1960 NFL season
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| Duration | September 23 – December 18, 1960 |
| East Champions | Philadelphia Eagles |
| West Champions | Green Bay Packers |
| Championship Game | |
| Champions | Philadelphia Eagles |
The 1960 NFL season was the 41st regular season of the National Football League.
Before the season, on January 26, 33-year-old Pete Rozelle, the general manager of the Los Angeles Rams, was elected NFL commissioner as a compromise choice on the twenty-third ballot.[1][2] Meanwhile, the league expanded to 13 teams on January 28 with the addition of the Dallas Cowboys, with a fourteenth team, the Minnesota Vikings, to start in 1961.[3][4][5][6] Also, on March 13th, the Cardinals relocated from Chicago to St. Louis and became the St. Louis Cardinals,[7][8][9] the same moniker as the National League baseball club.
In the championship game, the host Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Green Bay Packers by four points at Franklin Field.[10][11][12][13] Two years earlier in 1958, both teams had finished in last place in their respective conferences, combining for only three wins. This loss was Vince Lombardi's only post-season defeat as an NFL head coach. Following this loss in 1960, Lombardi's Packers won five NFL championship games in seven years, and easily won the first two Super Bowls.
The NFL introduced the Playoff Bowl, a game for third place between the runners-up from each division. Played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, after the NFL Championship game, it benefitted the players' pension fund. The Detroit Lions played the Cleveland Browns in the inaugural game and the Lions won by a point,[14] the first of three straight wins by Detroit in the series.
The two-time defending league champion Baltimore Colts led the Western Division after their bye in week 9 but lost the last four games to finish at .500 and fourth in the West. The New York Giants, winners of the Eastern Division the previous two seasons, won only one of their final five games and finished third in the East.
During this season, the American Football League (AFL) was launched as a competitor to the NFL. The two leagues co-existed for the entire 1960s, agreed to a merger in 1966, and became one combined league in 1970.
Draft
[edit]The 1960 NFL draft was held on November 30, 1959, at Philadelphia's Warwick Hotel. With the first pick, the Los Angeles Rams selected running back Billy Cannon from Louisiana State University.
Because the league awarded the Dallas Cowboys franchise about two months later on January 28, 1960, this marked the only time that an NFL expansion team did not have the benefit of a college draft in its first year.[15]
Expansion draft
[edit]The 1960 NFL expansion draft was held on March 13, 1960, with the Dallas Cowboys selecting 36 players from the other 12 teams.
Conference races
[edit]All teams but Dallas played a home-and-away game against the other five members of their own division, one inter-division game, and one game against the new team (Dallas): Dallas, although assigned to the Western Division, was a "swing team" and played each team once.
This was the final season for the 12-game schedule in the NFL.
A bye was required because of there being thirteen teams, with one team having a bye in each of the 13 weeks.
The Cowboys' first game saw them take a 14–0 lead over the Pittsburgh Steelers on a Saturday night at the Cotton Bowl, with Jim Doran catching a pass from Eddie LeBaron for the first score, but lost 35–28.[16]
Eastern
[edit]Philadelphia lost its opener at home to Cleveland, 41–24, then went on a nine-game winning streak. The breakthrough came in Week Six on October 30, when unbeaten New York (3–0–1), two-time defending division champions, came off their bye and lost at home to St. Louis, 20–13, while the Browns and idle Eagles were both at 4–1. In Week Seven, New York beat Cleveland, 17–13, and the Eagles beat Pittsburgh 34–7.[17] The Eagles clinched the Eastern Division after ten games at 9–1;[18] they dropped a game the next week in the snow at Pittsburgh,[19] and finished the regular season at 10–2, 1½ games ahead of Cleveland. Two of the wins in the streak were in consecutive games (November 20 and 27) against New York.
In the latter game, the Eagles trailed 17–0, then 23–17, before Norm Van Brocklin threw two touchdown passes in the final quarter for a 31–23 victory. In the former, the Giants' Frank Gifford was severely injured in a tackle by linebacker Chuck Bednarik late in the game [20] that almost ended his career.[21][22] New York entered that November 20 game at 5–1–1, but won only once in the last five games, including a tie against Dallas - the Cowboys lost their remaining eleven games that year - and finished third in the Eastern at 6–4–2. The Giants won the next three division championships for five in six seasons, but not the league title.
Western
[edit]The Western Division race was one in which Baltimore, Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, and San Francisco all had a lead at one time.
The Bears fell back after a Week Six loss to the 49ers, 25–7. In Week Seven, the 4–2 Colts and the 4–1 Packers met on November 6 in Green Bay. Two-time defending NFL champion Baltimore, which had lost an earlier match, won 38–24, to take the lead in the Western. In Week Ten, the Colts (6–2) came off their bye and lost at home to San Francisco, 30–22, to begin a streak of four defeats. Baltimore's 20–15 loss to the Lions, and Green Bay's 41–13 win at Chicago, tied the Colts and Packers at 6–4 in Week Eleven. After the Packers' 13–0 win at San Francisco, their record was 7–4, while the Colts, Lions and 49ers were all at 6–5. While San Francisco and Detroit both won the next week, the former beating Baltimore 34–10, the Packers had won the day before, beating Los Angeles 35–21 for the Western title, their first in 16 years.[23]
The new Dallas Cowboys lost their first ten games but managed a 31–31 tie against the Giants at Yankee Stadium in New York on December 4. They finished at 0–11–1: as ties were excluded in calculating winning percentage prior to 1972, the Cowboys had a winning percentage of .000, rather than .042.
Conference leaders
| Week | Western | Record | Eastern | Record | Bye |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tie (Bal, Chi) | 1–0–0 | 4 teams (Cle, NYG, Pit, St.L) | 1–0–0 | Detroit |
| 2 | Baltimore Colts | 2–0–0 | Tie (Cle, NYG) | 2–0–0 | Washington |
| 3 | 4 teams (Bal, Chi, GB, SF) | 2–1–0 | New York Giants | 3–0–0 | Cleveland |
| 4 | Tie (Bal, Chi) | 3–1–0 | Tie (Cle, NYG (3–0–1)) | 3–0–0 | Green Bay |
| 5 | Tie (GB, Chi (3–1–1)) | 3–1–0 | New York Giants | 3–0–1 | New York |
| 6 | Green Bay Packers | 4–1–0 | Tie (Cle, Phi) | 4–1–0 | Philadelphia |
| 7 | Baltimore Colts | 5–2–0 | Philadelphia Eagles | 5–1–0 | Chicago |
| 8 | Baltimore Colts | 6–2–0 | Philadelphia Eagles | 6–1–0 | San Francisco |
| 9 | Baltimore Colts | 6–2–0 | Philadelphia Eagles | 7–1–0 | Baltimore |
| 10 | Baltimore Colts | 6–3–0 | Philadelphia Eagles | 8–1–0 | Los Angeles |
| 11 | 3 teams (Bal, GB, SF) | 6–4–0 | Philadelphia Eagles (clinched) | 9–1–0 | Pittsburgh |
| 12 | Green Bay Packers | 7–4–0 | Philadelphia Eagles | 9–2–0 | St. Louis |
| 13 | Green Bay Packers (clinched) | 8–4–0 | Philadelphia Eagles | 10–2–0 | Dallas |
- A bye was required in 1960, as the league had an odd number of teams (13); one team had the bye each week.
The fourteenth team, Minnesota, would join the league in 1961, and the NFL subsequently initiated a 14-game regular season.
Final standings
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Postseason
[edit]NFL Championship Game
[edit]- Philadelphia 17, Green Bay 13 at Franklin Field, University of Pennsylvania, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on Monday, December 26.[10][11][12][13]
Playoff Bowl
[edit]The Playoff Bowl was between the division runners-up, for third place in the league. This was its first year (of ten) and it was played three weeks after the regular season.
- Detroit 17, Cleveland 16 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, on Saturday, January 7, 1961.[14]
Pro Bowl
[edit]- West 35, East 31 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, on Sunday, January 15, 1961.[24]
Awards
[edit]| Most Valuable Player | Norm Van Brocklin, quarterback, Philadelphia |
| Coach of the Year | Buck Shaw, Philadelphia |
Coaching changes
[edit]- Dallas Cowboys: Tom Landry became the expansion team's first head coach.
- Los Angeles Rams: Sid Gillman was replaced by Bob Waterfield.
Stadium changes
[edit]- The expansion Dallas Cowboys began play at the Cotton Bowl
- The relocated St. Louis Cardinals moved to Busch Stadium (Sportsman's Park)
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Rams' Rozelle, 33, elected NFL boss". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. January 27, 1960. p. 2, part 2.
- ^ "Rams' Pete Rozelle, 33, elected NFL czar". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 27, 1960. p. 16.
- ^ "Dallas 'in'; Twin Cities '61 NFL entry". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. January 29, 1960. p. 3, part 2.
- ^ "Dallas and Twin Cities get NFL franchises; AFL declares war". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. January 29, 1960. p. 11, part 2.
- ^ "Dallas, Twin Cities gain entry to NFL". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. Associated Press. January 29, 1960. p. 17.
- ^ "Franchise tickles Tex". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Florida. Associated Press. January 29, 1960. p. 17.
- ^ "National Football League's Cards to move to St. Louis". Ocala Star-Banner. Florida. Associated Press. March 14, 1960. p. 8.
- ^ "Chicago Cardinals to move to St. Louis this season". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. March 14, 1960. p. 11.
- ^ "St. Louis-bound Cardinals Chicago's oldest grid pros". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Chicago Tribune press service. March 15, 1960. p. 11.
- ^ a b Lea, Bud (December 27, 1960). "Eagles win NFL title". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 1, part 1.
- ^ a b "Eagles rally once again". Spokane Daily Chronicle. Washington. Associated Press. December 27, 1960. p. 13.
- ^ a b Kuechle, Oliver E. (December 27, 1960). "Eagles beat Packers for title, 17-13". Milwaukee Journal. p. 14, paft 2.
- ^ a b "Eagles win NFL title with 17 to 13 victory". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. UPI. December 27, 1960. p. 2.
- ^ a b "Blocked kick wins for Lions, 17-16". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 8, 1961. p. 1, section 2.
- ^ Buck, Ray (February 15, 2008). "From meager beginnings to America's Team". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
- ^ Sell, Jack (September 25, 1960). "Steelers top Dallas, 35-28, on late rally". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 1, section3.
- ^ "Eagles Rout Steelers; Take Conference Lead," The Post-Standard (Syracuse), Nov 7, 1960, p16
- ^ "Eagles clinch title, whip Cardinals, 20-6". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 5, 1960. p. 26.
- ^ Sell, Jack (December 12, 1960). "Steelers go in snow, whip Eagles, 27-21". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 28.
- ^ The Bridgeport Telegram, Nov 28, 1960, p12
- ^ "Gifford of Giants hurt as Eagles rally, 17-10". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press. November 21, 1960. p. 13, part 2.
- ^ "Bad blood erupts as high-flying Eagles bounce New York 17-10". The Bulletin. Bend, Oregon. UPI. November 21, 1960. p. 2.
- ^ "Green Bay rips Rams to win Western title". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 18, 1960. p. 1, section 3.
- ^ "West pros sidetrack East, 35-31, in thriller". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 16, 1961. p. 16.
External links
[edit]- NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
- NFL History 1951–1960 (Last accessed July 8, 2007)
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)