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 The
1959 Pro Bowl was billed as
a showdown between former
Rams quarterback Norm Van
Brocklin and his
replacement, Bill Wade. Van
Brocklin had moved on to
become the quarterback at
Philadelphia. Van Brocklin
and Wade did play most of
the game for their sides,
the East and West
respectively. A record crowd
of 72,250 eclipsed the
previous year’s mark at the
Coliseum.
A minute and forty-five
seconds into the game, Van
Brocklin threw an
interception straight into
the arms of Detroit’s Yale
Lary who returned it 17
yards to the East’s 32 yard
line. Three plays later,
Baltimore’s Alan Ameche
boomed over from the one and
the West led 7-0. The East
responded in the first
quarter when New York’s
Frank Gifford hit Giant
teammate Gene Schnelker with
a 22 yard pass to set up a
25 yard field goal by
Cleveland’s Lou Groza,
Gifford then hit New York
teammate Alex Webster with a
40 yard touchdown pass. The
East led 9-7 at the end of
the first period. Bill Wade
entered the game in the
second period and drove the
West 73 yards in 6 minutes.
He hit Hugh McIlhenny of the
49ers on a 20 yard scoring
toss. Washington’s Eddie
LeBaron connected with Gern
Nagler of the Chicago
Cardinals on a 7 yard
touchdown pass to give the
East a 16-14 halftime lead.
Wade carried the ball into
the end zone from 10 yards
out to give the West a 21-16
third quarter lead. It was
the only score of the third
quarter. In the final
period, Groza kicked a 25
yard field goal after Walt
Michaels of Cleveland
intercepted a Wade pass.
It was 21-19 in favor of the
West. The
East then took the lead with
less than three minutes to
play when Van Brocklin drove
them 70 yards. Van Brocklin
and hit Palmer Retzlaff
of Philadelphia for 15 yards
and a touchdown. The East
led 26-21. The final score
of the afternoon came when
Eagle Tom Scott dropped
McIlhenny in the endzone for
a safety just before the
final gun. The final score
was East 28, West 21.
Following the game, Van
Brocklin and Wade had
nothing but praise for one
another. Frank Gifford was
voted the back of the game
while Chicago’s Doug Atkins
was given the lineman’s
honor.
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