Harvey Frommer - When it was just a game: remembering the first Super Bowl

H ARVEY FROMMER, dubbed Dartmouths own Mr. Baseball by the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, received his PhD from New York University. Professor emeritus, City University of New York, distinguished professor nominee, and recipient of the Salute to Scholars Award at CUNY, he was cited in the Congressional Record and by the New York State Legislature as a sports historian and journalist. Frommers many sports books include autobiographies of sports legends Nolan Ryan, Red Holzman, and Tony Dorsett. His acclaimed oral and narrative histories Remembering Yankee Stadium and best seller Remembering Fenway Park broke new ground as examples of the genre.

When It Was Just a Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl was nominated for the Pen award in 2015 in the category of literary sports writing.

Published by Taylor Trade Publishing

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Copyright 2015 by Harvey Frommer

Endsheet art by Murray Oldermann, courtesy of the artist.

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British Library Cataloguing in Publication Information Available

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Frommer, Harvey.

When it was just a game : remembering the first Super Bowl / by Harvey Frommer.

pages cm

Summary: "Written by acclaimed sports author and oral historian Harvey Frommer and with an introduction by pro football Hall of Famer Frank Gifford, When It Was Just a Game tells the fascinating story of the ground-breaking AFL-NFL World Championship Football game played on January 15, 1967: Packers vs. Chiefs"Provided by publisher.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-58979-920-2 (hardback)ISBN 978-1-58979-921-9 (electronic) 1. FootballUnited StatesHistory. 2. National Football LeagueHistory. 3. American Football LeagueHistory. I. Title.

GV954.F76 2015

796.330973dc23 2015005712

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information SciencesPermanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

Incidentally, I hate that nameSuper Bowl.

I wish you guys would change it to THE Bowl.

VINCE LOMBARDI, December 19, 1966

For Myrna.

Still the golden chance
I didnt let pass me by.

I T WAS LONG AGO and far away that I was at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, a field I had played football on as a college All-American. Now it was January 15, 1967, and I was in the beginning stages of what would become a long and highly successful television broadcasting career.

I was a member of the CBS team, which, along with NBC, was televising the game. That in itself was something new for this newest of football games, which pitted the Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League against the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League.

No one really knew what to expect. No one expected the contest officially called the AFLNFL World Championship Game to become what it becamethe Super Bowl, the greatest sports event in history. No one perhaps except NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle, who wanted it to become bigger than the World Series.

I am one of the more than 60 oral history voices in this book talking about the game and the action, as well as remembering my experiences with the great Vince Lombardi pregame and postgame. As you will see, pregame was much more of a challenge than postgame, when I was there with Pete Rozelle and my former coach, Vinny, as he was presented with the championship trophy made by Tiffany, an award that would be named after him just a few years laterthe Lombardi Trophy.

With this detailed oral and narrative history, author Harvey Frommer has created a dramatic narrative arc that takes us back in time. It includes information on the merger of the American Football League and National Football League; the coaches, Vince Lombardi of Green Bay and Hank Stram of Kansas City; pregame preparations and struggles; the game itself on that sunny day in Los Angeles and the action on the field of play; and the postgame fallout. The book also features a special chapter on what happened to many of the participants afterward.

Through exclusive interviews with players, coaches, the media, and viewers of the game, this volume enables us to relive a special time in American sports and culture, making this the definitive book on the first Super Bowl.

FRANK GIFFORD

NBC announcer Paul Christman and CBS announcer (and member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame) Frank Gifford discuss Super Bowl I, January 15, 1967. Since there were separate TV contracts for the old AFL and NFL, the game was broadcast by both networks. AP Photo/NFL Photos

BILL ADAMS was a close friend of Lamar Hunt, a college fraternity brother, and a well-known Dallas, Texas, area attorney.

FRED ARBANAS was a prototype tight end and member of the All-Time AFL Team. Number 84 was a Kansas City Chief standout from 1963 to 1970. He began his pro career with the Dallas Texans.

BOBBY BELL was a Pro Football Hall of Fame linebacker/defensive end who played for the Kansas City Chiefs. An AFL All-Star for six straight seasons and a three-time NFL Pro Bowler, he is also a member of the Chiefs Hall of Fame.

KEN BOWMAN is a member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame. Born in Milam, Illinois, and graduating the University of Wisconsin, he was the starting center for the Pack from 1964 to 1973.

TOMMY BROOKER came into the AFL with the Dallas Texans after playing at the University of Alabama for Bear Bryant. Primarily a kicker, he also played tight end. A thigh injury prevented him from playing in the 1967 Super Bowl.

JOE BROWNE began working in the NFL office as a college intern in 1965. He is now senior advisor to the commissioner and spends a great deal of his time working on retired player issues. He is the longest-serving league office employee in NFL history.

ED BUDDE played in 177 games for the Chiefs from 1963 to 1976. An explosive 6-foot, 5-inch, 265-pound guard out of Michigan State, he made seven AFL All-Star/Pro Bowl appearances. President of the Kansas City Chiefs Alumni Association, the powerful Budde was named to the All-Time AFL Team by the Pro Football Hall of Fame.