From the December 3, 1963 issue of LOOK magazine in a story titled, “Sunday Football Madness.” Caption: “Sam Huff attempts to unscrew the head of Green Bay’s Jim Taylor, as hooded opponents admire his resolve.” This was during the 1962 NFL Championship game between the Packers and the Giants at Yankee Stadium, a game played on December 30, 1962.
Also from the same story and issue, a photo that I don’t believe we’ve seen before — the scene on the frozen field after the game ended with Green Bay’s second title under Head Coach Vince Lombardi.
The '62 NFL title game figured to be a much tougher test against the Giants, who wanted to show their fans in New York that the game the year before was an aberration (the Packers had clobbered the Giants 37-0 in Green Bay). Yankee Stadium was also a homecoming for Lombardi, as he was a New York City native and was an assistant coach for the Giants from 1954-1958.
One thing that many people don’t know is how cold it was in New York that day. During the contest it became so cold due to wind chill that a cameraman filming the game suffered frostbite, and television crews used dugout bonfires to thaw out their cameras. One broadcaster later described the weather as “barbaric.”
Were the conditions at the '62 NFL title game comparable to the fabled “Ice Bowl?” “You know, they were very similar,” guard and placekicker Jerry Kramer said. “Vince Lombardi Jr. and I were talking about it years later, and Vince Jr. thought the Giants game was colder than the 1967 championship, played in Green Bay on December 31 of that year. Vince Jr. was at both games, too. It was just a bitter cold day. The wind was sharp and biting.”
The cold conditions favored the Packers who used a run-oriented offense led by Taylor, while the Giants featured a more pass-heavy offense led by quarterback Y. A. Tittle who had passed for 3,224 yards and 33 touchdowns in the regular season.
GAME QUOTES:
“I don't remember ever being hit so hard. I bled all game. They really came to play.”
— Packers fullback Jim Taylor, who rushed for 85 yards on 31 carries in the game.
“That was the hardest football game I ever played in.”
— Packers halfback Paul Hornung
“It was the coach's backyard and his first time back in the big city in a playoff game. We knew how much it meant to him. There was considerable pressure and we understood it was going to be a substantial battle.”
— Guard and placekicker Jerry Kramer
“We're still the better team.”
— Giants halfback Frank Gifford
