Denver Broncos 1964

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1964 NFL Championship Game participants in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Browns: Jim Brown, Lou Groza, Leroy Kelly, Paul Warfield
Colts: Raymond Berry, John Mackey, Gino Marchetti, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, Johnny Unitas
Aftermath

The Browns and their wives gathered at a nearby hotel for the victory party that they organized themselves. Jim Brown went home first to pick up his wife. When they walked i… Moren, the players and their wives stood and applauded. "No applause ever meant as much to me as that from those guys," said Jim.
Before he went to bed that night, Brown called Western Union and sent a telegram to Mrs. Blanton Collier thanking her for allowing her husband to spend so much time with the team. The Colliers cherished that telegram the rest of their lives.
James Doyle celebrated the championship with a poem in the next day's Plain Dealer.

The big grid league's eastern division,
Oft spoken of with much derision
By filiberts of the western towns,
Is high tops now - thanks to the Browns.
Thirty years later, Browns DE Paul Wiggin expressed feelings that many of his '64 teammates could understand. If you were to ask me what was the greatest feeling in my life, it was winning that champ­ionship. I don't wear jewelry. I don't wear my wedding ring. But for years, I wore that championship ring. My wife asked me why, and I tried to tell her that for one moment in my life, nothing has ever meant as much to me as that championship. It only lasted a short time, but to have that feeling about being the best in the world ... As I walked out of the Stadium that day, there was a telephone pole. I wanted to climb up that pole and just yell to the whole city of Cleveland that I was a part of the best football team in the world ... We had a group of guys from Georgia, California - you name it. White guys, black guys, it didn't matter. Nothing mattered except on that one day, we came together and did something very special. I have spent a lot of years in pro football trying to duplicate that feeling, and I never have. Less

L: Ryan the center of attention. R: Brown and Ryan enjoy victory.
Baltimore Locker Room
In contrast to the pandemonium next door, the Colts quarters was silent.

Shula was disgusted with his offense. Their defense did a heck of a job, but when you say that, you also have to mention our complete lack of offense. We couldn't get anything done. Was it Unitas's fault? he was asked. We had zero points on t… Morehe scoreboard. I wasn't satisfied with anyone. They used a lot of man-to-man coverage and mixed it up pretty well. And they used a somewhat unusual spacing in the line, but they had shown it before. We just killed our own drives by giving up the ball twice on fumbles and twice on pass interceptions. We never gave our defense a break. Heck, when you can't move it and keep putting constant pressure on the defense, you can't expect to win. Then they threw three bombs on us. Don thought the wind played a role in "breaking up the game" in Q3. They got us backed into the corner, and we couldn't get out. Asked if he thought the Colts lost their edge when they clinched the Western Conference pennant with four games to play, he said he wasn't sure. We got going in the second half of the last game when we beat Washington 45-27. But when we got beat like we did today, I just don't know. And we got beat in every phase of the game. Maybe it was just a day we didn't do anything right. They beat us in every conceivable way.
Unitas didn't have much to offer. It just wasn't our afternoon. They just beat us is about all you can say. ... That was not the way I wanted it to go. I wanted to go out and gun them down, but their defense didn't allow that. So I had to play it conservative. They shut off the bombs.
Defensive captain Pellington: We were just flat on our backs all day. When you can't control the ball, it's bound to happen.
Alex Hawkins, captain of the Colts special teams: The worst came out in us and none of the best. It makes you sick to your stomach so that you want to get out and play 'em again for nothing. Less

Collier: I know it's corny, but it really was a magnificent team effort. The defense was just great, and you've got to give them a lot of credit. ... The Colts have a good, fine football team. They had a few bad breaks, and we capitalized on them. Blanton said the Browns didn't make any major changes in the second half. We decided to stay with our running attack to try and loosen things up for our… More passing. We succeeded, and we also were able to take advantage when the Colts made a couple of mistakes. When asked how this club compared to the Otto Graham-led juggernauts for which he was an assistant coach, Blanton sidestepped the question. Let's just say it takes a pretty good club to win the title.
Ryan gushed: I don't think any team can defense us. We have the personnel to do anything, and the only thing that beats us is when we don't execute. ... We wanted to control the ball, of course, and decided to throw the hook passes when they began defensing us outside. Then when they started to anticipate the hooks in the second half, we went deep. They were double-teaming War­field and that left them weak on the other guys. That's how Gary was able to beat them so badly. ... They didn't hurt me much. They came after me, but during the game I didn't see them coming. I knew what I wanted to do, and I tried to do it. I think it worked pretty well. He said the cold didn't bother him but the wind did. I've never played a game in which it was so bad. When asked if it was his best game of the season, he said no. In fact, I don't think I played particularly well - only ave­rage. But I do think it was the best we've played as a team.
Collier hugged Brown and thanked him for his leadership. Jim, who was uncharacteristically smiling and laughing, told reporters, It's the biggest thrill of my career. I have had better days as an individual, but this is the most satisfying of all. ... The field was pretty good for this time of the year. Sure it was rough out there. Those Colts hit hard. He responded to a question about Gino Marchetti, who played his last game for Baltimore. There is a fine football player and also a real gentleman. He hits hard and makes his tackles. And that's it. He doesn't have to resort to anything else. Gino is a class guy. Jim admitted he had been battling a cold for a few days.
T Monte Clark on going against Marchetti: I knew I was playing one of the best. He's strong and tough, and I had to have some help occasionally, but I'm pleased with my contribution. This was a real team effort, offense and defense. ... The Lord certainly has been good to us.
Collins had a simple explanation for his success. They were doubling on Paul Warfield so that had to leave somebody open. It just happened to be me. Gary praised his offensive line. We had real good pass protection so Frank had time to throw. Our line did a tremendous job against the Colts, who have the best defensive line in the league.
Kanicki: I think that today I grew up. I found out how to play this game. He credited Modzelewski for helping him mature. He taught me an awful lot. I came into this league as green as you can get. I was too aggressive all the time, but too aggressive especially at the wrong time. ... But Mo and Blanton Collier worked with me and taught me to read blocks, and I finally learned not to be suckered. All the time out there today, Mo talked to me, like he has all season. He'd say, this time put on the big rush. Or look for the run. Little things. I was scared to death before the game, me playing head on Jim Parker, maybe the best blocking lineman in the league. But we crowded him and pushed him, and we figured that if I would hand fight instead of firing out I could do better. It worked pretty well.
When Modzelewski came out of the shower, he told the reporters who were questioning Collier, Let me by. I'm wet, and I'll get you wet. They parted and let him through. But he did not get by his coach, who embraced him. Thanks, Blanton said. Thanks. Mo said, It was a good trade. I never had a better season. Collier told the reporters, I don't know how we got Modzelewski. I don't know how they (the Giants) could give him up. But we were lucky we got him.
Parrish: Were we tall enough out there today? We won five in a row early in the season, and no one thought we were short. Then we lost some games, and I began to feel like a midget because people started to write that the Brown secondary was too short. We grew a few inches this after­noon. Less

Quarter 4
When Warfield caught his first pass of the day to the 1, it seemed a foregone conclusion that the Browns would go up 24-0. But the Colts stuffed two straight plunges by Brown. Then Lou Michaels hit Ryan before he could handoff, drop­ping him at the 3. So Groza added the 3-pointer. Browns 20 Colts 0
Would the goal-line stand light a fire under the Colts offense, which now had the advantage… More of the wind at their backs? Unfortunately for the visitors, the breeze had died down some.
Against the wind, Groza's kick came down at the 18. Tom Matte returned the ball to the 29. The possession started badly for Colts, Unitas being sacked for -4. But he came back with a completion to Orr to the 42. He then threw a long pass that Jimmy dived and caught at the 15. But the officials ruled he was out of bounds. Bill Glass spilled Unitas for a 4y loss. An overthrown aerial to Orr ended still another sterile possession for the Colts.
Starting from their 36 after Roberts's 14y punt return, the Browns could at least run some time off the clock. But they did much more than that. They moved smartly into Baltimore territory, thanks primarily to Ryan's 13y pass to Brewer and a pass interference penalty on Logan against Collins at the 35. A holding penalty back to the 49 threatened to take the starch out of the march. No problem, though. Ryan threw long again for Collins, the ball sailing just over the outstretched hand of Boyd who had Gary well covered at the 10. The 6'3" 210 lb WR escaped the grasp of the 5'10" 190 lb Boyd and ran through the EZ into a group of exuberant fans who engulfed him. A phalanx of policemen had to bail him out. Browns 27 Colts 0 (6:10)
Logan misread the Cleveland formation on the play. He thought it was a strong right - a formation in which his zone coverage was short and outside - when it was actually strong left. In a Cleveland strong-left formation, Logan's coverage was deep and in the middle. When he left that area, Collins broke into it.
The Colts never adjusted to help Boyd, who was an All-Pro DB. They held War­field to one catch but paid the price on the other side. When a receiver and quarterback have a day like that, we call it Pitch & Catch, said Warfield. That was Frank Ryan to Gary Collins.
Even the Baltimore announcers agreed it would take more than one of Unitas's miracles to pull this one out. The only question was whether Unitas & Company could avoid their first shutout in 31 games. But in another case of "just when you think everything that can go wrong has gone wrong ...," Modzelewski deflected Unitas's pass, sending it into the hands of Beach who returned it to the Colt 43 with 4:50 left.
The proud Blue and White defense finally forced a 3-and-out, with Marchetti having the pleasure of dumping Brown for a 10y loss. But even that satisfaction was negated by a holding penalty on the punt that gave Cleveland an automatic 1st down at the Colt 46. That allowed the Browns to run out the clock. The Colts, led by Marchetti, managed to bury Ryan when he threw one last pass. Frank climbed wearily to his feet. He had welts on his nose and cheek. Collier took out Collins, then Warfield to allow the crowd to cheer for each. With less than a minute to play, fans started coming out of the stands, attacking both goal posts, invading the field, and finally forcing the officials to end the contest early. They surrounded Ryan and hoisted him on their shoulders.
FINAL: BROWNS 27 COLTS 0
The Browns' victory ended the seven-year reign of the Western Conference since the Giants beat the Bears in 1956.

Sports Illustrated's Tex Maule summarized the game like this: It was a bizarre game. Baltimore came to Cleveland as one of the finest offensive teams ever to win a divi­sional championship and left without having scored a point on the worst defense in the league.... But for this game, Cleveland became one of the great defensive teams of championship game history.
The Sport Magazine MVP award, a Corvette sports car, went to Gary Collins, who set a championship game record with three TD receptions.
Final statistics:

First downs: Browns 20 Colts 11
Rushing: Browns 41-142 Colts 25-92
Passing: Browns 18-11-1/197 Colts 20-12-2/89
Return yardage: Browns 4-44 Colts 6-61
Fumbles-Lost: Browns 0-0 Colts 2-2
Penalties: Browns 7-59 Colts 5-48
Punting average: Browns 3-44.0 Colts 4-33.8
The individual statistics are enlightening

Ryan completed 11 of 18 for 206y and 3 TDs. Unitas connected on 12 of 20 for just 95y.
Did the Browns clamp down on the Colt receivers? Berry caught just 3 passes for 38y. Orr snagged only 2 for 31. Less

Ryan took the next snap, stepped up in the pocket, and found Collins open in the EZ behind the goal posts after he got away from Boyd and Logan. Browns 10 Colts 0 (13:34)
Collins had noticed that Boyd was shading him toward the sidelines. So he broke the other way, heading for the goal post. Ryan had enough time to read the change and let fly. Five times that year he had hit a goal post. But this t… Moreime, the ball went under the crossbar.
Lorick made a bad decision on the kickoff when he tried to run it out from 1y into the EZ. Not only was he taken down by a necktie tackle by rookie Leroy Kelly - destined to replace Brown someday - but a clipping penalty moved the ball half the distance to the 6. After a 2y run, Unitas tried to pass but yet again ended up running, for 1y this time. He threw a short pass to Lorick who was felled at the 12. Gilberg wasn't so lucky on his punt this time, the ball going out 27y upfield on the Colt 39.
Smelling blood, Ryan called a reverse, but Braase hit Brown as he handed to Warfield who was downed for a loss of 4. Undaunted, Ryan dropped back and lofted a high spiral with the wind toward Collins. Boyd slipped down on the dirt infield, and all Gary had to do was cradle the ball on the 5 and waltz into the EZ. Browns 17 Colts 0 (6:12)
That play was called Hook & Go. Collins faked the hook to freeze the DB, then ran straight for the EZ.
Ryan: This was probably the most important decision I had to make all after­noon. We had established tremendous momentum. The running was going; we had just gained 46y on a running play, and I was tempted to call another sweep. But maybe I would call a sweep into an outside blitz, and they would drop Jim for a long loss. Then I thought maybe we can go inside, but if they pinched in and cut off the inside we wouldn't gain, and the momentum could go from us to them. I knew they had been playing Gary Collins for a hook pass all afternoon. I decided to call a hook-and-go to Collins, and when he went he was open.
Gary was so wide open, I had buck fever, said Frank. There was no one within 20 yards of him. I had the wind at my back. It surprises you when a receiver is that wide open, but it happens occasionally. I just had to make sure I got him the ball, because Gary could have caught it and walked into the end zone.
Collins: When I faked, Bobby Boyd slipped and fell. When that ball was in the air, I kept thinking that if I dropped it, I had better catch a jet out of Cleveland right now.
Boyd: We couldn't hear our calls. We blew one on that play, and we blew another one later. The guy who was supposed to take the middle deep took the outside.
Unitas pulled out all the stops to produce some points. He started with his pa­tented down-and-out to Berry, who got away from Walter Beach, but for only 4y. Then a pitchout to Moore got a first down at the 31. Three straight runs moved the chains again to the 42. Two plays later, Johnny threw in a QB draw to the 47. A 3rd down pass to Moore was underthrown but defensive holding gave the Colts a 1st down at the Cleveland 48. And that's when disaster struck again. Moore never had control of the ball on the handoff from Unitas and fum­bled, Paul Wiggin covering the ball at the Cleveland 47.
Browns defensive coach Nick Skorich explained his unit's success afterward: We crowded them. Especially when they were throwing into the wind and we knew that they could not throw long. We knew that the Colt pass patterns are built on precision and timing. We knew that if you take away the first receiver and force Johnny Unitas to go to a second or third you are forcing them out of a pattern, and, too, if you cover Jimmy Orr and Raymond Berry tight up close you force them to change their cuts and patterns and you take away the timing and the precision. ... And we got a strong rush inside, so he (Unitas) couldn't duck away from the rush from the ends and still find freedom to throw the ball.
On 2nd-and-8, Billy Ray Smith, newly inserted at DT, hit Ryan but a tad too late, the pass going to TE Johnny Brewer to the 37. Then the Browns ran a beautiful sweep around RE. Jimmy followed his interference all the way to the 14, where DT Fred Miller chased him down from behind.
END OF Q3: Browns 17 Colts 0 Less

A second down screen pass to Brown moved the ball to the 38 for a 1st down. But a short run and two incompletions by Ryan under pressure brought out Groza, who boomed a 42y FG. Browns 3 Colts 0 (11:39)
Following another touchback, Unitas tried to get something going. After an in­completion, he rolled out to his left to avoid the pressure only to be sacked at the 18 by Jim Kanicki, who was playing t… Morehe game of his life.
The next Sports Illustrated reported that Kanicki looks very much like an enormous baby with soft, pink cheeks and what looks like baby fat still on his 270-pound body.
When a swing pass to Tony Lorick gained only 5, Gilbert kicked into the gale again but this time got off a good one that rolled all the way to the Cleveland 31.
Brown took a draw handoff for 5. Then the Browns lined up in a double wing, with Green as a flanker to the left. The only man behind Ryan was Brown. RLB Shinnick cheated a little toward the middle. The DB opposite Green played 6-7y behind the line. Ryan tossed a quick pitchout to Jim swinging to his left. He swept around the pinched-in LB as Green knocked down Braase. Jimmy ran behind three blockers all the way to the Colt 18 where Logan made a game-saving tackle from behind. Green got up after his first block and raced downfield where he took out MLB Bill Pellington to help the 46y gain.
Collier: We didn't use that sweep much in the first half. Maybe we were think­ing too much. It had gained a lot of yards for us during the season, and we knew the Colts knew it. So we didn't go to it in the first half. It was very effec­tive in the second half.
Green: That play really got us going. We finally broke Jim loose, and we knew we were going to be all right. Less

Art Modell's halftime show did not go as planned. He had paid $18,000 to fly in the Florida A&M band, which was known for its high stepping formations. Art promised Commissioner Rozelle that he would see a band that would put on a show unlike any he had ever seen before. Instead, the 180-piece band just walked on the field and played. Art, when will they do something? asked Pete. Soon, Modell… More said. But they never did. Afterward, the Browns owner confront­ed the band director. I saw you guys in the Orange Bowl, and you were all over the field. It was a great show. The band director said he wanted to showcase his school's excellent music department.
In the Cleveland locker room, Collier was surprised that he didn't have to make any defensive adjustments. So he asked for suggestions from his offense. They're stacking it up pretty well inside, said Brown. It might be time to throw the ball more. Collins said all there was between him and the goal line was little Bob Boyd, five inches shorter, and he could beat him any time he wanted.
The ever-nervous Parrish paced and paced. Finally, he couldn't take it any more. Hey, offense, are y'all ever gonna get into the game, or do we have to do all the work?
G John Wooten recalled, When the score was 0-0 at the half, I thought we had won the game. Everyone talked about our no-name defense and how they were over­matched, but Kanicki, Fiss, Beach, Parrish, Modzelewski - these guys were domi­nating the game. At halftime, we on offense promised them that we'd take care of business.
With the Colts receiving to start the second half, the Browns staff discussed whether they wanted the wind behind them Q3 or Q4. Afterward Collier explained the deci­sion. Most of the time you want the wind with you at the end of the game so you can rally if you have to. But I decided maybe we better take the wind while it was still blowing. If we gave it to the Colts - and neither team had scored by the half, remem­ber - and they got hot, we might be out of the game by the time we got it in the fourth. This proved to be a crucial decision that turned the game in Cleveland's favor.
Quarter 3
Kicking with the wind, Lou Groza, a month away from his 41st birthday, boomed the ball beyond the end line. If the Colts made any offensive adjustments at half­time, they didn't work. An illegal procedure penalty mixed with two short runs and an incompletion forced T Tom Gilberg to punt into the wind. The ball went out of bounds on the Baltimore 48 - a 25y punt. Less