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1963 National Football League season
Regular season
Duration September 15, 1963 - December 29, 1963
East Champions New York Giants
West Champions Chicago Bears
Championship Game
Champions Chicago Bears
National Football League seasons
 < 1962 1964 > 

The 1963 NFL season was the 44th regular season of the National Football League. On April 17, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle indefinitely suspended Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras for gambling on their own teams, as well as other NFL games; Hornung and Karras would miss the entire season. In addition, five other Detroit players were fined $2,000 each for placing bets on one game in which they did not participate.

The season ended when the Chicago Bears defeated the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game.

JFK Assassination[]

On November 24, just two days after the assassination of President Kennedy, the NFL played its normal schedule of games. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle said about playing the games: "It has been traditional in sports for athletes to perform in times of great personal tragedy. Football was Mr. Kennedy's game. He thrived on competition."[1] However, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins had sought postponement of the games.[2][3] Attendance at games went unaffected despite the assassination.[4][5]

Before the Eagles played their game against the Redskins, each of the Eagles players contributed $50 to the family of Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit, who was killed by the assassin, Lee Harvey Oswald.[6][7]

Conference races[]

The Eastern and Western Conference races were undecided until the final day of the regular season. In the Eastern, the Browns were 7-1-0 after eight games, but on November 10, the Browns lost 9–7 at Pittsburgh, while the Giants beat the Eagles 42-14, to tie New York and Cleveland at 7–2–0. When the Giants won again and the Browns lost, the former had the lead.

The Western Division race was close as well. The Bears were 5–0 and the Packers 4–1 as of October 13. In Week Six, Green Bay won at St. Louis, 30–7, while Chicago lost at San Francisco, 20–14, tying the Bears and Packers for the lead at 6–1. Both teams continued to win, and then met in Chicago on November 17, where Green Bay lost, 26–7.

The games scheduled for Week Eleven took place on the weekend after the Kennedy assassination. Unlike the American Football League, which cancelled its schedule, the NFL chose to play the games, although they were not televised due to round-the-clock network TV coverage of the assassination aftermath. The Giants lost at home to St. Louis, 24-17, while Cleveland beat visiting Dallas 27-17, to give the three teams identical 8-3-0 records. The Bears were losing at Pittsburgh until Roger Leclerc kicked a field goal to get a 17-17 tie, and to stay half a game ahead of Green Bay.

In Week Twelve, Green Bay's chance to win was cancelled when Detroit tied the game 10-10, while Chicago averted another loss by tying Minnesota 17-17. The three way tie in the Eastern was pared down when Cleveland beat St. Louis 24-10, and New York won (34-27 over Dallas).

Week Thirteen saw both the Bears and Packers winning, while Cleveland lost to Detroit, 38-10. New York won 44-14 over Washington, but at 10-3-0, New York was trailed by Pittsburgh, which had an unusual 7-3-3 record, and the final game of the season would match the Steelers and Giants at Yankee Stadium.

Under the rules of the day, a Steelers win over the Giants would have given New York a 10-4-0 (.714) finish, while the Steelers' 8-3-3 finish would have been a .727 record and the trip to the championship game. It didn't happen that way. In a game that decided the conference title, New York beat Pittsburgh 33-17. In the Western race, Green Bay needed to win and for Chicago to lose. The Bears' 24-14 win over Detroit was announced while the Packers were in San Francisco, making the 21-17 win on the coast a moot point.

Week WESTERN EASTERN
1 3 teams (Chi, Det, Min) 1-0-0 3 teams (Cle, NYG, StL) 1-0-0
2 CHICAGO BEARS 2-0-0 Tie (Cle, StL) 2-0-0
3 CHICAGO BEARS 3-0-0 CLEVELAND BROWNS 3-0-0
4 CHICAGO BEARS 4-0-0 CLEVELAND BROWNS 4-0-0
5 CHICAGO BEARS 5-0-0 CLEVELAND BROWNS 5-0-0
6 Tie (Chi, GB) 5-1-0 CLEVELAND BROWNS 6-0-0
7 Tie (Chi, GB) 6-1-0 CLEVELAND BROWNS 6-1-0
8 Tie (Chi, GB) 7-1-0 CLEVELAND BROWNS 7-1-0
9 Tie (Chi, GB) 8-1-0 Tie (Cle, NYG) 7-2-0
10 CHICAGO BEARS 9-1-0 NEW YORK GIANTS 8-2-0
11 CHICAGO BEARS 9-1-1 Tie (Cle, NYG, StL) 8-3-0
12 CHICAGO BEARS 9-1-2 Tie (Cle, NYG) 9-3-0
13 CHICAGO BEARS 10-1-2 NEW YORK GIANTS 10-3-0
14 CHICAGO BEARS 11-1-2 NEW YORK GIANTS 11-3-0

Final standings[]

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

Note: Prior to 1972, the NFL did not include tie games when calculating a team's winning percentage in the official standings

Eastern Conference
Team W L T PCT PF PA
New York Giants 11 3 0 .786 448 280
Cleveland Browns 10 4 0 .714 343 262
St. Louis Cardinals 9 5 0 .643 341 283
Pittsburgh Steelers 7 4 3 .636 321 295
Dallas Cowboys 4 10 0 .286 305 378
Washington Redskins 3 11 0 .214 279 398
Philadelphia Eagles 2 10 2 .167 242 381
Western Conference
Team W L T PCT PF PA
Chicago Bears 11 1 2 .917 301 144
Green Bay Packers 11 2 1 .846 369 206
Baltimore Colts 8 6 0 .571 316 285
Detroit Lions 5 8 1 .385 326 265
Minnesota Vikings 5 8 1 .385 309 390
Los Angeles Rams 5 9 0 .357 210 350
San Francisco 49ers 2 12 0 .143 198 391


NFL Championship Game[]

Chicago 14, New York 10 at Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois, December 29, 1963

Awards[]

Most Valuable Player Y.A. Tittle, Quarterback, N.Y. Gians
Coach of the Year George Halas, Chicago

See also[]

References[]

  1. Brady, Dave (November 24, 1963). "It's Tradition To Carry on, Rozelle Says". The Washington Post: p. C2.
  2. Walsh, Jack (November 24, 1963). "Redskins, Eagles Sought Postponement". Washington Post: p. C1.
  3. Sheehan, Joseph M. (November 24, 1963). "Vocal Critics Upset That NFL Will Play a Full Slate". New York Times: p. 97.
  4. Koppett, Leonard (November 25, 1963). "Pro Football Attendance Unaffected". New York Times: p. 35.
  5. Associated Press (November 25, 1963). "Despite Many Protests, NFL Crowds Large". Los Angeles Times: p. D1.
  6. Associated Press (November 25, 1963). "Eagles Collect Money For Slain Officer's Kin". New York Times: p. 35.
  7. United Press International (November 26, 1963). "Eagles Vote $50 Each to Slain Policeman's Kin". Los Angeles Times: p. D1.
1963 NFL Seasonv · d · e
Eastern Conference Western Conference
Cleveland Baltimore
Dallas Chicago
NY Giants Detroit
Philadelphia Green Bay
Pittsburgh Los Angeles
St. Louis Minnesota
Washington San Francisco
1963 NFL DraftNFL ChampionshipPro Bowl
Related: 1963 AFL Season
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