In 1966, after six years of player raiding and bidding wars, the National Football League (NFL)and the fledgling American Football League (AFL) took a step toward ending the great animosity that had gripped the two leagues when owners agreed to merge the two and play a single championship game at the end of the season. Although the first title game was originally billed as the NFL-AFL World Championship, Kansas City Chiefs founder and owner Lamar Hunt soon coined the phrase "Super Bowl," and the press quickly latched onto the term. 61,946 fans poured into the expansive Los Angeles Coliseum on January 15, 1967 to witness the NFL's intimidating Green Bay Packers defeat the much weaker AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.
In the first quarter the Packers were forced to punt on their very first possession but they quickly regrouped as standout quarterback Bart Starr and the Packers drove the ball 80 yards on six plays. Veteran reserve receiver Max McGee, believing he would never see action that day, broke legendary coach Vince Lombardi's strict curfew and arrived back at the team's hotel late the night before. Meanwhile, as the Packers drove the ball towards the Chiefs' goal line, veteran receiver Boyd Dowler injured his left shoulder. Lombardi pointed his finger at McGee and told him to get in the game. On the last play of the series, McGee made a one handed catch at the 23-yard line and slipped past cornerback Willie Mitchell for a 37-yard touchdown reception and the early 7-0 lead. In the ensuing drive, the Chiefs took the ball to the Packer's 33-yard line, but kicker Mike Mercer missed a 40-yard field goal attempt.
The Chiefs responded early in the second quarter on the strength of a 66-yard drive that included a 31-yard reception to receiver Otis Taylor and culminated in a 7-yard touchdown throw from quarterback Len Dawson to running back Curtis McClinton to tie the game at 7-7. Again, the Packers answered on their next possession, pressing the ball 73 yards and scoring with their well know left end sweep play. With only a minute left in the half, Mercer kicked a field goal to cut the lead to 14-10 and the Chiefs looked like they might pull off an upset.
However, the Packers forced the Chiefs to deviate from their game plan with a 21-point, second half eruption. In the third quarter the Chiefs suffered a total offensive and defensive collapse, managing a dismal a 12-yards in total offence and only advanced past mid-field once in the entire second half. An interception by Packers safety Willie Wood early in the third quarter all but sealed the Chiefs' fate.
Bart Starr was named the first Super Bowl MVP with an impressive 250 yards in the air and two touchdown passes. Max McGee was also key in the Packers victory with his seven receptions for 168 yards and his two touchdowns catches.
Although NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle predicted that over 90,000 fans would fill the 100,000 seat stadium, 60 million fans tuned in that day on two networks, making Super Bowl I the most watched sporting event in history. The actual merger of the two leagues was still three years away, but the foundation had been laid for a sporting event that would become an American passion and eventually propel football to replace baseball as the country's national pastime.
