Nov. 24, 1963 - Eager to get back into title contention in the NFL’s Western Division, the Green Bay Packers today staged a boisterous first-half football demonstration before a quiet capacity home crowd of 45,905. The victim of the busy Packers was a hapless San Francisco 49er club that could never get untracked. The 49ers were held to only one touchdown — and it was virtually a gift in the last four seconds — as Green Bay coasted to a 28-10 triumph. When the skirmishing was over at County Stadium and the returns had come in from Chicago, the Packers found themselves trailing the division-leading Bears by only a half game. A subdued atmosphere prevailed all the way today, as the usual noisy hoopla at pro football games was eliminated. There was no halftime show, and the band stowed its instruments away immediately after playing the national anthem before the game began. The music was preceded by a minute’s silence in respect to the late President Kennedy. The big men in the Packers’ big first half were Tom Moore (pictured with ball), the big 215-pound halfback from Vanderbilt, and Bart Starr, the club’s first-string quarterback who was appearing after an absence of five weeks. Starr had been out with a broken hand. In the first half, Moore gained 115 yards in 13 carries and Starr staged an aerial bombardment that produced 108 yards. Regarding the controversy over NFL games being played so soon after President Kennedy’s assassination, Packer coach Vince Lombardi said: “I saw no reason not to play the game.” He said he was sure his players and the 49ers were affected by the assassination and added: “Anybody who has any feelings at all had to be affected by it.” San Francisco coach Jack Christiansen would not comment on the league decision to play, “but our feelings about President Kennedy didn’t affect us on the field. There is no time to think about anything but playing while you’re on the field. You just go out and do a job.” The Packer offensive captain, center Jim Ringo, said, “We had a job to do. We felt a little bad about playing. The league required us to play.” Bob St. Clair, the 49ers’ veteran offensive tackle, was active in the late President’s California campaign in 1960. “I cried when I heard Mr. Kennedy had been killed,” said the 6-9, 265-pound St. Clair.
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