Sports

TB25 - A History of Football: Episode I (1960s)

DEDHAM — Tom Leyden and Butch Stearns look back at the history of professional football. The premiere episode focuses on the "Pre-Merger Era" of the 1960s, with special guest Jerry Kramer of the Green Bay Packers.

From the Greatest Game Ever Played in 1958 through the dawn of the AFL, the merger agreement in 1966 and the first four Super Bowls, Tom and Butch paint the picture of a sport bursting to popularity in the United States.

The biggest names: Jim Brown, Johnny Unitas, Gale Sayers, Bart Starr, Vince Lombardi, Merlin Olsen, Deacon Jones, Joe Namath, Len Dawson, Daryle Lamonica, Hank Stram. They all played huge roles in the growth of the game.

Kramer details the Packers five championships, the games you remember and the stories you might not know about:

- Vince Lombardi's arrival

- The 1960 loss to the Eagles

- Wins in '61 and '62 against the Giants

- The suspension of Paul Hornung

- The dominance of Jim Brown in '64 and '65 and how the Packers beat Cleveland in Brown's last game for the championship

- A fantastic story from the Ice Bowl's final drive

- What the Super Bowl II ring means to him and the rest of the players

- The moment Bart Starr won over his teammates

- When everybody knew it was all over - including Packers fans - and how they reacted to it.