NFL in the 1960s: Part 1 Trivia Quiz

Answer: Chuck Bednarik

Bednarik, wearing number 60 for the Philadelphia Eagles, had a brilliant 14-year career, and 1960 was arguably his finest season. Playing center and linebacker, Bednarik was on the field for every scrimmage play in the championship game against Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers. With the Eagles leading 17-13 late in the game, the Packers' Jim Taylor caught a pass deep in Philadelphia territory, and headed for what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown when Bednarik caught him and knocked him down at the 9 yard line.

He stayed on top of Taylor as the final seconds ticked off the clock. "You can get up now", he told Taylor. "The game's over".

Answer: Green Bay Packers

The Packer defense had to console itself with having five titles in the 1960s, and with sending five of its players to the Hall of Fame. But the Cowboys (Doomsday Defense), Rams (Fearsome Foursome), and Vikings (Purple People Eaters), managed to have both great defenses and memorable names.

Answer: Because he had a PhD in mathematics

Ryan led the Browns to two consecutive NFL championship games, including winning the 1964 title. But what made him unique among NFL players was that he earned his PhD from Rice University in 1965, while he was still an active player. After his retirement, Ryan went on to become athletic director at Yale University, then a professor of mathematics at Rice.

Answer: Washington Redskins

For Lombardi, the Washington Redskins represented a perfect opportunity. He was offered a small ownership role in the team, giving him the first chance of his life to build wealth. Lombardi and his wife were both "city people", more comfortable in major metropolitan areas than in small-town Green Bay.

The Redskins team was bursting with talented players who'd consistently underachieved on the playing field. Only two of the previous 20 seasons had resulted in the Redskins having a winning record. Lombardi, a bit more mellow in temperment than he'd been in Green Bay, coached the 1969 Redskins to a 7-5-2 record, their best year since 1955. Lombardi developed cancer in the offseason and died in September 1970.

Answer: Throw a touchdown pass in the game

Unitas's string of throwing a touchdown pass in 47 consecutive games is considered by many to be the closest thing football had to Joe DiMaggio's "unbreakable" 56-game hitting streak in baseball. He had begun the streak almost exactly four years earlier, also against the Rams during his rookie season. Seven Colt players caught 102 touchdown passes from Unitas during those 47 games.

Answer: Allowing the NFL to play its games the weekend before Thanksgiving that season

The weekend before Thanksgiving in 1963 also happened to be the weekend the assassination of President John Kennedy had stunned the United States. Although the rival AFL suspended its schedule, Rozelle heeded the guidance of Kennedy advisor Pierre Salinger, who told him that the President would have wanted the NFL to play.

The NFL's games drew packed stadiums, but the coaches and players generally said that playing football was the last thing on their minds that weekend.

Answer: Shotgun

The shotgun, in which the quarterback lines up seven yards behind the line, had been developed in the early days of football, but by 1961, virtually all teams used a T-formation with the quarterback lined up directly behind the center. Hickey used the shotgun to neutralize the pass rush, and to give his three quarterbacks several options they'd not have with a more conventional offense.

After five weeks, they were 4-1, including big shutout wins over Detroit and the Rams. When they faced Chicago in their sixth game, the Bears put linebacker Bill George right over the 49ers center, who George would knock over before he had a chance to look up.

The Bears won the game 31-0, the 49ers went 3-4-1 for the rest of the season, and the shotgun was dead for the rest of the decade. Tom Landry's Cowboys revived the offense in the 1970s, and most modern NFL teams use it at least part of the time.

Answer: Both CBS and NBC

When the AFL and NFL ended their hostilities, the showpiece of the agreement was a title game between the champions of both leagues, that eventually became known as the Super Bowl. Neither CBS, which broadcast NFL games at the time, nor NBC, which handled AFL games, wanted to miss this historic event, so both networks broadcast the first Super Bowl. Starting the following year, the two networks alternated, with CBS taking even-numbered games and NBC taking odd ones. Beginning with Super Bowl XIX, game coverage has rotated among the networks under contract to the NFL.

Answer: Paul Hornung

Hornung's 176 points in 1960 was still standing as an NFL record at the end of the 20th century, despite the league playing a 14 game schedule starting in 1961, and a 16 game schedule beginning in 1978.

Answer: He ran to the wrong end zone

Jim Marshall was a mainstay of the feared Purple People Eaters defense of the Minnesota Vikings, and the 282 consecutive games he played in was an NFL record when he retired in 1979. But his 1964 wrong-way run is his most memorable NFL moment. After recoving a Billy Kilmer fumble on the 49ers' 34-yard-line, he lost his sense of direction and ran 66 yards into the Vikings' end zone, triumphantly flipping the ball into the stands to celebrate a rare touchdown for a defensive lineman. Only when the 49ers' center approached him, shook his hand and thanked him, did he realize that he had just allowed San Francisco to score a safety. Fortunately for Marshall, the Vikings won the game, 27-22.