The Packer bench erupted. Yaaaah! That's the way, Bubba!
With the Packers ahead for the first time, 16–14, the offense started a possession at its 34 after the punt. Starr didn't have to say any encouraging words in the huddle; with momentum now firmly on their side, his teammates sensed a decisive burst coming. Carpenter swept left on first down and cut back sharply through a hole as Thurston flattened a linebacker. Carpenter veered into open space, shook off a safety, and picked up twenty-six yards before being knocked out of bounds. He bounded back to a huddle that practically vibrated with energy. What now? Starr called for Hornung to carry the other way and fake the option pass again. Kramer and Thurston opened a huge hole, and Hornung, after tucking the ball in, steamed into a secondary that had thought he was passing. He bowled over a cornerback, stumbled, regained his balance, and headed for the end zone, finally going down at the 2, after a thirty-eight-yard run.
One play later, the Golden Boy waited for Gregg to open a hole and easily pushed his way into the end zone behind the bulky tackle. After booting the conversion to give the Packers a 23–14 lead, Hornung came to the sideline breathing deeply, tired but immensely satisfied. He had scored two touchdowns, kicked two extra points, caught two passes, and rushed for more than sixty yards—and there were still more than twenty minutes left in the game. As he took a seat on the bench, he couldn't help thinking how drastically his fortunes had changed. The fans in Green Bay had regularly booed him during his first two seasons, but his third season was ending with a flourish. He had torn the Rams apart with his running and throwing a week earlier, and now he was doing the same to the 49ers.
The sideline was buoyant, the players sensing a chance to put away a tiring opponent. The defense took the field, and Tittle dropped back and looked downfield. When Quinlan slipped past a blocker and charged him, Tittle hurriedly lobbed a floater for Hugh McElhenny in the left flat. Symank saw the play developing, broke for the ball, and grabbed it in front of the Packer bench, at the San Francisco 35. Symank raced down the sideline until a lineman tackled him at the 18.
OK, let's finish these suckers off.
Three plays later, with the ball at the 9, Dowler ran a curl-in route, turning around as he crossed the goal line. Starr intentionally threw the ball low to keep it away from defenders, and Dowler went to one knee and grabbed it. Another touchdown! Hornung's conversion made the score 30–14. The Packers celebrated on the bench, raising fists and pounding shoulder pads. What a feeling! Their defense was making plays and their offense was ramming the ball down the 49ers' throats.
The home fans booed, voicing their disappointment over a 49er season gone awry. And then the Packer defense struck again. Whittenton ran up to Roberts and stole the ball from the young fullback as he lunged for extra yards around midfield. Some players didn't even know what had happened as Whittenton raced toward the goal line and finally was tackled at the San Francisco 31.
Starr had passed the 49ers silly, but now felt he should slow the pace. Carpenter gained three off left tackle. Hornung went for four up the middle and four around right end. On fourth-and-one at the 11 as the fourth quarter started, Carpenter charged up the middle behind Jim Ringo for a first down. Hornung ran it down to the 2 and flattened a cornerback as he crossed the goal line. His extra point was blocked, but the Packers now led, 36–14.
The players had a grand time on their sideline as the clock wound down. There was no better feeling than watching an opposing team's fans leave before the final gun. Lombardi put in subs. The starters stood on the sideline and cheered. Lombardi smiled and pounded Hornung on the back. The Golden Boy had indeed lived up to his name—three touchdowns, four extra points, eighty-three rushing yards.
Starr stayed in the game until the final gun. He had enjoyed by far his finest day as a pro, completing twenty of twenty-five pass attempts for 219 yards and two touchdowns, with no interceptions. His offense had generated twenty-seven first downs, the line opening huge holes on runs and keeping the defensive front away on pass attempts.
"Starr just completely picked us apart," Hickey said. "We couldn't get anyone in there after him, and he tore us up."
In the Packer locker room, Starr's teammates awarded him the game ball.
"He's just a brilliant boy," Lombardi said. "He needed a win to get going, and then he got one, and now he has four in a row. He was changing plays at the line all day. He takes full advantage of what we try to do."
Starr, with typical humility, deflected some of the credit. "Did you see my protection? I just stood back there until someone got open. I couldn't help but have a good day."
Standing at the next locker, Knafelc, Starr's roommate, laughed at his teammate's modesty. "I'll be his booster," he said. "He's got to be the best quarterback in the league right now, right there with Unitas. He's getting tough in the huddle, too. Sometimes he even tells us to shut up."
Starr laughed; yes, the nice-guy quarterback was no more.
A half hour after the game, many players were still wearing their uniforms and sitting on folding chairs in front of their lockers, seemingly in no hurry to shower, dress, and leave football behind, even though a night out in San Francisco loomed. In prior years they had practically counted the hours until their season ended. Now, after winning both games in California for the first time, they wanted to keep going.
"Why do we have to quit playing now? We're rolling. Boy, I tell you, wait until next year," Hank Gremminger said.
Ringo, a Packer since 1953, shook his head in disbelief. "This is the first time since I've been here that I'm hearing the guys talking about next year," he said. "What a difference one year makes."
The Packers would watch with the rest of the league when the Colts and Giants played in the championship game later in December, but after completing their first winning season since 1947, they could envision themselves playing in such an important game now. The idea was no longer ludicrous.
"We're not the Colts yet. We still need some help in places," Lombardi said an hour after the game, still perched on a locker room chair and also seemingly reluctant to leave. "But we play a real determined game. That's the wonderful thing about these boys. They have a lot of determination."
They didn't before. But yes, now they had the determination of champions, and a whole lot more.
"The other teams better watch their asses," defensive back John Symank said. "We're just starting to go."
How right he was.
20
ROMAN DENISSEN ORDINARILY didn't shout. An insurance man with thick black-framed glasses and an accounting degree, Green Bay's mayor was a pencil pusher elected for his competence more than his personality. But his emotions overcame him on the temporary stage at Austin-Straubel Field as he stood in front of eight thousand people, bundled into a heavy coat.
The Packers had ended the season on a roll. The city was excited about them again. The crowd's enthusiasm reminded Denissen—a lifelong Packer fan who had attended East High School when the Packers played there in the 1930s—of the team's heyday.
Look at this crowd!
He grabbed the microphone from Les Sturmer of WBAY-TV, the emcee of this "Welcome Home, Packers" event.
"I just want to congratulate the Packers!" the mayor shouted. "And particularly Coach Lombardi!"
The people roared. They had stood in a miserable, chilly rain for an extra hour, huddled under umbrellas as they waited for the Packers' charter flight from California to make its delayed arrival.
"The Packers just did a beautiful job of selling Green Bay all over the country!" Denissen continued.
The players and coaches were with him onstage, and as people applauded, Denissen beckoned to Lombardi to join him in the dim spotlight. Lombardi crossed the stage and shook hands with the mayor, who handed him a key to the city. Lombardi fingered it, smiled, and nodded to the crowd as he took the microphone.
"I know from the size of this crowd that you all must be as proud of this team as we are, the people w
ho are connected with it," Lombardi said.
As the fans cheered, Lombardi put a hand to his eyebrows and squinted into the distance, trying to see how far the crowd stretched.
Boy, this doesn't happen in New York.
"This was a team with great determination. Even when we went down to defeat, we went down the hard way," Lombardi continued.
More cheers.
"But even when we went down to defeat, the boys never quit. They came back, and kept coming back when things got tough in the middle of the season. Now we have finished up in a strong way. And every man on the thirty-six-man roster contributed."
That elicited the loudest roar yet.
"In finishing, I would like to say I have the finest staff in the National Football League. Any accolades belong to them and not me. Thank you ever so much."
Lombardi gave the microphone back to Sturmer, who then introduced Lombardi's four assistants and gave each a chance to speak.
"How does our defense compare with the New York Giants' unit?" Sturmer asked Phil Bengston.
"We don't have to take a back seat to anybody. Our defense stacks up with the best in the league," Bengston said.
Cheers.
Asked about the offensive line, Bill Austin said, "It was a pleasure to work with the kind of boys we had this year. I hope we can do as well next year."
Red Cochran added, "It's great to be with a winner, isn't it?"
The fans loved that one. Yesssss!
Sturmer then introduced the players one by one. As they moved individually into the spotlight, they received a green-and-gold Packer blanket from the Association of Commerce, the business men's group that had put the event together. Sturmer asked the players questions and let them speak to the crowd.
"I hope everyone has a merry Christmas. And I hope I'm back for a championship next year," Emlen Tunnell said.
Yesssss!
The loudest ovations went to Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, and Boyd Dowler, the players who had carried the offense in the season's final month.
"I'm just happy about how the season turned out, especially these last three weeks," Hornung said.
Knowing that Hornung's three-year contract was up, Sturmer asked the Golden Boy if he would return in 1960.
"I sure will!" Hornung exclaimed.
Wooooooooo!
At the end, Sturmer thanked everyone for coming, and the fans and players hustled to their cars and went home to dry off and warm up.
The Packers dominated Tuesday's Press-Gazette. Art Daley had gathered comments about the team's surprising success from an array of politicians and celebrities, including Vice President Richard Nixon, a football aficionado who had attended the new City Stadium dedication game in 1957. Daley's story ran on the front page.
"Please express to the Green Bay Packer players and organization my congratulations on their victory Sunday and my admiration of the great comeback ability they have displayed throughout the season—often, I must reluctantly admit, at the expense of teams from my home state of California," Nixon said in a statement. "Your entire community should be very proud not only of your fine football team but also of your own spirit which has infused such vitality in the Packers. With every good wish for the holiday season—sincerely, Dick Nixon."
The paper's lead editorial, headlined "Welcome Home, Packers!" attempted to put the season in perspective:
"The Green Bay Packers have amazed themselves and their fans by completing a record of seven wins and five losses. This record is so far above the expectations of either the Packers or their fans at the opening of the season as to have won them the title of 'Amazing.' This time a year ago, Packer players returned to Green Bay only if they couldn't avoid it, the coaches were writing resignations and fans were writing angry letters to the newspaper. That was a most unhappy occasion. Today Packerland is bright and cheery, with a team that represents [it] correctly as one of the solid football cities of the United States.
"At the beginning of the season [we] predicted that the Packers 'might win three or four games, perhaps more,' and that was close to the expectations of the coaching staff. But they finished two wins away from a tie for first place. They have had the advantage of hard, sound training and enthusiastic leadership, and that is the difference from a year ago. At the beginning of the season, it was made clear they were not striving for a championship now but building for the long run, which might possibly bring a championship in three or four years. Now the hopes of fans have been raised pretty high. The building may still require some time but indications are we are on the right track, and on our way to a title some time in the future. The Packers appear to have the stuff of which champions are made."
It was stunning to think how far they had come in twelve months, how much their prospects had changed.
The players scattered to their off-season homes and jobs, no longer embarrassed to say they played for the Packers. Dillon, Forrest Gregg, John Symank, Jesse Whittenton, and Bill Forester headed to Texas. Lamar McHan and Dave Hanner went to Arkansas, Jerry Kramer to Idaho, Joe Francis to Oregon. Hornung headed for Los Angeles, where he could enjoy himself without having to adhere to a curfew. Jim Taylor returned to Louisiana to spend another off-season with Alvin Roy, the strength coach. Starr went back to Alabama, his late-season successes encouraging him to prepare harder than ever for the 1960 season.
Lombardi went to New York to see family and friends, and while he was there, received word he had been selected NFL Coach of the Year by a panel of sportswriters and sportscasters assembled by the Associated Press. He was the top choice on twenty-nine of thirty seven ballots. The runner-up, Jim Lee Howell, received four first-place votes.
"I was hoping to win five games, tops, this season. Seven was a surprise," Lombardi told reporters.
The AP, New York Daily News, Sporting News, Newspaper Enterprise Association, and United Press wire service all announced first-team and second-team All-Pro squads, selected by panels of sportswriters. Jim Ringo made first team on every list, Forrest Gregg in the Sporting News. Gregg and Hornung made the AP and UP second teams, as did Bill Forester in the New York Daily News. Boyd Dowler, who had caught twenty-seven passes in the last six games, was named UP Rookie of the Year.
Two games remained on the 1959 NFL schedule—the championship game between the Colts and Giants on December 27 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, and the Pro Bowl on January 17, 1960, in Los Angeles.
The title game was a taut thriller for three quarters as the Giants' defense gave Johnny Unitas fits and New York took a 9–7 lead. But the Colts rallied with a long touchdown drive and then intercepted three passes to set up scores. Their 31–16 victory gave them back-to-back championships, leaving no doubt who ruled pro football.
Unitas also starred in the Pro Bowl, throwing for three touchdowns in the Western Division's 38–21 victory. Five Packers played—Ringo, Hornung, Gregg, Forester, and Tunnell. Completing a breakthrough season, Hornung scored a touchdown and kicked a field goal and five extra points.
Hornung's season hadn't always gone smoothly; it had included several injuries and that infamous benching in Chicago. But in the end, he had lived up to Lombardi's expectations and become a productive halfback, turning the boos he had earned earlier in his career into sustained cheers. He had rushed for 681 yards, the league's eighth-highest individual total, caught fifteen passes, and completed five option passes. He had ended up as the league's leading scorer, his seven touchdowns, seven field goals, and thirty-one point-after conversions totaling ninety-four points.
Between Hornung, Taylor (452 rushing yards despite missing five games), Carpenter and McIlhenny (553 yards combined), and all the others, the Packers had rushed for 1,970 yards—the league's third-highest total, and more than any Packer team had gained on the ground in a season since Curly Lambeau was in charge.
Fans had scoffed when Lombardi said he would install a power offense that relied on the running game. Yeah, right. He obviously didn't see the Packers play in 1958. B
ut he had done what they said he couldn't, transforming Scooter McLean's soft offense into a bone-jarring unit. The backs ran hard, the linemen blocked harder—just ask the Rams and 49ers. By the end of the season, the Packers didn't move the ball so much as shove it at opponents, knock them over with it. And this was just Lombardi's first year, supposedly a time for players to learn and adjust. Wait until they really caught on.
In January 1959 Lombardi had gone to the league meetings in Philadelphia as part of the Giant delegation and interviewed face-to-face with the Packers for the first time. Now, a year later, in January 1960, he went to the league meetings with the Packer delegation and found himself talking to the Giants about a job.
Frustrated by back-to-back losses in the championship game, Jim Lee Howell had told Giants owner Wellington Mara he was ready to step down. Had Howell arrived at that conclusion a year earlier, Mara could have chosen between the two attractive head-coaching candidates on Howell's staff, Lombardi and Tom Landry. But now Lombardi was in Green Bay, and Landry had recently announced he would be returning to his home state, Texas, to coach the new NFL expansion team in Dallas, leaving Mara without an obvious successor to Howell.
At the league meetings in Philadelphia, Mara asked Lombardi if he would consider coming back to New York to coach the Giants even though he had four years left on his five-year deal to be the Packers' head coach and general manager.
Mara believed that when he originally gave Green Bay permission to talk to Lombardi, who was under contract at the time, he had received the same permission in return, freeing him to talk to Lombardi whenever he wanted about coming back to the Giants. Dominic Olejniczak didn't recall that coming up in any of their conversations. The head of the Packer executive committee was livid about Mara trying to lure Lombardi away; it was the definition of dirty pool, he said.
That First Season: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory Page 28