Jim Katcavage, the gritty defensive end for the New York Giants who began his career on the famous 1956 championship team and never let up for 13 grueling seasons, died yesterday at his home in Maple Glen, Pa., outside Philadelphia. He was 60.

The cause was a heart attack, his family said.

He was only a fourth-round draft choice, out of the University of Dayton, of all places, but when Jim Katcavage arrived in New York as a rookie in 1956 it was a magic moment for Giants fans.

Playing on a four-man line that included Andy Robustelli at the other end, and Rosey Grier and Dick Modzelewski at tackles in between, and with Sam Huff anchoring the linebacker corps, Katcavage supplied his share of the magic in a season that stood out as a rare beacon during almost five decades of darkness.

The Giants, who had not won a National Football League championship for 18 years (and would not win another until 30 years later) had limped to a 6-5-1 record and a third-place conference finish in 1955.

But partly because of a defensive line that played with rare unity and cohesion, 1956 was different. The team led the Eastern Conference with an 8-3-1 record, holding 8 of the 12 opponents to fewer than 20 points and limiting 3 to single digits.

What happened next at Yankee Stadium kept Giant fans warm for the next three decades. Facing a Chicago Bears team that had fought them to a 17-17 tie earlier in the season, the Giants, wearing basketball shoes to adapt to frozen field conditions, rolled to a 47-7 victory.

For all the glory that attached to the high-scoring offensive unit, it was the defense that left its mark on professional football.

"That game was the beginning of the defensive era," Mr. Robustelli recalled yesterday. "Before then, nobody had paid much attention to defense."

Although the Giants did not win another title until after the 1986 season, the team made it to the championship game five times in the next seven years, with Katcavage shining on defense all the way. He was an All-Pro three times. He scored a total of three safeties, tying for second on the league career list, and in the 14-game 1963 season, 19 years before the league started keeping official sack records, he was credited with 25 sacks, 3 more than the official 16-game season record.

"You know why?" Mr. Robustelli asked. "We were paid $5 for each one." But the money, he added, went to charity.

Wellington Mara, the Giants' co-owner, who called Katcavage "one of our great defensive ends," recalled yesterday that he had played the entire second half of a game with a broken collarbone.

Mr. Katcavage is survived by his wife, Catherine; two children, Kathleen Anne and James Jr.; one grandchild, and two brothers, John and Robert.

James R Katcavage