Wednesday, December 27, 2017
SPORTS
East Oregonian
Page 3B
ICE BOWL: More than 50,000 people filled Lambeau Field for game
Continued from 2B
played on tundra that truly
was frozen by men who
really weren’t prepared for
the conditions. The game
that became known as the Ice
Bowl joined the 1958 NFL
championship game and the
1969 Super Bowl as one of
a trio of iconic contests in
the space of a decade that
cemented the league into the
consciousness of America’s
sports fans.
Cowboys executive Gil
Brandt wasn’t thinking of
history that morning as he
stood in the lobby of the
Holiday Inn in Appleton.
He just wanted something
to keep his feet warm as
the Cowboys waited for
the buses to take them to
Lambeau Field.
He found them on the feet
of one of the bus drivers.
“I asked if somebody
would rent me their boots
for $20,” Brandt said. “They
said they weren’t boots but
galoshes. But one guy rented
me his.”
Players were just as ill
prepared. They had long
underwear and heaters on
the sidelines but little else.
For the Cowboys, that meant
no gloves for their hands.
“Our (defensive) coach,
Ernie Stautner, told our
defense that we weren’t
going to wear gloves. Said,
‘Gloves are for sissies,’”
Cowboys lineman Bob Lilly
said. “Well, we go out to
warm up and all the Packers
had gloves on.”
It was, as Sports Illus-
trated would write the next
week, the coldest New Year’s
Eve in the cold history of
Green Bay.
“It should have been
canceled, but I think the
commissioner was watching
the West Coast game in
Oakland,” Dallas linebacker
Lee Roy Jordan said. “He
probably had a nice comfort-
able day out there.”
————
How cold was it? The
reading at game time was
15 below, with wind chill
in today’s calculations at
minus-48.
It was so cold that when
referee Norm Shachter blew
the metal whistle to start
play, it froze to lips. When
he tried to pry it off, it tore
a chunk of his lip off with it.
“He bled most of the
game,” Jordan said. “After
that, the NFL went to plastic
whistles so it wouldn’t freeze
to lips.”
Lambeau Field had
heating coils underneath, but
they were no match for cold
this extreme. Compounding
the mistake was putting a
tarp over the field overnight,
which kept moisture in that
would later freeze when it
was pulled off.
Wide receiver Carroll
AP Photo/File
In this Dec. 31, 1967, file photo, fans watch the Green Bay Packers play the Dallas
Cowboys in the Ice Bowl game in Green Bay, Wisc. Those who participated in Cow-
boys-Packers that day at Lambeau Field still shiver when talking about it.
Dale’s toenails froze and
turned black. His frostbit
ears are still sensitive today,
50 years later.
Every time Reeves shaves
he sees the scar from a tooth
that went through his upper
lip when he slipped and fell
on the frozen field, while
Jordan still gets the shivers.
“For years, every time
I got in chilly weather I
thought I was going to have
a relapse,” Jordan said. “A
lot of us had frostbite on our
hands. If we had checked
back then, probably a lot of
us had frostbite on our lungs.
But back then we didn’t
check much of anything.”
————
The Packers scored
the first time they got the
ball, with Starr mixing
the running and passing
game beautifully. The lead
soon became 14-0, and the
Cowboys looked like a team
that wanted to be anywhere
on Dec. 31 than in frigid
Green Bay.
Hayes, the star Cowboys
receiver, was so cold he
kept his hands in his pants
when his number wasn’t
called, something Green Bay
defenders quickly picked up
on.
“The first mistake of
the day was made by Bob
Hayes when he came out of
the huddle with his hands in
his pants,” Packers offensive
lineman Jerry Kramer said.
“When he was in the pattern
he took his hands out.”
The Cowboys managed
to cut the lead to 14-10 at
halftime thanks to a fumble
recovery for a touchdown and
a field goal. But the Packers
still seemed in control until
Dallas made adjustments at
halftime and shut down the
Packers’ offense for most of
the second half.
Starr would be sacked a
total of eight times, and when
Reeves hit Lance Rentzel for
AP Photo/Genaro C. Armas
In this Dec. 6, 2017, photo, Patrick Webb, executive
director of the Green Bay/Brown County Profession-
al Football Stadium District, recalls watching a game
known as the “Ice Bowl,” at Lambeau Field in Green
Bay, Wis. Webb spoke from near the spot where he
stood during the game 50 years ago between Dallas
and Green Bay played in sub-zero temperatures.
a 50-yard touchdown pass
on a halfback option in the
fourth quarter to take the
lead, the Cowboys seemed
on their way to the Super
Bowl in toasty Miami Beach.
“They were playing
lights-out defense in the
second half and we were
getting our fannies kicked,”
Dale said. “It wasn’t looking
good.”
————
If it was cold on the field,
it seemed even colder in the
stands.
There, people fiddled with
their kerosene hand warmers,
trying to keep them lit. Fans
layered in clothing jammed
together
on
aluminum
benches, the condensation
from their breaths forming
an eerie cloud of fog over the
stands.
“The people were too cold
to complain,” said John Des
Jardins, who was 15 at the
time and would later become
a county judge. “We were all
in our own little agony.”
Patrick Webb, now exec-
utive director of the Green
Bay/Brown County Profes-
sional Football Stadium
District, was 16 and worked
parking cars down the street
from the stadium. He later
joined his father in the top
row of Section 130, where
he had a view down the goal
line in the final moments of
the game.
“My biggest reaction to
how cold it was is when Bart
went over (for the go-ahead
touchdown), I jumped up
and down and didn’t feel
anything from my knees
down,” Webb said. “I really
felt like I was jumping on my
knees at the time.”
Ten minutes before
kickoff, Brandt looked
around and saw no one in
the stands. By kickoff, there
were 50,861 people in the
stadium.
“We didn’t have any
choice, but we’re saying
what are these people doing
there?” Reeves said. “You
were scratching your head
and saying, good gracious
what are they doing there? It
shows you how tough those
people are.”
———
LEDECKY: First active college athlete to win
the AP’s top individual award since 1995
Continued from 1B
At last year’s Rio de Janeiro
Games, Ledecky equaled
Meyer’s feat of sweeping the
200, 400 and 800 freestyles
in a single Olympics.
“It’s a really great history
of women swimmers and
freestylers,” Ledecky said
of the AP honor roll. “I
really look up to a lot of
those women.”
She is the first active
college athlete to win since
UConn basketball player
Rebecca Lobo in 1995.
Ledecky is a sopho-
more at Stanford, still
debating whether to major
in psychology or political
science, and enjoying life
in the dorms, where she
lives with five other swim-
mers.
“Just being in the college
environment has kind of
added another layer of
fun,” she said. “Being with
teammates and working
toward NCAA champion-
ships and having that team
goal, that’s another thing
that is fun.”
Ledecky heads to Colo-
rado Springs, Colorado,
for high-altitude training
with her Stanford team this
week. Her focus is on the
collegiate season through
the NCAAs in March.
In moving cross-country
from her home in Bethesda,
Maryland, to attend college
AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File
In this June 27, 2017, file photo, Katie Ledecky swims on
her way to winning the women’s 800-meter freestyle
at the U.S. swimming championships in Indianapolis.
Ledecky was named The Associated Press Female Ath-
lete of the Year on Tuesday.
in California, Ledecky left
behind longtime coach
Bruce Gemmell. But like
some of those old summer
league teammates, Ledecky
has stayed in touch. She
trains with Gemmell when
she returns to visit her
family.
She was a star to them
in 2012 but a little-known
15-year-old to the rest of
the world when she won
the 800-meter freestyle in
American-record time in
London.
In 2013, Ledecky won
four golds at the worlds in
Barcelona, setting a pair of
world records. Two years
later in Kazan, she swept
every freestyle from 200
to 1,500 meters, setting
two more world records.
Another two world records
fell last year in Rio.
In her typically under-
stated way, Ledecky said:
“I really pride myself on
the consistency I’ve had
over the past couple years.
Just being able to compete
at the international level
and come away with some
gold medals each year.”
Ledecky didn’t set any
personal bests or world
records
in
Budapest,
something she’s done with
such frequency that people
expect to witness some-
thing spectacular anytime
she dives in the pool.
Her loss in the 200 free
in Hungary was considered
an upset.
“If they’re disappointed
with me not breaking a
world record, it’s an honor
because it’s representative
of what I’ve done in the
past and a benchmark for
myself,” she said. “I don’t
focus on what anyone
thinks of my goals or
wants to see me do.”
Not
yet
halfway
toward the 2020 Tokyo
Games, Ledecky already
is thinking ahead. Like
Phelps, she never publicly
reveals her target times or
placements.
“I set big goals for
myself and that’s always
what has motivated me,”
she said.
Despite living in a
results-focused
world,
Ledecky
enjoys
the
journey, something she
learned between London
and Rio.
“Trying to find those
little things to improve on
and the process of getting
better,” she said. “Doing
everything in practice to
set yourself up well each
year.”
Her sunny smile and
friendly demeanor belie the
competitor who is always
plotting ahead and moving
forward ever faster.
“I know the four years
goes by very quickly,”
Ledecky said, “and I want
to do everything I can to
prepare.”
On the sideline late in the
game there was a three-inch
frozen gob of snot sticking
out of the nose of Landry,
who was too engrossed in the
game to notice.
On the field, players were
just hoping the game would
get over — and soon.
“Minus-15 and minus-55
chill factor — the only time
I’ve ever been exposed to
that, and I don’t care that if
it’s the last time,” Dale said.
Late in the fourth quarter
the field was a sheet of ice,
looking more like an outdoor
Wisconsin hockey rink than
a place to play football.
There seemed no way the
Packers could mount a drive
when they got ball back with
4:50 left in the game and 68
yards to the end zone.
“In the previous 31 plays
we had a minus-9 yards,”
Kramer said. “We had 10
possessions in that 31-play
period — 10 possessions,
minus-9 yards. It’s now
57-below zero (with) the
wind chill. ... We’re about
out of energy, we’re about
out of time, we’re about out
of everything.”
But this was a champi-
onship team already, and
Starr was the quarterback.
The Super Bowl was at
stake, along with a possible
$27,500 for each player —
more than some earned in
the season.
“We went out for the
huddle,” Starr said after the
game, “and decided that if
we were going to do it, it had
to be now.”
A short pass to halfback
Donny Anderson started the
drive with some promise. As
the clock wound down inside
a minute, the Packers had
made it to the 11-yard line.
A misdirection play
fooled the Dallas defenders
and got the ball to the 3. Two
runs later it was at the 1 with
16 seconds left. The Packers
took their final timeout.
Everyone in the stadium,
including
the
players
defending the goal line,
thought Starr would try
to throw for the winning
touchdown, most likely on a
rollout to get away from the
fearsome Dallas defensive
line, and the Packers would
kick the tying field goal if
the pass was incomplete.
But Starr knew the Cowboys
were having trouble getting
their footing on the ice, so
much so that Lilly said they
discussed calling a timeout
of their own to have someone
come out with a screwdriver
to punch some holes in the
ice to get their footing.
The Packers rolled the
dice. Starr called a “wedge”
play normally designed for
the halfback, and Kramer
pounded his cleats into the
frozen ground trying to get
some traction for a block.
Starr took the snap,
Kramer got underneath
Jethro Pugh with one of
the most celebrated blocks
in NFL history, and Starr
tumbled into the end zone for
the winning score.
“Jethro was high consis-
tently the three weeks before
our game,” Kramer said. “I
watched three films of him
high at the goal line. Lilly
stayed down, but Jethro’s
first move was up. Obviously
a mistake on the goal line. A
wonderful football team, but
a young football team. They
made a couple mistakes and
it cost them the ballgame.”
“It was a great call,”
Jordan said. “I just wish Bart
had slipped or something.”
————
The old 8 millimeter
footage taken in the end
zone shows fans half-delir-
ious from the cold and the
dramatic finish storming the
field and tearing down the
metal goal posts. Green Bay
would go on to beat Oakland
33-14 in the second Super
Bowl, but at the time, the
NFL championship seemed
like a bigger win.
The Packers went off to
celebrate their 21-17 win,
partying at Fuzzy’s, a bar
near Lambeau Field owned
by lineman Fuzzy Thurston.
“The celebration went
on for most of the night,”
Kramer said. “All of Green
Bay and all of Wisconsin
was having a good time. But
Fuzzy’s heating system in
the room he had reserved for
us didn’t work, and it was so
cold inside we could see our
breath in the party room.”
The Cowboys wasted no
time heading for the airport.
On the team plane, players
scavenged for blankets and
drinks to keep warm.
“They heated the plane
up pretty good. We got
warmed up,” Lilly said. “But
for years, when it would get
cold, my hands would hurt
so bad. And it affected our
lungs, too. We had about
half the team that smoked
back then. As far as I can
remember, about half of
them quit.”
Barely a word was spoken
the entire flight home.
“The happiest part of the
whole deal was when we
got on the airplane and took
off and the red afterglow
wasn’t quite dark, it was
still glowing red,” Lilly said.
“And we were alive and we
were frozen, trying to thaw
out.”
“And we were looking
out and saying — all of us,
I think — we were being
thankful that we got out of
there alive.”
————
AP Pro Football Writer
Schuyler Dixon in Dallas
and Sports Writer Genaro
C. Armas in Green Bay,
Wisconsin, contributed to
this report.
SEAHAWKS: Wagner,
Wright solid in victory
Continued from 1B
weight to it.
Even the first year when
Seattle went 7-9, the Week
17 home finale decided the
division title.
Or the 2011 season when
Seattle still had playoff
hopes before losing 19-17
to eventual NFC champion
San Francisco at home in
Week 16.
Or all the years since
when Seattle made the
postseason but even those
late home games carried
significance for seeding or
home-field advantage.
A loss to Dallas would
have made the Week 17
finale against Arizona an
odd and unfamiliar situation
for Seattle.
“This team is not going
to lie down easily. We could
have easily taken the loss
against the Rams, come
back, pouted and moaned all
throughout the week,” line-
backer K.J. Wright said after
the win. “But we are a group
of guys that love to play ball
and we know that we are a
talented football team.”
The win over the
Cowboys highlighted the
importance of Wright and
fellow linebacker Bobby
Wagner. Wright missed
the loss against the Rams
because of a concussion
while Wagner was limited
by a hamstring injury.
Wagner wasn’t back to
full health but was moving
better against the Cowboys
and teaming with Wright
allowed Seattle to be solid
against Ezekiel Elliott and
Dallas’ run game.
Elliott finished with
97 yards rushing and the
Cowboys had 128 yards
rushing as a team, but those
were vast improvements
over the previous two weeks
when the Jaguars and Rams
ran wild against Seattle.
With Seattle missing so
many key pieces on defense,
the importance of Wright
and Wagner hasn’t been lost
on Carroll.
“Now more than ever
because of the other guys
that aren’t around, those
guys are more significant
because their presence and
their leadership and their
consistency is just some-
thing we can bank on even
more and they’re better now
than they’ve ever been,”
Carroll said on Tuesday.
INJURIES
Carroll said RB Chris
Carson would not practice
this week. There was
optimism a few weeks ago
Carson could return before
the end of the regular season
from his ankle injury that
required surgery. Left guard
Luke Joeckel also suffered a
foot injury in the win over
the Cowboys, but Carroll
did not indicate the severity.