When the Black and Blue Division was Blacked Out

Anthony Borgo October 2021

Awhile back I came across a photograph of several men and one child huddled outside Whiting’s Radio Center. The electronics store was located at 1542 119th Street. The building is no longer standing but it stood next to what is now Rebecas’s Hair Salon.

The photograph was taken on November 17, 1963. So, what was so fascinating that over forty people were gathered outside a Whiting storefront.

NFL games can be seen on television everywhere these days, but that wasn’t always the case. During a normal professional football season, you can watch a portion of six of the 16 games played over a five-day stretch. There’s the Thursday night game, three Sunday afternoon games, the Sunday night game and Monday Night Football. A viewer can watch even more if they have an additional sports package with their satellite or cable subscription.

However, in 1963 the NFL routinely blacked out home games. In some cases, even the NFL championship game wasn’t shown in the city where the contest was held. The blackouts were meant to ensure that fans bought tickets to games and that they didn’t just stay home to root for their squad. November 17, 1963 was one of these days. The National Football League enforced a 75-mile blackout area for a football game between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers. So that meant thousands of Bears fans couldn’t even watch the game from the comfort of their living rooms.

However, although no trophies would be presented at the conclusion of the contest, this was hardly just another game. What the coaches, players and fans knew was that the winner of the gridiron clash would command the Western Division and a most-likely a berth in the NFL Championship game.

This was the second time the Bears and Packers would meet. The Monsters of the Midway gained the upper hand in Titletown on opening day weekend, with a 10-3 victory. Green Bay did not lose again, but the Bears stumbled once against the San Francisco 49ers.

George Halas, Bears coach/owner, announced months earlier that the road to the title went through Green Bay. Halas wanted to create a buzz around this game. He wanted Wrigley Field to be rocking and to have home-field advantage matter. He succeeded, on Monday the box office opened to Bears fans bundled up in the early-morning cold starting at 4 a.m. The face value for tickets were $5, however fans at the end of the block-long queue paid $20 for standing room only tickets. Scalpers also took advantage of the excitement selling tickets for $50 a-piece.

That left a few million fans without a ticket and in the middle of a television blackout. Hotels in places like South Bend, Indiana were renting out rooms, but in all actuality they were just renting out television sets.

According to the Hammond Times, Don Mohler, who loved his mother-in-law dearly, did not bat on eyelash when his wife suggested they drive the 130 miles to Burlington, Indiana to visit her on November 17th. More importantly Burlington televisions got the Bears and Packers game.. Proof of the mass exodus from the Chicagoland area was witnessed by Aiken Young who stated, “U.S. 30 was crowded with cars, containing group of four or more men, who obviously were headed for motels within range of the NFL telecast.”

Similiarly, Bob Strisko of Whiting, stayed with friends in Crawfordsville, Indiana after watching the Purdue Boilermakers beat the Golden Gophers of Minnesota the day before. John Fox, a former E.C. Washington principal travelled to Randall’s Inn in South Bend, where the proprietors allowed Bears fans to watch the game in their motel for free.

But the biggest crowd of all could be found outside of the Radio Center in Whiting, Indiana. John Kiraly. Operator of the electronics store located at 1542 119th Street, set up television sets in the window and outside of the store. Kiraly was able to broadcast the game thanks to the use of an elongated antenna. Hundreds of Whiting citizens took advantage of the free show. One bus, most likely driven by an avid Bears fan, caused a minor traffic jam when he stalled in front of the store while watching the action unfold.

The Green Back Packers during the 1960s appeared to be a team without weakness. When the 1963 season ended, 14 members of the Packers were chosen as All-Stars. Of the 22 starters on the team, ten of them were inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame including the legendary Vince Lombardi.

However, the Chicago Bears were no slouch. Chicago reveled in its image as a blue collar town. Throughout the years the Bears developed a reputation of being a brawny hard-hitting football team. Although fans welcomed a victory anyway they would come, it always felt better if the Bears left their opponents black and blue.

The Bears game plan was quite simple: control the ball and smother the Packers offense. Chicago took care of the first with a crushing ground game the outgained Green Bay 248 yards to just 71. On the second point they intercepted five Packers passes and recovered two fumbles.

The Bears defensive line was anchored by All-Pro DE Doug Atkins; the linebacker corps of Joe Fortunato, Bill George, and Larry Morris is considered one of the best in pro football history; and the defensive backfield featured All-Pro safeties Roosevelt Taylor and Richie Petitbon.

Chicago showed the 49,166 fans at the friendly confines that they were more than ready for Green Bay. The Bears took a 13-0 lead in the first quarter before allowing the Packers to make a first down. Packer quarterbacks John Roach and Zeke Bratkowski were swarmed by a defense that only allowed 11 of 30 pass attempts.

The Chicago Bears got on the scoreboard early with a pair of first quarter field goals by Roger Leclerc. But that was just the start of the day’s action. Late in the first period Willie “The Wasp” Galimore found a hole up the gut and sprinted 27 yards for a touchdown. Leclerc point after attempt was good putting the Bears up 13-0.

In the first possession of the third quarter, the Bears drove down the field for 68 yards. However, the drive stopped at the 12 yard line and LeClerc kicked another field goal to extend the margin to 16-0. Green Bay’s QB Zeke Bratkowski entered the game in fourth quarter only to throw a pick that was returned to the Packers 35, leading to another Chicago field goal. After another Bratkowski interception that was returned to the 5-yard line, Bill Wade faked a pass and ran into the end zone for a touchdown and a 26-0 lead. The Packers finally scored with four-minutes remaining on a Tom Moore 11-yard ramble. At the conclusion the 26-7 victory that put the Bears alone on top of the Western Division.

The one-sided victory was one of the worst thrashings during the Lombardi era. The Packers were outmatched and dominated by a hungry Bears unit that felt they had something to prove. To be fair, the Packers sustained two key losses – one prior to the season when star running back Paul Hornung was suspended for gambling, and the second when future Hall of Fame quarterback Bart Starr suffered a broken hand during the sixth game of the season.

John Kiraly informed the public that he would continue to offer free telecasts of the remainder of Chicago’s home games. The 119th Street vantage spot was crowded for the next three blackouts, starting with Minnesota and concluding with San Francisco and Detroit.

On December 29, 1963 the Chicago Bears played the New York Giants in the NFL Championship Game. In a game that then was equivalent to today’s Super Bowl, the Bears were victorious over the Giants 14-10.

The home blackouts were finally lifted in 1973 when the NFL established the 72-hour rule. This meant that a game had to be sold out 72 hours in advance before the local blackout would be lifted. But, I am sure there are many football fans that are still around that remember when the Black and Blue Division was Blacked Out.