Aug. 2, 1963 - The College All-Star squad accomplished a tremendous upset tonight by defeating the Green Bay Packers, champions of the NFL. The score was 20-17, and the outcome marked the first time in 5 years the All-Stars had defeated the professionals in this annual event. The result delighted the howling crowd of 65,000 at Soldier Field. The young players fresh from college were the sentimental favorites over the Packers, who had been expected to win by at least two touchdowns. The All-Star heroes were numerous as the team stood up to the Packers in every department. The defense was especially outstanding, shutting down Jim Taylor, Green Bay’s tremendous fullback, and pressuring quarterback Bart Starr into a poor performance. Fred Miller of Louisiana State, Bobby Bell of Minnesota, Don Brumm of Purdue, Lee Roy Jordan of Alabama, Lee Roy Caffey of Texas A&M, and Danny Brabham of Arkansas were among the rugged defenders who led the charge against the Packers’ thrusts. The All-Star quarterback, Ron Vanderkelen from Wisconsin, connected on a 74-yard touchdown play in the fourth period that assured his team of victory. “What can I say, except that we were beaten?” Packer coach Vince Lombardi said afterward. “We have no excuses, none whatsoever. I had expected us to play a real fine ballgame, but we just couldn’t get going. Our morale was excellent. The boys wanted to win. I tried twice in the second half to take Jim Taylor out to give him a little rest, and both times he sneaked back into the game. The All-Stars were great — much better than last year. Vanderkelen threads the needle pretty well.” Lombardi did say that the absence of Ray Nitschke, injured middle linebacker, weakened the Packer defense. “We just sputtered and sputtered,” lamented tackle Forrest Gregg. “We had lots of opportunities to take the ball in, but we couldn’t do it. Those All-Stars were big, fast and strong.” Bart Starr blamed himself for the loss. “I was awful, just awful. Heck yes, it hurts to get beat by a bunch of rookies. They shouldn’t beat us in a million years. And they did.” Missing from the Packer lineup was Paul Hornung, Green Bay’s big scorer the past few years. Hornung was suspended from football indefinitely in April by commissioner Pete Rozelle for betting on NFL games and associating with undesirable persons.
