The 1964 National Football League

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 championship game was the 32nd annual championship game. The NFL title game was held on December 27, 1964 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium

Cleveland Stadium

Cleveland Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium, located in Cleveland, Ohio. In its final years, the stadium seated 74,438, for baseball and 81,000, for football. It was one of the early multi-purpose stadiums, built to accommodate both baseball and football...

, Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

 before a crowd of 79,544. It was the first NFL title game to be televised by CBS

CBS

CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

.

Background

The Baltimore Colts

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

  had finished the regular season with a record of 12-2 and won the Western Conference. The Colts were led by their second year head coach Don Shula

Don Shula

Donald Francis "Don" Shula is a former American football cornerback and coach.He is best known as coach of the Miami Dolphins, the team he led to two Super Bowl victories, and to the National Football League's only perfect season. Shula was named 1993 Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated....

 and quarterback Johnny Unitas

Johnny Unitas

John Constantine Unitas , known as Johnny Unitas or "Johnny U", and nicknamed "The Golden Arm", was a professional American football player in the 1950s through the 1970s, spending the majority of his career with the Baltimore Colts. He was a record-setting quarterback, and the National Football...

. This was the Colts' third NFL championship game appearance since joining the National Football League in 1953.

The Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 had finished the regular season with a record of 10-3-1 and won the Eastern Conference. The Browns were led by their head coach Blanton Collier

Blanton Collier

Blanton Long Collier was an American football coach who led the University of Kentucky and the Cleveland Browns...

, quarterback Frank Ryan

Frank Ryan (American football)

Frank Beall Ryan is a retired American football quarterback in the National Football League who played for the Los Angeles Rams , Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins . Although he led the Browns to their last National Football League title in 1964, Ryan is best remembered for being perhaps...

, running back Jim Brown

Jim Brown

James Nathaniel "Jim" Brown is an American former professional football player who has also made his mark as an actor. He is best known for his exceptional and record-setting nine-year career as a running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns from 1957 to 1965. In 2002, he was named by Sporting News...

 and receivers Gary Collins and Paul Warfield

Paul Warfield

Paul Dryden Warfield is a former professional American football wide receiver in the 1960s and 1970s known for his speed, fluid moves, grace, jumping ability and hands.- Football career :...

. This was the Browns' eighth NFL championship game appearance since joining the NFL in 1950.

The Browns' win is the most recent major professional

Professional

A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...

 sports championship for the city of Cleveland.

Game summary

Cleveland Browns

Cleveland Browns

The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

 27, Baltimore Colts

Indianapolis Colts

The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....

 0

Scoring

• CLE - FG Groza
  Lou Groza
  Louis Roy Groza was an American football placekicker and offensive tackle who played his entire career for the Cleveland Browns....
  
   43 3-0 CLE
• CLE - Collins 18 yard pass from Ryan
  Frank Ryan (American football)
  Frank Beall Ryan is a retired American football quarterback in the National Football League who played for the Los Angeles Rams , Cleveland Browns and Washington Redskins . Although he led the Browns to their last National Football League title in 1964, Ryan is best remembered for being perhaps...
  
   (Groza kick) 10-0 CLE
• CLE - Collins 42 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick) 17-0 CLE
• CLE - FG Groza 9 20-0 CLE
• CLE - Collins 51 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick) 27-0 CLE

Officials

• Referee: (56) Norm Schachter
  Norm Schachter
  Dr. Norm Schachter in Brooklyn, New York was an American football official in the National Football League for 22 years from 1954 to 1975. Over his career in the NFL, he worked three Super Bowls , 11 conference championship games, and was the referee for the first Monday Night Football game in...
  
  
• Umpire: (57) Joe Connell
• Head Linesman: (30) George Murphy
• Field Judge: (16) Mike Lisetski
• Back Judge: (25) Tom Kelleher
• Alternates: (52) George Rennix, (29) Stan Jaworowski
  Stan Javie
  Stanley "Stan" Javie was an American football official in the National Football League for 30 years until the conclusion of the 1980 NFL season. Working as a back judge, Javie was assigned four Super Bowls; Super Bowl II, Super Bowl VIII, Super Bowl X, and Super Bowl XIV; one of the first...