The First America's Team. Bob Berghaus
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remembers Taylor being upset because he was considered second fiddle to the great Jim Brown, the Cleveland Browns fullback who led the league in rushing every year he played during his nine-year career—except in 1962, when Taylor won the title with 1,474 yards.
“He was always mindful of Jim Brown,” Davis said. “Nothing would have pleased Jim Taylor more than having a breakout game in the championship game so he could say to Jim Brown, ‘In your face.’
“The Giants really took it to him that game. He was literally beat up by the end of the game and even into the next week when they discovered he had a sickness. Still he played a tough game and he didn’t get one free yard.”
Following the game, while talking to reporters, Huff paid the ultimate compliment to the Green Bay fullback.
“Taylor isn’t human. No human being could have taken the punishment he got today,” Huff said. “Every time he was tackled it was like crashing him down on a cement sidewalk because the ground was as hard as pavement. But he kept bouncing up, snarling at us, and asking for more.”
Taylor told reporters that the Giant players taunted him throughout, calling him over-rated.
“I never took a worse beating on a football field,” Taylor said. “The Giants hit me hard, and then I hit the ground hard. I got it both ways. I just rammed it right back at them, letting my running do the talking. They couldn’t rattle me.”
Meanwhile, the Giants offense couldn’t get into the end zone. Tittle kept trying to go long, but the gusting winds sometimes pushed the ball several yards back. The Giants had success with short passes but 3 turnovers—1 interception and 2 fumbles—were devastating.
“The ball was like a diving duck,” Tittle said after the game. “I threw one pass and it almost came back to me. The short ones worked, but the long ball broke up. We needed the long one.”
After the Packers took a 3–0 lead Tittle used short passes to drive to the Packers 15-yard line. Tittle had tight end Joe Walton open on the goal line when he delivered a pass. But Nitschke got his hand on it, tipping it in the air. The ball was intercepted by Dan Currie, who made a long return but staggered as he fell to the ground because his knee gave out. He looked like a punch-drunk fighter trying to stay on his feet before hitting the canvas.
“I go about 30 or 40 yards and it starts to waver and wobble,” Currie said after the game. “It’s not that strong yet.”
The Giants’ lone score came in the third quarter, and it was without any help from the offense. Packer flanker Boyd Dowler, who also was the team’s punter, had a bad leg, which kept him from punting. That chore fell to Max McGee, who before Dowler arrived had been the punter. He took a snap while standing in his end zone, and Giants defensive back Erich Barnes swooped in untouched and blocked the kick. Giants special team player Jim Collier fell on the ball in the end zone for a touchdown that cut the Packers lead to 10–7.
The crowd at Yankee Stadium was re-energized, and shouts of “Beat Green Bay” rose louder than ever. But Tittle just couldn’t deal with the wind. He needed 41 attempts to complete 18 passes for 197 yards. Shofner had 5 receptions for 69 yards but never could get past cornerback Jesse Whittenton, who played much of the game with limited mobility after suffering a jarring hit to the ribs delivered by Giants fullback Phil King. Had it not been so windy, Shofner may have been able to get downfield for an opportunity for a long play.
“I busted up my ribs in the first quarter,” Whittenton said after the game. “King had the ball on a sweep or a screen—I don’t remember which—and I came up and got it in the side. I had figured to play Del tight, but after that I had to drop off him because I couldn’t move around as good as usual. I had to give him the short one, and I’m glad they couldn’t throw the long one.”
The Packers secondary suffered another loss when safety Willie Wood was ejected in the third quarter after he unintentionally knocked down back judge Tom Kelleher. Wood had tipped a pass directed at Shofner and Kelleher called it interference. Wood approached the official and began to protest when he slipped and hit Kelleher, causing him to fall down. Wood was replaced for the remainder of the game by one-time starter Johnny Symank.
“I was covering Shofner on a crossing pattern,” Wood said after the game. “I went for the ball and suddenly I saw the white handkerchief go down. I jumped up to protest and my hand must have hit him in the chest.”
Said Kelleher, “In my opinion, Wood committed an overt act in striking me and that called for disqualification. If I had bumped into him it would have been a different matter.”
The rest of the scoring was done by Kramer, who during the regular season had made 38 of 39 extra-point attempts and was good on 9 of 11 field-goal tries. He booted a 30-yarder with four minutes left in the third quarter for a 13–7 lead.
Then, with 1:50 remaining in the game, Kramer capped the scoring with a field goal from 29 yards for a 16–7 lead, which on this brutal day was enough to secure a second championship for the team that resided in the NFL’s smallest city. As he left the field, Kramer was swamped by his joyous teammates. He had been forced to watch the 37–0 win the previous year because of a broken leg, and now he was a championship game hero.
“If I made that kick, that pretty much meant the game,” Kramer said. “So in those situations you try to focus on keeping your head down. That was my focus at that time, keeping my head down and following through. Don’t look up prematurely; make sure you hit the ball squarely. I believe I aimed the ball outside the right goal post. The wind was whipping into the post, just circling in the stadium going round and round. When the thing went through I was afraid I was going to miss it, afraid I was going to be the goat, so it was great relief more than anything else.
Jerry Kramer, who took over kicking duties for the team after the injury to Paul Hornung, practices his technique during a workout.
“All the guys were jumping on me. I was feeling like a wide receiver or a running back for a moment. I never had that kind of reaction before.”
Dowler recalled how the big offensive guard swung his foot into the football.
“He jabbed at the ball,” Dowler said. He hit it pretty square, pretty solid, and they went through. It was a pretty good accomplishment when your right guard kicks three field goals in the championship game.”
On most days Kramer’s point production might have been good enough for him to be selected as the game’s MVP by media covering the game. That honor instead went to Nitschke, the bald, ferocious middle linebacker who had tipped the touchdown-bound pass and also had recovered two fumbles.
“The players voted me the game ball, which is an example of what life is like for a lineman in that business,” Kramer recalled. “The writers voted Nitschke the game’s MVP, and he got the Corvette. I got the game ball, which is a lot more than what most offensive linemen get.”
In newspaper accounts of the game, Nitschke seemed genuinely touched to be named MVP.
“It’s a great big thrill,” said Nitschke, who died in 1998. “It’s like a dream. You dream of a thing like that happening to you.”
Later that night the menacing linebacker, wearing dark-rimmed glasses and a suit, appeared on What’s My Line, the prime-time game show that ran every Sunday night on CBS. A group of panelists would ask questions of a guest, trying to figure out his or her occupation.
Dorothy Kilgallen, one of the regulars on the show, asked Nitschke if he was a member of the government.
Arlene Francis, another panelist, said, “He’s very quiet and reserved, which would lead one to believe he is with the Giants, but I believe he’s with the Green Bay Packers.”
Following the game, players talked about the hitting that occurred on Yankee Stadium’s frozen field.
“That was the toughest game I ever played in,” Hornung said.