This is part two in a two-part series, covering the second half of this classic contest. Part one, covering the first half, can be found here. The game summary is in present tense to hopefully give a feel for events unfolding in real time.
Packers Lead at Halftime
The Packers lead 10-0 at halftime. The brutal weather conditions curtail the Giants prolific passing game. A potential 17-point lead looks insurmountable. Green Bay receives the second-half kickoff, an opportunity to take that sizeable advantage.
Tom Moore fields Don Chandler’s kick. Moore breaks down the sideline. He races all the way to the 50 but fumbles as he goes down. Ken Iman recovers for the Packers. Green Bay’s fortunate to recover all of their fumbles today.
Jim Taylor is stuffed by Dick Modzelewski on first down. The Packers line up strong right on second, and Bart Starr completes a pass to Boyd Dowler at the Giant 41. On 3rd and 1, Tom Scott forces Taylor to fumble at the line of scrimmage. Fuzzy Thurston recovers this one for the Packers, although they are forced to punt. Max McGee’s punt is downed at the Giant 6.
Embed from Getty ImagesBoth Teams Punt
The Giants come out of halftime’s gate looking sharp. Alex Webster takes the first down handoff to about the 10, where he’s dragged down by Henry Jordan and Ray Nitschke. Webster runs off tackle on second down, breaking into the Packer secondary. Hank Gremminger tackles him at the 23-yard line. Webster takes his third handoff in a row for 2 yards to the 25.
Y.A. Tittle now looks to pass. He airs it to Del Shofner for a first down at the Giant 36. Phil King runs to the 41, and Webster adds 2 more yards before Bill Quinlan wraps him up. On 3rd and 3, Webster goes off tackle left and gets to the midfield stripe.
Tittle calls a pass on first down. Quinlan and Bill Forester force Tittle to hurry, and the pass intended for Shofner falls incomplete. The Giants run a play-action to stall the pass rush, but the Packers bulldoze through. Tittle’s dump to Webster only gets them back to the line of scrimmage.
The Packers aggressive defense is called for offsides, giving the Giants 5 yards. On 3rd and 5, linebacker Dan Currie snuffs out a screen to Joe Morrison. Chandler’s punt bounces into the end zone for a touchback.
Paul Hornung takes a handoff, but Sam Huff, Bill Winter, and Jim Katcavage of the Giants crush him for a 5-yard loss. Starr misses two straight passes to McGee, the first nearly being intercepted by Dick Lynch. McGee lines up to punt for Green Bay.
Giants Get Their First Touchdown
Giant cornerback Erich Barnes notices Packer Lew Carpenter lined up inside and decides to rush McGee, letting Carpenter go free. Barnes’ gamble pays huge dividends; he blocks the punt. Packer Gary Barnes tries to pick up the ball near the 3, but the rookie from Clemson can’t find the handle. A mass of blue shirts converge. Jim Collier falls on top of the ball at the goal line. The refs signal a Giants touchdown, and Yankee Stadium goes delirious.
“It was dangerous,” Barnes told Sports Illustrated. “When I go in like that, I’m exposing my area to a pass….It’s a judgment thing, and you have to decide quickly.”
The score is now 10-7, Packers. Tom Moore fields the kickoff, breaks a tackle at the 25, and gets to the Packer 34.
What happens next wouldn’t happen today. Starr tells the officials that his teammates can’t hear the signals. The Packers return to the huddle while the officials quiet the crowd.
Giant lineman Rosey Grier refuses to be quiet. He slams Jim Taylor for a 1-yard loss on first down. The Packers run a sweep, but Modzelewski and Scott push Taylor back another 2 yards. Starr throws to Kramer on 3rd, but it’s broken up and nearly intercepted by Winter. Momentum favors the Giants right now.
Lady Luck Winks at the Packers
The Packers punt again, McGee booting a low, sinking punt. Just as quickly as momentum changed in the Giants favor earlier, Lady Luck winks at the Packers. Sam Horner fumbles the punt, and Ray Nitschke comes out of the rugged pile up clutching the ball. The Packers regain possession at the Giant 42-yard line.
Taylor busts left on a sweep for 12 yards. Andy Robustelli brings him down, and they both roll to a stop. Taylor casually gets up and tosses the ball to the refs. Robustelli charges Taylor with a clenched fist headed towards his face. Taylor jerks back, looking as surprised as a high school football coach after an icy Gatorade bath. The refs, however, appear indifferent. Two of them grab Robustelli rather calmly, possibly asking him to politely reconsider punching ol’ Jimmy after the play.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Packers gain nothing on first down, and Taylor fights for 4 tough yards on second. Starr slips while passing on third. The ball floats in the air, seemingly without direction. Boyd Dowler comes from nowhere to lasso it in on the sideline at the Giant 22.
It’s not, however, enough for a first down. The Packers line up for a field goal, and Kramer again pushes it through the uprights. The Packers get points off the turnover, but the Giants can still take the lead with a touchdown. The score is 13-7 with 4 minutes left in the third.
Building the Lombardi Legacy
The Lombardi legacy as we know it had not been built. The Packers were in their third straight title game, having lost to the Eagles in 1960 and topping the Giants in 1961. They were good, not iconic. The legend remained under construction, future Hall of Famers like Willie Davis laboring long hours as crew.
“Those games really were signature moments at the most critical time in the league’s history,” Davis told the New York Times decades later. “We were these nobodies from little old Wisconsin, and they were the Giants from big and sophisticated New York. And they were a recognized great team with lots of stars. But we had Lombardi. We were determined, and we were ready to show it.”
Embed from Getty ImagesWillie Davis had a Hall of Fame career with the Packers.
Giants Won’t Cower to Young Packers
The Giants, winners of the 1956 title, were runners-up in 1958, 59, and 61. They weren’t about to cower to the young Packers. After Willie Wood’s kick sails through the end zone for a touchback, the Giants adjust their offense to the steady 25mph winds.
Tittle drops back two steps and immediately throws to Frank Gifford on the sideline. The “Sideline Pass” nets the Giants 6 yards. After Forester and Quinlan stop Webster for no gain, the Giants run the exact same Sideline Pass for a first down. Packer cornerback Herb Adderley experiences difficulty defending the play, which is over almost as quickly as it starts.
Embed from Getty ImagesSports Illustrated put Frank Gifford on the cover previewing the game.
Tittle throws Del Shofner’s way twice. Packer Jesse Whittington breaks up the first pass. Whittenton tackles Shofner immediately after Shofner grabs the second one at the Giant 42. Coincidentally, Shofner and Whittenton were once roommates with the Rams. The refs measure for a first and declare it 3rd and 1.
Alex Webster barely gets enough for the first down. Tittle throws to tight end Joe Walton across midfield to the Green Bay 47. Tittle goes back to Shofner on second down, and a bizarre sequence ensues.
Tension Fills Yankee Stadium
Willie Wood breaks up the pass. Back Judge Thomas Kelleher tosses a flag for pass interference. Willie outstretches his hands in disbelief as Kelleher runs past him to mark the ball. Kelleher trips over Wood. Wood gets ejected for bumping Kelleher. This also tacks 15 yards of personal foul yardage onto the play. The Packers find themselves without a future Hall of Famer in the secondary. The Giants happily find themselves camped on the Packer 18.
Afterward, Wood said, “I jumped up to protest, and my hand must have hit him in the chest. I guess he must have thought I was trying to throw a punch.”
Kelleher stated, “In my opinion, Wood committed an overt act in striking me that called for disqualification.”
Commissioner Pete Rozelle noted that ejections carry at least $50 in fines.
Tension fills Yankee Stadium. The home team knocks on the door to take the lead late in the third. Optimism and excitement warm the frosty fans in the dropping temperatures.
End of Third Quarter
Tittle overthrows Shofner on first down. On second down, Tittle hands off to King, who hands off to Frank Gifford on a reverse. Gifford’s met immediately by Packer Bill Forester and back to Tittle, nearly 10 yards behind him. Tittle throws right to linebacker Dan Currie, who drops an easy interception. A collective sigh of relief fills Yankee Stadium.
The Giants run a play-action pass on third, but tight end Joe Walton gets nabbed for a penalty behind the line of scrimmage. This sends the Giants back to the Packer 40, and a 3rd and 32 situation.
Tittle completes a 7-yard pass to Webster, but the Giants again get flagged. What was once 1st and 10 on the Packer 18 is now 3rd and 47 near their own 40! The Giants punt after an incomplete pass. The ball stops at the Packer 28, ten yards behind the original line of scrimmage.
An action-packed third quarter ends. The quarter featured momentum shifts, an ejection, scoring by both teams, but no lead changes. The Packers still own a 13-7 margin.
Start of Fourth Quarter
The Packers start on their own 28. Starr fakes a handoff to Taylor and gives to Tom Moore on kind of a reverse sweep. Moore breaks all the way to the 43. He’s had good kick returns and now a good rush today. After an incomplete pass, Taylor gets to the 47 before Huff, Grier, and Modzelewski slam him down. Starr fires incomplete in McGee’s direction, and the Packers punt again.
The Giants start on their 24. Phil King goes left for 3 yards, where Jordan and Nitschke unpleasantly greet him. Tittle fires a Sideline Pass to Gifford, but this time it’s incomplete. Tittle throws over the middle on third, where Gremminger bats it in Adderley’s direction, and Herb nearly intercepts.
Elijah Pitts fields Don Chandler’s punt at the Packer 22. He makes a nifty return to the Giant 43. Two handoffs result in only one yard, thanks to Modzelewski and Huff. Bart Starr backpedals deep on third. He fires to Max McGee, who makes the catch at the Giant 30.
The Packers go back to the run, but Huff, Modzelewski, and Tom Scott bust Taylor at the line of scrimmage. The Packers run a draw to Taylor, and Jim Katcavage isn’t fooled; Taylor gets knocked back 2 yards. The Packers try a draw to Moore, and Katcavage laughs, pounding Moore down also.
Green Bay lines up for a field goal, but the kick falls short. Jimmy Patton picks it up at the 3 and maybe gets to the 5. The Giants start deep in their own end.
Defenses Disrupting Plays
Dan Hanner stops Alex Webster for no gain. A second down pass to Shofner misses. The Packers jump offside, giving the Giants 3rd and 5. Tittle then connects with Gifford down the sideline at the 25. Adderley forcefully knocks Gifford out of bounds. Gifford’s body sails several feet, almost into the player bench. He still picks up the first down.
Tittle then hits Walton at the 37 for another first down. The Giants are moving, trailing by only 6 with about 8 minutes left. A touchdown puts them ahead.
New York runs a play-action, but the pass intended for Walton falls harmlessly to the ground. A Sideline Pass to Gifford gains 7, but a busted play-action on third forces the Giants to punt again. Both defenses excel at disrupting plays now.
Cold Weather Impacts the Game
The Packers start at their own 28 with 6:53 left. Taylor runs a counter to the 34. Moore gets to the 38. The Pack faces third and short, which Taylor picks up.
Hornung, who replaced Moore on the previous play, dashes across midfield but is shaken up. He leaves the game, and Moore returns. Taylor runs around end to the Giant 41 and a first down. It’s still a one- score game with 4:25 left, but the Giants need a stop.
An inside handoff to Moore proves big, and he gets to the Giant 29. The Packers then stall for a couple of plays, Taylor getting bent at the line of scrimmage and Dowler dropping a pass on the 18. Remember, these guys aren’t playing with gloves. Bare hands football in the brutal cold in 1962.
The Packers face 3rd and 10. They fail to pick it up, but defensive holding grants them a first down on the 24. Tom Moore bobbles the first down handoff. He hangs on, but Patton smacks him for a 2-yard loss. Green Bay runs a draw to Taylor, who slips on the rock-solid turf and falls back to the 27. With 2:15 left, the Giants call time out.
High Stakes Third Down
Third and 12. Green Bay clings to a 6-point lead. They need points to make it a two-possession game. The Giants need a stop, a turnover, or a sack out of field goal range.
Starr fades back. Nobody’s open. The fierce Giant pass rush forces him out of the pocket. Like Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre would do for the Packers decades later, Starr darts out of the pocket and past the line of scrimmage.
Linebacker Tom Scott foils Starr’s plan. He clocks Starr a few yards later, and a gang of blue jerseys follow in, mashing Starr to the icy ground.
A Windy Field Goal
Packer lineman Jerry Kramer lines up to attempt the game-clinching 30-yard field goal. The wind gusts and swirls. It’s been so unpredictable today that, at times, it’s blown the centerfield flags at Yankee Stadium in opposite directions simultaneously. It’s even torn pieces off the American flag overlooking the field.
Paul Hornung established himself as the Packers trusted kicker for years, setting an NFL scoring record of 176 points in 12 games. (The record’s only been broken once in a 16-game schedule, narrowly by LaDainian Tomlinson.) A knee injury’s hobbled Hornung since Week 5, and Kramer’s been the substitute kicker. Lombardi hoped Hornung could kick today, but Hornung proved inconsistent in pre-game warm-ups. The responsibility, and quite possibly the Packers’ chance to repeat as champs, rests upon Kramer’s leg.
Packer center Jim Ringo, who lost feeling in his right hand because of nerve damage, instead snaps the ball with his left hand. Starr places the ball on the turf. Kramer kicks it. The ball sails through the uprights with 1:50 left.
“I just aimed for the middle and prayed,” Kramer would say about the kick afterward.
Embed from Getty ImagesPackers Win the 1962 NFL Championship
The Packers lead 16-7, and the Giants now need two scores instead of one to win. Kramer now replaces the ejected Wood on kickoffs. His kick is bobbled by Sam Horner, who regains control and takes it to the Giant 27.
Tittle looks to his deep threat, Shofner, but the winds render the ball incomplete. Tittle throws directly to Packer Ray Nitschke on second down, but the linebacker drops the pass. Nitschke would later say he couldn’t feel his hands because of the bitter cold. He said it was an easy catch any other day.
There’s 1:27 left. A quick touchdown and an onside kick is the Giants only hope. Shofner makes a catch at the Giant 45. Walton catches one at the 50. Hank Gremminger bats the ball away from Shofner on 2nd and 5, but a Green Bay offsides call gives the Giants another first down.
Joe Walton makes a grab at the Packer 32, and the Giants call time out with 33 seconds left. Tittle fires in the end zone, and Whittenton nearly intercepts. Tittle fades back with 20 seconds left. The Packers haven’t been rushing Tittle hoping he’ll eat up more time in the pocket. Tittle follows the plan and throws incomplete toward Walton with 8 seconds to go.
Tittle finds Walton on third down, and the tight end gets all the way to the Packer 4 as time expires. The Packers repeat as champions with a 16-7 road win.
Summary – A Close Game
Kramer’s three field goals tied a record for field goals in championship games. The record was held by several people, including Pat Summerall and Kramer’s teammate Paul Hornung. Ironically, Kramer’s counterpart Don Chandler currently co-holds the record for most field goals in a Super Bowl with Ray Wersching. Each hit 4 – Chandler as a Packer in Super Bowl 2, Wersching in Super Bowl 16 with the 49ers.
Kramer’s field goals were not only the scoring difference – but the third field goal provided an enormous cushion for the Packers. Imagine Kramer had missed his final attempt. The Giants would be driving deep – all the way to the Packer 4 — with a chance to win. Clock management would be of much greater concern; the Giants likely wouldn’t run 12-13 seconds per play, and the time ate up by the kickoff return would have been saved. It’s very possible that New York would have the ball on the Packer 4 and still have time to run two or three more plays. A thrilling 14-13 Giant victory is not out of the question.
Summary – A Physical Game
Players remember the game not only for the terrible weather conditions but for the hardnosed play of both teams. This contest was extremely physical, even by 1962 standards. The ground, frozen so hard that some players likened it to concrete, added extra punishment.
“I’ve never played a tougher game,” said Paul Hornung in the locker room.
“I never took a worse beating on a football field,” added Jim Taylor. “The Giants hit me hard, and then I hit the ground hard. I got it both ways.”
The 30th NFL championship paid the winning team $5,888 per player and $4,166 per player for the losing team. Both were records at the time. Tickets went for $8-10 on average.
Ray Nitschke earned MVP honors, recovering two fumbles and forcing an interception. Jerry Kramer received the Packer Game Ball. He scored 10 points, made key blocks on the line, and connected on 3 of 5 field goal attempts in debilitating weather conditions.
The second straight title laid the foundation for Lombardi’s Packers to later be recognized as one of the greatest dynasties in league history. The 1962 championship remains a key pillar to that dynasty.
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