Posted on 01/15/2007 6:27:30 AM PST by yankeedame
Super Bowl I
Quarter 1 2 3 4 Tot
Chiefs 0 10 0 0 10
Packers 7 7 14 7 35
Date January 15, 1967
Stadium Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
City Los Angeles
MVP Bart Starr, Quarterback
Favorite Packers by 14
National anthem University of Arizona and University of Michigan Bands
Coin toss Norm Schachter
Referee Norm Schachter
Halftime show University of Arizona and University of Michigan Bands
Attendance 61,946
TV in the United States
Network CBS and NBC
Announcers CBS: Ray Scott, Jack Whitaker and Frank Gifford
NBC: Curt Gowdy and Paul Christman
Nielsen Ratings CBS: 22.6
NBC: 18.5
Market share CBS: 43
NBC: 36
Cost of 30-second commercial US$42,000 (Both CBS and NBC)
The first ever AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later to be known as Super Bowl I, was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.
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.
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 paid 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. (Before the season, Taylor had informed the team that instead of returning to the Packers in 1967, he would become a free agent and sign with the expansion New Orleans Saints. Lombardi, infuriated at what he considered to be Taylor's disloyalty, refused to speak to Taylor the entire season.)[1] 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 its 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.
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. (CBS announcer Frank Gifford, who interviewed Lombardi prior to the game, said Lombardi was so nervous "he held onto my arm and he was shaking like a leaf. It was incredible.")
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. (The Chiefs were also nervous. Linebacker E. J. Holub said "the Chiefs were scared to death. Guys in the tunnel were throwing up and wetting their pants.)
In the week prior to the game, Chiefs cornerback Fred "The Hammer" Williamson garnered considerable publicity by boasting he would use his "hammer"--forearm blows to the head--to destroy the Packers' receivers.
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. Much to the dismay of television historians, the broadcast tapes were subsequently destroyed by both networks. This has prevented contrast and compare studies of how each network handled their respective coverage.
Super Bowl I was the only Super Bowl in history that was not a sellout in terms of attendance, despite the TV blackout in the Los Angeles area. Days before the game, local newspapers printed editorials about what they viewed as an then-exorbitant $12 USD 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 performances by the top contemporary singers and musicians, the first Super Bowl featured American trumpeter Al Hirt, and 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. The Chiefs were exuberant at halftime. Hank Stram said later "I honestly thought we would come back and win it." The Packers were disappointed with the quality of their play in the first half. "The coach was concerned" said defensive end Willie Davis later. Lombardi told them the game plan was sound but that they had to treak some things and execute better.
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 rare heavy blitz by Packers linebackers Dave Robinson and Lee Roy Caffey forced Dawson to throw a hurried, poorly thrown pass – which was intercepted by Green Bay defensive back Willie Wood and returned 50 yards to the Kansas City 5-yard line ("the biggest play of the game," wrote Starr later). 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. The Chiefs were forced to deviate from their game plan, and that hurt them. The Chiefs' offense totaled 12 yards in the third quarter. 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. Also in the fourth quarter, Fred Williamson, who had boasted about his "hammer" prior to the game, was knocked out when his head collided with running back Donny Anderson's knee, and then suffered a broken arm when Chiefs linebacker Sherrill Headrick fell on him. Williamson had three tackles for the game.
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.
1st Quarter
GB - McGee 37 pass from Starr (Chandler kick) 7-0 GB
2nd Quarter
KC - McClinton 7 pass from Dawson (Mercer kick) 7-7
GB - Taylor 14 run (Chandler kick) 14-7 GB
KC - FG Mercer 31 14-10 GB
3rd Quarter
GB - Pitts 5 run (Chandler kick) 21-10 GB
GB - McGee 13 pass from Starr (Chandler kick) 28-10 GB
4th Quarter
GB - Pitts 1 run (Chandler kick) 35-10 GB
Kansas City Green Bay OFFENSE Burford LE Dale Tyler LT Skoronski Budde LG Thurston Frazier C Curry Marz RG Kramer Hill RT Gregg Arbanas RE Cannon Dawson QB Starr O. Taylor FL Dowler Garrett HB E. Pitts McClinton FB J. Taylor DEFENSE Mays LE Davis Rice LT Kostelnik Buchanan RT Jordan Hurston RE Aldridge Robinson LLB D. Robinson Headrick MLB Nitschke Holub RLB Caffey Williamson LCB Adderley Mitchell RCB Jeter Hunt LS T. Brown J. Robinson RS Wood
Trivia
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
Vince Lombardi coaching a team quarterbacked by Bart Starr. Has there ever been a better football team, ever? I didn't think so.
These are always fun discussions and involve a lot of subjective judgement when comparing teams from different eras, but I think a case can be made that the San Francisco 49ers of the 1980s were the greatest team of all time -- and the 1989 team in particular stood out above them all.
My memory of this comes from the goal line stand keeping Dallas out. Worth a mention in the irony class, the first Dallas pro team was the Dallas Texans, owned by Lamar Hunt. The team cratered both financially and on the field. Lamar packed up in high dudgeon and went to Kansas.
The 9ers were good, and Joe Montana was one of the best. But Bart Starr and Lombardi were not only great, they defined greatness in the NFL.
And as for any given team, I think the Cowboys' 72 team, which had Packer great Forrest Gregg, Bears great Mike Ditka, Chargers great Lance Alworth, plus the usual stars (Lilly, Renfro, Staubach, Calvin Hill, Duane Thomas, Bob Hayes) was as great a team as there ever was, including the Miami Dolphins of the following year.
Television coverage of Super Bowl I was blacked out in Southern California, so we had to listen to the game on the radio. However, dics jockeys on the rock station KRLA--a music station at 1110 kilocycles on the AM band, not the present-day conservative talk station at 870 kc.--and its rival, "Boss Radio" station KHJ, were giving out instructions as to how to make a "Super Bowl antenna" from coat hangers so as to pick up a televised broadcast of the game from San Diego.
They were #6 in total offense (#2 in scoring offense), #1 in total defense (#1 in scoring defense), and had about 12-15 Pro Bowl caliber players on their roster. And all the silly nonsense surrounding William (The Refrigerator) Perry overshadowed the fact that this may have been the finest defensive front seven ever to play in the NFL.
..Jim Taylor....one tough fullback.
LS said "Bah. The Dallas Cowboys have been in more Super Bowls (eight) than anyone and won as many as anyone (five). You define greatness by the test of time. Lombardi had a good Packer team, but sucked when he went elsewhere. And the Pack took 20 years to recover from his loss."
Here are the facts:
Most Seasons League Champion
12 Green Bay, 1929-1931, 1936, 1939, 1944, 1961-62, 1965-67, 1996
9 Chi. Bears, 1921, 1932-33, 1940-41, 1943, 1946, 1963, 1985
6 N.Y. Giants, 1927, 1934, 1938, 1956, 1986, 1990
Your Cowboys have a long ways to go....
Wow!
I was born in the early '60s and just missed the Packers era. My first football memory is O'Brien kicking the winning field goal for the Colts against the Cowboys in Super Bowl V. By the early '70s the Super Bowl had grown into an extravaganza.
It's hard to argue. The only competition is the Steel Curtain.
As a Pats fan, I'm biased, but... The Pats have to be the best team of the salary-cap era (post 1994). What Belichick and Pioli have done with a rotating cast of players is astounding.
True, but the success of the Patriots in the salary cap era says a lot about just how bad the NFL has become. By my reckoning, the 1999 St. Louis Rams were probably the last Super Bowl team in the NFL that would have been any better than 9-7 in the pre-cap days.
FYI: the first pro team in Dallas was the 1952 Dallas Texans, which folded and went on to become the Baltimore Colts. They were not owned by Hunt.
Hunt founded the AFL and did indeed own the 1960 Dallas Texans, who moved to KC after the '62 season.
The Packers of the 60s won five NFL championships and the first two Super Bowls in a seven-year span.
What the Steelers did in the 70s and the Niners in the 80s was good, but does not compare to that record of domination over the greater part of a decade. As a Cowboys fan, it pains me to admit it, but I believe the 60s Packers were the greatest pro football dynasty of all time.
I think the only competition might come from the Browns of the late 40s and early 50s.
http://www.history.com/tdih.do?action=tdihArticleCategory&displayDate=1/15&categoryId=leadstory
http://tinyurl.com/y3er8v
On this day in 1967, at the Los Angeles Coliseum, the Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the first-ever world championship game of American football.
In the mid-1960s, the intense competition for players and fans between the National Football League (NFL) and the upstart American Football League (AFL) led to talks of a possible merger. It was decided that the winners of each league's championship would meet each year in a single game to determine the "world champion of football."
In that historic first game--played before a non-sell-out crowd of 61,946 people--Green Bay scored three touchdowns in the second half to defeat Kansas City 35-10. Led by MVP quarterback Bart Starr, the Packers benefited from Max McGee's stellar receiving and a key interception by safety Willie Wood. For their win, each member of the Packers collected $15,000: the largest single-game share in the history of team sports.
Postseason college games were known as "bowl" games, and AFL founder Lamar Hunt suggested that the new pro championship be called the "Super Bowl." The term was officially introduced in 1969, along with roman numerals to designate the individual games. In 1970, the NFL and AFL merged into one league with two conferences, each with 13 teams. Since then, the Super Bowl has been a face-off between the winners of the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC) for the NFL championship and the coveted Vince Lombardi Trophy, named for the legendary Packers coach who guided his team to victory in the first two Super Bowls.
Super Bowl Sunday has become an unofficial American holiday, complete with parties, betting pools and excessive consumption of food and drink. On average, 80 to 90 million people are tuned into the game on TV at any given moment, while some 130-140 million watch at least some part of the game. The commercials shown during the game have become an attraction in themselves, with TV networks charging as much as $2.5 million for a 30-second spot and companies making more expensive, high-concept ads each year. The game itself has more than once been upstaged by its elaborate pre-game or halftime entertainment, most recently in 2004 when Janet Jackson's infamous "wardrobe malfunction" resulted in a $225,000 fine for the TV network airing the game, CBS, and tighter controls on televised indecency.
When the AFL first started, an interviewer asked Lamar's father what he thought about his son investing in such an uncertain thing as a pro football team.
His reply, "Well, everyone should have a hobby."
Interviewer: "But sir, this hobby could wind up costing a lot of money for your son."
Hunt: "What do you call a lot of money?"
Interviewer: "Your son could lose upwards of one million dollars a year."
Hunt was very thoughtful and finally said, "Well, that means that in 500 years the family will be broke."
Much of the Bears' strength that year was NOT just their terrific defensive players, but a radical defensive scheme by Buddy Ryan that the league had not caught up to. If you notice, however, the league did catch up to it pretty quickly.
Sorry, that was prehistoric times. We're talking since the merger. Real world. Not Otto Graham stuff. No serious person really counts those games.
One more thing about the greatness of the Dallas Cowboys. They are THE ONLY franchise to have woa a Super Bowl in each of its ten year cycles. Super Bowls 6, 12, 27,28 & 30. They will have eight more shots at the 40's after this next one. I have a sneaking suspension they will accomplish that.
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