Playoff Bowl 1965

January 8, 1965- St. Louis Cardinals 24 Green Bay Packers 17

After 40 seasons in Chicago, the Cardinals moved to St. Louis in 1960. In 1963 under second year head coach Wally Lemm, the football Cardinals were about to embark upon their most successful period of the decade. With young quarterback Charley Johnson at the helm tossing passes to Bobby Joe Conrad and Sonny Randle and runners John David Crow and Prentice Gautt carrying the ball, St. Louis won 19 games in 1963-1964. In 1964, the St. Louis Cardinals were the surprise of the NFL.  Lemm’s offense was arguably the most exciting offense in the league. The upstart Cardinals challenged for Eastern Conference honors down to the last week of the season. The Cardinals beat the Browns in the second to last game of the season and held league leader Jim Brown to only 68 yards rushing. But they fell one-half game short of the Browns with a final record of 9-3-2. The Browns went on to win the NFL title. The Cardinals were paced by Johnson, who led the league with 3045 yards passing, John David Crow (554 yards rushing) and Bobby Joe Conrad (780 yards receiving). The Packers were coming off a disappointing 8-5-1 season. They lost four of their first seven games and never seriously challenged the Baltimore Colts for the Western Conference crown. In the final game of the regular-season, the Packers and Rams battled to a 24-24 tie. It was just enough to put the Packers in the Playoff Bowl as they tied with the Minnesota Vikings for second in the West. Jim Taylor rushed for 1169 yards, his fifth straight 1000+ rushing season. Bart Starr threw for 2144 yards and was tops in the NFL for quarterback rating at 97.1.

The Cardinals’ Billy Gambrell had caught passes for 398 yards during the 1964 season, but the Playoff Bowl was to belong to him in 1965. Gambrell had a career day as he and Johnson hooked up on touchdown passes of 80 and 10 yards and the Cardinals built a 17-3 third quarter lead. Jim Taylor tried to bring the Packers back, rushing for a pair of touchdowns. But, a Paul Hornung option pass was intercepted by Jimmy Burson at the goal line late in the game to preserve the St. Louis victory. On the day, Gambrell finished with 184 yards receiving on 6 catches. Green Bay was only able to gain 131 total yards from scrimmage on the day.

The Packers got on the board first on a 40 yard field goal by Paul Hornung in the first quarter. In the second quarter Gambrell caught his 80 yard touchdown reception from Charley Johnson to give the Cards a 7-3 halftime advantage. The Cardinals extended their lead to 17-3 in the 3^rd quarter off Jim Bakken's eight yard field goal and Gambrell's ten yard touchdown reception from Johnson. The final St. Louis score came on a 4^th quarter interception of a Bart Starr aerial by Jerry Stovall who returned the interception 30 yards for a score. Taylor scored on runs of 7 and 1 yards in the final period to bring Green Bay back (video).

In sports encyclopedias and television documentaries, it often says about Lombardi, "The only playoff game he ever lost was his first one, in 1960; he never lost another postseason game." But, this is not true. He lost in the 1965 Playoff Bowl or, as he called it, "a rinky dink game." This would be the last time that the Packers would lose in the post-season in the Lombardi era. They would go on to cement their dynasty and their legend. The Packers would win the NFL title the next three years and the first two Super Bowls. It was the Cardinals’ finest moment since the Chicago Cardinals’ championship of 1947. Coach Lemm and Johnson would leave St. Louis never tasting this kind of success again. But, for one afternoon in the mid-sixties, St. Louis’ innovative offense owned the day and Lombardi’s mighty Packers.

Jerry Stovall scores on 30 yard interception return with Bart Starr (#15) in pursuit

MIAMI (AP)- Billy (Peanuts) Gambrell, one of the smallest players in the National Football League, made himself a big target for Charley Johnson's passes and the St. Louis Cardinals upset the favored Green Bay Packers in the Pro Playoff Bowl, 24-17, Sunday.

The 167-pound Gambrell, a free agent picked up by the Cardinals from South Carolina, caught two touchdown passes from Johnson, one an 80-yard play, as the Cardinals took a 17-3 lead in the third quarter.

A Green Bay attack in the final period put the Packers back into contention, but the threat died with Jimmy Burson’s endzone interception of Paul Hornung's pass meant for Ron Kramer.

Gambrell, given his chance to play when a shoulder injury sidelined the team's leading receiver, Billy Joe Conrad, was voted the most valuable player. He caught six passes for 184 yards to set a Playoff Bowl record. It was the first victory for the East in the game of NFL runners-up.

"We looked like we were sleep walking," growled Green Bay Coach Vince Lombardi. "We came out of the huddle like we were dying."

The Packers, six-point favorites, moved into an early 3-0 lead on a 10-yard field goal by Paul Hornung. In the second quarter, Gambrell got behind Jesse Whittenton, caught Johnson's perfectly placed pass over his shoulder at the Green Bay 48 and raced in for the initial touchdown. Johnson took the Cardinals in twice in the third quarter for a field goal and a touchdown for a 17-3 margin.

A 28-yard pass from Johnson to Gambrell put St. Louis on the Green Bay seven, but when Bill Thornton was stopped at the one on his third rush, Jim Bakken was called in to kick the seven-yard field goal.

The Cardinals, who had held Green Bay passer Bart Starr in check with a fierce blitz, threw the Packers back from their own 25 to the 14 after the next kickoff and set up the second touchdown.

After the kickoff to the Packer 47, Johnson ran for Conrad for seven, then threw 10 yards to Gambrell for the score.

Green Bay’s first touchdown came easily. Burson fumbled a punt to Elijah Pitss at the St. Louis 16 and Jim Taylor got across in two plays. Another St. Louis drive highlighted by a 49 yard pass from Johnson to Gambrell was killed by a fumble after the Cardinals reached the Packer six. Lee Roy Caffey knocked Johnson loose from the ball and recovered.

On the next play, Starr suffered his first interception after 251 throws. Jerry Stovall picked it off and ran 30 yards for a touchdown to make it 24-10. Green Bay got back in range on a one-yard touchdown lunge by Taylor after a drive in which Starr hit Taylor with a 48-yard pass. Pat Fischer stopped Taylor with a diving stop.

With the Packers needing only a touchdown to get even, Ray Nitschke gave them a chance by grabbing a Johnson pass at midfield and running back to the 23. But Burson's interception saved the game.

St. Louis came very, very close to upending the NFL champion Browns in '65

Scoring Summary

First Quarter

GB- FG Hornung 40

Second Quarter

STL- Gambrell 80 yard pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)

Third Quarter

STL- FG Bakken 7

STL- Gambrell 10 yard pass from Johnson (Bakken kick)

Fourth Quarter

GB- Taylor 7 yard run (Hornung kick)

STL- Stovall 30 yard interception return (Bakken kick)

GB- Taylor 1 run (Hornung kick)

Attendance: 56,218

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