1958 Giants v. Browns regular season finale

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Bryan
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1958 Giants v. Browns regular season finale

Post by Bryan »

Watching the highlights of the Giants 13-10 win over Cleveland, which I've never seen before. A few items of note:

*early in the game Jim Brown gives a highlight reel 65-yard TD run. I've seen the run before, but I did not know it was from this game. Its an inside trap where Brown shoots through the middle of the defense and outruns the entire NYG secondary to the end zone.

*Summerall actually made a 46-yard FG earlier in the game, but it wasn't really snowing then.

*At the end of the 3rd quarter and up 10-3, the Browns didn't have Groza try a 29-yard FG, instead they did a fake FG and were tackled for a loss.

*The Giants TD drive featured two Frank Gifford option passes. The first went to Kyle Rote and almost scored. The second was the jump pass to Schnelker for a TD that, considering the elements, the stakes, and the play itself, was one of the best passes in NFL history. Gifford is sweeping right and is about to be pounded by Willie McClung, and then jump and throws across his body and across the field, with pass avoiding both the goal posts and two Brown defenders.

*With 5 minutes left in the game, Summerall misses a 33-yard FG, leaving the score 10-10.

*The Browns cannot run out the clock. The happiest person when Summerall makes his 49-yard FG would have to be Alex Webster, because the previous play Conerly threw a bomb to Webster and Webster somehow dropped an easy TD. Summerall's FG looks like it was shot out of a cannon...not to sound cliche, but it would have been good from 59 yards.

*There are still two minutes left in the game, the Browns return the kick to their own 44. A pass to Brewster gets them to the Giants 44. You'd think that with Lou Groza you are nearly in FG range. Also, with Jim Brown (148 yards at that point) you'd think a couple handoffs to Brown and then send Groza on the field. But the Browns continue passing, and the unclutch Milt Plum gets sacked by Robustelli for a 17 yard loss (!), kind of taking Jim Brown out of the equation. The last play of the game has Groza attempting a 55-yard FG, but it falls about 10 yards short.
Brian wolf
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Re: 1958 Giants v. Browns regular season finale

Post by Brian wolf »

Cool post Bryan ...
Had Webster caught the possibly game-winning bomb from Conerly, would that won(pun intended) pass have helped put the Marlboro Man in the HOF ?
LeonardRachiele
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Re: 1958 Giants v. Browns regular season finale

Post by LeonardRachiele »

I am from Pittsburgh but I also enjoyed watching the New York Giants. On the first weekend of 1958, the Steelers were playing in San Francisco, losing to the 49ers 23 to 20. It was cost prohibitive for CBS to telecast the game back to Pittsburgh. Nevertheless, we were entitled to a game since no team was playing in the area. We saw instead the New York Giants defeat the Chicago Cardinals 37 to 7. This Cardinal home game was played in Buffalo, NY, at War Memorial Stadium. The Chicago White Sox had tied up Comisky Park. I remember how much Chris Schenkel, the Voice of the New York Giants, mesmerized me. With that beautiful baritone voice, his enthusiasm for the game really grew on me.

Fast forward to the final weekend of the season. On Saturday, December 13, the Pittsburgh Steelers were playing the Chicago Cardinals on national television. As a result, Pittsburghers saw the game you referenced on Sunday. There were details missed:
The Giants with a late season rally had a 8-3 record. They were one game behind the 9-2 Cleveland Browns. A tie would have given Cleveland the title. Earlier in the season the Giants had defeated the Browns 21 to 17.
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Bryan
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Re: 1958 Giants v. Browns regular season finale

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LeonardRachiele wrote:The Giants with a late season rally had a 8-3 record. They were one game behind the 9-2 Cleveland Browns. A tie would have given Cleveland the title. Earlier in the season the Giants had defeated the Browns 21 to 17.
Interesting story, Leonard. You are correct about the tie giving Cleveland the title, which IMO makes Paul Brown's playcalling even more suspect. The fake FG at the end of the third period was ridiculous. Brown had 26 carries, but he probably should have had more. Lew Carpenter had 8 carries for 9 yards and a costly fumble that led to NY's first FG. Jim Brown was put in to return the final kick of the game and got 35 yards. Bobby Mitchell returned 1 punt for 34 yards. I think Cleveland had the players to win, but they were underutilized.
Brian wolf
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Re: 1958 Giants v. Browns regular season finale

Post by Brian wolf »

Another thing about that game, Jim Brown had that long TD run and the Colts used basically that same play call against the Giants in the Championship game, where Ameche had a similar but shorter run. According to Raymond Berry, had he himself made a better block, Ameche would have scored but Berry said he was exhausted and rightfully so ...
Sonny9
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Re: 1958 Giants v. Browns regular season finale

Post by Sonny9 »

Bryan wrote:
LeonardRachiele wrote:The Giants with a late season rally had a 8-3 record. They were one game behind the 9-2 Cleveland Browns. A tie would have given Cleveland the title. Earlier in the season the Giants had defeated the Browns 21 to 17.
Interesting story, Leonard. You are correct about the tie giving Cleveland the title, which IMO makes Paul Brown's playcalling even more suspect. The fake FG at the end of the third period was ridiculous. Brown had 26 carries, but he probably should have had more. Lew Carpenter had 8 carries for 9 yards and a costly fumble that led to NY's first FG. Jim Brown was put in to return the final kick of the game and got 35 yards. Bobby Mitchell returned 1 punt for 34 yards. I think Cleveland had the players to win, but they were underutilized.
Mitchell had 75 carries and 14 catches the first seven games. The last 5 games he had 5 carries and 2 catches. Injury or Paul Brown?
Last edited by Sonny9 on Sat Nov 19, 2022 5:40 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 1958 Giants v. Browns regular season finale

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Jim Brown had 148 yards in that game, but only 8 the next week against the Giants. Wondering about the Colts using the same play the Browns did in the first game -- either the Browns didn't use it in the playoff game or the Giants actually stopped it the second time against the Browns?
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Brian wolf
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Re: 1958 Giants v. Browns regular season finale

Post by Brian wolf »

GameBeforeTheMoney ... Yes, I believe the Giants were more committed to stopping Jim Brown in the playoff game, where once again, QB Plum could not get the passing game going against the Giants but maybe Paul Brown didnt call a good enough game as well. I believe the reason the Colts made the play work was when Unitas called it ... They were mostly passing up to that point, especially to Berry and John crossed up the Giants at just the right time. Even Huff admitted the Giants were totally surprised by the play call.
SixtiesFan
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Re: 1958 Giants v. Browns regular season finale

Post by SixtiesFan »

Sonny9 wrote:
Bryan wrote:
LeonardRachiele wrote:The Giants with a late season rally had a 8-3 record. They were one game behind the 9-2 Cleveland Browns. A tie would have given Cleveland the title. Earlier in the season the Giants had defeated the Browns 21 to 17.
Interesting story, Leonard. You are correct about the tie giving Cleveland the title, which IMO makes Paul Brown's playcalling even more suspect. The fake FG at the end of the third period was ridiculous. Brown had 26 carries, but he probably should have had more. Lew Carpenter had 8 carries for 9 yards and a costly fumble that led to NY's first FG. Jim Brown was put in to return the final kick of the game and got 35 yards. Bobby Mitchell returned 1 punt for 34 yards. I think Cleveland had the players to win, but they were underutilized.
Mitchell had between 75 carries and 14 catches the first seven games. The last 5 games he had 5 carries and 2 catches. Injury or Paul Brown?
Over the years it's been said Paul Brown benched Bobby Mitchell the last 5 games of the 1958 season for being a "fumbler." Mitchell was relegated to returning punts and kickoffs.

In Week 9's Browns-Eagles game, Bobby Mitchell returned both a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns in the Brown's 28-14 victory.
Last edited by SixtiesFan on Sun Nov 20, 2022 10:52 am, edited 1 time in total.
Sonny9
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Re: 1958 Giants v. Browns regular season finale

Post by Sonny9 »

SixtiesFan wrote: Over the years it's been said Paul brown benched Bobby Mitchell the last 5 games of the 1958 season for being a "fumbler." Mitchell was relegated to returning punts and kickoffs.

In Week 9's Browns-Eagles game, Bobby Mitchell returned both a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns in the Brown's 28-14 victory.
Thanks for the info.
3 fumbles against the Giants Nov 2 from a story I just read
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