In the last game of the 1963 season, the Steelers went to New York with a chance to win their first-ever division title.
In 1962, coach Buddy Parker led the Steelers to second place in the NFL Eastern Division with a 9-5 record, three games behind the Giants. That offseason, quarterback Bobby Layne retired, and star defensive end Big Daddy Lipscomb died under mysterious circumstances.
Ed Brown, who'd backed up Layne in '62 following eight years with the Bears, most of them as a starter, became the Steelers' starting quarterback in 1963. John Henry Johnson and Dick Hoak were the running backs, Buddy Dial and rookie Gary Ballman the receivers, and Red Mack the tight end.
After ten games, the Eastern standings looked like this:
New York: 8-2
St. Louis: 7-3
Cleveland: 7-3
Pittsburgh: 6-3-1
Dallas: 3-7
Philadelphia: 2-7-1
Washington: 2-8
John F. Kennedy was assassinated on November 22. Two days later, the Steelers and Bears played to a 17-17 tie at Forbes Field.
A week later at Forbes Field, the Steelers trailed Philadelphia after three quarters, 17-3. As Pat Livingston put it in The Pittsburgh Press, "The Parkermen almost saw their chances evaporate ... before a slim crowd of 16,721." But the Steelers put together a late drive, featuring a pass interference call on Mike McClennan, who was covering Dial, that moved the ball from the Pittsburgh 22 to the Philadelphia 41. A couple more passes put the ball at the 16. Then, Lou Michaels kicked a 24-yard field goal with 40 seconds left to tie the game, 20-20.
The tie had the same effect as a win; the Steelers would still need to win their last two games while Cleveland lost one of theirs. The standings were:
New York: 9-3
Cleveland: 9-3
Pittsburgh: 6-3-3
St. Louis: 8-4
Dallas 3-9
Washington: 3-9
Philadelphia 2-8-2
Because ties were ignored when computing the winning percentage that the standings were based on, the Steelers would eliminate the Cardinals with two wins, even though they were officially tied at .667 after twelve weeks.
On Dec. 8 in the Cotton Bowl, Theron Sapp ran for a 24-yard touchdown with 1:53 left to give the Steelers a 24-19 win over Dallas. The score followed a 42-yard pass to Mack on fourth-and-14 from their own 16 and a fourth-and-1 conversion by Johnson from the Dallas 33. Combined with Cleveland's 38-10 loss to Detroit and the Giants' 44-14 drubbing of Washington, Pittsburgh's game in New York would determine the Eastern Division title. If the Steelers won, their .727 winning percentage would be better than the Giants' .714, but a tie or New York win would leave the Giants with the better percentage.
The Giants were 7-point favorites. While the Steelers had beaten them, 31-0, early in the season, quarterback Y.A. Tittle was unable to play and Ralph Guglielmi and rookie Glynn Griffing proved to be poor replacements.
"That game means nothing," said Giants coach Allie Sherman. "Things have changed. That was a long time ago."
New York linebacker Sam Huff said, "If we can't beat Pittsburgh in one of two games, we don't deserve the championship."
Jim Katcavage, Giants defensive end: "I think it will be the toughest game we've had all year. They really want to hit you, but I don't want to talk about it. You understand why."
The Steelers practiced in the snow at South Park. The Giants worked out at Yankee Stadium.
According to the Post-Gazette's Al Abrams, Art Rooney got more coverage in the New York papers than did his team.
Game day in New York was cold. Some parts of the Yankee Stadium field were frozen, and some players wore sneakers instead of cleats.
Sapp, playing for the injured Hoak, fumbled on the first play from scrimmage. Jim Patton recovered on the Steeler 25. The Giants were unable to advance the ball and settled for a 34-yard Don Chandler field goal 1:34 into the game.
Ballman returned the ensuing kickoff 57 yards to the New York 29. When the Steeler offense stalled, Michaels came in to try a 30-yard field goal at 3:20, but he was wide right.
There were three fumbles in the next four plays. On the first, New York's Joe Morrison fumbled, and Clendon Thomas recovered for Pittsburgh at the Giants' 33. Katcavage strip-sacked Brown on the next play, but the Steelers' Mike Sandusky fell on the ball for a five-yard loss. Sapp picked up three yards around right end. On third down, Brown threw a pass to Ballman, who reached the 1-yard line when the ball slipped out of his grasp and into the end zone. New York's Erich Barnes recovered and returned the ball to the Giant 34. And a holding flag on Pittsburgh meant that had Ballman held onto the ball, the play would have been called back.
It took the Giants four plays to score, culminating in a 41-yard pass play from Tittle to Del Shofner at 7:12. Chandler's kick hit the goalpost, and the score was 9-0.
The Steelers were driving late in the first quarter, but Jim Lynch intercepted Brown at the 5. The Giants went on a long drive of their own, which ended when rookie Andy Russell picked off Tittle at the 2.
During the second quarter, the Steelers reached the New York 15. But Johnson was stopped on 3rd-and-1, then Sapp was unable to move the sticks on fourth down.
On Pittsburgh's next possession, they again reached Giant territory. But holder Bill Nelsen dropped the snap on a 42-yard field goal attempt, and New York took over on downs. The Giants were able to drive the length of the field, and Morrison caught a 3-yard touchdown pass. Chandler made the kick with 1:13 left in the half. But Brown was able to lead the Steelers back downfield, and Michaels kicked a 27-yard field goal with 7 seconds left, making the halftime score 16-3, New York.
Pittsburgh scored first in the second half, driving 67 yards. The big play was a 48-yard Johnson run around right end, with Lynch pushing him out of bounds at the 11. A holding penalty cost the Steelers 15 yards, but Brown was able to hit Ballman on the 1, and he scored a 21-yard touchdown. Michaels' PAT brought the Steelers within a touchdown 4:14 into the third quarter..
It didn't take the Giants long to respond. Tittle threw a couple of long passes to Frank Gifford, the first a diving one-handed catch for 30 yards on third-and-8. "That play did it," said Buddy Parker. "We were getting to them up until that time. That was the play that gave them the spark they needed."
Gifford called it "the biggest catch I ever made."
"All I was trying to do was bat the ball up in the air and it stuck in my hand."
Gifford then caught a 25-yarder. Tittle connected with Morrison in the flat, and the back got past Steeler linebacker Myron Pottios for a 22-yard touchdown. Chandler's conversion made it 23-10 at 6:11 of the third.
Tittle found Gifford again on New York's next drive, and Morrison's one-yard plunge and the extra point made it 30-10 at 9:10.
The Steelers' next possession ended with a Barnes interception in the end zone. After that, though, they were able to put together a drive with Brown hitting Dial for a 40-yard score. Michaels' conversion made it 30-17 with 29 seconds left in the quarter.
Defensive end John Baker recovered a Giant fumble on the Steeler 46. But after a third-down pass to Ballman was ruled incomplete, Michaels came up short on a 48-yard field goal try at 5:46.
Chandler was wide with a 29-yarder at 9:18, although he claimed he'd made it. He got another chance at 12:35, though, and made it from 41 yards to make the final score 33-17. After the final gun, the fans tore down both sets of goalposts.
Tittle ended the game 17 of 26 for 306 yards and three touchdowns, with one interception. Shofner caught three passes for 110 yards before leaving the game late in the first half with an injured hip. Gifford grabbed 5 for 92. Morrison and Phil King each rushed for 68 yards.
For Pittsburgh, Brown completed 13 of 33 for 217 yards, two touchdowns, and three picks. Ballman caught six passes for 104 yards, while Dial's five receptions went for 92. Johnson rushed 14 times for 104 yards, while Sapp picked up 72 on 10 carries.
New York lost 3 fumbles to Pittsburgh's 2, but they won the turnover battle 5-4.
After the game, Parker said, "Ed Brown had a really bad day, and we just couldn't stop their offense."
He credited Gifford's two catches on the third-quarter drive as the turning point. "Up until that time, I thought we had a chance."
Rooney appreciated his team's effort. "It was one of the best football games they played all year. I was proud of them. They gave it everything they had, but it just wasn't enough."
Sherman liked his team's performance. "It was the best we played for five or six weeks. If it had been anything else, the Steelers would be playing the Chicago Bears."
The reporters commented on how Brown had missed open receivers throughout the game. In his memoir, Art Rooney Jr. wrote, "In a story for Sport magazine, Myron Cope blamed the Steelers' 33-17 defeat on Brown's decision to give up booze. ... Consequently, according to Cope, he 'lost his sang-froid,' overthrew receivers all day, and 'gave the most miserable performance of his career.' "
A (watermarked) 90-second highlight film can be seen here.
The final Eastern Division standings:
New York: 11-3
Cleveland: 10-4
St. Louis: 9-5
Pittsburgh: 7-4-3
Dallas: 4-10
Washington: 3-11
Philadelphia: 2-10-2
When the Giants played the Bears, Chicago won, 14-10. After the game, Bears linebacker Bill George said, "We were all rooting for the Steelers when they played the Giants. After that tie in Pittsburgh, we wanted another crack at them."
He agreed that Gifford's catch was the turning point. "Up until that play, I thought the Steelers were going to win it."
Three days after the loss to New York, the Steelers made the infamous Dial-for-nothing trade, where they sent Dial to the Cowboys for the rights to first-round pick Scott Appleton. Appleton decided to sign with the AFL's Houston Oilers, and that was that.
In 1964, the Steelers finished 5-9. During the ensuing training camp, Dan Rooney decided to accept Parker's offer to quit when Rooney vetoed a trade. They didn't have another winning record until 1972, which is a story for another time.
Quotes are from original newspaper coverage in The Pittsburgh Press and Post-Gazette.
