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, who died May 24, 2017, at 81, was one of the NFL’s best receivers when he 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 aptly described as “one of the most exceptional pass-catching days” in NFL lore.
Randle had 16 catches for 256 yards and a touchdown that day for the Cardinals against the New York Giants at Yankee Stadium.
At that time, the only NFL player to have more catches in a game was Tom Fears of the Los Angeles Rams with 18 against the Green Bay Packers in 1950.
(In 2017, the NFL record is held by Brandon Marshall, who had 21 catches for the Denver Broncos against the Indianapolis Colts on Dec. 13, 2009.)
The 16 catches and 256 receiving yards by Randle remain the Cardinals’ single-game franchise records in 2017.
Johnson, in his fourth NFL start, completed 26 of 41 passes for 365 yards that day. He broke the franchise single-game record of 320 passing yards achieved by Paul Christman of the 1947 Chicago Cardinals against the Detroit Lions. (In 2017, 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 against the Giants that day Cardinals head coach Wally Lemm had him 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 had led the NFL in interceptions (with nine).
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.”
Randle credited Johnson, who in that season’s fifth game had succeeded Sam Etcheverry as St. Louis’ starting quarterback, for getting the ball to him. The Post-Dispatch called Johnson a “slingshot thrower.”
“He has the poise of a five- or six-year veteran,” Randle said. “He’s going to be a great one. If he didn’t panic against New York in this game, what team can get to him?”
Falling short
The record performances by Randle and Johnson couldn’t lift the Cardinals to victory, though. 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, who completed just eight of 31 passes in the game, had touchdown throws of 33 yards to Frank Gifford and 20 yards to Alex Webster in that 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 peg 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. In 2017, he ranks third all-time in touchdown receptions among Cardinals. Only Larry Fitzgerald (104) and Roy Green (66) have more.
Randle in 2017 also remains the Cardinals franchise leader in touchdown catches in a season (with 15 in 1960).
Previously: How Sonny Randle helped Cardinals base runners
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