23 Photos From The First Ever Super Bowl In 1967, And Truly So Much Has Changed
On Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers will take on the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII.
Ezra Shaw / Getty Images, Rob Carr / Getty Images
Always a major deal, the Super Bowl is especially notable this year as the Chiefs are defending champions, having beat the Philadelphia Eagles last year.
Interestingly, the Chiefs also competed in the first Super Bowl way back in 1967. So, before the 58th Super Bowl commences, take a look at what the first Super Bowl looked like all those years ago:
1.The Kansas City Chiefs took on the Green Bay Packers in the first Super Bowl on Jan. 15, 1967.
2.According to CBS Sports, the game would retroactively be widely referred to as Super Bowl I. At the time, though, it was simply called the AFL-NFL Championship Game.
3.The game was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
4.According to CBS News, the most expensive tickets cost $12 at the time.
5.The game was apparently not heavily attended, which is another major change from Super Bowls of late. According to the NFL, there were 61,946 people in attendance and over 30,000 unfilled seats.
6.According to the New York Times, the game was a major deal because it was a match between the dueling American football leagues at the time: the long-standing National Football League (NFL) and the upstart American Football League (AFL).
7.The Packers represented the NFL.
8.While the Chiefs represented the AFL.
9.This AFL-NFL face-off in 1967 and the following few championship games were the result of a deal made in 1966 to merge the two leagues. Establishing this AFL-NFL championship game was part of the merger.
10.However, the two leagues would not compete as one until the 1970 season, with the creation of the American Football Conference (AFC) and National Football Conference (NFC).
11.Of course, so much went on at the first Super Bowl beyond the game itself. For instance, a flag team took the field.
12.They appeared to be dressed in American Revolution-era costumes.
13.Here's Chiefs running back Mike Garrett making his way onto the field.
14.And here's a group of sideline officials conversing ahead of the game.
15.The first Super Bowl was also the only Super Bowl to be broadcast simultaneously on two of the Big Three networks: CBS and NBC. According to the NFL, this was because of pre-existing broadcast deals for each league: the NFL with CBS and the AFL with NBC.
16.According to the New York Times, commercials for the first Super Bowl broadcast cost between $70,000 to $85,000 for one minute. Comparatively, the Wall Street Journal reported last year that the average Super Bowl commercial now costs $6 million.
17.The halftime show was also very different from the high-wire pop star performances we see today. According to the New York Times, the University of Arizona marching band performed (as seen below), as did the Grambling College marching band.
18.There were reportedly also 10,000 balloons and 300 pigeons. And trumpeter Al Hirt performed, too.
19.Also, a demonstration of a rocket belt (aka a jet pack) by the Bell Rocket Air Men took place at halftime. The Los Angeles Times reported the presentation only lasted roughly 20 seconds, with the rocket belt wearers reaching a height of 100 feet and moving 300 yards.
20.Hank Stram was the Chiefs' head coach. He's seen here on the left with then-NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle and AFL principal founder Lamar Hunt to his right.
21.Vince Lombardi was the Packers' head coach. He's seen here with backup quarterback Zeke Bratkowski.
22.As for the game itself, the Packers took it in the end, winning 35–10.
23.Finally, following the win, Vince was hoisted into the air by a few players. The Super Bowl trophy would later be named in Vince's honor following his death in 1970.
