The 30th College All-Star Game on August 2, 1963
did not appear ahead of time as if it would offer much of a contest. Most of
the All-Star Games had been won by the defending NFL Champions, and in this
instance it was Head Coach Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers taking the field,
having won their second straight league title in ’62. Green Bay had a powerful lineup, with QB Bart
Starr (who tossed five TD passes in the previous year’s 42-20 shellacking of
the All-Stars), FB Jim Taylor, and an outstanding line on offense and a defense
that included future Hall of Famers in DE Willie Davis, DT Henry Jordan, CB
Herb Adderley, and safety Willie Wood. However, star HB Paul Hornung had been
suspended for gambling and would not be appearing in the offensive backfield.
The Packers were also without another future Hall of Famer, MLB Ray Nitschke,
who was injured, and Taylor
was playing with a bad knee.
The All-Star team that was facing the Packers, coached for
the sixth straight year by Otto Graham, contained many future pro stars that
included Ohio State OT Bob Vogel; G Ed Budde from Michigan State; linebackers
Dave Robinson from Penn State (who would play for Green Bay), Lee Roy Jordan
out of Alabama, and Minnesota’s Bobby Bell; and UCLA safety Kermit Alexander.
The player who started at quarterback and ended up being the star of the game,
however, wasn’t even drafted by a NFL club.
There was a crowd of 65,000 in attendance at Soldier Field
for the Friday night game. It seemed like business as usual when Green Bay scored in the
first five minutes of the contest. Boyd Dowler, punter for the Packers as well
as starting flanker, had put the All-Stars in a hole with his kick to the eight
yard line. Iowa HB Larry Ferguson fumbled the ball away and the Packers
recovered at the 11. Jim Taylor scored from six yards out for the early lead.
The All-Stars responded with a 57-yard drive highlighted by
VanderKelen throwing to ends Paul Flatley from Northwestern and Miami of Ohio’s
Bob Jencks, as well as the running of Ferguson .
Jencks finished it off with a 20-yard field goal.
Late in the first quarter, CB Tom Janik from Texas A & I
intercepted a Bart Starr pass and returned it to the Green Bay 27. A
VanderKelen throw to end Pat Richter (pictured below), who had been a teammate at Wisconsin , gained 21
yards to close out the opening period. Ferguson
opened the second quarter by blasting five yards into the end zone and Jencks
added the extra point as the All-Stars took the lead by a 10-7 score.
The Packers came back with a 59-yard drive, mostly behind
the running of Taylor and HB Tom Moore, who had a 27-yard carry along the way, and
ended up with a 21-yard Jerry Kramer field goal. The All-Stars had a chance to
add to their lead with a field goal of their own before the half, but a 19-yard
attempt by Jencks was unsuccessful after being deflected by Herb Adderley. The
score remained tied at the midway point.
There was no scoring in the third quarter with Mississippi
QB Glynn Griffing in for VanderKelen. But, after the All-Stars recovered a
fumble, Griffing passed the All-Stars down the field. The collegians were also
aided by the running of Nebraska FB Bill Thornton and Washington HB Charlie
Mitchell along the way. Jencks booted a 33-yard field goal to cap the 63-yard
drive that put the All-Stars back in front at 13-10.
The Packers missed a scoring opportunity when Kramer was
wide on a 37-yard field goal attempt. It set the stage for the game’s pivotal,
and most sensational, play. VanderKelen, now back in for the All-Stars, threw
20 yards to Richter who pulled in the pass near the sideline and ran the rest of
the way for a 73-yard touchdown. The Packers were in a ten-point hole with time
running short.
The All-Stars had more first downs (16 to 15) and both
out-rushed (141 to 96) and out-passed (183 to 119) the Packers. Each team
suffered an interception and fumbled the ball away once. Green Bay was penalized for 77 yards to just
13 lost by the All-Stars.
Ron VanderKelen, the All-Star MVP, completed 9 of 11 passes
for 141 yards and a touchdown. Glynn Griffing was successful on 6 of 10 throws
for 42 yards.
“VanderKelen won the starting quarterback job in the last
few days of the practices,” said Otto Graham. “He and Griffing did so well I
just didn’t have a chance to use the others (Heisman Trophy-winner Terry Baker
of Oregon State
For the Packers, Bart Starr completed 19 of 32 passes for
169 yards. Jim Taylor, playing hurt against an aggressive All-Star defense,
gained 51 yards on 16 carries.
“We have no excuses,” said an embarrassed Vince Lombardi. “That
was a fine All-Star squad and VanderKelen is a great pro prospect. He handles
himself exceptionally well.”
The Packers narrowly missed finishing atop of the Western
Conference once again in the ensuing NFL season, going 11-2-1 to end up second
to the Chicago Bears.
Ron VanderKelen went on to play five seasons with Minnesota , and while he occasionally
competed with Fran Tarkenton for the starting job, he was strictly a backup
quarterback as a pro. Given an opportunity to start in 1967, he was quickly
supplanted by Joe Kapp and finished up with a year in the CFL. He was never
able to replicate his fine Rose Bowl and College All-Star Game performances in
the NFL, but he led the All-Stars to perhaps the greatest upset in the history
of the series.
The win for the All-Stars was the first since 1958, and the
ninth (and last) of the series that was dominated by the pro teams, who won 31
of the games (there were two ties).
