No. 20
Mississippi
"Jim is universally considered among the top two or three defensive backs, and he was an All-Pro for the second season in a row. A fast and deadly tackler, he's also death on enemy aerials, leading the circuit in 1958 with 11 interceptions. He picked off only five in '59, with opponents refusing to throw in his sector.
Jim was drafted in '55 and turned in a 98-yard kickoff return. He can break 10 seconds in the 100-yard dash."
-1960 Pro Football Handbook
TAKE AWAY JIM AND 'THE GIANTS IS DEAD'
He's the Best Secondary Back- the Championship Game Proved it the Hard Way
"The Giants couldn't have guessed it at the time, but their quest for an NFL title ended early in the second quarter at Baltimore. One second Jim Patton was rushing over to bat down a Johnny Unitas pass, the next he was hobbling off the field.
Some big Colt had put a size 13 down on Jimmy's instep (the doc said later it was a pulled muscle in the arch). In the fourth quarter, as the Colts rallied from behind, Patton got up and tried to run on it, but it was no go. Pretty soon rookie Jerry Richardson took a pass in the left flat, all alone, for the touchdown that sank the Giants. 'They wouldn't have made that big TD,' reminisces coach Howell, 'if Patton had been in there. You can't lose your big gun and play effective football. Patton, he's our best.'
Not only Howell but virtually every other coach in the league concedes that Patton is the best defensive back on any team. The Giants lost three games all year. In the one with the Colts, already discussed, he was out for three quarters. The Eagle game he missed entirely. In the Steeler game he was functioning at half speed because of injury.
Patton is the difference between great and good defense. His one drawback is the risk of injury; he's a little guy in pro football- 5-10 and 180.
'We had to tell him,' says Howell, 'after he kept getting carted off the field, he better not hit those 230-pound fullbacks head-on anymore. Let'em get by and slip up on'em from the side. He's worth too much to us on the field to take those chances.'
And does Jimmy pay attention to that advice? 'Well,' says Howell as he shakes his head, 'how are you going to cure a fellow who's always played with such reckless abandon? He just likes to mix it up.'
This firebrand is a natty, soft-spoken cigarette company executive back home in Mississippi. He likes to sneak away for hunting and fishing when he's not romping with his three little boys.
At Ole Miss he was a sprinter and has lost none of his speed. He's the fastest on the Giants, although at 27 he's starting his sixth year of pro ball."
-Murray Olderman, Sports All-Stars 1960 Pro Football
"The Giants couldn't have guessed it at the time, but their quest for an NFL title ended early in the second quarter at Baltimore. One second Jim Patton was rushing over to bat down a Johnny Unitas pass, the next he was hobbling off the field.
Some big Colt had put a size 13 down on Jimmy's instep (the doc said later it was a pulled muscle in the arch). In the fourth quarter, as the Colts rallied from behind, Patton got up and tried to run on it, but it was no go. Pretty soon rookie Jerry Richardson took a pass in the left flat, all alone, for the touchdown that sank the Giants. 'They wouldn't have made that big TD,' reminisces coach Howell, 'if Patton had been in there. You can't lose your big gun and play effective football. Patton, he's our best.'
Not only Howell but virtually every other coach in the league concedes that Patton is the best defensive back on any team. The Giants lost three games all year. In the one with the Colts, already discussed, he was out for three quarters. The Eagle game he missed entirely. In the Steeler game he was functioning at half speed because of injury.
Patton is the difference between great and good defense. His one drawback is the risk of injury; he's a little guy in pro football- 5-10 and 180.
'We had to tell him,' says Howell, 'after he kept getting carted off the field, he better not hit those 230-pound fullbacks head-on anymore. Let'em get by and slip up on'em from the side. He's worth too much to us on the field to take those chances.'
And does Jimmy pay attention to that advice? 'Well,' says Howell as he shakes his head, 'how are you going to cure a fellow who's always played with such reckless abandon? He just likes to mix it up.'
This firebrand is a natty, soft-spoken cigarette company executive back home in Mississippi. He likes to sneak away for hunting and fishing when he's not romping with his three little boys.
At Ole Miss he was a sprinter and has lost none of his speed. He's the fastest on the Giants, although at 27 he's starting his sixth year of pro ball."
-Murray Olderman, Sports All-Stars 1960 Pro Football
"The only knock there has ever been against Jimmy Patton (20) is excess valor. The peerless Giant safety weighs 180 pounds but backs off from no man. Fortunately he's all whalebone and whipcord and shows no signs of wear in his sixth pro campaign. Like Andy Robustelli, the Mighty Mite from Mississippi has been made an assistant coach this season."
-1960 New York Giants Official Program (Yankee Stadium)
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