Super Bowl I
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The first ever AFL-NFL World Championship Game, later to be known as the Super Bowl, in professional American football was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The game would later be retroactively renamed Super Bowl I.
The National Football League (NFL) champion Green Bay Packers scored 3 second-half touchdowns en route to a 35–10 win over the American Football League (AFL) champion Kansas City Chiefs.
Green Bay quarterback Bart Starr earned the very first Super Bowl MVP in NFL history by throwing 16 of 23 for 250 yards and two touchdowns.
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Background
Origins
The first AFL-NFL World Championship Game was established as part of the June 8, 1966 merger agreement between the NFL and the AFL. But coming into this first game, there was considerable animosity between the two rival leagues, with both of them putting pressure on their respective champion teams to trounce the other to prove each league's dominance over professional football. Still, many sports writers and fans believed that the game was a mismatch, and that any team from the long-established NFL was far superior to the best team from the upstart AFL.
Kansas City Chiefs
The Chiefs entered the game after recording an 11-2-1 regular season record by winning their last 8 games. They then went on to crush the Buffalo Bills, 31-7, in the AFL Championship Game.
Kansas City's high powered offense led the AFL in total points (448) and total rushing yards (2,274). Their trio of running backs, Mike Garrett (801 yards), Bert Coan (521 yards), and Curtis McClinton (540 yards) all ranked among the top ten rushers in the AFL. Quarterback Len Dawson was the top rated passer in the AFL, completing 159 out of 284 (56 percent) of his passes for 2,527 yards and 26 touchdowns. Wide receiver Otis Taylor provided the team with a great deep threat by recording 58 receptions of 1,297 yards and 8 touchdowns. And tight end Fred Arbanas, who had 22 catches for 305 yards and 4 touchdowns, was one of 6 Chiefs offensive players who were named to the All-AFL team.
The Chiefs also had a strong defense, with All-AFL players Jerry Mays and Buck Buchanan anchoring their line. Linebacker Bobby Bell, who was also named to the All-AFL team, was great at run stopping and pass coverage. But the strongest part of their defense was their secondary, led by All-AFL safeties Johnny Robinson and Bobby Hunt, who each recorded 10 interceptions, and defensive back Fred Williamson, who recorded 4.
Green Bay Packers
The Packers were an NFL dynasty after being a losing team eight years earlier. Before head coach Vince Lombardi joined the team after the 1958 season, the team had posted an NFL worst 1-10-1 record. But Lombardi was determined to build a winning team. During the offseason, he signed Fred Thurston, a player who had been cut from 3 other teams but ended up becoming an All-Pro left guard for Green Bay. Lombardi also made a big trade with the Cleveland Browns that brought 3 players to the team who would become cornerstones of the defense: defensive linemen Henry Jordan, Willie Davis and Bill Quinlan.
Lombardi's hard work payed off, and the Packers improved to a 7-5 regular season record in 1959. Then, they surprised the league during the following year by making it all the way to the NFL Championship Game. Although the Packers lost the game, 17-13, to the Philadelphia Eagles, they had sent a clear message that they were no longer losers. Green Bay went on to win NFL Championships in 1961, 1962, 1965, and 1966, earning them the nickname "Titletown, USA".
Packers veteran quarterback Bart Starr was the top rated quarterback in the NFL and won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award, completing 156 out of 251 (62.2 percent) passes for 2,257 yards, 14 touchdowns, and only 3 interceptions. His top targets were wide receivers Boyd Dowler and Carroll Dale, who combined for 63 receptions for 1,336 yards. Fullback Jim Taylor was the team's top rusher with 705 yards, and also caught 41 passes for 331 yards. The team's starting halfback, future hall of famer Paul Hornung, was injured early in the season, but running back Elijah Pitts did a good job as a replacement, gaining 857 combined rushing and receiving yards. And the Packers offensive line was also big reason for the team's success, led by All-Pro guards Jerry Kramer and Thurston, along with future hall of famer Forrest Gregg.
Green Bay also had a superb defense, which displayed their talent on the final drive of the NFL Championship Game, stopping the Dallas Cowboys on 4 consecutive plays starting on the Packers 2-yard line to win the game. Lionel Aldridge had replaced Quinlan, but Jordan and Davis still anchored the defensive line, future hall of fame linebacker Ray Nitschke excelled at run stopping and pass coverage, while the secondary was led by future hall of fame defensive backs Herb Adderley and Willie Wood. Wood was another example of how Lombardi found talent in players that nobody else could see. Wood had been a quarterback in college and was not drafted by an NFL team. When Wood joined the Packers in 1960, he was converted to a free safety and he went on to make the All-Pro team 9 times in his 12 year career.
Super Bowl pregame news and notes
Many people considered it fitting that the Chiefs and the Packers would be the teams to play in the first ever AFL-NFL World Championship Game. Kansas City owner Lamar Hunt was the person who founded the AFL, while Green Bay was widely considered the best team in NFL history. The game gave the Packers an opportunity to show that they were truly one of the best American football teams of all time. The Chiefs saw this game as an opportunity to show they were good enough to play against any NFL team. One player who was really looking forward to compete in this game was Dawson, who had spent 4 years as a backup in the NFL before joining the Chiefs.
Television and entertainment
This game is the only Super Bowl to have been broadcast in the United States by two television networks simultaneously. At the time, CBS held the rights to nationally televise NFL games while NBC had the rights to broadcast AFL games. It was decided to have both of them cover the game. The CBS telecast featured announcers Ray Scott, Jack Whitaker and Frank Gifford, while Curt Gowdy and Paul Christman provided commentary on NBC. The broadcast tapes were subsequently destroyed by both networks.
Super Bowl I was the only Super Bowl in history that was not a sellout in terms of attendance. Because of this, the game was blacked out in the Los Angeles area. Days before the game, local newspapers printed editorials about what they viewed as an exorbitant $12 price for tickets, and wrote stories about how to pirate the signal from TV stations outside the Los Angeles area.
The entertainment of Super Bowl I pales in comparison to the performances featured in the Super Bowls of today. Instead of famous singers and musicians, both the national anthem and the halftime show featured the marching bands of University of Arizona and University of Michigan.
Game summary
After both teams traded punts on their first possessions of the game, the Packers jumped out to an early 7-0 lead with Starr's 37-yard touchdown pass to reserve receiver Max McGee, who had been put into the game just a few plays earlier to fill in for injured starter Boyd Dowler. On their ensuing drive, the Chiefs moved the ball to Green Bay's 33-yard line, but kicker Mike Mercer missed a 40-yard field goal.
Early in the second quarter, Kansas City marched 66 yards in 6 plays to tie the game on a 7-yard pass from quarterback Len Dawson to Curtis McClinton. But the Packers responded on their next drive, advancing 73 yards down the field and scoring on fullback Jim Taylor's 14-yard touchdown run with the team's famed "Power Sweep" play. The Chiefs then cut the lead with a minute left in the half, 14-10, on Mercer's 31-yard field goal.
At halftime, it appeared that the Chiefs had a chance to win. Many people watching the game were surprised how close the score was and how well the AFL's champions were playing. Kansas City actually outgained the Packers in total yards, 181-164, and had 11 first downs compared to the Packers' 9.
On their first drive of the second half, the Chiefs advanced to their own 49-yard line. But on a third down pass play, a heavy blitz by Packers linebackers Dave Robinson and Lee Roy Caffy forced Dawson to throw a hurried, poorly thrown pass – which was intercepted by Green Bay defensive back Willie Wood and returned to the Kansas City 5-yard line. On their first play after the turnover, running back Elijah Pitts rushed 5-yards for a touchdown, giving the Packers a 21-10 lead.
The Packers defense would then dominate the Chiefs offense for the rest of the game, only allowing them to cross midfield once, and for just one play. Dawson was also held to only 5 out of 12 second half pass completions for 59 yards.
Meanwhile, Green Bay added another touchdown with less than a minute left in the third quarter on McGee's 13-yard reception from Starr. Pitts later scored his second touchdown midway through the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run to close out the scoring, giving the Packers a 35-10 win.
Although Starr was named MVP, much of the Packers' success during the game can be attributed to McGee. During the regular season, McGee had only caught a total of 4 passes for 98 yards and 1 touchdown, but he ended up recording 7 receptions for 138 yards and 2 touchdowns in the Super Bowl. McGee later said after the game that he spent the previous night out on the town, was in no condition to play the game, and was counting on not playing that day.
Taylor was the leading rusher in the game, with 56 rushing yards and 1 touchdown. Pitts rushed for 45 yards and 2 touchdowns, while also adding 2 receptions for 32 yards. Dawson finished the game with 16 out of 27 completions for 211 passing yards, a touchdown, and 1 interception. He was also the Chiefs leading rusher with 27 rushing yards.
Scoring Summary
- GB - McGee 37 pass from Starr (Chandeler kick)
- KC - McClinton 7 pass from Dawson (Mercer kick)
- GB - Taylor 14 run (Chandler kick)
- KC - FG Mercer 31
- GB - Pitts 5 run (Chandler kick)
- GB - McGee 13 pass from Starr (Chandler kick)
- GB - Pitts 1 run (Chandler kick)
Trivia
- Due to NBC not being back in time from a halftime commercial break for the start of the second half, the first kickoff was stopped by the game's officials and was kicked again once NBC was back on the air.
- Currently, there is no known complete videotape of either the CBS or the NBC telecast of the game, as both networks eventually taped over their copies. Television and sports archivists remain on the lookout. (At least one small sample of the telecast survives, recording Max McGee's opening touchdown.)
- The Green Bay Packers were each paid a salary of $15,000 as the winning team. The Chiefs were paid $7,500 each [1].
Officials
- Referee: Norm Schachter (NFL)
- Umpire: George Young (AFL)
- Head Linesman: Bernie Ulman (NFL)
- Line Judge: Al Sabato (AFL)
- Field Judge: Mike Lisetski (NFL)
- Back Judge: Jack Reader (AFL)
Note: A seven-official system was not used until 1978
See also
References
- Super Bowl official website
- NFL Record and Fact Book(ISBN 193299436X)
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0062701746)
- The Sporting News Complete Super Bowl Book 1995 (ISBN 089204523X)
- http://www.pro-football-reference.com - Large online database of NFL data and statistics
- Super Bowl play-by-plays from USA Today (Last accessed February 5, 2006)
- All-Time Super Bowl Odds from The Sports Network (Last accessed October 16, 2005)
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