Titans Block Broncos, 28‑24
Interpreted from Dana Mozley New York, Sept. 23 —
Last week, the Titans lost a game they had won because of a botched punt in the closing seconds. Last night, they won one they had lost — when, with only fifteen seconds remaining, a Denver kick was blocked and defensive safety Roger Donnahoo scooped up the loose ball and dashed ten yards for the winning touchdown. The final score was 28‑24 at the Polo Grounds.
The sudden finish capped a wild, see‑saw contest that echoed the Titans’ earlier heartbreak against Boston. In that game, the punter never got the kick away. This time, quarterback George Herring did manage to put his foot to the ball, but four or five Titans crashed through, and end Nick Mumley was credited with the block.
Denver had appeared to have the game locked up. With three minutes to go, Frank Tripucka — the former Notre Dame passer with nine years of pro experience — connected with Lionel Taylor, a 6‑foot‑2 end signed only that morning, on a 31‑yard scoring pass. Gene Mingo’s 33‑yard field goal had earlier given the Broncos a brief lead.
Tripucka completed three more passes in a third‑quarter drive capped by Bob McNamara’s four‑yard run for another Denver touchdown. But New York struck back immediately when Leon Burton took the ensuing kickoff on his own 12, cut toward the right sideline, and sprinted 88 yards untouched for a score.
Al Dorow, the Titans’ quarterback, completed three passes and ran sixteen yards in an eleven‑play, sixty‑eight‑yard drive late in the game, finishing with a ten‑yard toss to Thurlow Cooper in the end zone.
Earlier, the Titans had opened the scoring with an 83‑yard march in ten plays. Dorow hit Don Maynard for 28 yards, and Ted Wegert plunged four yards for the touchdown. Denver tied it early in the second quarter when Mingo ripped off runs of 21 and 9 yards, then cut through the middle for 30 and the score.
The announced crowd of 20,462 fans saw nearly everything football can offer — long runs, blocked kicks, and last‑second drama. The Titans, now 2‑1 on the season, left the field with their first home victory in a month and a measure of redemption for the heartbreak of the week before.
Courtesy of The New York Daily News September 25, 1960 via Newspapers.com