Dec. 12, 1963 - Not only is Y.A. Tittle the most valuable player of the New York Giants, but he is the most valuable player in all of the National Football League. That is the opinion of the press and radio authorities in the 14 league cities who were polled by The Associated Press. The 37-year-old quarterback, who was honored today, had only one other competitor in the balloting: Jim Brown, the Cleveland fullback. Tittle received 33 votes and Brown 7. Jim Taylor of the Green Bay Packers won in 1962 and Paul Hornung of Green Bay in 1961. Tittle, in his 16th professional season and 14th in the NFL, will play one more year for the Giants. By the end of 1964, he should own every passing record. If his accomplishments for Baltimore of the All America Conference in 1948-49 are counted, he already has broken every mark — most passes attempted, 4,088; most completed, 2,263; most touchdown passes, 229; and most yards passing, 30,964. In another category of voting, the top man at the poll was Ed Brown of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who will be opposing Tittle in Sunday’s game for the Eastern Conference NFL championship. Brown, a grizzled veteran of 10 pro years, was named the league’s player of the week. In Pittsburgh’s game against the Cowboys, Brown ignited the Steelers’ winning rally with a fourth-down, 42-yard pass to Red Mack for a big gain, and the Steelers rolled on to victory. Informed of the award today, Brown said, “Gosh, that’s great, but I wish it could have waited until after we had beaten the Giants Sunday. We’ve got to get on them and Tittle. Psychologically, the Giants have the edge playing at home, but that doesn’t bother us. I figure if we can get out in front by 10 points, we got ‘em licked. The big thing is not to make any mistakes. And we don’t intend to make any.”
Comments