Evening star., 1951-12-03
Game in Los Angeles
Sunday May Decide
Conference Title
By the Associoted Press


good bet that the Cleveland
Browns and Los Angeles Rams
again will meet for the National
Football League championship.
Both took long strides toward that
goal yesterday. with impressive,
one sided victories.
The Browns moved to within
one game of clinching the Amer
lean Conference title by smash
ing the Chicago Cardinals, 1923,
behind Otto Graham's brilliant
passing.
And Los Angeles took over the
top spot in the National Confer
ence with apt victory over the
once-mighty but now-ordinary
Chicago Bears. This victory,
coupled with Detroits loss to San
Francisco, dropped the Lions from
first place and all but ended the
Bears hopes of getting into the
championship playoff.
Next Game May Decide.
San Francisco, playing the role
of spoiler, upset Detroit, 20 to 10.
Los Angeles T-3-0 and Detroit
t6-3-D meet next Sunday on the
West Coast in the game that
should decide the conference title.
Meanwhile. the dogged New
York Giants retained their slim
hopes in the American Confer
ence by blanking Pittsburgh. 14-0.I
However, Cleveland (9-1-0> can
end this race by defeating Pitts
burgh next Sunday. The Giants!
have a 7-2-1 record, their only
losses being to the Browns.
In other games-which had noI
bearing on the leaders-the New
York Yanks won their first game
OF the season, noSing out Green
Bay 81 to %, and Philadelphia
upset the Washington Redskins,
35 to 81.
Cleveland and Los Angeles met
for the NFL title last season, with
the Browns winning a thriller, 30
to %, on Lou Groza's last-minute
field goal. If they meet again
this year the Browns will be look
ing for their sixth straight pro
title-they won four in a row IN
the All-America Conference
while Los Angeles, naturally. will
be seeking little revenge.
Hirsch in 91-Yarder.
The Rams may have the stuff
to do it this time. too. They've
added a good ground attack to go
with their dazzling passing game
and now are threats to score
either way.
1t was their passing that won
for them yesterday. however. as
they bewildered the Bears through
the air to the count of BOT yards.
Bob Waterfield hit on five of
seven passes for 1877 yards, and
Norm Van Brocklin clicked on
eight out of II for 100
One of Waterfield's first tosses
went to Elroy (Crazy Legs)
Hirsch. The speedy end nabbed
the pass at midfleld and went the
rest of the way to complete a 91-
yard play-the longest Of the
season.
In all, the former Wisconsin
star gained 106 yards with three
catches. This gave him 1858
yards in 81 receptions and shat
tered the yardage record of 1.211
set by Green Bays great Don
Hutson in 1912.
Cleveland also won through the
air. as Graham fired four touch
down passes. He also scored one
himself.
The Browns, in winning their
ninth straight game, piled up a
42-0 lead before the hapless Cards
were able to score. Graham's
heaves went to Mac
Speedie Us, 80 and YARDS and
Dante Lavelli (21 YARDS.
Lions Lost Star Back.
San Francisco upset Detroit
when Y. A. Title passed for two
touchdoWns in the second half.
His payoff pitches went to Bill
Jessup (23 yards and Joe Arenas
13 yards.
The Lions, usually a good rush.
ing team, could gain only 78 yards
on the ground. Their best run
ming back, Bob Hoernschmeyer of
Indiana. suffered a conclusion
early in the first quarter and
was taken to a hospital.
The Giants, fighting for sur
vival, converted a tumble and an
intercepted pass into two touch
downs in defeating Pittsburgh in
a hitting defensive battle.
But by way of proving the for
ward pass is here to stay, the
Yanks also used this method of
scoring to achieve their first
triumph. Bob Celeri-who, in
cidentally. rates as one of this
years surprises - connected for
three touchdown passes in the
final period to lead the Yanks to
victory in Green Bay. The
Packers held 21-10 lead going
into the final period, but within
two minutes Celeri wiped out this
with two heaves to Dan