1962 Pro Bowl

{{Short description|National Football League all-star game}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2023}}

{{Infobox Pro Bowl

|type=pb

|name=1962

|image=

|visitor=Eastern Conference

|home=Western Conference

|visitor_qtr1=3

|home_qtr1=14

|visitor_qtr2=7

|home_qtr2=3

|visitor_qtr3=6

|home_qtr3=7

|visitor_qtr4=14

|home_qtr4=7

|date=January 14, 1962

|stadium=Memorial Coliseum

|city=Los Angeles, California

|visitor_coach=Allie Sherman

|visitor_coach_team=New York Giants

|home_coach=Norm Van Brocklin

|home_coach_team=Minnesota Vikings

|MVP=Jim Brown

|MVPteam=Cleveland Browns

|MVP2=Henry Jordan

|MVP2team=Green Bay Packers

|anthem=

|coin_toss=

|halftime=

|referee=

|attendance=57,409

|network=NBC

|announcers=Lindsey Nelson, Chuck Thompson

}}

The 1962 Pro Bowl was the National Football League's twelfth annual all-star game which featured the outstanding performers from the 1961 season. The game was played on January 14, 1962, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California in front of 57,409 fans.{{cite news|title=Unitas' last-second pass nips East; 31–30|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=8ygNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IGwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7284%2C2149325|access-date=January 23, 2012|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|date=January 15, 1962|agency=AP|page=23}}

The coaches were Norm Van Brocklin of the Minnesota Vikings for the West and Allie Sherman of the New York Giants for the East. This Pro Bowl is considered one of the best, most-competitive games in history.{{citation needed|date=January 2017}} After a Jim Brown fumble in the fourth quarter, Johnny Unitas drove the West to the East's 12-yard line. On the final play of the game, Unitas found halfback Jon Arnett alone in the end zone for the game-tying touchdown. The West kicked the winning point-after with time expired, making the final score 31-30.{{cite web |title=The 1962 Pro Bowl |url=http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/The_1962_Pro_Bowl.htm |publisher=Bolding Sports Research |access-date=January 23, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501163634/http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/The_1962_Pro_Bowl.htm |archive-date=2012-05-01 |url-status=dead }}

Cleveland Browns fullback Jim Brown was voted the game's outstanding back and Henry Jordan of the Green Bay Packers was the selected as the lineman of the game.

Detroit Lions linebacker Joe Schmidt had his helmet wired for sound and to measure the shock of tackles in conjunction with a study by Northwestern University to help establish performance standards for headgear.{{cite news|title=Schmidt to be wired for sound in Pro Bowl|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1917&dat=19620113&id=TvAqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=oYkFAAAAIBAJ&pg=1253,1918513|access-date=January 23, 2012|newspaper=Schenectady Gazette|date=January 13, 1962|agency=AP|page=19}} The safety study was considered quite remarkable in that day and the specially adapted helmet cost $5,000.