
Football Friday: Baltimore Colts at Green Bay Packers, 10/8/61
Another trip to the Life photo archives has yielded another great set of classic NFL photographs. These were snapped by Robert W. Kelley at a game played between the Green Bay Packers and the visiting Baltimore Colts at Lambeau Field — then known as New City Stadium — on October 8, 1961.
Tracking down the date for this game was a little tricky, as the Life photo pages provide no details. How I figured it out was by using the visual clues.
- Weeb Ewbank is pictured on the Baltimore sideline. He coached the Colts from 1954-1962.
- One of the Baltimore players pictured is wearing jersey #34, and he appears to be a back of some kind. Only one player from this era was a back and wore #34 — Joe “The Jet” Perry. Perry was a fullback in Baltimore for the ’61 and ’62 seasons only.
- One of the shots shows Green Bay (at home) up 30-7. Of the two home games the Packers played against the Colts in ’61 and ’62, the only scored 30 or more in 1961. The final score of the game was 45-7.
So there you go, and that’s how I arrived at this being the Week 4 contest from the 1961 NFL season. So with that, let’s look at the photos! Some of them are a bit blurry, but color game action pictures from this era of the NFL aren’t terribly common so they’re still worth seeing.
- Backup QB Lamar McHan of the Colts.
- Weeb Ewbank and Johnny Unitas on the Colts sideline.
- Paul Hornung kicks for the Packers.
- Johnny Unitas throws under pressure from Ray Nitschke.
- Johnny Unitas throws a pass for the Colts.
- Joe “The Jet” Perry on one of his 12 rushes for the game.
- Jim Taylor (#31) rushes for the Packers.
- Jim Taylor of Green Bay.
- Weeb Ewbank on the Colts sideline.
- The Green Bay Packers in an offensive huddle.
- Bart Starr narrowly gets a pass attempt away.
- Paul Hornung converts a PAT in the third quarter.
- Bart Starr on one of his 25 pass attempts.
- Willie Davis and Joe Perry fall to the ground.
- Alex Hawkins looks to catch a pass from Johnny Unitas.
- Willie Wood of the Green Bay Packers.
- Willie Wood scores on a 72-yard punt return for the Packers.
- Willie Wood scores on a 72-yard punt return for the Packers.