RetroSimba

(Updated May 10, 2022)

Some of the fiercest individual matchups in the NFL in the 1960s were the ones between New York Giants wide receiver Del Shofner and St. Louis Cardinals defensive backs Larry Wilson, Jimmy Hill and Pat Fischer.

Shofner was a pass-catcher with speed who gave the Giants their first deep threat.

Pale, razor-thin and susceptible to ulcers, Shofner sometimes didn’t look strong enough to play football, let alone excel at it, but he was a gifted receiver who posted impressive numbers.

The date September 17 was significant in Shofner’s career.

On Sept. 17, 1961, Shofner played his first regular-season game as a Giant and it came against the Cardinals.

Six years later, on Sept. 17, 1967, Shofner caught the last touchdown pass of his career and it, too, came against the Cardinals.

Special flair

Born in Center, Texas, near the Louisiana border, Shofner went to Baylor, where he majored in math, played baseball, basketball, football and was a sprinter on the track team.

When the skinny sophomore showed up for his first varsity football practice, “he looked like a poor man’s Abe Lincoln,” the Waco News-Tribune reported. “His bones didn’t exactly rattle when he walked. They just shifted silently.”

According to the newspaper, Baylor head coach George Sauer Sr. was “afraid his prize backfielder might be grabbed up by some pre-med student as a lab skeleton.”

Though Shofner was anemic and suffered from agonizing ulcers, he became a standout at three positions _ halfback, defensive back and punter _ for Baylor.

Blackie Sherrod of the Fort Worth Press wrote, “He’s blessed with terrific speed, with good hands and a glorious flair for the spectacular … The young speedster is an opportunist who can seize a tiny bit of daylight and squeeze it into a touchdown.”

Shofner capped his senior season by being named outstanding player of the Sugar Bowl in Baylor’s upset of Tennessee.

L.A. story

The Los Angeles Rams selected Shofner in the first round of the 1957 NFL draft. He played defensive back as a rookie, but was shifted to wide receiver in 1958 and led the NFL in receiving yards (1,097).

“His speed and his ability to maneuver in an open field excited fans in every league city,” the Los Angeles Times noted.

Shofner had another strong season for the Rams (936 receiving yards) in 1959, but it was a different story the next year. Shofner’s ulcers flared, he suffered leg and ankle injuries, and was limited to 12 receptions in 1960.

At training camp in 1961, Shofner no longer was the fastest receiver in wind sprints and the Rams were concerned.

The Giants, who acquired quarterback Y.A. Tittle from the San Francisco 49ers, were looking to add a receiver and Shofner, 26, appealed to them as an end to pair with flanker Kyle Rote.

On Aug. 28, 1961, the Giants traded a first-round pick to the Rams for Shofner.

Asked whether his speed had diminished, Shofner said, “I don’t think you have to prove yourself in wind sprints. You prove it running pass patterns in practice and in a game. I feel I have a great opportunity in New York and I’ll finally be able to catch Tittle.”

Linked in

Shofner admired Tittle, a fellow Texan, but Tittle was finding it hard to be accepted at Giants training camp. Charlie Conerly, 40, was the incumbent quarterback and wasn’t ready to concede the job to Tittle, who was five years younger.

“For weeks, Tittle was without a roomie, a lonely figure who almost was resented by the intensely loyal Giants players, a clannish group whose pep was the aging Conerly,” New York Times columnist Arthur Daley observed.

After Shofner traveled all night from California to New York to join his new team, he took a train from Manhattan to the Giants’ training camp in Fairfield, Connecticut. When he arrived in the morning, looking haggard, several Giants couldn’t believe he was the answer to their receiving needs.

Shofner “became Tittle’s roommate almost by default,” Daley wrote.

The two Texans formed a bond.

Tittle told columnist Red Smith, “I played in the Pro Bowl with Shofner two years ago. I thought he was the greatest receiver I ever saw.”

Giants debut

First-year Giants head coach Allie Sherman started Conerly in the season opener versus the Cardinals at Yankee Stadium. Cornerback Jimmy Hill was given the “special assignment” of covering Shofner, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

In the fourth quarter, with the Cardinals ahead, 14-10, and the Giants in possession at their 27-yard line, Shofner went deep. Hill stayed close and appeared to bump Shofner as Conerly’s pass arrived. The ball was intercepted by safety Larry Wilson, but interference was called on Hill “despite loud protests from the Big Red bench,” the St. Louis Globe-Democrat reported.

“I don’t think I interfered,” Hill told the Post-Dispatch.

The penalty on Hill gave the Giants possession at the Cardinals’ 37. Two plays later, Conerly threw to Shofner, but Hill intercepted and returned the ball to the St. Louis 46.

“I was waiting for it,” Hill said. “You have to give that Shofner a little room and this was one time I guessed right. I may be getting old and slow, but I don’t think he’s going to outrun me.”

The Cardinals won, 21-10. Shofner made six catches for 77 yards, but Conerly completed only nine passes and was intercepted twice. The Globe-Democrat credited the Cardinals for rattling Conerly “with Larry Wilson red-dogging from his defensive halfback post and Ted Bates, Bill Koman and Dale Meinert ripping through from their linebacker positions.” Game stats

Rise and fall

Tittle soon replaced Conerly and the offense clicked.

“Tittle threw precision passes and Shofner ran precision patterns,” Arthur Daley wrote.

The combination helped the Giants win three consecutive division championships from 1961-63. Nicknamed “Blade” because of his physique and the way he sliced through secondaries, Shofner topped 1,100 yards receiving each of the three years. The New York Times described him as an “octopus-armed swiftie” who “terrorized all the pass defenders in the league.”

Though listed at 185 pounds, Shofner “looks more like an underfed altar boy than a professional gridder … a blonde, soft-spoken string bean with facial features so delicate few could guess what he does to put beans on the table,” the Danville (Pa.) News declared.

Responding to reports in December 1963 of a possible trade of Shofner to the Green Bay Packers for playboy running back Paul Hornung, Sherman told the Chicago Tribune, “I wouldn’t trade Shofner for Hornung and all of Hornung’s girlfriends.”

In 1964, Shofner’s ulcers returned, his weight dropped to 165 pounds and he was limited to six games. After the season, Tittle retired and Shofner’s performance declined. He made three catches in 1966.

Final glory

The Giants acquired quarterback Fran Tarkenton from the Vikings in 1967 and Shofner, 32, was energized by the scrambler’s arrival.

“We hit it off from the start,” Shofner said. “I liked to run square-outs and he likes to throw them. Nothing gives a receiver more satisfaction than to have a passer who continually looks in his direction.”

The Giants opened the 1967 season against the Cardinals at St. Louis. In the fourth quarter, Tarkenton threw a 33-yard pass in the end zone to Shofner, who “made an over-the-head grab” behind defensive back Pat Fischer for a touchdown, giving the Giants a 34-13 lead in a game they won, 37-20. Game stats

It was the last touchdown catch for Shofner, who retired after the season.

Shofner had 51 career touchdown receptions, including 25 from Tittle.

In the book, “Giants In Their Own Words,” Tittle said, “Del Shofner was my favorite receiver. He had blazing speed and great hands. Most receivers don’t have both, but Del did. He just never dropped the football. If it was there and he could get his hands on it, he caught it.”

Click to see video of Tittle career highlights, including passes to No. 85, Shofner.