Rare 1963 NFL Championship Game Media/Press Pass - Giants vs Bears

Description: Vintage 1963 NFL Championship Game Media/Press Pass for the game on 12/29/1963 between the Chicago Bears and the New York Giants at Wrigley Field. The Bears beat the Giants 14-10 in front of a crowd of 45,801. This press pass was the property of Jack Hand, a sports reporter for the Associated Press from 1943 to 1971. The Giants opened the scoring in the first quarter when Tittle led New York on a 41-yard drive capped off by a 14-yard touchdown pass to Frank Gifford. The drive was set up by Billy Wade's fumble on the Bears' 41-yard line, which was recovered by former Bear Erich Barnes. Later in the first period, Larry Morris hit Tittle's left knee with his helmet as the quarterback threw. The injured Tittle was much less effective for the rest of the game. After Del Shofner failed to hang onto a Tittle pass in the end zone, Morris intercepted Tittle's screen pass and returned the ball 61 yards to the Giants' 6-yard line. Two plays later, Wade scored a touchdown on a two-yard quarterback sneak to tie the game at 7. In the second quarter, the Giants retook the lead, 10–7, on a 13-yard field goal. But on New York's next drive, Tittle reinjured his left knee on another hit by Morris. With Tittle out for two possessions, the Giants struggled, only able to advance 2 yards in 7 plays. Allie Sherman even punted on third down, showing no confidence in backup Glynn Griffing. The score remained 10–7 at halftime. Tittle came back in the third period, but needed cortisone, Novocaine, and heavy taping and bandaging to continue. For the rest of the game, he was forced to throw off his back foot (poor mechanics for a quarterback). An interception on another screen pass by the Bears' Ed O'Bradovich was brought deep into Giant territory, setting up Wade's 1-yard touchdown to give Chicago a 14–10 lead. The score held up, and the Bears iced the game on Richie Petitbon's interception in the end zone with 10 seconds left. It was Tittle's 5th interception. Defensive coordinator George Allen was given the game ball due to his defense's spectacular play. Tittle was held to only 11 completions in 29 attempts, and the Bears' superior scouting was shown by their success defending against the Giants' screen passes. Although the young American Football League (AFL) was completing its fourth season, the NFL still regarded itself as the premiere professional league of American football, as reflected in WGN radio broadcaster Jack Quinlan's comment as the clock ticked to zero on the final play: "The Chicago Bears are world's champions of professional football!" It was 22 years before the Bears won another league championship. Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE The press pass has a fair amount of wear and reworked string as I would imagine it ripped at the game and was an improvised repair. Please review the detailed photos for condition. Feel free to ask for any additional photos you may require. I will be listing a bunch of of NFL championship game and Super Bowl media guides including NFL championship games from 1962-1969, NFC Championship games from 1970-1972, and Super Bowls 1 and 4-26. I will combine shipping . If you buy multiple items, don't pay for them right away. After you have committed to by all of them, I will send you an invoice with reduced shipping. I will send you an invoice with actual shipping charges as quoted through eBay. I can probably reasonably estimate shipping if contact me with what items you want. Please contact me with any questions.

Price: 149.99 USD

Location: Redondo Beach, California

End Time: 2024-11-30T21:13:39.000Z

Shipping Cost: 4.99 USD