Evening star., 1944-12-18
Packers Win by Only
14-7, But 0utc|ass
Giants for Title
BY . staff Correspondent.

|
NEW YORK, Dec. 1s. - 1t was
clearly a case for the D. AS office
not the coroner yesterday, as the
Green Bay Packers defeated the
New York Giants, 14-7, to equal the
Chicago Bears record of capturing
six professional football titles.
Deliberately, and with malice
aforethought, the Packers throttled
the Giants running attack. Throt-
tied is the polite word for 1.-THE
Packers really murdered it.
The new champs were aided by
the absence of Bill Paschal, the
leagues leading ground gamer, who
watched from the bench as his
mates went down to defeat.
Injured in the Redskin game last
week, Paschal got into yesterdays
in-knocking party near the end
Of the first halt. but didn't carry the
ball. He took the ball on the second
play following the kickoff and fell
down before reaching the scrim-
mage line without hand touching
him. The ailing gam simply came
unhinged.
Handcuffed Giants.
Without Paschal the Giants were
|handcuffed. The massive Packer
line smashed most of their running
plays like kindling, and when their
former teammate, Arnie Herber,
tried his hand at passing, they had
a defense for that, too. At no time
were the Giants dangerous. AL
though after they scored, there was
a threat Of tie resulting from one
Of those unforeseen incidents so fire.
quent in the pro game
A couple of such breaks paved
the way for the Giants lone touch
down in the second half. New York
never generated enough steam for
a genuine scoring drive, but late
in the third period Howie Living
ston intercepted one of Irv Comps
passes on the Giants 46-yard line.
On the next play, pass, Buckets"
Goldenberg held Ward Cuff and
New York got the ball on the Pack
ers' 43.
Herber followed with a high peg
to Frank Liebel. He was Comps
man and the Packer back was with
him when Irv suddenly slipped and
fell. Liebel, wide open, leaped high
and made spectacular catch, then
raced to the 1-yard stripe, where
Ted Fritsch nailed him. Cuff
punched the ball over on the initial
play of the final period.
No Big Toe in Door.
The Giants didn't get their big
toe in the door after that. They
didn't even get to midfield In the
first half, spending most of the time
bottled up within their 30-yard zone.
Only three times in the second half
did they have the ball around mid
field and each time the Packers took
1t away from them.
The Giants kept Don Hutson
pretty well in hand, but it seemed
part Of the Packers strategy to have
Hutson covered. for they used him as
a decoy to unhitch a pass to Fritsch
for the second and clinching score.
1t was a sucker play. perfectly ex-
ecuted, and you could see that the
Giants felt they had Just bought
the Brooklyn Bridge real cheap.
With the ball on New York's 25-
yard line, Comp aimed pass in
Hutson's general direction, but so
wide he couldn't have reached it
with car token. The next play fol-
lowed the same pattern, Hutson run
ming wide to the right and looking
expectantly for the ball. Livingston
was with him-and most of the
Giants had an eye cooked for the
loops top pass-receiver. Fritsch.
meanwhile, slipped down the far
sideline and while everybody stood
fiat = footed and open mouthed,
Comp f1oated the touchdown pitch
to him.
Nothing Tricky.
There was nothing tricky about
the Packers first score and for three
downs the Giants stood 'em off a
scant yard from the goal, but the
Westerners mustered enough power
to put it over. Starting on the
Giants 43, Joe Laws, celebrating
the completion of his eleventh year
in the circuit, found the door un-
locked at center and went all the
way to the %. Fritsch followed
with blast through tackle to the
1-yard line, where Livingston finally
wrestled him down.
1t seemed only a question of who
would have the honor of scoring.
but the middle of the Giants line
went to work with a vengeance at
that juncture, and after three raps
on the door, two by Fritsch and
another by Laws, the Packers found
themselves yard farther from their
objective. Old Mel Helm, Jim
Swell and Len Younce were the
heroes of that stand, but the Pack
ers got wise and on fourth down
sent Fritsch outside tackle for the
necessary distance.
New York tried desperately to
close the gap in the waning min
utes of play, and with Cuff and
Livingston Juggling the leather for
a couple of nice gains, worked out
Of hole on their own 20 to the 38-
yard line. Herber rifled pass to
Liebel for a first down on Green
Bays Al, but tumble cost yards
and Herber's next throw fell into
Paul Duhart's hands and the Pack
ers took over.
The Giants were passing again as
the game ended, two to Livingston
and Cuff netting Z yards as time
ran out.