Oct. 18, 1964 - Much of the glitter was knocked off Golden Boy Paul Hornung today and the flakes fell on Lenny Moore, Jerry Logan, and Billy Ray Smith, as the Colts won a savage defensive battle against the Packers, 24-21, in the last two minutes at Baltimore Memorial Stadium before a sellout crowd of 60,213.
Moore fought and squirmed his way five long yards to the winning touchdown with just 1:08 left to play. However, Smith and Logan combined moments before to present the new, savage Lenny with the opportunity.
Smith blocked a Hornung field goal attempt — the Golden Boy missed four others, including a 17-yarder — from the Colt 48 and Logan caught it in the air on the 40, returning 26 yards on a reverse-of-the-field scamper.
It still took a little bit of providence to bring on Moore’s run. That was granted on an interference call against the Packers’ Herb Adderley on Jimmy Orr at the 5.
Moore did the rest, battling and lunging into the end zone in a great personal effort to keep the Colts on top of the Western Division race with the best record (5-1) in the entire NFL. The defeat was the third for Green Bay (3-3), who entered the season as the odds-on choice to win the title held by the Bears.
Hornung has a legitimate excuse for his performance, which has to rank among his worst. He wore a neck brace to relieve pressure from a pinched nerve. His playing time was brief.
The game, a throwback to Neanderthal days when finesse was the man with the biggest club, was a series of turning points as the two defenses battered the offenses in a rugged survival-of-the-fittest test.
Statistically, the Packers creamed the Colts, throwing and running for a whopping 401 yards to Baltimore’s 258. The Packers outrushed the Colts 147 yards to 129 and out-passed Baltimore, 254 to 129, but Bart Starr never could shake his receivers loose for a touchdown except a 42-yarder to Max McGee.
Afterward, Baltimore’s Gino Marchetti, camping out in the equipment room and sucking on a bottle of pop, would listen to no disparaging remarks about the Packers.
“They are a hell of a team,” he said. “Tough and rough and as good as a team can get.”
Lenny Lyles, whose saving tackle on the Colt 2-yard line on McGee brought on a great goal line stand by the Colts, said of that effort: “I almost gave up on the play. I thought Ron Kramer’s lateral to McGee on the sidelines was a forward lateral.” He didn’t give up, and neither did the Colts.
Nevertheless, Baltimore coach Don Shula was far from ecstatic. “We’ve made some mistakes, and we’ve got to correct them,” he snapped after the victory. “You don’t win the Western Division championship by beating the Green Bay Packers twice.”

Support this project at patreon.com/realtime1960s
Comentários