December 22, 1962: Britain's "Big Freeze" Begins

December 22, 1962: The "Big Freeze" begins in Britain. There were no frost-free nights until March 5, 1963 – 74 straight days.

The Winter of 1962–1963 remains the coldest since at least 1894-95 in all meteorological districts of the United Kingdom, although in north Scotland the Winter of 2009-10 was equally cold.

A cold easterly set in on December 22, as an anticyclone formed over Scandinavia, drawing cold continental winds from Russia. Throughout the Christmas period, the Scandinavian high collapsed, but a new high formed near Iceland, bringing northerly winds. Significant snowfall occurred on December 26 and 27, as the air mass moved south, and became firmly established.

Overnight on December 29 and 30, 1962 a blizzard swept across southern England and Wales. Snow drifted to more than 20 feet deep in places, driven by gale force easterly winds, blocking roads and railways. The snow stranded villages and brought down power lines.

On December 31, the clock on the Palace of Westminster -- often called Big Ben, even though that's actually the name of the bell in the clock -- was delayed by 10 minutes due to the large amount of snow that had accumulated on the clock hands, and the New Year ended up being 10 minutes late.

The near-freezing temperatures meant that the snow cover lasted for more than 2 months in some areas. There was so much snow, and temperatures were so cold, that the 3rd Round of the FA Cup, which normally begins on the 1st Saturday in January, was not completed until March 11, at a time when the 6th Round, the Quarterfinals, would usually be played. As a result, the Final, usually set for the 1st Saturday in May, was pushed back to the last, May 25.

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December 22, 1962 was a Saturday. Also starting in England on this day is Ralph Nathanial Twisleton Wykeham Fiennes, in Ipswich, Suffolk. We would know him as the actor Ralph Fiennes, pronounced "Raif Fines."

And, on that day, for the first time, a British band hit Number 1 on the American popular music charts. No, it wasn't The Beatles. It was The Tornadoes, with the instrumental "Telstar," named for the communications satellite launched earlier in the year. As far as the U.S. charts were concerned, The Tornadoes turned out to be "one-hit wonders."

The cold postponed all Football League games in England. In American football, the NFL was between the last week of its regular season and its Championship Game, which, on December 30, the Green Bay Packers won, beating the New York Giants, 16-7 at Yankee Stadium. The American Football League played its Championship Game on December 23, and the Dallas Texans beat the Houston Oilers, 20-17 in overtime at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston. (I have separate entries for each of those games.)

There were 2 college football bowl games played that day. The Tangerine Bowl was played at the stadium then carrying the same name, now named Camping World Stadium, in Orland, Florida. The University of Houston beat Miami University of Ohio, 49-21.

UH did not play its bowl game in Houston. That would be the Bluebonnet Bowl, at Rice Stadium. Missouri beat Georgia Tech, 14-10.

Baseball was out of season. There were 3 games in the NBA, and 2 were a doubleheader at the Boston Garden. The Detroit Pistons beat the Chicago Zephyrs, 122-110. The Zephyrs became the Baltimore Bullets the next season. And the New York Knicks beat the Boston Celtics, 120-106 at the Boston Garden. Richie Guerin scored 37 points for the Knicks.

* And the San Francisco Warriors beat the Syracuse Nationals, 123-118 at the Onondaga County War Memorial in Syracuse, New York. It was just another day at the office for Wilt Chamberlain: He scored 39 points and grabbed 28 rebounds, leading the Warriors to victory. This was the NBA's only season without a Philadelphia team: The Warriors had moved in the previous off-season, while the Nats would move the next off-season, becoming the Philadelphia 76ers for 1963-64.

And there were 2 games in the NHL. The New York Rangers lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs, 4-2 at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. And the Chicago Black Hawks and the Montreal Canadiens played to a tie, 1-1 at the Montreal Forum. The Boston Bruins and the Detroit Red Wings were not scheduled.