I don't know if anybody would enjoy this the way I do. But this 1960 NFL title game was noteworthy in so many different ways.
The Eagles won. It was their last NFL championship. There are a dozen NFL Hall of Fame players.
This was a very different time. I believe the rosters had 35 players. I know it was less than 40. Because of that, there were no specialists. Paul Hornung was the Packers' kicker. Max McGee was their punter. Joe Walton, future head coach of the Jets was a back up tight end, and the Eagles' kicker. Norm Van Brocklin, their Hall of Fame quarterback was the punter. So both quarterbacks in this game were eventual Hall of Famers. Bart Starr was a young quarterback.
This was the last game, when an NFL player played every snap of the game. With short rosters, the Eagles were pressed when their starting center was lost in the last game of the regular season. Chuck Bednarik, also a Hall of Famer at middle linebacker, ended up snapping every play for the Eagles. They called him the sixty minute man. Ironically, his jersey number was 60. If you don't really have any interest in watching much of this 55 year old game, at least click on the 15:00 minute mark of the video. The next two plays are big receptions by Sooner great Tommy McDonald, the second for the game's first touchdown.
This was the last NFL title game at any level, played on a Monday. I believe probably the only NFL Championship game played on a Monday. They'd added a week to the schedule and that year, Christmas was on Sunday, so they played the day after. The Eagles' home stadium moved around some in those days. It was said to be the largest attendance to date for an NFL championship. They started the game in the morning because Franklin Field had no lights, and if the game went overtime, as it had two years before, they didn't want to worry about not being able to finish.
This was Vince Lombardi's first post season game as a head coach. And his only post season loss as a head coach. If you watch the tape, the game is called a lot differently than now. Some players were hit way out of bounds with no calls. On one play early in the second quarter, there is a block in the back by the Packers that was a clip in those days, that went uncalled. So an Eagle player threw a forearm in the face of the offender. Kind of like hockey, the players did a little policing themselves.
The goal posts were on the goal line, rather than the back of the end zone. Paul Hornung, who got hurt early in the second half, missed a nine yard field goal attempt on the last play of the first half. It turned out to be a very important miss after the Packers lost by four, driving at the end of the game, but running out of time at the Eagles' nine. Hall of Famer Bednarik, stopped Hall of Famer Jim Taylor on that final play.
After Hornung got hurt, his backup was Tom Moore, who was the long time OC for several NFL teams including most of Peyton Manning's best years in Indy.
The video has replay of every snap, but there was no replay during the broadcasts. They didn't have that technology for a couple more years. And the quality of the film isn't great. But it's still fun to watch at least a little. The video is just short of 50 minutes.