East 20

West 10

January 22, 1967

LOS ANGELES (UPI)-The Eastern Conference of the National Football League, looked on by some fans as weaker than the Western Division, appears today to have erased any doubt about its relative strength.

The East All-Stars plastered the West with a 20-10 defeat in Sunday's 17th annual Pro Bowl game and definitely demonstrated superiority, especially on defense. The West still leads the series, 10-7, but this was the second consecutive win for the East.

The East intercepted four passes- three by Johnny Unitas and one by Green Bay's Bart Starr- and recovered two of three West fumbles.

Cleveland's Frank Ryan, alternating by quarters with Don Meredith of Dallas, threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to teammate Gary Collins. Ryan also engineered a 67-yard, 9-play touchdown march culminating in a one-yard plunge by Johnny Roland, NFL rookie back of the year from St. Louis.

Meredith looked great after the East took the opening kickoff on its own 20. He completed his first seven passes, moving the East down to the West 10, but here had to call on Pittsburgh's Mike Clark for an 18-yard field goal. Later in the second period Gale Sayers fumbled and John Brewer of Cleveland recovered for the East. Five plays later Clark kicked his second field goal- a 17-yarder- to make it 6-0 for the East.

In the second period, Ryan took over and hit Collins with the 18-yard TD pass after Larry Wilson, St. Louis defensive back, intercepted one of Starr's passes.

Clark's conversion made it 20-0 at half time for the Easterners and that was all the scoring they did.

Sayers, despite his early fumble, was the outstanding back of the game- so voted by sports writers. He gained 110 yards on 11 carries, largely compiled on two runs of 42 and 52 yards, but he could not get into the endzone.

Bruce Gossett of the Los Angeles Rams got the West on the scoreboard in the third quarter by kicking a 27-yard field goal after Sayers swept around left end on the opening play of the series with his 52-yarder.

In the fourth quarter Starr and San Francisco's Ken Willard combined on a 51-yard pass play that was good for a touchdown. Willard made an over-the-shoulder fingertip catch on about the seven-yard line and went skidding over the goal line in a shower of muddy water with Wilson on his back.

Rain fell for hours before the game and during the first half, but eased up in the second half. Attendance was only 15,062- lowest in Pro Bowl history.

A tarpaulin covered the field up until game time and neither coach- the East's Tom Landry of Dallas or the West's George Allen of Los Angeles- complained about the muddy field.

"I hope this start lasts all through the year.” Landry said. "There is nothing I like more than beating you Westerners.”

In his first time as a Pro Bowl as head coach, Landry found the win "very satisfying."

Allen commented, "You can't give up the ball six times and win. We just didn't come up with the big play at the right time. Also, we had a couple of key plays called back and that hurt us."

Landry added. "We played a fine game, especially defensively. Our defense made the big plays that stopped them in the second half and that was the game."

Defensive tackle Floyd Peters of Philadelphia was voted outstanding lineman for the game.

Cleveland's Frank Ryan fires a pass to teammate Gary Collins (out of picture).

Faces of the 1967 Pro Bowl, John Unitas (left) and Tommy Nobis.

The game's outstanding back, Gayle Sayers, carries.

Program art from cover of 1967 regular season program.

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