Super Bowl I : Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10.
The venue was Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California. The date January 15, 1967, and the attendance 61,946. The opponents were the Green Bay Packers vs. Kansas City Chiefs. What is now called Super Bowl I did not originally bear the name "Super Bowl." The American Football League-National Football League World Championship Game occurred between the champions of the two American football leagues of the time, the National Football League and the American Football League, which are now all part of the modern National Football League.
There was much animosity between the two rival leagues, with both leagues putting pressure on the champions of their respective leagues to trounce the opposing team to prove each league's dominance over the sport of football.
Super Bowl I was the only Super Bowl in history that was not a sell-out in terms of attendance. Because of this, the game, which was televised by both CBS and NBC was blacked out in the Los Angeles area. There is no known existing copy of the first Super Bowl, as both networks eventually taped over their copies.
Television and sports archivists remain on the lookout.
The Green Bay Packers defeated the AFL champion Chiefs in the first game of the Super Bowl thanks to passes from Bart Starr, catches from Max McGee, and a crucial interception by all-pro safety Willie Wood. Three second-half touchdowns by Green Bay, the first of which was set up by Wood's 50-yard interception return, allowed them to completely take control of the game. McGee, filling in for ailing Boyd Dowler after having caught only four passes for 91 yards all season, McGee later indicated that he said spent the previous night out on the town, was in no condition to play the game and was counting on not playing that day. Despite this, McGee ended up being the hero of the game, caught seven from Starr for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Elijah Pitts ran for two other scores. The Chiefs' attempt to come back into the game they scored 10 points in the second quarter.
Their only touchdown on a 7-yard pass from Len Dawson to Curtis McClinton. However, coming back from halftime, the Packers put the game out of reach, scoring two more touchdowns in the third quarter and then putting the capper in the end zone during the fourth. Bart Starr completed 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns and was chosen the Super Bowl Most Valuable Player (MVP). If there was one sad note among the Packers, each $15,000 richer compared to $7,500 for each of the Chiefs, the largest single-game shares in the history of team sports, it lay in the fact that Hornung, who had contributed so handsomely to the creation of the Green Bay dynasty, was the only Packer who failed to see action, the result of a pinched nerve in his neck that had not healed. "He could have played," said Lombardi, "had we really needed him. His neck still bothers him and we weren't inclined to take a chance.
In the fourth quarter, I asked him if he wanted to join, but he declined. Bart Starr also impressed Chuck Hurston, a Chiefs defensive end in his second season. When I was this near to him once, he threw a touchdown pass as if he didn't even see me, he said, holding his fingers one inch apart. I've never seen anything like it." Stram said: "It took exceptional timing between Bart Starr and his receivers. It took great pass blocking, and they got it. We had a variety of coverage's, but the Green Bay Packers were able to isolate our corner man, one on one.","That interception was the key play of the game," said Chiefs coach Hank Stram. "It changed the personality of the game. We were doing what we wanted to do before that play and touchdown. It's hard to believe that one play can make such a big difference, but it did. We had to play catch-up from then on. We had to pass additional tests and accomplish things we weren't used to doing. They were aware that we would have to go." Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10 were the final scores in Super Bowl I.
