1963 New York Giants season

Offseason

A familiar figure on the offensive line, four-time Pro Bowl selection Wietecha, retired after a decade of service, and Greg Larson took over his job at center. Other new faces included third-string quarterback Glynn Griffing (who would spend just a single season in the NFL), linebacker Jerry Hillebrand, and offensive tackles Lane Howell and Lou Kirouac. Hugh McElhenny put on a Giants uniform for the first time in 1963 after 11 years as a star fullback with the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings. McElhenny stayed with the Giants for one season, and of the 12 new players on the Giants' roster in 1963, only Hillebrand and John Lo Vetere spent more than two seasons with the team.

The Giants were facing competition as the New York Titans, the laughingstock of the American Football League, were bought in March by a group headed by Sonny Werblin, who changed the team name to the New York Jets. Though still in the archaic Polo Grounds in 1963, they moved into the new Shea Stadium in 1964 and gained quarterback Joe Namath in January 1965.

NFL draft

Main article: 1963 NFL draft

Roster

Regular season

Main article: 1963 NFL season

For Y. 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 the San Francisco 49ers. Complementing the offense was Don 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 the Baltimore 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 at Pitt Stadium, a 31–0 shutout by the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tittle recovered in time for the third game of the season.

In victories over the Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Redskins, Tittle threw a total of five touchdown passes. On defense, Dick Lynch intercepted three Sonny Jurgensen passes in the defeat of the Eagles.

Since their move to Yankee Stadium in 1956, the Giants' home openers were perennially delayed by the stadium's prime tenant, the New York Yankees. The home opener in 1963 was the fifth game of the season, against the Cleveland Browns. Fullback Jim 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 the St. Louis Cardinals at Yankee Stadium, two days after the assassination of President Kennedy. (Commissioner Pete 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. The AFL postponed its four games.) New York closed out the season with big wins over the Dallas 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.

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 by Johnny 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: the Chicago Bears.

Schedule

Game summaries

Week 1: Baltimore Colts

;1st Quarter

• BAL: Gino Marchetti 33-yard fumble return (Jim Martin kick)
• BAL: Jimmy Orr 34-yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Jim Martin kick)
• NYG: Don Chandler 42-yard field goal ;2nd Quarter
• BAL: John Mackey 32-yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Jim Martin kick)
• NYG: Phil King 46-yard pass from Y. A. Tittle (Don Chandler kick)
• NYG: Joe Walton 4-yard pass from Y. A. Tittle (Don Chandler kick)
• BAL: Jerry Hill 3-yard rush (Jim Martin kick)
• NYG: Hugh McElhenny 7-yard pass from Y. A. Tittle (Don Chandler kick) ;3rd Quarter
• NYG: Y. A. Tittle 9-yard rush (kick failed)
• NYG: Alex Webster 1-yard rush (Don Chandler kick) ;4th Quarter
• No Scoring ;Passing
• NYG: Y. A. Tittle 16/23, 243 yards
• BAL: Johnny Unitas 19/33, 219 yards, 2 INT ;Rushing
• NYG: Alex Webster 15–60, Phil King 12–26, Y. A. Tittle 5–24, Hugh McElhenny 3–6, Ralph Guglielmi 2–3
• BAL: J.W. Lockett 9–37, Tom Matte 10–26, Johnny Unitas 4–25 ;Receiving
• NYG: Phil King 5–101, Del Shofner 5–85, Hugh McElhenny 3–24, Joe Walton 2–17, Alex Webster 1–16
• BAL: Jimmy Orr 5–83, John Mackey 2–46, Tom Matte 4–37, Raymond Berry 4–33, J.W. Lockett 4–20

Week 2: Pittsburgh Steelers

Week 3: Philadelphia Eagles

• Joe Morrison 12 Rush, 120 Yds

Week 4: Washington Redskins

Week 5: Cleveland Browns

Week 6: Dallas Cowboys

Week 7: Cleveland Browns

Week 8: St. Louis Cardinals

Week 9: Philadelphia Eagles

Week 10: San Francisco 49ers

Week 11: St. Louis Cardinals

Week 12: Dallas Cowboys

Week 13: Washington Redskins

Week 14: Pittsburgh Steelers

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.

Standings

Postseason

Main article: 1963 NFL Championship Game

Playoff Game Officials

• Referee: (#56) Norm Schachter
• Umpire: (#15) Ralph Morcroft
• Head Linesman: (#36) Dan Tehan
• Back Judge: (#47) Ralph Vandenberg
• Field Judge: (#21) Fred Swearingen
• Alternates: Art McNally, Herman Rohrig, Jack Nix

Awards and honors

• Y. A. Tittle, NFL MVP
• Y. A. Tittle, Franchise Record, Most Touchdown Passes in One Season, 36 Touchdown Passes

References

References

1. "Cold Hard Football Facts: The Dandy Dozen: 12 best passing seasons in history".
2. Sell, Jack. (September 23, 1963). "Steelers shut out Giants, 31-0". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
3. Sell, Jack. (December 16, 1963). "Giants end Steeler hopes, 33-17". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
4. Livingston, Pat. (December 16, 1963). "Gifford turns tide for Giants". Pittsburgh Press.
5. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196309290phi.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]. Retrieved 2014-Nov-27.
6. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/boxscores/196312080nyg.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com]. Retrieved 2014-Sep-02.
7. NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, {{ISBN. 0-7611-2480-2, p. 130