Best Year of the 1960s

[JoeZagorski]

Hey Guys:

My question on the best year of the 1970s was fun, so I figured, let's try the 1960s. What was the best year of that decade? This should be a little tougher, because I'm guessing that many of us don't remember the 1960s as well as we do the 1970s. I was born in 1963, but I didn't watch too much pro football during the 1960s. Nevertheless, I think the best year of the 1960s was 1969, the NFL's 50th year. What do you think and why? I'd love to read your responses!

Sincerely,
Joe Zagorski

[Reaser]

I don't know but my favorite game to watch from the 60's is 1960 Lions at Colts. The box score doesn't do it justice and that neither team ended up winning the west takes away from that it was a meaningful game when it was played. Has to be seen to be appreciated, all the special teams stuff in the first half, Joe Schmidt almost decapitating someone, long TD's, long int returns, great players making great plays, and the memorable and ridiculous ending.

[conace21]

I don't know but my favorite game to watch from the 60's is 1960 Lions at Colts. The box score doesn't do it justice and that neither team ended up winning the west takes away from that it was a meaningful game when it was played. Has to be seen to be appreciated, all the special teams stuff in the first half, Joe Schmidt almost decapitating someone, long TD's, long int returns, great players making great plays, and the memorable and ridiculous ending.

Well, it has to be 1964 or 1965. I will go with the latter. In the NFL, you had rookies Gale Sayers, Rick Butkus, and Bob Hayes. On the other end of the career line, Jim Brown and the Golden Boy on the way out. I knew Brown retired on top, but I didn't know that he outrushed the #2 rusher in the league by nearly 700 yards. Hornung would play another year, but his 5 TD performance vs Baltimore and 105 yards in the championship game were his last great moments.
Also, Tom Matte calling plays off a wristband, and Sayers scoring six touchdowns in the mud.

In the AFL, Joe Namath arrived on the scene, and Lance Alworth had perhaps his finest season. Buffalo traded away their main offensive threat, Cookie Gilchrist, and lost their top two receivers to injury early on in the season. But they rode a stout defense and the leadership of MVP Jack Kemp to a second straight title game, where they shut out San Diego 23-0

[SixtiesFan]

I don't know but my favorite game to watch from the 60's is 1960 Lions at Colts. The box score doesn't do it justice and that neither team ended up winning the west takes away from that it was a meaningful game when it was played. Has to be seen to be appreciated, all the special teams stuff in the first half, Joe Schmidt almost decapitating someone, long TD's, long int returns, great players making great plays, and the memorable and ridiculous ending.

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.

[Reaser]

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.

[74_75_78_79_]

In the AFL...1963

Both division races had drama, resulting in the first AFL division championship tie-breaker game, for the East, between both the Pats and Bills at Buffalo. Not to mention that Houston was actually ahead at 6-4 with only four weeks remaining only to lose-out the rest of the way. Eventual league champs, Chargers, won the West but with Oakland (who actually swept SD) hot on their tail until the very end, rallying from a 2-4 start to finish at 10-4, one game behind. Not much drama in either playoff game, but San Diego's phenomenal season punctuated with that 51-10 walloping over the Pats in the Title Game lead many to this day to argue that, perhaps, they're the earliest if not only pre-SB AFL champ who may have very well bested the NFL champ of the same year.

In the NFL...also '63

My Steelers were almost in the Title Game! And so were two other teams, the Browns & Cards (actually quite a, now-forgotten, rivalry that decade). The East did, however, go to the Giants once again who beat Pittsburgh, knocking them out, that final game. In the West you had the Bears beating the Pack by a mere half-game, arguably with the help of The Golden Boy (and Detroit's Karras) being suspended for the entire season. The Title Game at Wrigley was a good one with Halas winning his final title, 14-10.

The Kennedy Assassination, of course, took place that season with the NFL allowing the games to go on while the AFL delayed theirs for that week.

[JohnH19]

1967 for me. I purchased my first preseason magazine, the NFL Autograph Yearbook, during the summer of '68 when I was nine years old. I still have it and I've read it a thousand times over the years. So much so that the 1967 standings and statistics are literally etched in my brain. I didn't know anything about the AFL at the time since it wasn't televised on Canadian TV networks.

A few of the highlights were:

-the Colts/Rams Coastal Division race with Baltimore losing only their last game of the season, against the Rams, and missing the playoffs on a tie breaker. Imagine being 11-0-2 going into your last game and then not getting a ticket to the dance...ah, the good old days.

-a tremendous offensive season, especially in the Eastern Conference where six of the eight teams scored over 330 points.

-great passing seasons by Jurgensen with an NFL record 3,747 yards and 31 TDs, Unitas in his last great season was the MVP with 3,428 yards, Tarkenton had 3,088 yards and 29 TDs in his first year with the Giants, Snead with 3,399 yards and 29 TDs, and Gabriel with 2,779 yards and 25 TDs. Also, a very productive 3,008 yard season, with 19 TDs and 30 INTs, from unheralded second year man Jim Hart who was pressed into duty when Charley Johnson got the call from the Army.

-Leroy Kelly running away with his second straight rushing title. Little known Dave Osborn, a graduate of UND (North Dakota, not the other one), finished second with 972 yards and a fine 4.5 average.

-Redskin teammates Charley Taylor, Jerry Smith and Bobby Mitchell finishing 1, 2 and 4 in receptions.

-huge receiving seasons also from Ben Hawkins, Jackie Smith, Homer Jones, Willie Richardson (from bench warmer to all-pro), Bob Hayes and Lance Rentzel. Several others also had career seasons.

-Tarkenton combining with Jones, Aaron Thomas, Joe Morrison and Ernie Koy to give the Giants a very exciting, highly productive offense which was almost totally responsible for a rebound 7-7 season after 1966's 1-12-1 disaster.

-many tremendously exciting games including the Rams shocking last minute 27-24 win over the Packers in Week 13 to keep their playoff hopes alive. The Packers got their revenge, in a big way, two weeks later.

-the Ice Bowl

[Reaser]

Random but just noticed this. Same thread for the 70's is 4 pages and 40 posts. 60's is one page and 7 posts.

Kind of shows just how popular the 70's NFL is. I like it too, though if I picked a favorite decade, it'd be the 50's. League structure plays a big part in that, but also all the classic teams, all-time players, great blend of old and modern football, and a million other reasons.

[Bob Gill]

To my mind, the '50s, '60s and '70s all have a decent claim to the title of "best decade."

The '50s, for the reasons you mentioned, and others too.

The '60s, for the wide-open offenses (not just in the AFL; the NFL had the better quarterbacks, after all, and Jurgensen, Unitas and the rest put up a lot of 3,000-yard seasons) and the intriguing story of the war between the leagues -- not just the battles over players and everything, but the different styles of play. Also, the AFL's story, just taken alone, is compelling. For the first few years it, while always interesting, it was -- well, not a "glorified minor league," but somewhere between a top minor league and the NFL; with time it improved until it was comparable. but still different, which made it even more fun.

*In fact, to digress for a minute, 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.

Finally, the '70s. For me they might rank third in this group of three decades, but they did have their charms. One key for me is the playoff system, with a single wild card team in each conference. (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.) Another key is that there seemed to be more than the usual number of really good teams, the kind that went 11-3 almost every year: Miami, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Minnesota, Los Angeles. The Colts were one of those for three years, as were the Cardinals; and the Redskins -- well, I saw them from much closer, so where others might think of them along with the perennial top teams, I remember them more as a consistent playoff team but not a genuine contender except for 1971 and '72. Of course, it was a bad time to be a fan of the also-ran teams, which seemed to be bad year after year.

Anyway, as I said at the top, all three have some real strong points.

[oldecapecod11]

Reaser » Fri Feb 20, 2015 11:03 pm
"Random but just noticed this. Same thread for the 70's is 4 pages and 40 posts. 60's is one page and 7 posts.
Kind of shows just how popular the 70's NFL is. I like it too, though if I picked a favorite decade, it'd be the 50's. League structure plays a big part in that, but also all the classic teams, all-time players, great blend of old and modern football, and a million other reasons."

The '60s will get a tad more vigorous. Folks are still looking up pertinent data for the '70s.
Perhaps if this thread has been delayed until the other had begun to fade...?

Yea! for the '50s.
Especially: East vs. West = Championship
Channel 4 replaced Channel 5 (in New York, anyway.)
For the suburbanites, that's NBC replaced Dumont Television Network.

P.S. After the fact... Bob's suggestion to the ee cummings of the PFRA is a super idea.