For today, we have another blog posting dealing with the 1965 NFL championship game which was played in Green Bay on January 2, 1966. The Packers defeated the Cleveland Browns 23-12 that day for coach Vince Lombardi’s third title in “Titletown.” The next day, an article in the Milwaukee Journal by Terry Bledsoe read: “Jim Taylor got up at 8:00 a.m. Sunday and peered out of the window of his room at the Bay Motel. ‘I liked what I saw’ he recalled in the humid home club dressing room at Lambeau Field eight hours later. ‘I knew the snow was going to equalize some things.’”
“Taylor and his family had moved into the hotel Friday to avoid having to pay another month’s rent on their leased home, and it was there Saturday night that he first learned of the pile of slush that was approaching the city. ‘We heard on television that the forecast was for some snow, but not this much,’ he said. ‘When I saw it this morning, I knew it could only be good news.’”
“If ever good things came in bad packages, this was the time, for the businesslike 23-12 victory with which the Packers reclaimed the National Football League championship was wreathed in a combination of rain and sleet and darkness of noon which would have routed all but the most dedicated postman.”
“The snow waited until the protective tarpaulin had been removed from the field Sunday morning, and then swooped down, preceded by rain and followed by sleet, to coat the surface of the ground with a muddy grease. It was cold enough to produce a smoke signal of breath when the teams lined up, warm enough to create goo which applied a secondary smear to any runner smeared by the opposition.”
“Taylor was named winner of a sports car as the games’s outstanding player in a competition which must have been restricted to him and his two backfield mates. He ran for 96 yards and Hornung 105 and Starr passed for 147 more. Jerry Kramer, who plays guard for the Packers, whooped in delight when he heard of Taylor’s selection. ‘I knew it,’ he yelped. ‘I knew it would be either Jimmy or Paul. I kept asking them during the game, ‘If I win the car for you, what’ll you give me? I told them I wanted part of the car if I was going to block for them. I never did get Jimmy pinned down on it though.’”
