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| The Chief’s’ Willie Mitchell tackles the Packers’ Carroll Dale. |
The first Super Bowls was held January 15, 1967, pitting the Green Bay Packers of the NFL and the Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL. The two competing leagues had just merged, so there was even more animosity tied to the game than usual. The Green Bay Packers from the more established NFL won, as expected, 35-10.
To football fanatics the basic facts stated above are common knowledge. But here are six fun trivia facts you might not know.
- The first Super Bowl actually wasn’t called the Super Bowl. It was first touted as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The game was such a big hit by the second year that it was felt the game needed a catchier name. Commissioner Peter Rozelle suggested “The Big One.” The founder of the AFL, Lamar Hunt, who was the longtime owner of the Chiefs, was the man who suggested the name Super Bowl – based on a toy his daughter liked to play with, the Wham-O Super Ball. He said it could be a temporary name until they came up with something better. It was first used for Super Bowl III in 1969, the legendary game when Joe Namath predicted victory for his New York Jets.
- It was the only Super Bowl, (even though it wasn’t yet the Super Bowl), to not have a sellout crowd on hand in the stadium.
- It was the only Super Bowl to be broadcast on two domestic television networks. CBS had rights to the NFL and NBC had rights to the AFL. The game was a simulcast. Even the post game presentation of the trophy included two networks. Pat Summerall of CBS and George Ratterman of NBC shared duties.
- Both NBC and CBS recorded over the game film to save costs. The only two plays from the game that were shown for years were touchdowns by Max McGee and Jim Taylor of the Packers. In 2011 a CBS recording was found in an attic in Pennsylvania. Halftime and most of the third quarter were missing, but most of the game has now been rebroadcast.
- Two different brands of footballs were used throughout the game. The Chiefs used the official AFL Spalding football when on offense; the Packers switched to the official NFL Wilson football when they were on offense.
- Since NFL and AFL refs wore different uniforms during the season, a new uniform was designed that was only worn for Super Bowls I and II.
