Sept. 28, 1964 - The Green Bay Packers, led by quarterback Bart Starr, scored two first-half touchdowns and produced sparkling defensive play to hold on for a 14-10 victory tonight at Tiger Stadium against the Lions.
Starr, who suffered a shoulder injury during the game, completed 12 of 14 passes for 160 yards and scampered over from the five-yard-line in the second quarter for one of the tallies.
Coach Vince Lombardi removed Starr in the third period as a precaution but after the game didn’t appear overly concerned about the injury, an aggravation of an old shoulder separation.
The game was played before 59,203, the largest crowd ever to watch a pro football game in Detroit.
The Packers had things their own way in the first half, gaining 255 yards while holding the Detroit offense to 68.
Paul Hornung capped a 47-yard Packer drive in the second quarter by smashing over center from the two for the first Green Bay tally.
The Lions were able to penetrate Green Bay territory only two times in the first half. But on one of those occasions, Wayne Walker kicked a 45-yard field goal with seven minutes gone in the second quarter.
The Packers stormed right back with Starr hitting Max McGee for 15 yards and Ron Kramer for 20. Jim Taylor gained 11 yards on a draw play, but when the Packers had reached the Lion 21, Bobby Thompson picked off a Starr pass to McGee.
That break for the Lions went for naught, and with two minutes left to play in the half, Starr directed the Packers 58 yards in nine plays for the winning margin. After Starr was taken out of the game, Green Bay gained only 34 yards.
“We played too conservatively in the second half,” said Lombardi afterward. “You can’t play it cozy in this game. You can’t change your offense plan because you’ve got a safe lead.”
But the Packer defense was equal to the desperate thrusts of the Lions in the second half.
Safety Hank Gremminger performed heroically, intercepting a Lion pass on the Packer five-yard line in the fourth period and recovering a Detroit fumble in the final minutes.
The fumble came when the ball popped out of the hands of Pat Studstill, and Gremminger gave credit to Packer defensive back Herb Adderley.
“Studstill tried to get past Adderley,” said Hank, “but Herb made a hard tackle. Studstill just got hit so hard the ball popped out of his grasp.”
Gremminger, the Packers’ defensive captain, had high praise for Ron Kostelnik and Lee Roy Caffey: “They helped us play like a cohesive unit.” Kostelnik filled in for the injured Hank Jordan, and Caffey replaced Dave Robinson at right linebacker.
The assignment for offensive tackle Norm Masters was former Packer Bill Quinlan.
“When he came in, I said ‘Hello, Norm,’” explained Masters. “And then we went at each other. We’re good friends, but on the field, friendships are thrown out the window.”
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