On This Day in Sports: January 15, 1967
On January 15, 1967, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10 in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The leagues had agreed to merge, but they still operated separately, and the matchup was designed to test the established NFL champion against the ambitious American Football League. Green Bay carried the weight of the older league under coach Vince Lombardi. Kansas City, coached by Hank Stram, represented a younger competition eager for legitimacy. The game was not yet officially called the Super Bowl, and thousands of seats remained empty, but its result would define the opening chapter of what became America’s largest annual sporting event.
Kansas City proved competitive in the first half. Quarterback Len Dawson moved the Chiefs through Green Bay’s defense, and a touchdown pass to Curtis McClinton reduced the Packers’ lead to 14–10. Green Bay’s first touchdown came from an unexpected source. Receiver Max McGee, who had caught only four passes during the season, entered after Boyd Dowler was injured and made a one-handed catch for a 37-yard score. Quarterback Bart Starr later found Jim Taylor on the ground and through short passes, but the Chiefs’ speed and formations kept the contest close enough to challenge predictions of an easy NFL victory.
The balance changed early in the third quarter. Packers safety Willie Wood intercepted Dawson and returned the ball 50 yards to the Kansas City five-yard line. Elijah Pitts scored on the next play, and Green Bay controlled the rest of the afternoon. Starr threw another touchdown pass to McGee, Pitts added a second rushing score, and the Packers produced 21 unanswered second-half points. Starr completed 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns, earning the game’s Most Valuable Player award. McGee finished with seven catches for 138 yards after beginning the day as a reserve. Green Bay’s defense held Kansas City scoreless after halftime.
The championship became Super Bowl I only in retrospect. The two leagues met again the next year, and the name popularized by Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt became official. The inaugural game also remains unique because CBS, the NFL broadcaster, and NBC, the AFL broadcaster, both televised it; no complete original network recording is known to survive. Green Bay’s victory validated Lombardi’s team at its peak and began a run of championships that made the trophy later bear his name. Kansas City’s defeat did not settle the leagues’ long-term balance: the AFL soon produced breakthrough wins, and full merger arrived in 1970. Still, January 15 established the stage, format and mythology of the Super Bowl.
The game was officially called the AFL–NFL World Championship before the name Super Bowl became standard.
Green Bay represented the established NFL, while Kansas City carried the credibility of the younger AFL.
The Packers led only 14–10 at halftime before scoring 21 unanswered points in the second half.
Starr earned MVP honors, and reserve receiver Max McGee caught seven passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns.
Willie Wood’s interception and long return created the turning point that opened Green Bay’s decisive surge.
The championship launched the Super Bowl into an annual national event and set the stage for the leagues’ completed merger.
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