A Brief History
On January 15, 1967, professional American football history was made when the National Football League (NFL) Champion the Green Bay Packers played the American Football League (AFL) Champion the Kansas City Chiefs in an “AFL-NFL World Championship Game” that later became known as the “Super Bowl.”
Digging Deeper
With a score of 35 – 10, the Packers, led by quarterback Bart Starr and coached by the legendary Vince Lombardi, decisively beat the Chiefs who were led by quarterback Len Dawson and coached by Hank Stram. The game was played at a “neutral” site, the Los Angeles Coliseum, and all Super Bowls since have been played at venues not the home stadium of either team.
One of the notable events of the game was when Fred “The Hammer” Williamson of the Chiefs was knocked unconscious and was pulled from the game. This was notable because prior to the game, he had boasted that he would knock out certain Packers. Karma is a …
The game was set up after NFL and AFL team owners decided that the leagues should merge (nobody likes competition, at least in big business). After the Packers won the first 2 games in a strong manner, the public began to doubt the wisdom of the coming merger, with the AFL teams appearing to be the weaker sister.
In 1969, “Broadway Joe” Namath and his New York Jets of the AFL changed that impression by beating the heavily-favored Baltimore Colts, relieving all doubts. The following year the AFL league was merged into the NFL.
The name “Super Bowl” seems to have been coined by the owner of the Chiefs, Lamar Hunt, after he saw his grandchild playing with a popular 1960’s toy called a “Super Ball.” The game has become such an institution that it is the premier sporting event in the United States.
As of this article’s publication, the next Super Bowl will be played on February 1, 2015 in Glendal Arizona, at the University of Phoenix Stadium, the home of the Arizona Cardinals. The 2014 regular season is coming to a close and which two teams will be battling it out for the Lombardi Trophy is yet unknown. Unfortunately, we do know that it will not be the Cleveland Browns, for once again they have failed to make the playoffs. Maybe next year…
Question for students (and subscribers): Which team are you rooting for in this year’s Super Bowl? Please let us know in the comments section below this article.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Frommer, Harvey and Frank Gifford. When It Was Just a Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl. Taylor Trade Publishing, 2015.
Hetrick, Hans Carroll. The Super Bowl: All about Pro Football’s Biggest Event (Winner Takes All). Capstone Press, 2012.
