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September 2, 2018

NFL 1960 season, map with helmets/jerseys & final standings + offensive stats leaders; champions: Philadelphia Eagles.

Filed under: NFL>1960 map/season,NFL/ Gridiron Football,Retro maps — admin @ 5:22 pm

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NFL 1960 season, map with helmets/jerseys & final standings + offensive stats leaders; champions: Philadelphia Eagles




By Bill Turianski on 2 September 2018; twitter.com/billsportsmaps.
Links…
-1960 NFL season
-1960 NFL Championship Game (en.wikipedia.org).
-1960 NFL season (pro-football-reference.com).
-1960 NFL teams’ uniforms (gridiron-uniforms.com).

1960: the NFL is in competition with a new rival league, the American Football League [AFL (IV/1960-69).] (The AFL later merged with the NFL in the 1966-to-1970 time period. The two leagues began playing a championship game starting in 1966 [later named the Super Bowl]; the two leagues’ conferences and schedules were combined in 1970.)

(Note: I will post a map of the American Football League 1960 season, in late September 2018.)

1960 was the NFL’s 41st season. The NFL had 10 teams through most of the 1940s. By the end of 1949, when the NFL’s 4-year battle with rival-league the AAFC ended, 3 of the AAFC franchises joined the NFL…Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Baltimore Colts (I). So in 1950 the NFL went from 10 teams to 13 teams. But one of those 3 new teams from the AAFC immediately went defunct [Baltimore Colts I/1950 (1-11)/defunct]. So from 1951 to 1959 (9 seasons), the NFL had 12 teams.

In 1960, the NFL finally expanded past the 12-team size for good, when the Dallas Cowboys joined the league. Which made the NFL of 1960 an unwieldy 13-team league, but for only one season. Because plans were already in the works to add another new franchise, the Minnesota Vikings, for the next season, in 1961. And then two more teams would join the NFL later in the 1960s (to make it a 16-team league): Atlanta in 1966, and New Orleans in 1967.

The map… The map shows the primary helmets and jerseys worn by the 13 NFL teams of 1960 (including the expansion team, the Dallas Cowboys; and including the franchise shift of the NFL Cardinals from Chicago to St. Louis) {also see illustrations further below in the 1960 NFL uniforms section}. Final standings for the 1960 NFL season, along with team-colors worn that season, can be seen at the lower-right of the map. At the far lower-right are the home jerseys/helmets worn in 1960. At the top-right of the map page is a section devoted to the 1960 NFL champions, the Philadelphia Eagles (also see next 11 paragraphs below). At the far-right-hand-center of the map page, are 1960 Offensive leaders in the following categories: QB Rating: Milt Plum, Browns. Passing Yards and TD Passes: Johnny Unitas, Colts. Rushing Yards: Jim Brown, Browns. Yards from Scrimmage: John David Crow, Cardinals. Receiving Yards: Raymond Berry, Colts. Total TDs [tied]: Paul Hornung, Packers & Sonny Randle, Cardinals.

    The Philadelphia Eagles were champions in 1960, beating the Green Bay Packers 17-13.

The 1960 NFL Championship Game featured two teams that had won multiple championships in the past. The Packers had won 6 NFL titles at this point (1929, 1930, 1931, 1936, 1939, 1944). The Eagles had won 2 NFL titles at this point (1948 and ’49). But both teams had sunk into mediocrity through the 1950s, and both teams had sunk so low as to have been last-place-finishers two seasons earlier, in 1958.

The Packers were coached by second-year head coach Vince Lombardi, who at this point in time was a little-known former offensive coach of the New York Giants. When Lombardi arrived in Green Bay before the start of the 1959 season, the Packers had come off of their worst-ever record in ’58 (1-10-1); Lombardi turned the Packers in ’59 into a 7-5 team. And then the Packers won the West in 1960, with an 8-4 record, finishing one game ahead of the Lions and the 49ers.

The Eagles’ head coach was former San Francisco 49ers head coach Buck Shaw, who had totally re-built the Eagles in a 3-season-span, taking them from 2-9-1 in ’58, to 7-5 in ’59, to a league-best 10-2 in 1960. The Eagles clinched the East in 1960 in week 10 (with 2 games to spare). Buck Shaw was 61 years old, and would retire following the 1960 title game.

The Packers featured a group of players who would go on to further glory (and later induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame), but were relatively unknown at this time…QB Bart Starr, HB/K Paul Hornung, FB Jim Taylor, MLB Ray Nitschke. The Eagles featured 34-year-old QB/P Norm Van Brocklin, who had been part of the 1951 NFL-title-winning Los Angeles Rams, and who had the second-best passing numbers in 1960, behind only Johnny Unitas of the Colts. Van Brocklin had the option to call his own plays, and coach Shaw deferred to him with respect to strategy. Van Brocklin’s main target was the diminutive speedster Tommy McDonald (Flanker). The anchor of the Eagles was two-way player Chuck Bednarik, who was a starter at Center, and was also a much feared and hard-hitting Linebacker. Bednarik, who was 35 at the time, would, amazingly, end up playing 58 of the 60 minutes of the 1960 title game. (Van Brocklin, McDonald and Bednarik, as well as backup-QB sonny Jurgenen, would all later be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.)

Back then, the NFL rotated the title game between Eastern and Western champions’ venues. So the 1960 NFL Championship Game was slated to be hosted by the Eastern Conference champions, which meant that the Philadelphia Eagles would host the game at their venue, Franklin Field. Because Christmas fell on a Sunday that year, and because the league did not want to play the game on that big holiday, the game was scheduled for the 26th of December. Franklin Field, which was (and still is) owned by the University of Pennsylvania, had no lighting back then, so the game-time was moved forward to 12 noon, in order to avoid a twilight-gloom if the game went into overtime (as the 1958 NFL title game did). Game-time conditions were less than ideal: although it was a relatively mild 48 °F (9 °C), the field was a thawed frozen surface with scattered puddles, and it became muddy as the game wore on. The Packers, despite being the visiting team, and despite having a worse record than the Eagles, were a 2-to-3-point favorite. On hand was a crowd that numbered considerably more than the venue’s full-capacity (of 60,000)…portable bleachers, seating around 7,000, were installed around the stadium track, and the attendance was 67,325. But still, a local television blackout was enforced (why?), forcing many Eagles fans to drive to New Jersey or to Baltimore to watch the game.

1st Quarter: the Eagles give the ball up twice, deep in their end of the field, but escape with only a 3-point deficit…On the first play after the opening kick-off, Norm Van Brocklin’s deflected lateral was recovered by Packers DE Bill Quinlan, giving the Packers the ball on the Eagle 14. But the Eagles defense held firm: Lombardi went for it on 4th-and-2 from the 6 yard-line, and Chuck Bednarik smothered Packers RB Jim Taylor. The Eagles had the ball now, deep in their own end, but 3 plays later they turned it over again: a fumble was recovered by Packers LB Bill Forester, on the 22-yard line of Philadelphia. However, the Eagles D only gave up one first down, and after 5 plays, Lombadi elected to go for 3 points on 4th down this time, and Paul Hornung converted a 20-yard FG. Then the Eagles and the Packers traded punts; then the Eagles punted again. Then the Packers were driving into Eagles’ territory as the 1st quarter ended…Green Bay 3, Philadelphia 0.

2nd Quarter: an early-2nd-quarter FG by the Packers is answered with 10 points by the Eagles…The Packers’ drive stalled on the 17-yard line, and Hornung made it 6-0, with a 24-yard FG. Then the Eagles and the Packers traded punts. Then the Eagles finally started moving the ball, and scored a lightning-quick TD, after a pair of passes from Van Brocklin to Tommy McDonald (of 22 yards and 35 yards respectively). On the 35-yard-TD-pass, McDonald was knocked out of bounds after crossing the goal-line, right into the first row of the temporary bleachers. It was now 7-6, Eagles. Then the Packers went 3-and-out. The Eagles got the punt on their 26, and then Van Brocklin, now gaining confidence, threw a 41-yard completion to Split-End Pete Retzlaff, who made a fine over-the-head grab, this despite double coverage. Philly got to the Green Bay 8, but after 3 incompletions, they opted to kick, and Eagles K Bobby Walston converted a 15-yard FG. Then, with 3 minutes left in the first half, the Packers drove down the field, but once again failed to score from within the 20-yard-line, this time due to an errant Paul Hornung 17-yard FG-attempt that went wide-left…at Halftime, 10-6, Eagles.

3rd Quarter: no scoring…There were two crucial plays in the 3rd quarter. The first happened with the Packers on the Eagle 26, and driving once again. Paul Hornung was on a sweep; Hornung cut back, and was flattened by Chuck Bednarik and finished off by CB Tom Brookshier. The play put Paul Hornung out of the game (except for his kicking duties), and the pinched-nerve injury that resulted would plague Hornung for the rest of his career. This Packers drive failed (once again), when Jim Taylor was stopped by Bednarik on a 4th-and-2, inches short of the first down marker at the Eagle 24. Then the Eagles put together a drive that came up short when Van Brocklin was intercepted in the end-zone by Packers DB John Symank. Then the Packers went three-and-out. Then the second crucial play of the 3rd quarter occurred: in punt-formation, Green Bay WR/P Max McGee (who had noticed that Philly was not rushing the punter that day) faked the punt and ran up-field, untouched, for a 35-yard gain. The 3rd quarter ended with the Packers driving, at the Eagle 24, after a 14-yard pass play from Bart Starr to WR Gary Knafelc…with the score after 3 quarters: 10-6, Eagles.

4th Quarter: Packers regain the lead, but the Eagles drive to a late TD, and then hold the Packers as time runs out…As the 4th quarter began, the Packers finally found the end zone. From the Eagle 24, Green Bay moved 17 yards via three Jim Taylor runs and an 8-yard run by HB Tom Moore. Then Bart Starr connected with Max McGee for a TD, on a 7-yard slant-play. The Packers, who had gained significantly more first downs and yards throughout the game, reclaimed the lead, 13-10, with 13 minutes left. But the Packers were immediately on their back foot again. Because on the ensuing kickoff, Eagles rookie RB/KR Ted Dean ran it back 58 yards to the Packer 49. Van Brocklin drove the Eagles toward the Packer goal line, but passed the ball only once: 7 plays and a defensive holding found the Eagles on the Packer 5. Then the Greater Philadelphia-born Ted Dean made another huge play, with a five-yard TD run, on a sweep that was led by a key block from Guard Gerry Huth {see a photo of this title-winning play, in the illustration below}. The Eagles had reclaimed the lead (at 17-13), with 5:21 left in the game. The two teams then traded punts (again). Then the Packers got the ball on their 35 with just 1:05 left. They drove deep into Philadelphia territory, to the Eagle 22. With seconds to play (and no time-outs), Starr threw a short pass to Jim Taylor, who got past two defenders to the 8 before Bednarik and DB Bobby Jackson stopped him. Taylor tried to get to his feet, but Bednarik sat on him until time expired; then Chuck Bednarik said, “You can get up now, Jim, this game is over.”

The 1960 NFL title win was the Philadelphia Eagles’ last NFL title until the 2017 season, when the Eagles upset the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII [52]. As of 2017, the Green Bay Packers would go on to win 7 more NFL titles, including 5 NFL titles in the 1960s alone (among them, the first two Super Bowl titles). The 1960 NFL title game was Vince Lombardi’s only playoff loss in his entire head-coaching-career, a loss he learned something from. He later rued the missed points from chip-shot Field Goals he forsook, saying: “When you get down there, come out with something. I lost the game, not my players.” {-Quote from When Pride Still Mattered, by David Maraniss, via this Jan. 2011 article by Jeré Longman, Eagles’ 1960 Victory Was an N.F.L. Turning Point (nytimes.com/sports).}

Below: 1960 NFL title game: Philadelphia Eagles 17, Green Bay Packers 13.
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Photo and Image credits above -
1960 Eagles and Packers helmets, illustrations by gridiron-uniforms.com/[1960]. Ticket from 1960 NFL title game, photo from pinterest.com. Franklin Field [view from top of the stands at 1960 title game], photo by AP via philadelphiaeagles.com. Pacers & Eagles captains shake hands after coin toss, photo by Philadelphia Eagles via courierpostonline.com. Norm Van Brocklin handing off to Bill Barnes (action from the 1st quarter), photo by Neil Leifer/Getty Images via gettyimages.com. Chuck Bednarik making a tackle, photo by AP/colorization by John Turney at nflfootballjournal.blogspot.com. Rookie HB Ted Dean (#35) scoring the winning TD, a 5-yard run off a block from OG Gerry Huth (#65), photo by AP via nytimes.com/sports. Chuck Bednarik with Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor after 1960 NFL title game, photo by George Silk/Life magazine via flickriver.com. Bednarik, Van Brocklin and Ted Dean celebrate in the locker room with coach Shaw, photo unattributed at packershistory.net.

1960 Philadelphia Eagles: 3 All-Pro players; plus 4 from the ’60 Eagles that were later inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Note: All-Pro, below, means: 1960 AP, 1st team.
-Norm Van Brocklin: 1960 All-Pro (QB/P), and 1960 MVL (AP); Van Brocklin was inducted to the HoF in 1971.
-Tom Brookshier: 1960 All-Pro (CB).
-Chuck Bednarik: 1960 All-Pro (LB/C); Bednarik was inducted to the HoF in 1967.
-Sonny Jurgensen: (QB) inducted to the HoF in 1983.
-Tommy McDonald (WR): inducted to the HoF in 1998.

Helmet and uniforms changes for 1960 NFL…
1960: new helmet-logos (Cowboys & Cardinals)…
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1961 NFL teams’ uniforms at Gridiron Uniform Database

-Expansion team (1960 Dallas Cowboys): the Dallas Cowboys wore white helmets their first 3 seasons. (The Cowboys’ distinctive blueish-silver helmet color, and pants color, were not introduced until 1964). The white helmet featured a large, plain dark-royal-blue star, and two thin dark-royal-blue center-stripes. The jerseys had contrasting shoulder-pad sections, with a large star at the top of each shoulder. {1960-63 era Cowboys: Eddie LeBarron and Don Mererdith (tailgatingjerseys.com).} {1960 Dallas Cowboys (gridiron-uniforms.com).}
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-Re-located team: in 1960, the St. Louis Cardinals, having just moved from Chicago to St. Louis, MO, introduced a helmet logo on their white helmets. The logo was a large frowning head of a cardinal (in deep red, with black around the cardinal’s eye, and a yellow beak), with the cardinal’s crest elongated so that, from the back of the helmet, the cardinals’ crests almost touch (you can see that in the link below). In a slightly altered form [2005], this logo remains to this day. Here is a photo of the original frowning-cardinal Cardinals helmet {Ken Grey game-worn 1960 helmet {helmet-hut.com)}. This helmet design is, in my opinion, one of the best ever seen in gridiron football. Especially as the years went by, and more and more NFL teams jumped on the colored-facemask-bandwagon, yet the Cardinals organization decided to keep the grey facemask. The re-design in 2005 made the cardinal more angry-looking in a cartoon-ish way {Cardinals helmet logos (sportslogos.net)} {Cardinals in huddle from 2009 (espn.com/blog)}. But at least the Cardinals kept the grey facemask.
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Other uniform-changes in the 1960 NFL…
-In 1960, the Philadelphia Eagles switched from silver pants to white pants. {1960 Philadelphia Eagles (gridiron-uniforms.com).}
-In 1960, the San Francisco 49ers added a some center-striping to their silver helmets: three red stripes (a thick stripe flanked by two thin stripes). {Photos, circa 1960-62, of San Francisco 49ers players (twitter.com/helmetaddict).} (The Niners would introduce a helmet-logo in 1962, and would switch from silver helmets and pants, to gold helmets and pants, in 1964.)

The following season of 1961 saw three more NFL teams adopt helmet-logos: in 1961 the Detroit Lions and the New York Giants would introduce helmet-logos, and the expansion-team the Minnesota Vikings would also sport a helmet-logo. So by 1961, of the 14 NFL teams, only four would not be wearing helmet-logos: the Browns, the Steelers, the Bears, and the 49ers. And in the following season of 1962, three of those teams would introduce helmet-logos, leaving only the Browns without a helmet-logo.
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Eagles players on map page,
1960 Eagles uniforms, illustrations by Gridiron Uniforms database at gridiron-uniforms.com/[1960]. Circa 1958 Eagles helmet, photo by Heritage Auctions at ha.com. Circa 1960 Eagles pennant, photo from insidetheparkcollectibles.com. Tommy McDonald [photo circa 1961], photo by Neil Leifer via si.com. Pete Retzlaff [photo circa 1960], photo unattributed at prod.static.eagles.clubs.nfl.com. Ted Dean [1961 Fleer card], from amazon.com. Norm Van Brocklin [photo from Sports Illustrated, Dec. 19 1960], photo unattributed at sacrificefly.blogspot.com. Chuck Bednarik [1961 Fleer trading card], from kronozio.com/1961-Fleer-Chuck-Bednarik. Chuck Bednarik [photo from 1960], photo by Robert Riger/Getty Images via si.com. Tom Brookshier [photo circa 1959], photo unattributed at pinterest.com. Marion Campbell [1960 Topps card], unattributed at pinterest.com. Sonny Jurgensen [photo circa 1961], photo unattributed at pinterest.com.

Offensive stats leaders on map page,
Milt Plum, 1961 Fleer card, from tradingcarddb.com. Johnny Unitas [photo circa 1964], photo by Focus In Sports/Getty Imgaes via pinterest.com. Jim Brown [photo from 1960], photo unattributed at jimbrown.clevelandbrowns.com. John David Crow [photo from 1962], photo by Neil Leifer/Getty Images via gettyimages.com. Raymond Berry [photo circa 1962], photo unattributed at pinterest.com. Sonny Randle [photo circa 1962], photo unattributed at fs64sports.blogspot.com. Paul Hornung, photo by Neil Leifer/Getrty Images via gettyimages.com.
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Thanks to…
-Blank map by anonymous US federal government employee, at File:StatesU.svg (commons.wikimedia.org).
-Thanks to the contributors at pro-football-reference.com
-Thanks to the contributors at NFL 1960 season (en.wikipedia.org).
Special thanks to Tim Brulia, Bill Schaefer and Rob Holecko of The Gridiron Uniform Database, for giving billsportsmaps.com the permission to use football uniforms illustrations from Gridiron Uniform Database {GUD}.

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