1959 NFL Championship Game

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1959 NFL Championship Game
Colts-Giants-gameprogram-591227.jpg
Cover of the game program
New York Giants
(Eastern)
(10–2)		 Baltimore Colts
(Western)
(9–3)
1631
Head coach:
Jim Lee Howell 		Head coach:
Weeb Ewbank
1234Total
NYG333716
BAL7002431
DateDecember 27, 1959
Stadium Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
Attendance57,545
Hall of Famers
Giants: Wellington Mara (owner), Rosey Brown, Frank Gifford, Sam Huff, Andy Robustelli
Colts: Weeb Ewbank (coach), Raymond Berry, Art Donovan, Gino Marchetti, Lenny Moore, Jim Parker, Johnny Unitas
TV in the United States
Network NBC
Announcers Chuck Thompson, Chris Schenkel
Radio in the United States
Network NBC
Announcers Van Patrick

The 1959 NFL World Championship Playoff was the 27th NFL championship game, played on December 27 at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Contents

It was a rematch of the 1958 championship game that went into overtime. The defending champion Baltimore Colts (9–3) again won the Western Conference, while the New York Giants (10–2) repeated as Eastern Conference champions. The Colts were favored to repeat as champions by 3½ points. [1] [5] [6]

This game also went down to the last quarter, but the Colts did not need any heroics in overtime. Trailing 9–7 at the start of the fourth quarter, Baltimore scored 24 straight points and won, 31–16. [2] [3] [7] [8]

This was the only NFL championship game played in Baltimore.

Scoring summary

Sunday, December 27, 1959
Kickoff: 2:05 p.m. EST [1] [5]

Officials

The NFL had five game officials in 1959; the line judge was added in 1965 and the side judge in 1978.

Players' shares

The gross receipts for the game, including radio and television rights, were just over $666,000, slightly below the previous year. Each player on the winning Colts team received $4,674, while Giants players made $3,083 each. [7]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Pick Colts to retain pro crown". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. December 27, 1959. p. 1C.
  2. 1 2 Sell, Jack (December 28, 1959). "Colts destroy Giants for pro crown 31-16". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 20.
  3. 1 2 "Colts' 24 pt. rally sinks Giants". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. December 28, 1959. p. 2, part 2.
  4. ↑ Maule, Tex (January 4, 1960). "The best team you ever saw". Sports Illustrated. p. 12.
  5. 1 2 "Pro football epic will unfold today". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 27, 1959. p. 2, sports.
  6. 1 2 Strickler, George (December 27, 1959). "Colts, Giants battle for title today". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, part 2.
  7. 1 2 Bowen, George (December 28, 1959). "Baltimore explodes for 24 points in final period to rout New York, 31-16". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. p. 20.
  8. 1 2 Strickler, George (December 28, 1959). "Colts retain title; beat Giants, 31-16". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, part 2.

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