Best Year of the 1960s

[John Maxymuk]

Bob's point about the impact of the afl on football in the 60s is spot on. The afl was a really attractive true alternative to the nfl and offered fans the chance to revel in two distinct leagues of great football. It also gave you a chance to have a second favorite team, one for each league. The packers were closest to my heart, but for some reason I rooted for Denver in the AFL...the best of one league and the worst of the other.

[Reaser]

I'd like to see T.J. Troup do two more books like the one he did on the 1950s: One on the NFL in the '60s, and one on the AFL. I'm always thinking of great things for other people to do, and those would be very worthwhile.

Definitely, the ink hadn't even dried on his last book before I said to him "now we need you to do the 60's" . . .

For anyone unfamiliar with the book we're talking about: http://www.amazon.com/Birth-Footballs-M ... t.j.+troup

I consider 1970-77 the "true" 1970s, before the rules to make passing easier, the added wild cards and the two extra regular-season games.

I think you know this already - and I hinted at it in my post in the 70's thread - but I think of it exactly the same way.
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Most of the people that post in these threads are lucky, all got to see the 50's, 60's, 70's (really the best 3-decade span) as it happened, or grew up with it or at least were watching by the 70's.

I got to see the late 80's, grow up with the 90's and now my adult prime watching 4-screens at once years are being wasted on the Goodell era - though at least the Seahawks are competing for championships.

Put another way, I had been to preseason games but the first regular season NFL game I went to, three days after I turned 4-years old, the starting QB's were the immortal Bruce Mathison and the legendary Kyle Mackey. Figure that out. I'm watching that while you all got to see Unitas, Jim Brown, Lombardi's packers, The Sea of Hands, MNF when it was MNF, Butkus, Sayers, etc ...

At least possible to go back and watch many of those games and all of those players, and I have. Though to have seen it live and lived it . . . I wish.

[Reaser]

Especially: East vs. West = Championship

Exactly what I meant by "league structure" ... True champions, in my opinion at least.

[John Maxymuk]

Matt, i feel very fortunate to have seen unitas and brown and sayers and butkus in real time, but jeez I wish I could have seen Baugh and Hutson and Graham...there's always going to be somebody you wished you had seen. Growing up watching Montana and Marino and lawrence Taylor is not too shabby.

[Reaser]

Matt, i feel very fortunate to have seen unitas and brown and sayers and butkus in real time, but jeez I wish I could have seen Baugh and Hutson and Graham...there's always going to be somebody you wished you had seen. Growing up watching Montana and Marino and lawrence Taylor is not too shabby.

John, fair point ...

... at least until I took a second to think about how you got to see Unitas, Brown, Sayers, Butkus AND Montana, LT and Marino, ha.

[Saban1]

Being an old Cleveland Browns fan, I should say 1964 when the Browns won the NFL title, and I did feel wonderful after they won that championship. However, my heart was really more with the 1966 Cleveland team that I kind of lived and died with. I felt that the 1966 Browns were their best team of the 1960's and no less than Cleveland flanker Gary Collins agrees with that.

Anyway, Cleveland was very good in 1966, IMO, but did not get the breaks as they did in 1964. For one thing, Atlanta was a new franchise in 1966 and was a swing team playing everyone else once. Therefore, all other teams played one team in the other conference. Cleveland drew Green Bay and played the Pack tough, but lost 21 to 20 on a last minute TD by Jim Taylor. Cleveland then lost a close one to the Cardinals. The Browns then found themselves in a hole that they never could quite get out of.

Anyway, 1966 would be my favorite year. I also became a fan of the Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL that year. I happened to watch one of their regular season games and was very impressed by Otis Taylor, among others. I think that the Chiefs would have been one of the better teams in the NFL if they played in that league in 1966, but that is JMO.

[BernardB]

My bias is towards 1967 but the storylines of 1960 are just too good. In the East the lowly Eagles capture their first conference crown in over a decade behind Van Brocklin and Bednarik. The injury riddled Giants were in the race until back to back losses (what was the schedule maker thinking) to the Eagles.

In the West, the Colts attempt for a three peat is in good shape until a bloodbath of a win against Chicago in week 8. Baltimore has a 6-2 record but, it has been argued, left Chicago a spent team. Baltimore loses their last four games (including the wild game with Detroit which Reaser mentioned and a game with LA in which Unitas streak of TD passes comes to an end). Green Bay, the Siberia other teams threatened to trade players who did not toe the line, emerges to capture the conference.

[John Maxymuk]

Another point about 1960 is how close it came to pitting lombardi against Paul Brown. In the second Eagles-Browns meeting that year, Philadelphia won on a 38-yard field goal by Bobby Walston with 10 seconds left. 38 yards was really beyond Walston's range by that point and he claimed it was his biggest thrill in football. If everything else played out the same after that game, Cleveland wins the East at 9-2-1 with Phila. At 9-3.

[NWebster]

I saw this game on TV, age 10. I still remember the winning TD pass to Jim Gibbons from Earl Morrall (and the Unitas to Moore TD pass that preceded it). It didn't look like a difficult play. Morrall just dropped back, threw the ball and Gibbons caught it and ran for a TD. The Colts seemed helpless. It's still in my mind's eye.

That's awesome. It happened just over 23 years before I was born but I still get excited to re-watch it now and then even knowing what happens, can only imagine how cool it would have been to see it live on TV.

There's HOF'ers all over the field, then other favorites of mine like Morrall (we did a "cool" thread on the old forums years ago and I believe I listed Earl as having my favorite dropback, the classic drop with holding the ball in one hand, I love it.) ...

First half has a blocked punt that goes out of the endzone for a safety. A bad snap on a punt that Lary runs 20 yards (from LOS) down the sideline and it's still not enough for a first down because DET lost a million yards getting sacked. A blocked extra point. A 55 yard kickoff return, and even on the opening kickoff there was a reverse - though it didn't go anywhere. Lions execute a fake FG which Bobby Boyd saved from being a TD. A couple plays after that he intercepts a pass and returns it 73 yards but great hustle by the Lions saves it from being a TD. Very next play Unitas is sacked and fumbles and the Lions get the ball back on an amazing one play later change of field position.

Moore puts on a show with his 80 yard TD reception.

Second half Cassady has a 40 yard TD reception and runs into the goalpost, ha. Then the classic ending, time running out, game on the line and Unitas turns into all caps JOHNNY U, then the beautiful throw with an even greater catch by Moore to take the lead - and the fans surround him in the endzone. After the ensuing kickoff return players are throwing punches at eachother. Next play the almost nonchalant Morrall to Gibbons game winner.

and all that is leaving out the meat of the game where Schmidt is flying around trying to take peoples heads off, Berry had a bunch of catches, Morrall was on point throwing the ball, Lary was making plays, Boyd was making plays, etc ...

Really a great game, has all you can want.

And I love that something that could never happen in a game today happened, the fans swarmed the field and the players at the end. Really seemed more like what today you'd think of as a college atmosphere. Oh, and Lenny weaving through the Defense, wow.

[BernardB]

Another point about 1960 is how close it came to pitting lombardi against Paul Brown. In the second Eagles-Browns meeting that year, Philadelphia won on a 38-yard field goal by Bobby Walston with 10 seconds left. 38 yards was really beyond Walston's range by that point and he claimed it was his biggest thrill in football. If everything else played out the same after that game, Cleveland wins the East at 9-2-1 with Phila. At 9-3.

Yeah, my knowledge of 1960 is about an inch deep. I did a quick search on Amazon not one book devoted to the 1960 Eagles, which is surprising since its such a compelling story (is it mostly forgotten?). Also did not see any bio of Van Brocklin. Guess tonight I will get out the NFL films history of the Eagles- but that is never in depth like a book, when done right, can be.