The match was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The contest was simply known as the "AFL-NFL World Championship Game" at the time. The moniker "Super Bowl" was not used until Super Bowl IV in 1970, when the Chiefs won. Before then, it was just called the "World Championship Game."
The AFL's initial agreement with CBS required that any league championship game be broadcast by the network, but after the AFL and NFL agreed to merge, that requirement was dropped. The only stipulation was that if there were no American Football League teams left when the merger was approved by the NFL Board of Directors, then the season would end immediately after the merger was announced - rather than continuing as planned. This was done so that CBS could continue to show NBA games that were important to the network (such as Western Conference Finals games).
In 1969, the Chiefs finished the regular season with a 10-2 record, winning the AFC West division title. They went on to defeat the Baltimore Colts 21-7 in the conference championship game before facing off against the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl I.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes II was the leading candidate for MVP, having thrown for 3,465 yards and 28 touchdowns while completing 62 percent of his passes. Running back Kareem Hunt was selected for the Pro Bowl after rushing for 1,054 yards and nine touchdowns.
The first AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, known retroactively as Super Bowl I and referred to as the Super Bowl in contemporaneous reports, including the radio broadcast, was played on January 15, 1967 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The National Football League (NFL) champions were the Oakland Raiders, who defeated the NFL's Houston Oilers 34-9.
The game was originally intended to be played at Texas Stadium in Dallas, but severe weather delays forced the game back to the LA Coliseum. At the time, the LA Coliseum did not have a name for its stadium, but now it is known as the "Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena".
The MVP award was created in 1969 to honor the players considered most valuable during the season. Before then, there were no awards given out at the end of the year; instead, trophies were given to the most outstanding players after each season based on voting by their peers.
There have been 32 Super Bowls played so far with the Pittsburgh Steelers having the most championships with four. The Oakland Raiders are second with two titles. The Denver Broncos, New England Patriots, and Philadelphia Eagles have one title each.
Super Bowl LI was the 51st game played in the NFL/AFL merger to determine a champion for the league's new post-season tournament. It was also the first Super Bowl held in Houston.
The World Championship Game Between the AFL and the NFL Prior to the merger in 1970, the NFL and the AFL agreed to have an ultimate championship game, initially known as the AFL-NFL World Championship Game and eventually renamed the Super Bowl after 1968. Following the 1970 merger, the Super Bowl remained the game that determined the NFL champion.
The trophy awarded to the winning team is called the Super Bowl Trophy. It was designed by John E. Johnson of the Chicago Art Institute and manufactured by Van Bergen Manufacturing Company in Lake Forest, Illinois. The trophy is about four feet tall and made of silver and glass. In addition to the football, which stands over six feet high, the trophy also includes a base with the words "World's Championship Game" engraved on it.
The first Super Bowl was played on February 7, 1967, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before a crowd of 65,505 people. The Miami Dolphins defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 34-0. The trophy for this game was originally intended to be used as a prize for winning college football games but was changed to an award for professional athletes following complaints from college players who believed they should be given the honor of playing for the title.
The second Super Bowl was played two years later in January 1969 at Stanford Stadium in Stanford, California. The Oakland Raiders defeated the Houston Oilers, 28-10. The third Super Bowl was played in January 1970 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana.
January 15, 1967 On January 15, 1967, the inaugural Super Bowl was played. It was previously known as the "AFL-NFL World Championship Game" after the National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL) merged. It was held in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The NFL's New York Giants beat the AFL's Green Bay Packers 21 to 17 in one of the most memorable games in sports history.
The merger created a single national league with both professional and college football divisions. The new league was called the "United States Football League" for two seasons before settling on the NFL. The first season of play was 1966; the official championship began the following year. The Super Bowl name was coined by NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle at a meeting of team owners several months before the game was played. Rozelle chose this name because he felt that it would be a catchy title for fans to remember. The original plan was for each league to have its own champion, but this idea was dropped when it became clear that no team had been denied access to the playoffs due to geography. Instead, the top seed in each conference will host a semi-final match-up which will determine who will go to the Super Bowl.
The Super Bowl has since become one of the most popular annual sporting events in America. It is currently sponsored by National Bread Company's French toast snack food brand Frooties.
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