Championship Game: Colts at Browns

The Orange Bowl

MIAMI - January 1, 1965

Now I’m in Miami for the Orange Bowl game on New Year’s Day 1965.

It’s the first night game in college bowl history.

This is also the biggest game in college football for this season as it pits the #1 ranked Alabama (10 - 0)vs. #4 ranked Texas (9 - 1).

But Texas is no ordinary #4. They feels they should be #1, and should be considered National Champions if they win this game.

Technically, the Alabama Crimson Tide has already won the national title. Here in 1965, national titles are decided by the final AP poll which came out several weeks ago.

The Texas Longhorns, who had been ranked #1 through mid-season, are still reeling from the fact that their sole loss came against Arkansas when the Longhorns failed on a 2 point conversion with 1 minute to play back on October 17th. If the Longhorns had made that 2 pointer they would likely have finished out the season #1 and been crowned National Champs.

This Orange Bowl game gave Texas a chance to feel like they’re the champs if they could beat Alabama.

And prior to the game, it seemed almost a certainty that Texas would in fact win the game.

That’s because Joe Namath, the most dynamic QB in college football, was out with a knee injury.

Without Namath, the Crimson Tide offense was ground to a halt and Texas took a 14 - 0 lead in the middle of the 2nd quarter.

At this point the decision was made by Bama coach, Bear Bryant, to bring the injured Namath into the game.

What follows is the greatest demonstration of quarterback wizardry I have ever witnessed in 50 years as a football fan. Joe Namath was breathtaking as he completed pass after pass in a dazzling array of styles.

You can see all his passes in this highlights video of the game starting at the 13 minute mark:

My favorite Namath pass comes at 13:55 on the tape when he throws a “bloop” pass over the middle while he is backpedaling after taking the snap. It’s a play I’ve never seen before.

He also completed numerous passes while under a heavy rush, sometimes taking brutal hits just after releasing the ball, as the QB is not protected by the rules of the game here in 1965, as they are back in 2025.

With Namath throwing 6 passes for 81 yards, the Crimson Tide scored their first TD to pull within 14 - 7.

Then came an unfortunate sequence for Alabama. After blocking a late 2nd quarter Texas field goal attempt and recovering the ball, Alabama fumbled, giving Texas the ball with great field position at the Alabama 38.

Then a 15 yard Alabama holding penalty put the Longhorns in position to score, which they did with just minute to go in the half.

Texas led 21 - 7 at halftime.

The second half was different. With Namath at the helm, the Crimson Tide had the ball most of the half.

Namath threw a TD pass in the 3rd quarter, and drove Alabama to a field goal early in the 4th quarter.

The score was now Texas 21 - Alabama 17 with 14 minutes to play and Alabama clearly on the move.

After Alabama intercepted a Texas pass, Namath went to work again. He drove the Crimson Tide downfield to 1st and goal at the 5.

Bear Bryant elected to run the ball. Alabama picked up 2 yards and it was 2nd and goal from the 3.

Again Bryant called for a run. Again, Texas stopped Alabama.

On 3rd and goal from the 2, Bryant called run again. This time it looked like the Alabama running back got through, but the officials said no.

Finally on 4th and goal, Bryant called for Namath to run a QB sneak.

Again, the officials said that the runner had not crossed the goal line plane.

Joe Namath, authored an article in the January 2nd Miami Herald in which he wrote, “I know I was over on the sneak, but the referee said I wasn’t.”

At the 31:24 mark on the video tape link above you can watch the 4th down QB sneak by Namath and draw your own conclusion as to whether or not Namath scored the go ahead touchdown.

The decision by Bear Bryant to call 4 straight running plays near the goal line, when Namath had such a phenomenal passing game, will forever be second guessed.

Texas got the ball back after the goal line stand and held on to win the game 21 - 17.

Texas won despite never crossing midfield during the entire second half.

Joe Namath was so magnificent that he was awarded the game MVP despite his team losing the contest.

And Namath did it on only one good leg. Commenting on his injured knee Namath wrote in the Miami Herald, “The pain was awful every time I tried a long one (pass).”

Namath had been instrumental in Alabama scoring 17 points in a little more than 2 quarters of the game. It’s even more remarkable when you consider that Texas had not allowed more than 14 points to any team in a full game all season.

Broadway Joe

The next day after the Orange Bowl game, Joe Namath signed a contract to play for the New York Jets for the unheard of sum of $400,000 over 3 years.

Writing in the New York Daily News, columnist Dick Young, had this to say, “After a look at Joe Namath in pulsating color, I’m convinced of one thing. The Jets aren’t paying him enough. He’s a steal at the alleged $400,000… Watching the festive Orange Bowl extravaganza… I got the impression of Namath as the most exciting thing on television… Joe picked up the Alabama team on one leg and almost beat the whole state of Texas by himself.”

FINAL NOTE from The Sports Time Traveler

Before the end of 1965, New York sportswriters were so enthralled by Joe Namath that he had already earned his nickname of “Broadway Joe.”

Namath returned to the Orange Bowl again in January, 1969.

This time it was for the Super Bowl against Johnny Unitas and the heavily favored Baltimore Colts.

Broadway Joe led the Jets to one of the greatest upsets in Super Bowl history.

The Sports Time Traveler will continue following Joe Namath, Jim Brown and the Buffalo Bills in the 1965 season.

Thanks for reading.

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