The 1962 Green Bay Packers season was their 44th season overall and their 42nd season in the National Football League. The team finished with a 13–1 record under coach Vince Lombardi, earning them a first-place finish in the Western Conference. The Packers ended the season by defeating the New York Giants 16–7 in the NFL Championship Game, the Packers second consecutive defeat of the Giants in the championship game. This marked the Packers' eighth NFL World Championship.
In 2007, ESPN.com ranked the 1962 Packers as the fifth-greatest defense in NFL history,The List: Best NFL defense of all-time, 2007 noting, "The great 1962 Packers had a rock-solid defense front to back, with five Hall of Famers: defensive linemen Willie Davis and Henry Jordan, linebacker Ray Nitschke, cornerback Herb Adderley, and safety Willie Wood. (They also had 1962 All-Pro linebackers Dan Currie and Bill Forester.) Green Bay gave up just 10.8 points per game, shutting out opponents three times. The Packers held opposing QBs to a 43.5 rating, due, in part, to Wood's league-leading nine interceptions. The Packers' defense allowed the Giants 291 yards in the NFL championship game, but held the Giants offense scoreless as the Packers won, 16–7 (New York scored on a blocked punt)."
The Packers' +267 point differential (points scored vs. points against) in 1962 is the best total of any NFL team in the 1960s.Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1960 to 1969, in the regular season, sorted by descending Points Differential. Cold Hard Football Facts says that the 1962 Packers "may have been the best rushing team in the history of football. And that team etched in historic stone the image of Lombardi's three-yards-and-a-cloud-of-dust Packers that is still so powerful today."
The 1962 Packers ranked #9 on the 100 greatest teams of all time presented by the NFL on its 100th anniversary, the highest ranking of any Packers team. Other Green Bay teams coached by Vince Lombardi of the 100 greatest were in 1966 at #13 and 1967 at #56.
Offseason NFL draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionSchool114Earl GrosRunning backLSU228Ed BlaineGuardMissouri341Gary BarnesWide receiverClemson456Ron GassertDefensive tackleVirginia565Chuck MorrisBackOle Miss570Jon SchopfGuardMichigan679John SutroTackleSan Jose State684Oscar DonahueEndSan Jose State798Gary CutsingerTackleOklahoma State8112Jim TullisBackFlorida A&M9126Peter SchenckBackWashington State10140Gale WeidnerQuarterbackColorado11154Jim ThrushTackleXavier12158Joe ThorneBackSouth Dakota State12168Tom PenningtonBackGeorgia13182Tom KepnerTackleVillanova14196Ernie GreenBackLouisville15210Roger HoldinskyBackWest Virginia16224Jimmy FieldBackLSU17238Buck BuchananTackleGrambling18252Bob JoinerQuarterbackPresbyterian19266Jerry ScattiniHalfbackCalifornia20280Mike SnodgrassCenterWestern Michigan Yellow indicates a future Pro Bowl selection
Personnel Staff
Roster
Preseason Date Opponent Site Result Score
Regular season The team was 7–0 at home and 6–1 on the road. It was the first time since 1944 that the club went undefeated at home.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, , p. 266
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 16 Minnesota Vikings W 34–7 1–0 City Stadium 38,669 2 September 23 St. Louis Cardinals W 17–0 2–0 Milwaukee County Stadium 44,885 3 September 30 Chicago Bears W 49–0 3–0 City Stadium 38,669 4 October 7 Detroit Lions W 9–7 4–0 City Stadium 38,669 5 October 14 at Minnesota Vikings W 48–21 5–0 Metropolitan Stadium 41,475 6 October 21 San Francisco 49ers W 31–13 6–0 Milwaukee County Stadium 46,010 7 October 28 at Baltimore Colts W 17–6 7–0 Memorial Stadium 57,966 8 November 4 at Chicago Bears W 38–7 8–0 Wrigley Field 48,753 9 November 11 at Philadelphia Eagles W 49–0 9–0 Franklin Field 60,671 10 November 18 Baltimore Colts W 17–13 10–0 City Stadium 38,669 11 November 22 at Detroit Lions L 14–26 10–1 Tiger Stadium 57,598 12 December 2 Los Angeles Rams W 41–10 11–1 Milwaukee County Stadium 46,833 13 December 9 at San Francisco 49ers W 31–21 12–1 Kezar Stadium 53,769 14 December 16 at Los Angeles Rams W 20–17 13–1 L.A. Memorial Coliseum 60,353 Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.
Standings
Season summary Week 4 vs. Lions
Week 11 vs. Lions
The Packers suffered their only loss of the season at the hands of a Lions defense that sacked Bart Starr 11 times and intercepted him twice. The game became known as the "Thanksgiving Day Massacre".
Playoffs Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance NFL Championship December 30 at New York Giants W 16–7 1-0 Yankee Stadium 64,892
Game summary 1962 NFL Championship Game at New York
Pro-Football-Reference.com
Awards and records Led NFL, points scored, 415 Bart Starr, NFL leader, passing yards, (2,438 yards) Jim Taylor, NFL rushing leader, (1,474 yards) Willie Wood, NFL leader, interceptions (9) Ray Nitschke, MVP of 1962 NFL Championship Game
References
External links Sportsencyclopedia.com