| 1963 New York Giants season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Owner | Jack Mara Wellington Mara |
| Head coach | Allie Sherman |
| Home stadium | Yankee Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–3 |
| Division place | 1stNFL Eastern |
| Playoffs | LostNFL Championship (atBears) 10–14 |
The1963New York Giantsseason was the franchise's 39th season in theNational Football League. The Giants won their third consecutiveNFL Eastern Conference title with an 11–3 record, their sixth in eight years, but again lost theNFL championship game. This loss was to theChicago Bears, 14–10 atWrigley Field, in the Giants' final post-season appearance until1981.
Hall of fame quarterbackY. A. Tittle produced one of the greatest passing seasons in NFL history. Tittle had had a breakout seasonthe previous year, but according toCold Hard Football Facts, "[h]e was even better in 1963, breaking his own record set the year before with 36 TD passes while also leading the league in completion percentage, yards per attempt and passer rating. Tittle's G-Men scored a league-leading (32.0 points-per-game) and competed in a title game with the Bears, who had the league's best defense in 1963 (10.3 points-per-game)."[1]
A familiar figure on the offensive line, four-timePro Bowl selection Wietecha, retired after a decade of service, andGreg Larson took over his job at center. Other new faces included third-string quarterbackGlynn Griffing (who would spend just a single season in the NFL), linebackerJerry Hillebrand, and offensive tacklesLane Howell andLou Kirouac.Hugh McElhenny put on a Giants uniform for the first time in 1963 after 11 years as a star fullback with theSan Francisco 49ers andMinnesota Vikings. McElhenny stayed with the Giants for one season, and of the 12 new players on the Giants' roster in 1963, only Hillebrand andJohn Lo Vetere spent more than two seasons with the team.
The Giants were facing competition as theNew York Titans, the laughingstock of theAmerican Football League, were bought in March by a group headed bySonny Werblin, who changed the team name to theNew York Jets. Though still in the archaicPolo Grounds in1963, they moved into the newShea Stadium in1964 and gained quarterbackJoe Namath in January1965.
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB)
Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB) Defensive backs(DB) Special teams(ST) | Practice squad
Reserve
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ForY. A. Tittle, 1963 was his finest season. The New York offense was flooded with capable receivers.Del Shofner,Frank Gifford,Alex Webster,Joe Morrison,Joe Walton, and Thomas were joined by the newly acquired McElhenny, who had already caught many passes from Tittle when both played for theSan Francisco 49ers. Complementing the offense wasDon Chandler, whose accurate place-kicking enabled him to become the league's leading scorer in 1963.
Although Tittle threw three touchdown passes for a 37–28 victory in the season opener against theBaltimore Colts, his ribs were injured in the third quarter, and he was forced to spend the rest of the game, and the entire next game as well, on the sideline. Reserve quarterbacks Gugliemi and Griffing were of little help in game 2 atPitt Stadium, a 31–0shutout by thePittsburgh Steelers.[2] Tittle recovered in time for the third game of the season.
In victories over thePhiladelphia Eagles andWashington Redskins, Tittle threw a total of five touchdown passes. On defense,Dick Lynch intercepted threeSonny Jurgensen passes in the defeat of the Eagles.
Since their move toYankee Stadium in1956, the Giants' home openers were perennially delayed by the stadium's prime tenant, theNew York Yankees. The home opener in 1963 was the fifth game of the season, against theCleveland Browns. FullbackJim Brown and the undefeated Browns kept their perfect record intact and increased its Eastern Conference lead over the Giants to two games with a 35–24 victory.
During the next five games, Tittle shifted the Giants' offense into overdrive, averaging 39.6 points per game. Among the victories was a 33–6 defeat of the Browns in the face of 84,000 stunned Cleveland spectators. Before a frustrated Jim Brown was ejected late in the fourth quarter for fighting with a New York defender, he had been held to 40 yards rushing.
In the final nine games in the regular season, the Giants lost only once, a 24–17 to theSt. Louis Cardinals at Yankee Stadium, two days after theassassination ofPresidentKennedy. (CommissionerPete Rozelle received broad criticism from many quarters allowing the regular schedule to proceed on that Sunday, for it had been set aside as a national day of mourning. TheAFL postponed its four games.) New York closed out the season with big wins over theDallas Cowboys, Redskins, and Steelers, and the Giants captured their third consecutive Eastern Conference crown on the final Sunday of the season to finish 11–3, a game ahead of the Browns.[3][4]
Throughout the autumn of 1963, the air above Giants football games virtually hummed with forward passes. The team amassed 3,558 total passing yards, 47 shy of the Baltimore Colts, who were led byJohnny Unitas. Tittle led the NFL with 36 touchdown tosses, breaking his one-year old single-season record of 33. But New York's passing game was to be severely tested by the league's acknowledged defensive leader: theChicago Bears.
| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 15 | atBaltimore Colts | W 37–28 | 1–0 | Memorial Stadium | 60,029 | Recap | ||
| 2 | September 22 | atPittsburgh Steelers | L 0–31 | 1–1 | Pitt Stadium | 46,068 | Recap | ||
| 3 | September 29 | atPhiladelphia Eagles | W 37–14 | 2–1 | Franklin Field | 60,671 | Recap | ||
| 4 | October 6 | atWashington Redskins | W 24–14 | 3–1 | D.C. Stadium | 49,419 | Recap | ||
| 5 | October 13 | Cleveland Browns | L 24–35 | 3–2 | Yankee Stadium | 62,956 | Recap | ||
| 6 | October 20 | Dallas Cowboys | W 37–21 | 4–2 | Yankee Stadium | 62,889 | Recap | ||
| 7 | October 27 | atCleveland Browns | W 33–6 | 5–2 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 84,213 | Recap | ||
| 8 | November 3 | atSt. Louis Cardinals | W 38–21 | 6–2 | Busch Stadium | 29,482 | Recap | ||
| 9 | November 10 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 42–14 | 7–2 | Yankee Stadium | 62,936 | Recap | ||
| 10 | November 17 | San Francisco 49ers | W 48–14 | 8–2 | Yankee Stadium | 62,982 | Recap | ||
| 11 | November 24 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 17–24 | 8–3 | Yankee Stadium | 62,992 | Recap | ||
| 12 | December 1 | atDallas Cowboys | W 34–27 | 9–3 | Cotton Bowl | 29,653 | Recap | ||
| 13 | December 8 | Washington Redskins | W 44–14 | 10–3 | Yankee Stadium | 62,992 | Recap | ||
| 14 | December 15 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 33–17 | 11–3 | Yankee Stadium | 63,240 | Recap | ||
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are inbold text. | |||||||||
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Giants | 3 | 21 | 13 | 0 | 37 |
| Colts | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 28 |
atMemorial Stadium,Baltimore,Maryland
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
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| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| • Giants | 0 | 14 | 16 | 7 | 37 |
| Eagles | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 14 |
| Q2 | NYG | Walton 43 yard pass fromTittle (Chandler kick) | NYG 7–0 | |
| Q2 | NYG | Shofner 10 yard pass from Tittle (Chandler kick) | NYG 14–0 | |
| Q3 | NYG | Morrison 8 yard pass from Tittle (kick failed) | NYG 20–0 | |
| Q3 | NYG | Chandler 12 yard field goal | NYG 23–0 | |
| Q3 | NYG | Morrison 1 yard run (Chandler kick) | NYG 30–0 | |
| Q3 | PHI | Retzlaff 11 yard pass fromBrown (Clark kick) | NYG 30–7 | |
| Q4 | PHI | McDonald 18 yard pass from Brown (Clark kick) | NYG 30–14 | |
| Q4 | NYG | Morrison 70 yard run (Chandler kick) | NYG 37–14 | |
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Redskins | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| • Giants | 3 | 20 | 14 | 7 | 44 |
| Q1 | WSH | Tracy 4 yard run (Khayat kick) | WSH 7–0 | |
| Q1 | NYG | Chandler 48 yard field goal | WSH 7–3 | |
| Q2 | NYG | Lynch 42 yard interception return (Chandler kick) | NYG 10–7 | |
| Q2 | NYG | Gifford 8 yard pass fromTittle (Chandler kick) | NYG 17–7 | |
| Q2 | NYG | Katcavage 10 yard fumble return (kick failed) | NYG 23–7 | |
| Q3 | NYG | Morrison 57 yard pass from Tittle (Chandler kick) | NYG 30–7 | |
| Q3 | NYG | Huff 36 yard interception return (Chandler kick) | NYG 37–7 | |
| Q4 | NYG | Gifford 28 yard pass fromGriffing (Chandler kick) | NYG 44–7 | |
| Q4 | WSH | Mitchell 56 yard pass fromIzo (Khayat kick) | NYG 44–14 | |
Due to NFL rules at the time which did not count tied games in a team's won-loss percentage, the 7-3-3 Steelers entered The Bronx with a chance to win the Eastern championship if they defeated the 10-3 Giants (a tie would have given New York the title). Such a confusing scenario was avoided, thanks to the Giants building a 16-0 lead early in the second quarter. Tittle completed 17 of 26 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns, two to Joe Morrison and the other to Del Shofner, who caught three passes for 110 yards.
| NFL Eastern Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| NFL Western Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance | Recap | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | December 29 | atChicago Bears | L 10–14 | Wrigley Field | 45,801 | Recap |
Playoff Game Officials
