Dec. 4: On this date in…
by Citizen Dan on Dec.04, 2008, under Commentary
…1960: The Packers could be forgiven for wanting to do a little scoreboard watching.
The Packers went into their meeting with the Bears trailing Chicago by half a game and Baltimore by a full game in the Western Conference standings with three games to play. The 5-4 Packers won with ease by leaving matters in the capable hands of HB Paul Hornung.
The fifth-year triple threat responded with a 23-point performance that gave him 152 for the season, breaking Don Hutson’s 18-year-old single-season scoring record. (Hornung would finish with 176 points for the year, still a record for a season of fewer than 16 games.) Overall, the Packers rolled over the Bears with 443 total yards, including 225 rushing yards in 43 attempts.
Despite the dominant win, the Packer locker room was filled with mixed emotions after the game. For one thing, the victory was tinged with sadness because the team’s brilliant chief scout, Jack Vainisi, had died of a heart attack the week before at age 33. The team dedicated the Chicago game to him.
Also, 600 miles away in Baltimore, it looked certain that the Colts would keep their lead over the Packers. With 14 seconds to play, Lenny Moore made an acrobatic catch of a John Unitas pass to give the Colts a 15-13 lead over Detroit.
With no radio or TV in the visitors’ locker room, Packer players and staff waited nervously while head coach Vince Lombardi spoke with reporters in an adjoining room. Lombardi slumped in disappointment when he was told of Moore’s touchdown, and he prepared to deliver the bad news to his players.
But just then came an update: On the next play from scrimmage, Lions TE Jim Gibbons had somehow gotten behind the Colts secondary and fielded a strike from QB Earl Morrall, rumbling 65 yards for the winning touchdown as time ran out. Final: Lions 20, Colts 15.
“Are you sure?” asked an incredulous Lombardi. “Don’t say anything to the players if you aren’t sure.”
Assured that the incredible finale had indeed happened, Lombardi let his jubilant players know that they were tied for first place. From there, the Packers won both of their remaining games while the Bears and Colts lost both of theirs, and the West belonged to the 8-4 Packers by a full game. The Lombardi dynasty was officially under way.
Dec. 4, 1960
Wrigley Field, Chicago
Attendance: 46,406
1 2 3 4 F Packers 0 13 14 14 41 Bears 0 6 7 0 13
GB: Paul Hornung, 21 FG
GB: Willie Davis recovered blocked punt in end zone (Hornung kick)
CHI: Willard Dewveall 19 pass from Ed Brown (PAT blocked)
GB: Hornung 41 FG
GB: Hornung 17 pass from Bart Starr (Hornung)
GB: Jim Taylor 2 run (Hornung)
CHI: Jim Dooley 20 pass from Zeke Bratkowski (John Aveni)
GB: Hornung 10 run (Hornung)
GB: Max McGee 46 pass from Starr (Hornung)
TE Ron Kramer catches a pass in an early-'60s game against the Bears.
Trivia: In what year did a Packer game at Lambeau Field last fail to sell out?
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Answer: A Nov. 22, 1959, game at City Stadium (as Lambeau was originally known) fell about 300 tickets short of a sellout.
Those who did turn out for the home finale of the 4-5 Packers were treated to a 21-0 victory over the 3-6 Washington Redskins, the first of four in a row by Green Bay to close out the 1959 schedule.
That was the last Packer game (regular or post-season) in Green Bay for which not every ticket was sold. Since then, it’s been nothing but sellouts at Lambeau — 275 in a row as of Nov. 30.