Who Won The First Super Bowl?
The tradition of the Super Bowl has become an unofficial national holiday for sports enthusiasts in the United States. The origin of the championship known as the “Big Game” stems all the way back to the 1960s. But who won the first Super Bowl? When was it held? Keep reading to find out!
When Was the First Super Bowl?
The first game that filled the function of the modern Super Bowl was held in 1967. The game was known as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. However, the first football game to be called the “Super Bowl,” as it is known today, was in 1970. The reason for the difference in name was that the AFL and NFL (the two main leagues of football in the United States at the time) had yet to merge and form the modern NFL prior to 1970. Due to this, the Super Bowl, in its contemporary form, simply did not exist until the merger between the two leagues occurred.
Who Won the First AFL-NFL World Championship Game?
The game that is now known as “Super Bowl I” was won by the Green Bay Packers in 1967. However, as we have stated above, this game was not called the Super Bowl when it was played, but was renamed Super Bowl I in the years following. The game, which was the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game, was played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum and featured the 14-2 Green Bay Packers of the NFL facing off against the 12-3-1 Kansas City Chiefs of the AFL.
In Super Bowl I, the Green Bay Packers, coached by the legendary Vince Lombardi, put up 35 points, making a touchdown in every quarter of the game. Additionally, the Packers achieved 21 first downs and 358 total yards gained. In comparison, the Kansas City Chiefs only managed to score a meager 10 points: a touchdown, an extra point, and a field goal, all of which they scored in the second quarter. The end result of the AFL-NFL World Championship of 1967 was the Packers becoming the first-ever Super Bowl Champions. Additionally, the trophy awarded to the winning team would later be named after Green Bay’s head coach, Vince Lombardi.
Who Won the First “Super Bowl”?
While the Packers were the winners of the first Championship Game, later renamed Super Bowl I, the winner of the first game to be called the Super Bowl was the Kansas City Chiefs. Today, this 1970 game is known as Super Bowl IV. In this game, the 14-3 Kansas City team, led by Hank Stram, competed against the 14-3 Minnesota Vikings. The two teams faced off at Tulane Stadium in what was expected to be a big win for the Minnesota Vikings. The spread of the game was set at -12 for Minnesota, leaving the Chiefs as clear underdogs.
In a stunning turn of events, Kansas City managed to pull off an upset win against the Vikings by a score of 23-7. In comparison to a single rushing touchdown for the Vikings, the Chiefs put three field goals, one rushing touchdown, and one passing touchdown on the board to cement their Super Bowl victory. Super Bowl IV also marked the first Super Bowl title in the Chiefs’ franchise history. While it was technically not the very first Super Bowl, the occasion did mark the first time the AFL-NFL World Championship was referred to as the Super Bowl.