(Updated Nov. 4, 2019)
Among the most proficient teammate combinations in professional sports in St. Louis in the 1960s were Tim McCarver catching Bob Gibson with the baseball Cardinals, Lenny Wilkens passing to Bob Pettit with the NBA Hawks and Charley Johnson throwing to Sonny Randle with the NFL Cardinals.
Randle played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1960-66 after entering the league with the 1959 Chicago Cardinals.
On Nov. 4, 1962, Randle had what the St Louis Post-Dispatch described as “one of the most exceptional pass-catching days” in NFL lore.
Randle had 16 catches for 256 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals against the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium.
The only NFL player at that time to have more catches in a game was Tom Fears of the Los Angeles Rams with 18 against the Green Bay Packers in 1950.
(Today, the NFL record is held by Brandon Marshall, who had 21 catches for the Denver Broncos against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 13, 2009.)
Randle’s 16 catches and 256 receiving yards remain the Cardinals’ single-game franchise records.
Johnson, in his fourth NFL start, completed 26 of 41 passes for 365 yards against the Giants. He broke the franchise single-game record of 320 passing yards achieved by Paul Christman of the 1947 Chicago Cardinals against the Detroit Lions. (Today, the franchise mark is held by Boomer Esiason, who threw for 522 yards for the Arizona Cardinals against the Washington Redskins on Nov. 10, 1996.)
Position shift
Randle usually lined up at split end on the left side, but in his big game against the Giants he set up mostly from a flanker position on the right side, according to the Post-Dispatch. Randle was matched against Giants defensive back Dick Lynch, who the season before led the NFL in interceptions.
In the book “Giants in Their Own Words,” Lynch recalled how Randle tormented him that game: “He didn’t catch all 16 off me, but it was a rough day _ what I like to call an astigmatism day.”
Falling short
The record performances by Randle and Johnson couldn’t lift the Cardinals to victory. The Giants won, 31-28, taking advantage of five turnovers by the Cardinals.
With St. Louis ahead 14-10, the lead changed five times in the fourth quarter when the Giants outscored the Cardinals 21-14.
Giants quarterback Y.A. Tittle had touchdown throws of 33 yards to Frank Gifford and 20 yards to Alex Webster in the last quarter and Webster also ran three yards for a touchdown.
The Cardinals scored two touchdowns in the second quarter (an eight-yard pass from Johnson to tight end Taz Anderson and a four-yard run by John David Crow) and two more in the fourth quarter (a 55-yard pass from Johnson to Randle and a one-yard plunge by Johnson).
On their final drive, the Cardinals were nearing field goal range but Lynch intercepted a pass intended for Randle at the Giants 27-yard line.
In 97 games over eight seasons with the Chicago and St. Louis Cardinals, Randle had 60 touchdown catches among his 328 receptions. Video career highlights
Previously: How Sonny Randle helped Cardinals base runners
RetroSimba 
No receiver had more TD receptions in the decade of the 1960s than Sonny Randle. He scored 64 touchdowns and 60 of them came while playing with the Cardinals from 1960-1966. Amazing receiver!
Thanks for the stats. I didn’t know he had the most TD receptions in the NFL in the 1960s. Wow! Lot of great receivers and passers then. Good perspective on how talented Sonny Randle was for Cardinals.
Reblogged this on THE BIG RED ZONE and commented:
Great story on former Big Red receiver Sonny Randle’s big day in 1962. No one scored more touchdowns in the decade of the 1960s than Sonny Randle. Great receiver!
The Big Red had an excellent trio in Randle, Conrad and Smith. Too bad the wildcard didn’t exist in ’63 and’ 64.
Good point. Those Cardinals teams could have caused havoc in a postseason.