1960s Timeline

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Dec 26, 2021

NFL: Packers' Practice Draws a Crowd

Dec. 26, 1961 - The Green Bay Packers opened “Championship Week” before an unexpected audience of 500 fans today. Coach Vince Lombardi was flabbergasted as he strolled onto the practice field. The temperature was 20 above zero and there was a brisk wind blowing. The turf was frozen solid but the Packers wore football cleats with success. The ends and backs dug in enough to cut sharply on pass patterns. Everybody wore gloves except the backs and ends. Once, Lombardi reminded t

Dec 20, 2021

NFL: Paul Hornung of Packers Named League MVP

Dec. 20, 1961 - Paul Hornung of the Green Bay Packers was named today the most valuable player of the NFL in a poll of writers and broadcasters by The Associated Press. The halfback was called to Army duty and was available only on a weekend pass during the second half of the season. But he scored 10 touchdowns, kicked 15 of 22 field goal attempts, and posted 41 successive extra points. He led the league scorers with 146 points. Other contenders in the poll were Jim Taylor of

Dec 19, 2021

NFL: Giants' Allie Sherman Named Coach of the Year

Dec. 19, 1961 - Allie Sherman, the Brooklyn College boy who made good in his first year as coach of the Giants, was named NFL coach of the year in an AP poll today. Those who know Sherman best say it’s characteristic of him to credit others for success and accept the blame for mistakes. Today, he credited the team’s clinching of the League’s Eastern Conference championship to the players, the assistant coaches, the scouting staff, and the club management. He even paid high tr

Dec 17, 2021

A 7-7 Tie with Browns Clinches NFL Eastern Conference for Giants

Dec. 17, 1961 - The New York Giants made a first-quarter touchdown stand up for a 7-7 tie with the Cleveland Browns in a tense contest witnessed by 61,084 roaring New Yorkers. The deadlock, as good as a victory, nailed down the NFL’s Eastern Conference title for the Giants. They will play the Packers for the league championship at Green Bay, Wis., on Dec. 31. Finishing with a 10-3-1 record, the Giants ended the conference race a half-game in front of the reigning NFL champion

Dec 10, 2021

NFL: Giants Top Eagles, 28-24, Clinch Tie for Eastern Conference Title

Dec. 10, 1961 - Charlie Conerly’s deft hand guided the New York Giants today to at least a tie for the NFL’s Eastern Conference title. Called to the rescue with his team trailing by 3 points midway in the second period, the gallant 40-year-old quarterback from Mississippi threw 3 touchdown passes that brought about a 28-24 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. Now the Giants can clinch the Eastern title they last won in 1959 by beating the Cleveland Browns in their regular-se

Dec 7, 2021

NFL Championship to Played Dec. 31

Dec. 7, 1961 - N.F.L. Commissioner Pete Rozelle (pictured center) said the championship game would start at 2 p.m. New York time on Sunday, Dec. 31 in Green Bay, Wis., unless there was a 3-way tie in the Eastern Conference. The Green Bay Packers have clinched the Western Conference crown. In the event that the Giants, Eagles, and Browns finish the regular season tied for first place, playoffs will be held on Dec. 24 and 31, delaying the title game until Jan. 7. If only two cl

Dec 6, 2021

NFL: Packer's Jim Taylor Having Monster Season

Dec. 6, 1961 - Green Bay’s Jim Taylor threatens to take the NFL’s individual rushing title away from Cleveland’s Jim Brown. Taylor made a big move toward overtaking Brown, the top rusher for each of the last 4 years, by collecting 186 yards Sunday when the Packers beat the Giants, 20-17. Brown picked up only 86 in Cleveland’s 38-17 victory over the Cowboys. Brown has 1,244 yards and Taylor 1,107. #NFL #football #footballplayer #footballgame #footballseason #footballislife #fo

Dec 3, 2021

NFL: Packers Clinch Western Conference Title

Dec. 3, 1961 - Pile-driving Jim Taylor hammered into the Giant line for a fourth-quarter touchdown today that clinched the NFL’s Western Conference title for Green Bay. This second score of the game by the Packers’ fullback put Coach Vince Lombardi’s team ahead, 20-17. That became the final score, and 30 minutes later enthusiasts in an overflow crowd of 47,012 at Milwaukee’s County Stadium leveled the goal posts. As a result of the defeat, the Giants fell back into a tie for

Nov 30, 2021

WOR-TV Likely Network for New York Mets Games in '62

Nov. 30, 1961 - New York stations WOR-TV and WOR radio said today they had reached “major portions of agreement” in negotiations to broadcast baseball games to be played next year by the New York #Mets, the new National League club. WOR-TV previously established itself as the home of National League baseball in New York, carrying Brooklyn #Dodgers games starting in 1950 and New York #Giants games in 1951 until both teams moved to California following the 1957 season. From 195

Nov 30, 2021

Private Hornung Gets Pass from Army to Play Giants Sunday

Nov. 30, 1961 - Just as the New York Giants had suspected, Paul Hornung (center) will be on the receiving end of a long pass from the Army this weekend. He will carry it from Fort Riley, Kan., to Milwaukee, where he will try to score for the Green Bay Packers in Sunday’s big game with the Giants. Before the Giants worked out yesterday, Coach Al Sherman (left) said his team’s plans had been made in the expectation that Pvts. Hornung, Boyd Dowler, and Ray Nitschke all would get

Nov 28, 2021

NFL Championship Game to Be Played Dec. 31

Nov. 28, 1961 - The NFL championship game will be held on Dec. 31 in the home park of the Western champion. The Green Bay Packers are currently in first place in the Western Conference, and there is little chance that any team can catch them. The New York Giants are now leading the Eastern race. The Philadelphia Eagles are a game back and the Cleveland Browns two games behind. The selection of the site was made in the usual manner — by flipping a coin. #NFL #football #footbal

Nov 26, 2021

NFL: Giants Top Steelers, 37-21, at Yankee Stadium

Nov. 26, 1961 - Shaky on defense and stalled on the ground in the first half, the Giants pulled themselves together at halftime and walloped the favored Cleveland Browns, 37-21, today before a stunned crowd of 80,455 at Cleveland Stadium. With this victory, Coach Allie Sherman’s New Yorkers maintained their one-game lead over the Philadelphia Eagles in the race for the NFL’s Eastern Conference title. By losing, the Browns, who had been tied with the Eagles, dropped to third p

Nov 23, 2021

NFL: Packers Beat Lions, 17-9 in Rain and Mud

Nov. 23, 1961 - The Green Bay Packers mounted two touchdown drives in the rain and mud today and took firm command of the NFL’s Western Division with a 17-9 victory over the Detroit Lions. The Packers pushed over their winning touchdown on Jim Taylor’s one-yard run on the first play of the final quarter. Pvt. Paul Hornung, on weekend pass from the Army, contributed 5 points, including a field goal in the final 38 seconds. A steady downpour pelted the 55,662 fans who watched t

Nov 20, 2021

NFL: Packers Rout Rams, 35-17

Nov. 20, 1961 - The Green Bay Packers scored 28 points in the second period last night on the passing of Bart Starr for a 35-17 NFL victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Starr, the league’s leading passer, tossed for three touchdowns and set up two others as the Packers raised their record to 8-2, the best in the Western Conference. In their first game since Paul Hornung went on active duty with the Army, the Packers started slowly, but Starr took charge and the game was won. #N

Nov 19, 2021

NFL: Giants Rout Steelers at Yankee Stadium

Nov. 19, 1961 - Recovering quickly from a stumbling start, the Giants routed the Pittsburgh Steelers, 42-21, today. By winning, the New Yorkers took sole possession of Eastern Conference leadership in the NFL. By improving their won-lost record to 8-2 with their third straight victory, the Giants took a one-game lead over the Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles, who are tied for second place in the East. Y.A. Tittle, the 35-year-old quarterback obtained from the Forty-Ni

Nov 17, 2021

Packers Sign Kicker to Fill In for Hornung

Nov. 17, 1961 - The Green Bay Packers signed Ben Agajanian (pictured), a 41-year-old kicker, today to take over part of Paul Hornung’s duties. Agajanian will play in Green Bay in Sunday’s NFL game against the Los Angeles Rams. Agajanian formerly played with the Rams and Giants. He was waived out of the American Football League by the Dallas Texans earlier in the day. While playing in college, Agajanian had four toes of his kicking foot crushed in a work accident and then ampu

Oct 22, 2021

NFL: Charlie Conerly Leads Giants to Comeback Win over Rams at Yankee Stadium

Oct. 22, 1961 - Charlie Conerly, one of the NFL’s great clutch players, led the New York Giants to a comeback 24-14 victory over the Los Angeles Rams today. Reactivated by Coach Allie Sherman, the 40-year-old quarterback from Mississippi fired touchdown passes of 10 and 37 yards to Kyle Rote and Del Shofner. These scoring strikes, accomplished within a 2-minute-3-second span in the closing stages of the fourth quarter, wiped out the 14-10 lead the Rams had gained. A Yankee St

Oct 15, 2021

NFL: Tittle Leads Giants to Victory over Dallas, 31-10

Oct. 15, 1961 - The New York Giants, led by quarterback Y.A. Tittle (pictured) and showing their best display of offense this season, continued today to be a mighty tough team to beat on the road. Adding touches of spectacular defense, including Erich Barnes’s 102-yard touchdown run with an intercepted pass, Coach Allie Sherman’s team made a sweep of its four-game trip today by whipping the Dallas Cowboys, 31-10. The Cotton Bowl crowd, estimated at 42,500, was the largest in

Sep 24, 2021

NFL: Y.A. Tittle, 35, Leads N.Y. Giants to Victory

Sept. 24, 1961 - With a big lift from Y.A. Tittle, the 35-year-old quarterback they acquired from San Francisco in a pre-season trade, the New York Giants downed the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-14, today. The game was seen by 35,587 spectators at Pitt Stadium. In his first appearance for the Giants since being injured on the first play of the first preseason contest with the Rams, Tittle completed 10 of 12 passes for 123 yards. Four completions in four tries figured in the forty-

Sep 10, 2021

NFL: Colts, Unitas Top Giants, 49-20, in Exhibition

Sept. 10, 1961 - When Johnny Unitas is at his best, he is practically unbeatable. And when the defense opposing the excellent Baltimore Colt quarterback is ineffective, it's an added boon for the Colts. Such was the situation today at the Yale Bowl. Unitas picked the New York Giants' defense apart and led the Colts to a 49-20 victory in the Albie Booth Memorial Game. It was the final preseason exhibition game for each of the NFL clubs. To add to the Giants' problems, their le