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1963 Green Bay Packers season
1963 Green Bay Packers season
General manager	Vince Lombardi
Head coach	Vince Lombardi
Home field	City Stadium; Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record	11–2–1
Division place	2nd NFL Western
Playoff finish	Won NFL Playoff Bowl; (vs. Browns) 40–23
	← 1962; Packers seasons; 1964 →;

The 1963 Green Bay Packers season was their 45th season overall and their 43rd season in the National Football League. The two-time defending NFL champions finished with an 11–2–1 record under fifth-year head coach Vince Lombardi for a second-place finish in the Western Conference, a half game back.

Both losses were inflicted by the Chicago Bears (11–1-2), the NFL champions in 1963, as the indefinite suspension of halfback Paul Hornung was too much for Green Bay to overcome.^[1]^[2] The Packers had won the previous five regular season games with rival Chicago, but scored just ten points total in the two games in 1963,^[3]^[4]^[5]^[6] and needed only a tie in one of them to advance to the championship game. (The tie at Detroit on Thanksgiving did not impact the Packers' title chances; ties were omitted from the winning percentage calculation until 1972.) Chicago's only loss was at last place San Francisco in October and they tied Pittsburgh and Minnesota in consecutive weeks after their second defeat of the Packers.

Quarterback Bart Starr suffered a hairline fracture in his passing hand at St. Louis on October 20. Up 23–0 in the third quarter, Starr couldn't find an open receiver on third down and took off on a run that gained 15 yards, tackled with a late hit out of bounds by Cardinal cornerback Jimmy "Iron Claw" Hill, who was ejected.^[7] Second-string quarterback John Roach filled in for the rest of the game, a 30–7 win in 85 °F (30 °C) heat, and the next four starts. Zeke Bratkowski was acquired in late October, waived by the Rams,^[8]^[9]^[10] and saw some action, too.^[5]^[6] Starr returned a month later, in week eleven on November 24 against San Francisco in Milwaukee, a week after the second loss to Chicago.^[11]

Following their regular season finale, a 21–17 win at San Francisco on Saturday, Green Bay needed Detroit to defeat the Bears at Wrigley Field on Sunday.^[12] The game's progress was updated to the Packers during their flight home;^[13] Chicago's 24–14 win ended Green Bay's bid for an unprecedented third consecutive championship game win. They eventually accomplished that feat with titles in 1965, 1966 and 1967.

In the third place Playoff Bowl in Miami three weeks later on January 5, the Packers overwhelmed the Cleveland Browns, 40–23.^[14] Green Bay led 28–10 at halftime and extended it to 38–10 in the fourth quarter.^[15]^[16]

This was the eleventh and final season for Pro Football Hall of Fame center Jim Ringo as a Packer. In May 1964, he and reserve fullback Earl Gros were traded to the Philadelphia Eagles for linebacker Lee Roy Caffey and a first round draft choice.^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20] Ringo played four years with the Eagles and then went into coaching; the draft pick was used to select halfback Donny Anderson as a "future" pick in the 1965 NFL draft.

Hall of Fame halfback Hornung did not play this season, suspended in April by commissioner Pete Rozelle for betting on NFL games and associating with undesirable persons.^[1]^[21]

For the thirteenth consecutive year, the Packers played on Thanksgiving Day, all against the Detroit Lions at Tiger Stadium. Their record in this holiday series was 3–9–1 (.269), and with Lombardi as head coach, they were 2–2–1 (.500), which included the sole loss in 1962 and a tie this season. Green Bay next played on Thanksgiving in 1970 at the Cotton Bowl, which was the franchise's first-ever loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Roster

**1963 Green Bay Packers roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 10 John Roach 12 Zeke Bratkowski 15 Bart Starr Running backs (RB) 33 Lew Carpenter 25 Tom Moore 22 Elijah Pitts 31 Jim Taylor 40 Earl Gros Wide receivers (WR) 86 Boyd Dowler 85 Max McGee Tight ends (TE) 81 Marv Fleming 88 Ron Kramer		Offensive linemen (OL) 75 Forrest Gregg T 67 Dan Grimm G 64 Jerry Kramer G - PK 51 Jim Ringo C 76 Bob Skoronski T 63 Fuzzy Thurston G Defensive linemen (DL) 82 Lionel Aldridge DE 87 Willie Davis DE 74 Henry Jordan DT		Linebackers (LB) 58 Dan Currie 71 Bill Forester 66 Ray Nitschke MLB 89 Dave Robinson OLB Defensive backs (DB) 26 Herb Adderley CB 46 Hank Gremminger 21 Bob Jeter CB 47 Jesse Whittenton 24 Willie Wood SS/PR Special teams		Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 15	Chicago Bears	L 3–10	0–1	City Stadium	42,327
2	September 22	Detroit Lions	W 31–10	1–1	Milwaukee County Stadium	45,912
3	September 29	Baltimore Colts	W 31–20	2–1	City Stadium	42,327
4	October 6	Los Angeles Rams	W 42–10	3–1	City Stadium	42,327
5	October 13	at Minnesota Vikings	W 37–28	4–1	Metropolitan Stadium	42,567
6	October 20	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 30–7	5–1	Busch Stadium	32,224
7	October 27	at Baltimore Colts	W 34–20	6–1	Memorial Stadium	60,065
8	November 3	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 33–14	7–1	Milwaukee County Stadium	46,293
9	November 10	Minnesota Vikings	W 28–17	8–1	City Stadium	42,327
10	November 17	at Chicago Bears	L 7–26	8–2	Wrigley Field	49,166
11	November 24	San Francisco 49ers	W 28–10	9–2	Milwaukee County Stadium	45,905
12	November 28	at Detroit Lions	T 13–13	9–2–1	Tiger Stadium	54,016
13	December 7	at Los Angeles Rams	W 31–14	10–2–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	52,357
14	December 14	at San Francisco 49ers	W 21–17	11–2–1	Kezar Stadium	31,031

Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1 vs Bears

Week One: Chicago Bears (0–0) at Green Bay Packers (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Bears	3	0	7	0	10
Packers	3	0	0	0	3

at City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin

Date: September 15, 1963
Game weather: 54 °F (12 °C)
Game attendance: 42,327
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

CHI – Bob Jencks 32-yard field goal. Bears 3–0.
GB – Jerry Kramer 41-yard field goal. Tie 3–3.

Second quarter

No scoring

Third quarter

CHI – Joe Marconi 1-yard run (Bob Jencks kick). Bears 10–3.

Fourth quarter

No scoring

Top passers

CHI – Bill Wade – 18/24, 129 yards, INT
GB – Bart Starr – 11/22, 83 yards, 4 INT

Top rushers

CHI – Rick Casares – 5 rushes, 27 yards
GB – Jim Taylor – 12 rushes, 53 yards

Top receivers

CHI – Ronnie Bull – 6 receptions, 48 yards
GB – Ron Kramer – 3 receptions, 35 yards

Week 2

	1	2	3	4	Total
Lions	0	0	3	7	10
• Packers	3	7	7	14	31

Date: September 22
Location: Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Game attendance: 45,912
Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C); wind 14 mph (23 km/h)

^[22]

Standings

NFL Western Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Chicago Bears	11	1	2	.917	10–1–1	301	144	W2
Green Bay Packers	11	2	1	.846	9–2–1	369	206	W2
Baltimore Colts	8	6	0	.571	7–5	316	285	W3
Detroit Lions	5	8	1	.385	4–7–1	326	265	L1
Minnesota Vikings	5	8	1	.385	4–7–1	309	390	W1
Los Angeles Rams	5	9	0	.357	5–7	210	350	L2
San Francisco 49ers	2	12	0	.143	1–11	198	391	L5

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

NFL Eastern Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
New York Giants	11	3	0	.786	9–3	448	280	W3
Cleveland Browns	10	4	0	.714	9–3	343	262	W1
St. Louis Cardinals	9	5	0	.643	8–4	341	283	L1
Pittsburgh Steelers	7	4	3	.636	7–3–2	321	295	L1
Dallas Cowboys	4	10	0	.286	3–9	305	378	W1
Washington Redskins	3	11	0	.214	2–10	279	398	L3
Philadelphia Eagles	2	10	2	.167	2–8–2	242	381	L2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Playoff Bowl

The Playoff Bowl matched the runners-up of the two conferences to determine third place in the league. It was played in January at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, the week following the NFL Championship game.

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Venue	Attendance
Playoff Bowl	January 5, 1964	Cleveland Browns	W 40–23	Orange Bowl	54,921

Source:^[14]^[15]^[16]

References

^ ^a ^b "Hornung suspended". Milwaukee Sentinel. April 18, 1963. p. 1, part 1.
^ "Suspend 2 football stars". Chicago Tribune. Associated Press. April 18, 1963. p. 1, section 1.
^ Strickler, George (September 16, 1963). "Bears shatter Packers' invincibility". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 3.
^ Strickler, George (November 18, 1963). "Showdown battle is all Bears, 26-7". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 3.
^ ^a ^b Lea, Bud (November 18, 1963). "Spirited Bears maul Packers, take lead". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 2, part 2.
^ ^a ^b Johnson, Chuck (November 18, 1963). "Bears rip Packers in showdown, 26-7". Milwaukee Journal. p. 9, part 2.
^ Lea, Bud (October 21, 1963). "Packers win, 30-7; tie for 1st". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 2, part 2.
^ Hollow, Cooper (October 30, 1963). "Packers get Bratkowski from Rams as insurance". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 3.
^ Johnson, Chuck (October 30, 1963). "Packers get Rams' Bratkowski as insurance at quarterback". Milwaukee Journal. p. 21, part 2.
^ "Packers buy Bratkowski". Eugene Register-Guard. Associated Press. October 30, 1963. p. 11D.
^ Lea, Bud (November 25, 1963). "Starr spurs Packers of 49ers". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 2, part 2.
^ Strickler, George (December 15, 1963). "Up to Bears, now! Packers win". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 2.
^ Lea, Bud (December 16, 1963). "Packers are disappointed, not surprised". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 3, part 2.
^ ^a ^b "Packers trounce Browns in Playoff, 40–23". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 6, 1964. p. 23.
^ ^a ^b Segreti, James (January 6, 1964). "Packers salvage runner-up honors; whip Browns, 40-23". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 3.
^ ^a ^b "Starr outshines Browns, 40-23". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 6, 1964. p. 27.
^ Lea, Bud (May 6, 1964). "Gros, Ringo traded to Eagles". Milwaukee Sentinel. p. 2, part 2.
^ "Ringo, Gros traded to Eagles, Packers get a linebacker". Milwaukee Journal. May 6, 1964. p. 2, part 2.
^ "Packers trade Ringo, Gros". St. Petersburg Times. (Florida). Associated Press. May 6, 1964. p. 2C.
^ "Packers pull trade, create new problem". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. May 6, 1964. p. 58.
^ Grimsley, Will (April 18, 1963). "All pro leagues honor suspension of Paul Hornung, Detroit's Karras". Lakeland Ledger. Florida. Associated Press. p. 28.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Aug-26.