First Super Bowl — 59 Years Ago
The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in the first AFL-NFL Championship
January 15, 1967
Two Leagues Meet for the First Time
The first Super Bowl — officially called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game at the time — was played on January 15, 1967, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. It was the result of a merger agreement between the National Football League and the younger American Football League, which had been competing for players, fans, and television money since 1960. The agreement called for the two leagues' champions to meet in an annual championship game. The Green Bay Packers, coached by the legendary Vince Lombardi, represented the established NFL. The Kansas City Chiefs represented the upstart AFL. Many people in the NFL looked down on the AFL as an inferior league.
Green Bay Dominates
The game itself was not particularly close. The Packers led at halftime but the Chiefs stayed competitive. In the second half, Green Bay pulled away decisively, winning 35-10. Quarterback Bart Starr was named the game's Most Valuable Player, completing 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns. Packers wide receiver Max McGee, who caught the first touchdown in Super Bowl history, had reportedly been out until 7 AM the night before the game expecting not to play. He caught seven passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns in relief. The game was broadcast simultaneously on both CBS and NBC — the last time a single Super Bowl has been aired on two networks.
From Championship Game to National Holiday
The first game drew a decent crowd but didn't sell out the Los Angeles Coliseum. Today, Super Bowl tickets sell for thousands of dollars each, and the game attracts over 100 million television viewers in the United States alone, making it the single most watched annual television broadcast in the country. Super Bowl Sunday has effectively become an unofficial American holiday, with massive parties, elaborate commercials, and high-profile halftime shows built around the game. The simple idea of having the two leagues' champions play each other has grown into one of the most commercially powerful events in the history of sports media.