Packers beat Chiefs in first Super Bowl
On January 15 1967 the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) smash the American Football League (AFL)s Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in the first-ever AFL-NFL World Championship later known as Super Bowl I at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.Founded in 1960 as a rival to the NFL the AFL was still finding its way in 1967 and the Packers had been heavily favored to win the game.As 60 million people tuned in to watch the action unfold on television the Chiefs managed to keep it close for the first half and by halftime Green Bay was ahead just 14-10.The Chiefs only touchdown came in the second quarter on a seven-yard pass from quarterback Len Dawson to Curtis McClinton.The Packers however proceeded to break the game wide open after safety Willie Wood intercepted a Dawson pass and returned the ball 50 yards to set up a touchdown.
Green Bay scored three more times in the second half as Elijah Pitts ran in two touchdowns and backup end Max McGeewho came on the field after the starter Boyd Dowler was injured on the sixth play of the gamecaught his second touchdown pass of the day.Prior to the game McGee had made only four receptions all season he made seven that night for a total of 138 yards.The Packers famed quarterback Bryan Bartlett Bart Starr completed 16 of 23 passes on the night.The score at games end stood at 35-10 and Starr was named Most Valuable Player.
Asked to comment on the match-up after the game Green Bay Coach Vince Lombardi expressed the common opinion that even the best of the AFLthe Chiefsdoesnt compare with the top NFL teams.Two years later the AFL proved itself to doubters by winning its first championship when Joe Namath led the New York Jets to an upset 16-7 victory over the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.In 1970 the AFL and NFL merged into one league as the Colts Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to join the 10 AFL teams to form American Football Conference (AFC).Since then the Super Bowl has been the annual meeting of the top teams in the AFC and the National Football Conference (NFC) for the championship of the NFL.
