1960s Timeline

June 30, 1962 - The Cleveland Browns have been the most active in making player trades in the NFL for the coming season. They have acquired seven players and traded nine. Cleveland’s biggest deal — and undoubtedly the biggest in the league during the off-season — brought Ernie Davis, an all-American halfback, from the Redskins in exchange for Bobby Mitchell and Leroy Jackson of Southern Illinois. This is the longest period the Browns have played without winning a title, and t

June 29, 1962 - Roman Gabriel (pictured with ball) of North Carolina State and Bob Ferguson of Ohio State, 1961 college stars who are headed to the NFL, led the East to a 13-8 victory over the West today in the second All-America Bowl football game in Buffalo, N.Y. It attracted 22,759 fans. Gabriel, a future Los Angeles Ram, plunged from the 1-yard line on a quarterback sneak for one East touchdown in the third period. Ferguson, a fullback slated to join the Pittsburgh Steele

June 26, 1962 - Forsaking another shot at the Olympics for “my first love, football,” Frank Budd, Villanova’s great sprinter, today signed to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. Vince McNally, general manager of the Eagles, said that Budd signed a contract with no promises that he would be retained unless he made the squad. The Eagles weren’t exactly buying an unknown quantity in making Budd their seventh draft choice this year and signing the 100-yard dash world record-holder.

June 16, 1962 - Pat Summerall, the New York Giants’ place-kicking specialist for the past four NFL seasons, retired today to become a sports broadcaster for CBS. The 32-year-old Summerall, who played for three NFL clubs during a 10-year pro career, scored a total of 567 points on 101 field goals, 258 extra points, and 1 touchdown. He missed only 8 conversion tries and made 129 in a row before he retired. That is 27 short of the record. Summerall’s most famous field goal (pict

June 13, 1962 - John (Hondo) Havlicek, captain of the Ohio State basketball team last season, signed today with the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. Two professional basketball champions — the Boston Celtics of the NBA and the Cleveland Pipers of the American Basketball League — had drafted Havlicek and had tried to sign him. The Browns said that four baseball teams also were interested in the 22-year-old, 6-foot-5-inch, 205-pound athlete. They are the Indians, Yankees, Phillies,

June 4, 1962 - Roosevelt Grier (#76), a 6-foot-5-inch, 280-pound defensive specialist, returned his signed 1962 contract today to the New York Giants. This will be his seventh season with the NFL team. Grier, an entertainer during the off-season, has been a member of four Eastern Division championship teams while with the Giants. The rugged Grier is the third of the Giants’ Fearsome Foursome to come to terms. Previously signed were Jim Katcavage and Andy Robustelli. #NFL #foo

May 29, 1962 - Jim Brown, a fullback who has set several NFL records with his powerful runs, put another in the books today. He signed a contract for his sixth season with the Cleveland Browns at a salary reported to make him the highest paid player in pro football. The former Syracuse all-American, who considered retiring to enter business last winter, said he was “looking forward to having a fine year and plan to give 100%, as I always do.” Arthur B. Modell, president of th

May 23, 1962 - The NFL increased the salary of its commissioner, Pete Rozelle, by $10,000 to $60,000 a year today. Rozelle was awarded a new five-year contract plus a $10,000 bonus at a meeting of league officials at New York’s Plaza Hotel. The action followed a report by Rozelle that average sales throughout the league were up 10%. “There is every reason to believe we will have our first year of four million paid attendance,” said Rozelle. The biggest boost in advance sales

May 21, 1962 - A Federal judge ruled today that the NFL did not have a monopoly in professional football. In a 37-page decision, Judge Roszel C. Thomsen acquitted the NFL of all charges made against it by the American Football League in a $10 million anti-trust suit. The judge held that the older league, formed in 1920, had not engaged in monopoly, attempted monopoly, or engaged in a “conspiracy in unreasonable restraint of trade or commerce.” The AFL was organized in late 19

Apr. 29, 1962 - Paul Hornung (pictured with Bart Starr), the star back of the Green Bay Packers, said today that he expected to be released from the Army on July 15, the starting date for practice for the NFL season. Hornung, a jeep driver at Fort Riley, Kan., flew into Milwaukee to receive the sixth annual Joseph (Red) Dunn Memorial Award as Wisconsin’s 1961 “athlete of the year.” Hornung, a former Notre Dame star, also won the award in 1960. He tallied 146 points in the 196

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Apr. 2, 1962 - Frank Gifford ended a one-year retirement today and rejoined the New York Giants of the NFL. He signed for “pretty close” to his $25,000 salary of 1960. The 31-year-old former all-pro halfback said he had given up his sports broadcasting duties at WCBS to concentrate on his football comeback. “There are many reasons for my returning to the Giants,” he said. “First and most important, I love the game. Possibly, I made a mistake in leaving.” Many observers believ

Feb. 26, 1962 - Lamar Hunt contended today that the NFL did not announce expansion plans in 1959 until after he had founded the American Football League. Hunt, the owner of the Dallas Texans in the American League, was the only witness to testify in U.S. District Court on the first day of the American League’s $10,080,000 antitrust suit against the NFL. He was on the stand for more than four hours. The suit accuses the NFL of monopolizing professional football. It includes a

Feb. 24, 1962 - Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns is the only player in NFL history to win individual rushing titles five times, the official 1961 statistics showed today. The outstanding fullback did it in each of his five NFL seasons. Brown and the champion Green Bay Packers took top honors in the 1961 rushing department, the latter taking the team laurels won in 1960 by the St. Louis Cardinals. Brown carried a record 305 times for 1,408 yards, only 119 short of his league

Feb. 18, 1962 - Red Barber (pictured left with USC football coach Jeff Cravath in 1947) will be the host of “Sports-a-rama,” a series of six monthly programs to be broadcast by CBS radio beginning April 6 at 7:10 p.m. Mr. Barber will interview leading sports figures on the scene of various events. The 20-minute programs will cover baseball, the Kentucky Derby, the Indianapolis Speedway race, the Professional Golfers Association tournament, the baseball pennant race, and a pre

Feb. 15, 1962 - CBS today won TV rights to college football for the next two seasons. The network will pay a record sum of $10,200,000 for the 2-year contract. The games will be televised Saturday afternoons and on Thanksgiving Day. Nine will be seen on a nationwide network hook-up, including the one on Thanksgiving. The first of the two seasons will run from Sept. 15 through Dec. 8. CBS has three weeks to submit a schedule for approval by the NCAA. #CBS #NCAA #collegefootbal

Jan. 18, 1962 - Lou Saban (pictured), who coached the Boston Patriots until last October, was named head coach today of the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League. He replaces Garrard (Buster) Ramsey. Saban, who became director of player personnel for the Bills after his dismissal by the Patriots, signed a one-year contract believed to be around $20,000. The 40-year-old Saban is a former defensive captain of the Cleveland Browns of the NFL. Ramsey was dismissed Jan. 4

Jan. 14, 1962 - With two seconds left, Johnny Unitas (left) threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Jon Arnett today to give the favored West a 31-30 victory over the East in the NFL Pro Bowl. The scoring toss provided a wild climax to a hectic game. A few minutes before, Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns had shaken off four tacklers and rambled 70 yards to a touchdown to put the East ahead, 30-24. Brown’s touchdown run broke the Pro Bowl record of 66 yards set by Alan Ameche of th

Jan. 13, 1962 - Paul (Bear) Bryant of Alabama was voted 1961’s college football coach of the year today by the American Football Coaches Association. Bryant’s Alabama team was undefeated and untied in 10 regular-season games. It was ranked No. 1 by The Associated Press and United Press International. The other candidates were Darrell Royal of Texas, Aldo (Buff) Donelli of Columbia, Woody Hayes of Ohio State, Murray Warmath of Minnesota, Bill Murray of Duke, Jack Mollenkopf of

Jan. 13, 1962 - Paul Hornung (second from right), the most valuable player in the National Football League this year, is currently on active Army duty at Fort Riley, Kansas. “He hasn’t asked for anything and doesn’t expect any favors,” says the company commander, Capt. Melvin Heyn of Fargo, N.D. Lieut. Duane Dinius, the platoon leader for whom Hornung drives a jeep, describes him as a “real fine boy, a normal every-day fellow. I’d say he’s an average G.I.” From the enlisted m