1965 NFL Championship Game
Cleveland Browns
Green Bay Packers
12
23
January 2, 1966
Stadium
Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Referee
George Rennix
Attendance
50,852
Future Hall of Famers
Browns: Jim Brown, Lou Groza, Gene Hickerson, Leroy Kelly, Paul Warfield
Packers: Vince Lombardi (coach), Willie Davis, Forrest Gregg, Paul Hornung, Jim Ringo, Ray Nitschke, Bart Starr, Jim Taylor, Willie Wood
TV in the Uni
… Moreted States
Network
CBS
Announcers
Ray Scott, Ken Coleman,
and Frank Gifford
Radio in the United States
Network
CBS
Announcers
Jack Drees, Jim Morse
← 1964
NFL Championship Game
1966 →
Lambeau
Field
Location in the United States
Lambeau
Field
Location in Wisconsin
See also: 1965 NFL playoffs
The 1965 National Football League Championship Game was the 33rd championship game for the National Football League (NFL), played on January 2, 1966, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin.[1][2][3] This was the first NFL championship game played in January, televised in color, and the last one played before the Super Bowl era.
The game matched the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Browns (11–3), the defending NFL champions, and the Green Bay Packers (10–3–1) of the Western Conference. A week earlier, the Packers defeated the Baltimore Colts in a tiebreaker Western Conference playoff at County Stadium in Milwaukee, while the Browns were idle. The Packers were making their first appearance in the championship game in three years, since their consecutive wins in 1961 and 1962. Green Bay was relegated to the third place Playoff Bowl the previous two seasons, with a victory over the Browns and a loss to the St. Louis Cardinals.
The home field for the NFL title game alternated between the conferences; in odd-numbered seasons, the Western team was the host. Home field advantage was not implemented in the NFL playoffs until 1975.
With the 23–12 victory, the Packers won their ninth NFL title, sixth in the championship game era.[4][5]
Contents
1
Game-day preparations
2
Game summary
2.1
First quarter
2.2
Second quarter
2.3
Third quarter
2.4
Fourth quarter
3
Scoring summary
4
Officials
5
Players' shares
6
Vince Lombardi–Jim Brown
7
See also
8
Video
9
References
10
External links
Game-day preparations[edit]
The Packers, coached by Vince Lombardi, featured Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Jim Taylor, and Carroll Dale on offense, along with linemen Jerry Kramer, Forrest Gregg, and Fuzzy Thurston. Defensively, Green Bay showcased Herb Adderly, Ray Nitschke, Willie Davis, Willie Wood, and Dave Robinson.
Cleveland, coached by Blanton Collier, had Jim Brown, WR's Gary Collins, Paul Warfield, guard Gene Hickerson and kicker Lou "The Toe" Groza on offense. Cleveland's defense however, during the regular season, allowed an average of 23.2 points and twice gave up 40+ points in losses to the lowly Cardinals and Rams.1
Despite a heavy snowstorm that blanketed the field, 50,777 hearty fans showed up in 26 °F (−3 °C) weather. A tarp covered the field until shortly before kickoff and a moderated wind of 12 mph (19 km/h) blew through Lambeau field.3 4 7 Intermittent rain fell during the game, later turning to light snow. The field initially had a thin covering of snow, but soon turned to mud for most of the game.
Ticket prices for the game were ten and twelve dollars.[6] Less
