Oct. 8, 1963 - Shortly before 2 p.m. today, a large young man with a baby face and a slight bulge around his middle sat in front of his dressing-room locker at Yankee Stadium and spoke glowingly of “a great athlete.” Sam Huff (pictured), the New York Giants’ smiling hatchet man, was preparing to renew acquaintances with Jimmy Brown, the Cleveland Browns’ great fullback. “I only hope we can do as good a job on him Sunday as we have in the past. But I don’t want to take the responsibility alone. I will ‘key’ on him as in the past, but I can’t just play Jimmy Brown. If I did, then on any play he didn’t carry the ball, I’d be out of the play and useless to my team. But I’ll watch his eyes and play toward the side of the line he lines up on.” The meeting will take place Sunday when the Giants open their 39th home season against the Browns at the Stadium. The Giants and St. Louis Cardinals, both 3-1 on the season, trail the Browns by one game. In the past, the 230-pound Huff has had considerable success in blunting Brown’s bruising rushes. He expects to have more success on Sunday. He also expects to have help. “Let’s face it,” Huff said today, “there’s no linebacker in this league who can stop Jimmy Brown man to man. He’s a very dangerous man if he can get to the outside. But it’s that 15-yard gainer right up the middle that hurts most.” Brown has gained more ground this season than the entire Giant backfield, 664 yards and six touchdowns, to 509 yards and four TD’s. “I saw the Browns’ game Saturday night on T.V.,” Huff said. “They said that one time when he went through the Steeler line, he went so fast that the hole was still smoldering. He gained 15 yards on the play. But we have our own plans.” Has coach Allie Sherman noticed any change in the Browns’ offense since Blanton Collier replaced Paul Brown as head coach? “They have more formations now,” he answered. “And [quarterback Frank] Ryan seems to run more than their other quarterbacks did. Bob Gain, their defensive tackle, is having a great year, and Bill Glass, the defensive end they got from Detroit, is one of the finest. Their secondary have all played together for three years, except Larry Benz, a rookie replacing Don Fleming, who was electrocuted last summer. They have spirit, and they haven’t been beaten, so we know they’re good.”
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