From Brad’s Music Room Almanac comes today’s post. This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first Super Bowl. On January 15, 1967, the Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 to win the first Super Bowl. As the Patriots and Falcons prepare to take the field for Super Bowl LI, read about some of the ways in which the hastily arranged first Super Bowl differed from today’s modern-day sporting spectacle.
In June 1966, the venerable National Football League (NFL) signed an agreement to merge with the upstart, seven-year-old American Football League (AFL) after the completion of the 1969 season. In the interim, the two rival leagues agreed to stage an annual season-ending contest between their respective champions.
AFL principal founder and Kansas City Chiefs owner, Lamar Hunt suggested that the new championship game be known as the “Super Bowl,” an idea inspired by the ultra-bouncy Super Ball toy from Wham-O—producers of the Frisbee and Hula Hoop—that was popular with his kids and millions of others across America, in the 1960s.
It may be hard to believe today, but the first Super Bowl was not a sellout—far from it. Official attendance in the cavernous, 94,000-seat Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum failed to top 62,000. Many fans complained about the high ticket prices, which topped out at $12, while others were simply not interested.
There were no big-time musical acts or wardrobe malfunctions at the Super Bowl’s first halftime show. No Beatles, no Rolling Stones, not even the Monkees. Instead, the Anaheim High School drill team joined marching bands from the University of Arizona and Grambling College high-stepping across the field. Two rocket men from Bell Aerosystems, with jet packs filled with hydrogen peroxide, launched themselves 100 feet into the air before landing on the 50-yard line. The halftime festivities peaked with the release of 10,000 helium-filled balloons and hundreds of pigeons.
For more interesting facts about the first Super Bowl click here.
The number one song in January 1967 was “I’m a Believer”, a song composed by Neil Diamond and recorded by The Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number one spot on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart for the week ending December 31, 1966 and remained there for seven weeks, becoming the last No. 1 hit of 1966 and the biggest-selling record for all of 1967.
I loved the Monkees and still hum their tunes! Interesting trivia about the Super Bowl, too!
Very interesting, especially the half-time show ( which is still my favorite part of the game, along with the commercials)!
Brings back memories of 50 years ago that seem just like yesterday. Always loved this song….and the Monkees. They had a Saturday morning show I remember watching on TV.
$12 for the best seat in the house? My sister from Philadelphia was rewarded by her employer with an all expense paid trip to the Super Bowl last week . She traveled with the Philadelphia Eagles management. She was in row 3 at the 50 yard line behind the Atlanta bench. Face value of her tickets: $3,000 each. I shudder to think what she could have sold them for online.