One of the most interesting arguments that persists are how many of the Green Bay Packers from the ’60s can make it into the Pro Football Hall of Fame?? Now if you ask Packer fans they believe they all should go. This belies the truth of the matter except when you look at the accolades many of them earned during their careers.
Max McGee only made one Pro Bowl although he played on 5 world championship teams. Yet even when you take a look at Packer greats you would consider on the bubble, they still stack up with the contemporaries of their time.
- Max McGee- 345 rec. 6,346 yards 50 TDs *1 Pro Bowl
- Gary Collins – 331 rec. 5,299 yards 70 TDs *2 Pro Bowls **3 All Pros
- Del Shofner – 349 rec. 6,470 yards 51 TD *5 Pro Bowls **5 All Pros
- Raymond Berry – 631 rec. 9,275 yards 68 TDs *6 Pro Bowls **3 All Pros
Of course these are only his fellow NFL receivers yet look at his numbers compared to former Giant Shofner. He went over 1,000 yards on 4 occasions where Max never did. Yet over his last 4 seasons he caught 54 passes and fell off dramatically. McGee did as well with only 48 receptions his final 4 years yet career wise statistically stayed with him with a steadier career. The media bias of playing in New York vs Green Bay is the only reason we see Shofner All Pro 5 times and the writers never voting Max for one.
Now McGee didn’t score as often as Gary Collins yet he had a much higher per catch avg (18.5 yds – 16 yds) over their careers. As you can see he finished with 1,047 yards more than Collins. These men all played more than 10 seasons and played for the league or Super Bowl championship 3 times, well 2 in Collins case.
Berry’s numbers are out there and he is the only Pro Football Hall of Fame member of this group. Yet he along with Shofner played in the most pass conscious offenses of their day. Johnny Unitas, who threw to Berry, was the 1st 3,000 yard QB and threw for a league record 32 TDs in 1962. Shofner was catching passes from Y.A. Tittle who broke Unitas touchdown record with 36 in 1963.
McGee played in a run heavy offense as the Packers swept to league titles in ’61 and ’62 yet the film coming up makes it seem as though he only had Super Bowl I. His best season was the ’61 campaign when he caught 51 passes for 883 and 7 scores. Its possible he could have made it to 1,000 yards had he played all 14 games.
When looking back on his career it was a lot more than his performance in Super Bowl I. He did catch a 35 yard bomb which was the key play in the 3rd quarter scoring drive that put Super Bowl II out of reach.
McGee had a steady career not a spectacular one. If falls short of the Pro Football Hall of Fame but he definitely had an incredible football journey.
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These were two legendary teams. The Packers were on the rise having repeated as Western Conference Champions. In 1960, the Packers came up 9 yards short of a winning touchdown against the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1960 NFL Title Game. The Giants were in the midst of an 8 year stretch where they played for the NFL Championship on 6 occasions. They had traded for Y. A. Tittle to bring more life to the offense that year but lets face it when you talk about the Giants of that era, you’re talking about defense….I’m sorry I meant D-Fence!!
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