To help cleanse the palettes of Green Bay Packers fans everywhere following the loss to San Francisco on Sunday night, we present this long-form post featuring the game program of the 29th Annual All-Star Football Game from August 1962, which pitted the nation’s best college players against the defending NFL champion. That year, it was the Packers defending their 1961 championship, won against the New York Giants seven months earlier. The game was annually played at Chicago’s Soldier Field.
The collegiate staff of coaches — led by Otto Graham — leading the youngsters against the professionals. At the time, Graham was the head coach of the Coast Guard’s football team. Other coaches are Don Doll (USC), Dick Stanfel Notre Dame), Johnny Sauer, Dante Lavelli, and Mike Scarry University of Cincinnati).
Biographies of the collegiate staff of coaches.
Now we have the coaching staff of the 1962 Green Bay Packers. Head Coach Vince Lombardi, Phil Bengston (Defense), Bill Austin (Offensive Line), John “Red” Cochran (Offensive Backfield), and Norb Hecker (Defensive Backfield).
Biographies of the Green Bay Packers coaches.
Former coaches of the College All-Star teams: Noble Kizer, Purdue (1934); Frank Thomas, Alabama (1935); Bernard Bierman, Minnesota (1936 and 1945); Gus Dorais, Detroit (1937); and Bo McMillin, Indiana (1938 and 1946).
Former coaches of the College All-Star teams: Elmer Layden, Notre Dame (1938); Edward Anderson, Iowa (1949) and Holy Cross (1950); Carl Snavely, Cornell (1940); Bob Zuppke, Illinois (1942); Harry Stuhldreher, Wisconsin (1943), and Curly Lambeau, Green Bay (1955, 1956, and 1957).
Former coaches of the College All-Star teams: Lynn Waldorf, Northwestern (1944); Frank Leahy, Notre Dame (1947 and 1949); Bud Wilkinson, Yale (1951); Bobby Dodd, Georgia Tech (1952 and 1953); and Jim Tatum, University of Maryland (1954).
The Collegiate All-Stars’ starting QB in the 1961 game, Bill Kilmer (UCLA), will receive the Most Valuable Player of that contest.
The almost complete roster of the 1962 Collegiate All-Stars.
Nothing advertises the coming color television revolution quite like a black and white ad.
There are many pages featuring posed publicity photos of the college and professional players, featuring a favorite of the era — disembodied heads! here we see FB Earl Gros, Louisiana State; HB Angelo Dabiero, Notre Dame; G-T Charles Hinton, North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central University); T Dan Sullivan, Boston College; and QB Don Fuell, Mississippi Southern (now University of Southern Mississippi — which eventually gave us QB Brett Favre).
C Bill Saul, Penn State; T Bob Bill, Notre Dame; HB Chuck Lamson, Wyoming; T-G Fate Echols, Northwestern; G Jim Skaggs, Washington.
1962 Green Bay Packers players: T Henry Jordan (Virginia), T Dave Hanner (Arkansas), E Boyd Dowler (Colorado), B Herb Adderley (Michigan State), and C Ken Iman (S.E. Missouri).
Who says the NCAA and the NFL weren’t concerned about helmet safety 57 years ago?
Collegiate All-Star players: C Larry Onesti, Northwestern; C Mike Lucci, Tennessee; T-G R. L. (Pete) Case, Georgia; and T Bill Hudson, Memphis State.
Collegiate All-Star players: T Clark Miller, Utah State; B Glenn Glass, Tennessee; T Merlin Olsen, Utah State; C Wayne Frazier, Auburn; and T Billy Wilson, Auburn.
1962 Green Bay Packers players: T Bob Skoronski (Indiana); C Jim Ringo (Syracuse); HB Tom Moore (Vanderbilt); QB Bart Starr (Alabama); and E Ron Kramer (Michigan).
Collegiate All-Star players: E Bill Hull, Wake Forrest; E Reg Carolan, Idaho; C Daniel Birdwell, Houston; HB Lance Alworth, Arkansas; and FB Bob Ferguson, Ohio State.
Collegiate All-Star players: G-T Roy Winston, Louisiana State; E Bill Miller, Miami (Fla.); HB James Saxton, Texas; E Gary Collins, Maryland; and HB Wendell Harris, Louisiana State.
The 1962 All-Star Queen and her court, as well as the Jaycee All-Star Football Committee.
If Otto Graham says the Wilson football is good enough for him, it’s good enough for us.
Your game program’s center spread with the rosters for both teams.
Collegiate All-Star players: T Ken Byers, Cincinnati; LB Frank Buncom, Southern California; E Frank Parker, Oklahoma State; T Ray Jacobs, Howard Payne; T John Meyers, Washington; B Tom Dellinger, North Carolina State; T Ed Blaine, Missouri.
In case you want to order those 1962 Chicago Bears season tickets, here you go.
Collegiate All-Star players: T Joe Carollo, Notre Dame; E Robert Mitinger, Penn State; C Irvin Goode, Kentucky; HB Leroy Jackson, Western Illinois; and HB Henry Rivera, Oregon State.
1962 Green Bay Packers players: LB Dan Currie (Michigan State); LB Ray Nitschke (Illinois); E Bill Quinlan (Michigan State); HB Lew Carpenter (Arkansas); and LB Tom Bettis (Purdue).
1962 Green Bay Packers players: T Forrest Gregg (Southern Methodist); HB Paul Hornung (Notre Dame); HB Hank Gremminger (Baylor); LB Bill Forester (Southern Methodist); and HB John Symank (Florida).
1962 Green Bay Packers players: T Norm Masters (Michigan State); G Jerry Kramer (Idaho); E Gary Knafelc (Colorado); FB Jim Taylor (Louisiana State); and QB John Roach (Southern Methodist).
1962 Green Bay Packers players: G Fred Thurston (Valparaiso); E Max McGee (Tulane); E Lee Folkins (Washington); HB Jesse Whittenton (Texas Western); and E Willie Davis (Grambling).
Here is a unique ad that you would not see in a game program today. To set the tone, the Cuban Missile Crisis, the closest the Soviet Union and the United States came to actual all-out nuclear war, began about a month and a half after this football game.
Collegiate All-Star players: QB Bobby Ply, Baylor; HB Ronnie Bull, Baylor; QB John Hadl, Kansas; HB Ernie Davis, Syracuse; and Curtis McCinton, Kansas.
Ernie Davis, the first African American to win the Heisman Trophy, wore Jim Brown’s No. 44 at Syracuse, and was selected with the first overall pick of the 1962 National Football League draft by the Washington Redskins. They then traded him to the Cleveland Browns, whose owner Art Modell planned to pair Davis with Jim Brown in the team’s backfield (can you imagine?). Davis never played a game for the Browns, however, as he was diagnosed with leukemia before this College All-Star Game in August 1962. He underwent a variety of treatments in an attempt to return to football, but they were all unsuccessful; he died in a Cleveland hospital in 1963. Davis was posthumously inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1979.
— Source: Britannica
Collegiate All-Star players: T Bobby Plummer, Texas Christian; E Gregory Mather, Navy; E Charles Bryant, Ohio State; T Clyde Brock, Utah State; G Ray Pinion, Texas Christian; and QB Roman Gabriel, North Carolina State.
Biographies of the Green Bay Packers players.
1962 Green Bay Packers players: T Ron Kostelnik (Cincinnati); B Willie Wood (Southern California); and T Tom Kepner (Villanova).
Biographies of the Green Bay Packers players.
Biographies of the Green Bay Packers players.
1962 Green Bay Packers players: B Paul Dudley (Arkansas); HB Elijah Pitts (Philander Smith); and B Roger Holdinsky (West Virginia).
The almost complete roster of the 1962 Green Bay Packers.
Now that the football part is done, we thought we’d share some of the ads from the game program to give you a bit of a 1962 time capsule. Above, an ad for the Chevrolet Impala Convertible, with a “Jet Smooth Ride,” whatever that means.
Another convertible, the Oldsmobile Ninety-Eight, with Hydra-Matic drive.
Perhaps you’re a Cadillac person, in which case you’ll like this.
A forgotten piece of American automobile history now, the Studebaker company would cease production in 1966.
1962 — when train travel was still a common way to travel for business and pleasure.
Sinclair gas stations still exist, although not as common as they were then. In Green Bay, the Shell station at the intersection of Lombardi Avenue and Ashland Avenue still has a green Sinclair dinosaur outside, decorated with Packers accents, of course.
My parents have told stories of them going to Riverview Park in the Fifties, but it closed when I was five (in 1967) and I have no memories of it.
Cigarette ads with no Surgeon General’s Warnings. Heck, in 1962, most doctors smoked as well.
Buick ponied up the big bucks for a color ad. This is when cars were cars.
Ahhh, those were the days.
