Tom Moore Gains a Few Yards

In a photo from the Packers-49ers game on November 24, 1963 at Milwaukee County Stadium, running back Tom Moore (#25) fights for yardage. This game was played despite some feeling it was inappropriate to proceed as usual in the wake of President Kennedy’s assassination the previous Friday.

The NFL played its full schedule of games (untelevised due to uninterrupted coverage of the assassination), only two days after President Kennedy's assassination, while the rival American Football League (AFL) postponed its games out of respect for the fallen president. Rozelle soon came to regret his decision to have the NFL play, and frequently stated publicly that it had been his worst mistake. However, Rozelle and then-White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger had been classmates at the University of San Francisco years before, and Rozelle consulted with him. Salinger urged Rozelle to play the games. Rozelle felt that way, saying that "it has been traditional in sports for athletes to perform in times of great personal tragedy." He also said that football was Kennedy's game and the late president thrived on competition.

On that Sunday, the Packers beat the 49ers 28-10 in front of 45,905 fans.

Bart Starr Sells the NFL

A scan from a 1963 NFL promotional booklet is our subject for today. Besides extolling the virtues of every team in the League, and the benefits of playing for the NFL (instead of the rival AFL), several key players present their own testimonials to the job of playing professional football. Packers’ quarterback Bart Starr is one of the players picked to give his opinion.

Franklin Field

For the second day, we present a stadium of an opposing team that has Packer ties. Franklin Field in Philadelphia, PA, was the site of the 1960 NFL championship game between the Eagles and Packers. The Eagles won that day 17-13 — the only playoff or championship game lost by Lombardi’s Packers.

Franklin Field is the University of Pennsylvania's stadium for football, field hockey, lacrosse, sprint football, and track and field (and formerly for soccer).

It was also the home of the Philadelphia Eagles from 1958 through 1970. On August 23, 1958, the first Canadian Football League game played on American soil between two Canadian teams was played at Franklin Field, as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeated the Ottawa Rough Riders, 13-7.

Metropolitan Stadium — 1962

Why, oh why would we be featuring a photo of the Minnesota Vikings’ original stadium — Metropolitan Stadium — on our all-Packers blog? Well, for two purposes. One, we love the old-time stadiums and the era they represent, and two, this is an aerial photo of the 1962 meeting between the Vikings and Packers. This is the October 14, 1962 contest between the teams, and the Packers won handily 48-21 in front of 41,475 fans in 75-degree temperatures.

Two other things to note are that the baseball season is now over and the Twins were not involved in post-season play, so the baseball infield has been sodded over for the rest of the football season. The same thing was done in Milwaukee County Stadium for Packer games once the Brewers’ season was over.

Also, this game is being played on the same day that American U-2 spy planes took photos of the build up of Soviet missiles on the island of Cuba. The “Cuban Missile Crisis” that brought the world to the brink of nuclear war began with those photos taken on this day.

A Kicking Lineman?

Yes... that’s Packers’ offensive guard Jerry Kramer (#64) kicking a field goal during the 1962 season. How many of today’s lineman could do that double duty? Kramer served as the team's place kicker in 1962, 1963, and part of 1968. In 1962, he kicked 38 out of 39 PAT’s and made 9 of 11 field goals for 65 total points. He also kicked three field goals and one extra point in the Packers 16-7 victory over the New York Giants in the 1962 NFL title game. Overall as the Packers’ place kicker, he made 29 field goals and 90 PAT’s, for a total of 177 points.

The Defense at Detroit — 1963

In a season where they were not able to three-peat their NFL title because of two losses to the eventual champion Bears, the Packers face Detroit here in today’s posting. In the second meeting with the Lions that year in Tiger Stadium, Green Bay ended up tying Detroit, 13-13 in front of 54,016 fans on Thursday, November 28 — Thanksgiving Day. The previous Sunday, they had played the 49ers in Milwaukee after Pete Rozelle’s controversial decision that all games must go on despite President Kennedy’s assassination on the Friday before. They would win the final two games after the Detroit contest, but fall one game behind the Bears in the final Western Conference standings for a record of 11-2-1. In today’s photo, we see Henry Jordan (#74) ready to assist his unidentifiable teammate who has already wrapped up Lions’ halfback Dan Lewis (#45). Willie Davis (#87) comes in from the right to make it a gang tackle.

Coach Phil

Today we present another shot of head coach Phil Bengston on the sidelines, making decisions with the information from up in the assistant coaches booth. Formerly the defensive coordinator, Bengston — you may recall — had the particular misfortune of taking over for Vince Lombardi in 1968. In the next three seasons, Bengston’s Packers underwhelmed the fans’ expectations and compiled a 20-21-1 record.

After a turbulent 1970 season filled with labor disputes, blowout losses, and the final merger of the AFL and NFL, the Packers had only their second losing season since 1959. Thoroughly frustrated, Phil Bengtson resigned two days after being shut out in the season finale against the Detroit Lions. It was obvious the organization and the community craved the high standards of winning established a decade earlier.

The 1970 season was also the final season of Forrest Gregg as a Packer, a year later he returned home to play for the Dallas Cowboys where he joined his own former Green Bay teammate Herb Adderley.

Johnny “Blood” McNally

A 1930’s publicity shot of Packers’ great Johnny “Blood” McNally is our offering for today. McNally played in the National Football League for 14 seasons, with five different teams. In his prime, McNally was 6'1" and 188 lbs., known for his speed, agility, and pass-catching ability. He got his professional start in 1925 with the Milwaukee Badgers, where he became famous as the "Vagabond Halfback" for his off-the-field behavior and spontaneity. In 1926 and 1927 he played for the Duluth Eskimos, and in 1928 he played with the Pottsville Maroons. Between 1929 and 1936 he played with the Green Bay Packers, with whom he won four championships. In 1937, he moved on to the Pittsburgh Steelers (then called the Pirates), where on his first play he ran back a kick 92 yards for a touchdown. He ended his NFL career in 1939 as the head coach of the Pirates. From 1950-1952, he coached football at Saint John's where he amassed 13-9 record during his three year stint.

McNally's spontaneous and bizarre behavior didn't stop with his football career. Upon one occasion, out of boredom, he climbed to the top of a train, walked to the engineer's car, dropped through the ceiling, and spent the rest of the trip entertaining the drivers.

In the Second World War, McNally served as a cryptographer in India. McNally returned to Saint John's at age 42 to finish his economics degree and write a textbook on the subject.

McNally was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963. Johnny Blood's life and career are the basis for the character Dodge Connolly in the movie Leatherheads, which opened April 4, 2008. The character is played by George Clooney. McNally died in 1985.

John Brockington in a Frozen Met Stadium

Today we see Packers’ running back John Brockington (#42) about to collide with or elude the Vikings’ Paul Krause during a frozen game on December 10, 1972. The Packers beat Minnesota that day, 23-7, in front of 49,784 frigid fans in Metropolitan Stadium — where the “Mall of America” now stands. In zero degree temperatures, with a nine-mile-per-hour wind making it feel like minus-eighteen, Green Bay clinched the Division title for the first time since 1967.

MacArthur Lane Gains Yardage

MacArthur Lane was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1st round (13th overall) of the 1968 NFL Draft. A 6'0", 220-lb. running back from Utah State University, Lane played in 11 National Football League seasons from 1968 to 1978 for the Cardinals, the Green Bay Packers, and the Kansas City Chiefs. Lane was a Pro Bowl selection in 1970 when he led the NFL in rushing touchdowns with 11. During the 1976 season, Lane led the NFL in receptions with 66. He played in 41 games for the Packers from 1972-1974.