Two fathers, their 10-year old sons, and two Packers games (and what they all have in common).
The story begins on October 8, 1939, when 18,965 fans would file into State Fair Park in West Allis, WI. On this fall day, the 3-1 Green Bay Packers would be taking on the 1-4 Chicago Cardinals (there was an unbalanced schedule in those days).
The game started out as a dominating performance by the Packers, who struck first on a 92-yard bomb from Arnie Herber to Don Hutson. Paul “Tiny” Engebretsen tacked on the extra point to give the Packers an early 7-0 first quarter lead. In the second quarter, the lead was extended to 14-0 when Clarke Hinkle scored on a 1-yard run, and he added his own extra point. Then in the third quarter, Andy Uram ripped off one of the longest TD runs in Packer history, going 97 yards for the score. Hinkle added the extra point, and the Packers have a comfortable 21-0 lead.
In the 4th quarter, things got interesting. The Cardinals rattled off two scoring pass plays to Bill Smith, one 60 yards from Frank Patrick, the other 25 yards from Jack Robbins. Smith added the extra points, and just like that, it’s a ball game. Packers 21, Cardinals 14.
Then the Packers went to work to seal the game. Arnie Herber once again hits Don Hutson, who caught it lying on his back at the 5 making a one-handed catch, then slid into the end zone to extend the lead to 27-14.
A late score by the Cardinals, a 6-yard pass to Marshall Goldberg from Jack Robbins narrowed the margin to 27-20, but that’s where it ended. Curly Lambeau’s Packers earn their 4th victory of the season.
Fast forward nearly 30 years to Dec. 23, 1967, County Stadium, Milwaukee, WI. On a day with the temperature at 13°F, 49,861 faithful filed in to see the 9-4-1 Packers take on the favored (by 3 points on the road) 11-1-2 Los Angeles Rams. This was the Western Conference Championship game, with the winner moving on to the NFL Championship the following week to take on the winner of the Cleveland Browns/Dallas Cowboys game in the Eastern Conference Championship game to be played the following day.
As most fans who remember County Stadium, it was built in the early ’50s as a minor league baseball park, not particularly suited for NFL football, with both benches on the same side of the field. It didn’t really matter, because there was magic in the air. Would the Packers defeat the favored Rams and advance to their third consecutive championship?
First came the pregame team introductions. The defense was introduced as a whole, but the starting offense was introduced individually. As each player came out of the tunnel and ran onto the field, the crowd got progressively louder. The last player to come out of the tunnel was Bart Starr, and as he ran out, the crowd noise was so loud, it drowned out the PA announcer. He just gave it up at that point.
But there was no giving up by the Packers on that day. In the first quarter, the Rams struck first, with Roman Gabriel hitting Bernie Casey on a 29-yard strike. Bruce Gossett put up the extra point, and the Rams took the early 7-0 lead.
When the second quarter got underway, the Packers took full control of the game. At midfield, Travis “The Roadrunner” Williams bolted 46 yards for the score. Don Chandler’s extra point tied it up at 7-7. Not long after that, Bart Starr found an open Carroll Dale from 17 yards out for the go-ahead score. Chandler’s extra point put the Packers ahead for good, at 14-7.
In the third quarter, the Packers got down to business, with late season acquisition Chuck Mercein taking it in from 6 yards out. Chandler’s extra point was good, making it 21-7.
The fourth quarter sealed the deal, with a Travis Williams 2 yard run and the Chandler extra point to make the final score 28-7. At the two minute warning, the PA announcer told the crowd that tickets for next week’s championship game were officially on sale. The crowd roared its approval.
Now, you may ask yourself, what do these two games have in common? Several things, actually. The 1939 team was Curly Lambeau’s 5th championship team; the 1967 team was Vince Lombardi’s 5th championship team.
Remember the part about the fathers and the 10-year-olds? At the 1939 game, in attendance was a 10-year-old boy (my dad) and his dad (my grandfather). At the 1967 game, in attendance was another 10-year-old boy (me) and his dad (mine).
At my dad’s funeral service, I told a version of this story as part of my tribute to him.
