NFL Football: Detroit Stuns Baltimore (1960)

Highlights of a National Football League game between the NFL Champion Baltimore Colts and Detroit Lions played on December 4, 1960 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore. Baltimore scored with 14 seconds remaining and thought they had the game won only to lose on the final play. This was the World Champions second of 4 consecutive losses. They ended the season 6-6.

[@danielschmude]

In 1977 Detroit stunned Baltimore again on a blocked punt returned for a TD with just a few seconds remaining.

[@williamsnyder5616]

Oh, how well I remember this game. The Colts had a tremendous team in winning back-to-back world titles and seemed on their way to another one until this game. What fans probably forgot was that the Lions had beaten the Colts, 30-17 earlier in the year at Briggs Stadium when Night Train Lane intercepted a pass from Johnny U. and raced 80 yards for a clinching TD. In this game, though, the magic of Unitas (what a great QB he was!) seemed to doom the Lions. The P.A. announcer at Memorial Stadium pleaded with the fans to get off the .field after Lenny Moore made the miraculous catch. According to Joe Falls of the Detroit Free Press, the P.A. guy said, "This may be the greatest moment in Colts' history. Please get off the field and let the game continue." The fans did get off the field and Earl Morrall and Jim Gibbons worked their own magic. Memorial Stadium was stone cold SILENT after Gibbons' TD!

[@ldfreitas9437]

Colts lost a number of games late in the season, to the 49ers twice, at home in November of 1960 when the 49ers unleashed the shotgun with John Brodie taking most of the snaps from seven yards behind center, and then the last game of the season in San Francisco at Kezar Stadium. Had the weather been good instead of rainy and muddy on Dec. 10, I'm sure the 49ers would have beat the Packers and then been in the NFL title game against the Eagles and their former coach, Buck Shaw.

[@smilanesi98]

The irony of the Lions was that they beat or came close to the better teams in the early 60s. Somehow they would lose to weaker teams.

[@chrisuncleahmad]

This ending would have blown up social media

[@ThePretzelHead]

Omg. What an ending. First time I heard of it.

[@bobvance4239]

Wow, great to find this! I too watched this game on bw TV, with my Dad in Fairfield, CA. We were 49ers fans and rooting for the Lions because the 9ers were in the thick of the race. After Moore's touchdown, my dad stood up and said "Damnation!" (that was his swear word) I said, "There's one more play," but he left the room disgusted. After the Gibbons touchdown, I ran out of my room. yelling, "The Lions won! The Lions won! On the last play!". My Dad got mad because he thought I was kidding. He didn't believe me until he saw the score later on.:>) Anyway, all these years, I've been telling that story. Unfortunately, my version has been "Ninowski to Gibbons on an 80-yd pass" eep :-[ I guess there was a 15-yd penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct on the fans (duh) (back then, touchbacks came out to the 20). And I and totally forgot that Earl Morrow was the one who led the comeback! (Of course, "Ninowksi to Gibbons" does sound better ;>)

[@ldfreitas9437]

Yes, and a few games before the end of the season, the 49ers would beat the Colts in Baltimore when Red Hickey unleashed the shot gun, but to be honest, it was only used for half a dozen plays, and even YA Tittle had the snap on one series, because Brodie had been knocked out of the game with a concussion given to him by Big Daddy Lipscomb. Waters took some snaps in that game too. Check the 1960 49er Highlight film for the hilites of that game.

[@kaivrock]

To me, the greatest Lions moment I've ever seen.

[@ldfreitas9437]

Yes, and the 49ers had beaten the Colts in Baltimore a week or two earlier, with the introduction of the shotgun formation, which was only used for about five or six plays in that game, ironically. It came down to Dec. 10 at Kezar: rain, cold, mud and the Packers winning 13-0. Brodie and the shotgun, used to beat the Rams a week earlier, failed miserably in the 47 degree Saturday game.

[@MARKCALIBRE]

I watched that game on a old black and white tv . I will never forget the joy of sudden victory ! Thank you for posting .

[@smilanesi98]

My dad had this one on. The NFL had the blackouts back then and you only got to see your team on the road. So the AFL capitalized on it and had a game of the week in its inaugural season. For some reason NBC paid the NFL some big bucks to televise this game nationally on a Sunday which was a complete surprise. Not sure how they did it.

[@redbaronreborn3372]

This is a famous game for a regular season game 1960 Lions @ Colts. Baltimore was going for a 3peat and they lost not only the game on the last play but Ameche as well with a torn Achilles tendon which he never fully recovered from. This loss ended up being the difference and allowed Green Bay under 2nd yr coach Vince Lombardi to win the west and go on to lose to the Eagles 17-13. This was the beginning of a decade long frustration for the Colts as near misses and playoff game controversial losses would ensue: 1964 NFL championship 27-0 loss to Browns 13-1 regular season. 1965 13-10 loss to Green Bay in playoff tiebreaker game when the tying fg was badly missed yet called good by refs,the term Baltimore uprights coined when the NFL raised them the next season. 1967 didn't make playoffs despite going 11-2-1 Rams went 12-1-1 1968 13-1 19pt favorite over NYJ in SBIII lost 16-7 1969 Caroll Rosenbloom fires Don Shula after a injury riddled disappointing season. They do win luckily SBV over Dallas 16-13 but Rosenbloom then swaps franchises with Robert Irsay of the Rams who then proceeds to ruin the team financially and bolts out of Baltimore in March 1984. My dad used to tell me the Colts were America's team before Dallas was and the love affair between the Colts and the city was unique.This was before the NFL became a corporate soulless entity that it is now. Watching YT vids of NFL games from this era I can see that it was a much better game then.

[@jholtgym]

1967 Baltimore was 11-1-2 NOT 11-2-1....tied for Coastal lead with the Rams, but LA won the "tiebreaker".....the only 1 loss team in NFL history (or any other league) to NOT be given chance to playoff.....

[@smilanesi98]

​@jholtgym Absolutely correct! That is why it was so devastating. You do not lose a game until the final Sunday and nothing to show for it. The Rams were upset by the Packers 28-7 the following week. Would have been interesting to see Shula and Unitas go into Milwaukee instead of George Allen and Gabriel.

[@stevek6518]

Read about this play in the book Paper Lion. Amazing to see it after all these years, the beauty of youtube

[@JStarStar00]

Steve K Even more extensively covered in the sequel book, "Mad Ducks and Bears," in which Alex Karras talks about the near riot on the field with the last two touchdown plays.

[@stevek6518]

@@JStarStar00 Yeah I have read that book many times too. I love George Plimpton's writing

[@stevek6518]

In both books Plimpton and the players telling the story marveled at how the crazy raucous crowd suddenly went silent as a tomb when the Lions scored. Too bad you can't really appreciate that from the video

[@JStarStar00]

Steve K: And also about how fans were starting fights behind the Lions bench before the final play. Lions players had to swing their helmets like clubs to chase away guys who were pulling switchblades on them.

[@JStarStar00]

Karras said he was trying to smash a guy who pulled a knife on him behind the bench when all of a sudden the roaring crowd shut off dead silence. He said he thought he had gone deaf. Karras turns around to see what the hell was going on the field, but his eyesight was horrible without his glasses so he couldn't see a thing. He asked his teammates, "what the hell happened," and for about 10 seconds they were all screaming, "we scored, we win!" But then they realized the crowd which was insane with joy 20 seconds earlier was now in an absolutely silent bitter rage walking around with murder in their eyes so they said, "we better just shut up and get the hell out of here."

[@alvinlevi4238]

My father, an immigrant from Germany, never really understood football; as my brother and I were enormous Colt fans, he took us to this game. We all had an incredible time, and my normally stoic Dad went wild. It was the only game to which Dad ever went with us. Our memories of him and this game, father and sons, are cherished by us both. As I will celebrate my 75th birthday in 3 weeks with my "younger" brother, we will recount those days and memories.

[@denisceballos9745]

Wow, never even knew about this one. Incredible it must’ve been! Earl Morrall was our QB with the Dolphins years later.

[@alfrednawrocki8061]

I remember watching this game on TV with my Dad !!!! I was 13 yrs old !!!!!

[@mikewitkop2996]

So was I. I watched it on our B/W TV on our South Dakota farm.

[@scottjackson1420]

Always strange to see Night Train, as a corner, wearing a jersey number in the 80's. And that Colts safety, on the FINAL PLAY OF THE GAME, tried to deflect the ball instead of taking the safe play and tackling the receiver, was just dumb. What a terrible decision.

[@JStarStar00]

But on that same final play, as Gibbons breaks free for the Lions for the winning score, Ken Webb (34) comes from way way out of the play to commit a glaringly obvious clip on the Colts' DB #40 at about the 10 yard line.

[@billcollins2798]

@@JStarStar00 It was not a clip. Webb nudged him on the side.

[@jayzahn7474]

I don't know what he was trying to do. The Colts have three defenders back there, pretty good actually, but they are too far behind Gibbons. You see the ball coming, it's okay if Gibbons catches it, but corral him there, don't let him get a running start. One of the guys was taken out by the other Lions receiver in a good block (why they needed to be closer to Gibbons, so he can't do that as easily), the middle guy makes a way late deflection move or whatever he's trying to do, and Gibbons gets the corner on the third.

[@ldfreitas9437]

Nelson on the Colts, another DB, wore 80. Jerry Mertens of the 49ers, another corner back, also wore 80. He retired after the 1965 season. He broke his neck playing against the Packers on the last day of the season that year.

[@halwarner3326]

This game is the highlight of The Lions History.

[@classicsportspictures9880]

Detroit Lions won 3 NFL Titles in the 1950's..

[@frdjr2527]

@@classicsportspictures9880 After the Lions won the NFL Championship in 1957, they had two lackluster seasons in '58 and '59 before rebounding to 7-5 in 1960.

[@placekicker1]

@@classicsportspictures9880 Hey, Man. First of all, congrats on your material, as it brings back quite the memories and it's been really helpful in filling some historical voids. And on that note, you think that it'd be possible to use some clips of it for educational and researching purposes? It'd be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

[@classicsportspictures9880]

@@placekicker1 Absolutely - I am a former college professor of Sport Management and always used clips in my teaching. Good LucK!

[@placekicker1]

@@classicsportspictures9880 Thanks a lot. It is greatly appreciated.

[@hughcapetien]

That year the Colts were my favorite football team. Actually I started following them from the 1957 season. Lenny Moore was my favorite RB.

[@iceman4408]

Lenny Moore burned Night Train Lane twice.

[@billcollins2798]

Yes. That was very uncharacteristic of Lane to miss that tackle and thus allow Moore to score.

[@ditto1958]

I remember watching video of a Colts game from that year and the play by play announcer was really cocky. The Colts started out strong and seemed to be on their way to another conference championship. Talk about counting your chickens before they hatch…

[@ldfreitas9437]

Triple tie for first place in the Western Conference, with the Packers, 49ers, and Colts, with just two games left in the 1960 season. Unfortunately, it rained hard with a 47F temperature on Dec. 10 in San Francisco, and the Packers proved to be better mudders with Hornung scoring all the Packer's 13 points to zero for the 49ers, whose shotgun formation couldn't cope with the rain, cold, and mud. The Packers beat the Rams the next week to rap up their Western Conference title, only to lose the NFL title match the day after Christmas in Philadelphia's Franklin Field to Norm Van Brocklin's Eagles.

[@williamr.whiting6543]

I remember this game so well. My buddy and I went nuts when Jim Gibbons scored. Loved it!

[@ldfreitas9437]

Might have seen this game on NBC TV which had Colt home games for a few years in the early 60s. Morrall, of course, would be a Colt by 1968.

[@patek9789]

1:54 wow Night Train Lane really gave up the game winning TD

[@howardcosell2022]

No. The Lions won the game 20-15 and that is why Lenny Moore is in the hall of fame

[@robd2721]

Sorry, did the announcer say Ameche ruptured his A-CHil-les tendon? Was that one of those pronunciations that was evolving? Sort of like when "Los Angeles" was pronounced with a "hard" G?

[@DailyScratcher]

How many players got KOd by the field goal posts back then?

[@ditto1958]

I don’t recall anyone getting hurt by the goal posts. It must have happened, but if it did it was rare.

[@jasonaikens7454]

Clipping should have been called at the 11 yard line on the game winning play.

[@smilanesi98]

Unless it had an absolute direct impact on the outcome of the play refs would not call it. Not even today in a SB.

[@kaivrock]

To show you what a load of crap the Lions have always been, Morrall was a 2nd stringer to the inept Ninowski and Milt Plum. The Lions got rid of Morrall so they could stay with Plum and of course Morrall went on to play in a Super Bowl. The other guy in that Super Bowl the Lions got rid of along with Morrall? Asst. coach Don Shula. Have some more scotch Bill Ford.

[@JStarStar00]

Morrall actually has 3 SB rings.

[@billcollins2798]

Milt Plum came to the Lions in 1962.

[@stevegrabber]

@@JStarStar00 And a NCAA National Championship ring as quarterback coach at the University of Miami in 1983.

[@robd2721]

I read where Joe Schmidt, who took over as HC in '67, tried to trade to get Ninowski back. It was no secret that Schmidt and Plum weren't best friends.

[@howardcosell2022]

Should have never let Bobby Layne go to Pittsburgh

[@davidm4160]

nowadays they would have called the block in the back (or some penalty, maybe he didn't make a "football move") at the end of the game winning run and the lions loose again.

[@smilanesi98]

I do not think so. The block was partially on the side and it was unlikely that last man catches Gibbons. Even on punt returns unless you grab or nail some one clearly from behind it does not get called even today.

[@scottmallender2104]

M