As the 1962 American Football League season progressed, the
state of the third-year league’s New
York City franchise, the Titans, was precarious, at
best. Flamboyant and controversial owner Harry Wismer was in serious financial
straits and the club was a poor draw at the decrepit Polo Grounds. By early
November the league had taken over the running of the Titans.
The team’s original head coach, all-time great quarterback
Sammy Baugh, had been demoted to assistant coach following the ’61 season and
replaced by ex-Bears star Bulldog Turner. Still, despite all of the chaos, the
Titans were competitive and showing signs of life on the field. Starting out at
2-1, they lost four straight before running off consecutive wins against the
Chargers and Raiders prior to succumbing to the Dallas Texans. Coming into
their Thanksgiving Day matchup at Denver on November
22, New York ’s
record stood at 4-6.
The Broncos, under first year Head Coach Jack Faulkner, had
gotten off to a 7-2 start but were losers their two most recent games. The
passing attack, with QB Frank Tripucka primarily throwing to split end Lionel
Taylor and flanker Bob Scarpitto, made Denver
exciting and capable of putting points on the board, but the running game and
defense were suspect. They very much needed a win against the Titans to remain
in contention in the Western Division.
There were 15,776 fans in attendance at Bears Stadium for
the nationally televised game. It was all Titans in the early going. FB Bill
Mathis ran for a one-yard touchdown and HB Dick Christy caught a pass from QB
Johnny Green (pictured above) for a six-yard score that put New York ahead by 14-0 in the first quarter.
It was 17-0 in the second quarter following a 28-yard field
goal by Bill Shockley (pictured below) before the home team finally got on the board. Tripucka
threw to Scarpitto for a 35-yard touchdown and Gene Mingo added the extra
point. The Titans responded with another score, however, as Green threw to split
end Art Powell for a four-yard TD. But Denver
managed to whittle away at New York ’s
lead with two field goals by Mingo, of 45 and 8 yards, to make it 24-13 at the
half. It still seemed to be a comfortable margin for the Titans.
In the third quarter, the tables turned in favor of the
Broncos. First, star DT Bud McFadin picked up a fumble and ran 69 yards for a
touchdown. Then QB George Shaw, in for the injured Tripucka, tossed a six-yard
TD pass to Scarpitto. Denver
was in front by a score of 27-24.
The Titans narrowed the margin to 27-26 when Shaw recovered
a loose ball in his own end zone for a safety. New York regained the lead thanks to a Green
pass to flanker Don Maynard for a 35-yard touchdown. While the attempt to run
for a two-point conversion failed, New
York was on top by 32-27 heading into the fourth
quarter.
Once again the Broncos rallied. Shaw connected with Taylor
for a three-yard TD, followed it up with a two-point conversion, and then CB
Jim McMillin intercepted a pass and returned it 59 yards for another touchdown,
followed by Mingo’s kick. When Mingo kicked a 49-yard field goal with the wind
at his back, Denver
held a 45-32 lead with six minutes remaining to play.
The Titans proceeded to drive for another touchdown, this
time on a five-yard pass from Green to Christy. Shockley’s extra point narrowed
the score to 45-39, but the six points still seemed formidable as time was
running down. Denver took over at its own 20
following a long kickoff by Shockley and New
York proceeded to get a huge break when HB Al Frazier
fumbled a handoff and FS Lee Riley recovered for the Titans.
With the time now down to three minutes, New York capitalized when Green tossed his
fifth touchdown pass, of three yards, to Powell. Shockley’s extra point was
successful and the Titans were staked to a one-point lead.
The Broncos still had a chance, and managed to get into New York territory, but
with time running out Mingo attempted a 52-yard field goal that was straight
but too short. The Titans came away with a thrilling 46-45 win.
The Titans led in total yards (381 to 294) and first downs
(25 to 19). Each club turned the ball over four times. Denver
was especially hurt by penalties, drawing 11 flags at a cost of 130 yards to
four for 27 yards on New York .
Johnny Green had a noteworthy performance, completing 22 of
46 passes for 292 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. Bill
Mathis rushed for 49 yards and a TD on 13 carries. Dick Christy (pictured below) caught 9 passes
for 82 yards and two scores, ran the ball 9 times for another 30 yards, and
returned a kickoff 28 yards. Don Maynard had 105 yards on four pass receptions
that included a TD and Art Powell had three catches for 57 yards and two
touchdowns.
For the Broncos, Frank Tripucka was successful on 9 of 15
throws for 113 yards with a TD and two interceptions before leaving the game
and George Shaw added 12 completions in 26 attempts for 117 yards with two TDs
and an interception. FB Bo Dickinson was the leading rusher with 48 yards on 6
carries and also contributed 5 catches for 57 yards. Lionel Taylor had 6 pass
receptions for 60 yards and a TD and Bob Scarpitto gained 89 yards and scored
twice on his 5 catches.
The exciting win at Denver
was the last for the Titans – they lost their remaining three games to finish
at the bottom of the Eastern Division with a 5-9 record. The franchise was sold
during the offseason to an ownership group headed by Sonny Werblin and was revamped
and rechristened the Jets for 1963.
The loss wiped out any lingering hopes for the Broncos of
winning the Western Division title. They, too, lost their remaining games and
closed out at 7-7 for second place. It would prove to be their best record
until 1973.
Johnny Green, formerly of the Buffalo Bills, saw the most
action at quarterback for the Titans in ’62 and completed 49.6 percent of his
passes for 1741 yards with 10 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. While he had a
strong arm, he lacked accuracy and consistency and saw little action in his
last year with the Jets in 1963.
As the numbers from the Denver game indicated, Dick Christy
was a productive all-purpose halfback who led the AFL in total yards with 2147
(535 rushing on 114 carries, 538 on 62 pass receptions, 824 on 38 kickoff
returns, and 250 on 15 punt returns). He was selected to the AFL All-Star Game.
Don Maynard caught 56 passes for 1041 yards (18.6 avg.) and
eight touchdowns and went on to star with the Jets. Art Powell had 64
receptions for 1130 yards (17.7 avg.) and eight TDs as well. Disgruntled after
three years in New York ,
he moved on to the Raiders in ’63 and also continued to excel.
