NFL Championship Game, 1967
Encyclopedia
The 1967 National Football League
Championship Game between the Western Conference champion Green Bay Packers
and the Eastern Conference champion Dallas Cowboys
was the 35th championship game in NFL history
. The game was held at Lambeau Field
on December 31, 1967. The winner of the game was destined to meet the champion of the American Football League
in Super Bowl II
. Due to the adverse conditions the game was played in and the game's climactic finish, it has been immortalized as the Ice Bowl and is considered one of the greatest games in NFL history.
The 1967
game was a rematch of the 1966 NFL title game
. The Packers had won two consecutive World Championships in 1965 and 1966. The game would pit two future Hall of Fame coaches against each other, Tom Landry
for the Cowboys and Vince Lombardi
for the Packers.
, the Cowboys met the Century Division champions, the Cleveland Browns
, and the Packers faced off against the Los Angeles Rams, the Coastal Division
champions. At the Cotton Bowl
, in a spectacular game by quarterback
Don Meredith
, the Cowboys decimated the Browns 52-17. In the week prior to the Rams game, the fire-brand Lombardi inspired his team all week with a rendition of St. Paul's Run to Win letter to the Corinthians
and ,in what Bart Starr would later say was Lombardi's most rousing pre-game speech, incited his team to a 28-7 victory over the Rams at Milwaukee County Stadium
.
game was a rematch of the 1966 NFL title game
which was held on January 1, 1967. More than two years after football had become the most popular televised sport in the nation, this game featured a match up that all of America hoped for in the NFL Championship. It was the first NFL Championship game that the Green Bay Packers ever participated in that had occurred in Green Bay.
Landry and Lombardi's path crossed in 1954 with the New York Giants when Lombardi became the offensive coordinator and Landry, the left cornerback for the Giants, took on the added role of defensive coordinator. Landry was the best defensive mind of his era and Lombardi was the best offensive coach of his era. From a personality standpoint, Landry and Lombardi were the antithesis of each other. Lombardi was a vociferously demanding coach who would respond with the greatest elation to success and tremendous sadness to the slightest setback. Landry was stoic and calm in even the most tense situations.
The Vegas betting line listed the Packers as 6 1/2 point favorites. The Cowboys would employ their vaunted Doomsday Defense, a nickname given to the defensive unit by a Dallas journalist because it had been successful at making goal-line stands. The eight year-old Dallas franchise was trying to win its first ever world championship. The Packers were on a quest to achieve what had never been done before—three consecutive world championships. To the game, Green Bay brought its renowned Lombardi sweep and the Cowboys brought a defensive scheme, The Flex, which was specifically designed by Landry to stop the running to daylight tactic the Packers employed in their sweep. Although the Packers and the Chicago Bears were arch-rivals, Lombardi most passionate game planning was in preparing for Landry's Flex.
Saturday, on the eve of the game, NFL Pete Rozelle called Jim Kensil and Don Weiss, the executive directors of the NFL, for an update on the weather conditions. It is suspected that they informed him that Sunday's game time temperature of about 5°F was playable . Rozelle, who in June 1966 had seen to it that the AFL-NFL Championship game would always been held in a warm weather city, inquired if the game could be postponed until Monday. Predictions held Monday would be even colder than Sunday and the game was not postponed. Little did they know that the cold front would be far colder and would arrive much sooner than expected. The Packers, who had for years eschewed late home season games because of the cold winters, would play host to the Cowboys in a game that would mark the coldest New Year's Eve in the history of Green Bay and the coldest title game in the history of the NFL, a record that still stands.
David Maraniss
recounts in his 1999 Vince Lombardi autobiography When Pride Still Mattered that Packer safety Willie Wood left his home Sunday morning to find that his car's battery was frozen and dead. When a local service-station attendant was summoned to start the car, Wood told him "It's just too cold to play. They're going to call this game off."
around −48°F / −44°C. Lambeau Field's turf-heating system malfunctioned, which left the playing surface as smooth as ice. The heating system, made by General Electric, cost $80,000 and was bought from the nephew of George Halas
, George Halas Jr. On the sidelines before the game, some Dallas players believed that Lombardi had purposely removed power to the heating coils. The heating system would eventually be given the moniker Lombardi's Folly.
The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (then Wisconsin State University–La Crosse) Marching Chiefs band
were scheduled to perform the pre-game and half-time shows. However, during warm-ups in the brutal cold, the woodwind instrument
s froze and would not play; the mouthpieces of brass instrument
s got stuck to the players' lips; and seven members of the band were transported to local hospitals for hypothermia
. The band's further performances were canceled for the day. During the game, an elderly spectator in the stands died from exposure http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/29416834.html
Prior to the game, many of the Green Bay players were unable to start their cars in the freezing weather, forcing them to make alternate travel arrangements to make it to the stadium on time. Linebacker Dave Robinson had to flag down a random passing motorist for a ride. The referees for the game found they did not have sufficient clothing for the cold, and had to make an early trip to a sporting goods store for earmuffs, heavy gloves, and thermal underwear.http://www.hulu.com/watch/123940/greatest-games-1967-the-ice-bowl#s-p4-so-i0
The officials were unable to use their whistles after the opening kick-off. As referee Norm Schachter blew his metal whistle to signal the start of play, it froze to his lips. As he attempted to free the whistle from his lips, the skin ripped off and his lips began to bleed. The conditions were so hostile that instead of forming a scab, the blood simply froze to his lip. For the rest of the game, the officials used voice commands and calls to end plays and officiate the game. At one point during the game, CBS announcer Frank Gifford
said on air, "I'm going to take a bite of my coffee."
The prior convention to prevent the football field from icing up was to cover the field with dozens of tons of hay.
, with play by play being done by Ray Scott
, for the first half, Jack Buck
for the second half, and Frank Gifford
would do the color commentary for the entire game. Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
did the commentary.
Two of the four members of the broadcast team for CBS, Frank Gifford and Pat Summerall, were intimately aware of the personality differences that existed between Landry and Lombardi because they had both played on the New York Giants during Landry's and Lombardi's tenure at the Giants. Over 30 million people would tune in to watch the game.
, Green Bay opened up the scoring with an 83-yard, 16-play drive that took nearly 9 minutes off the clock. Bart Starr
finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Boyd Dowler
, giving the team a 7-0 first quarter lead. Green Bay's defense quickly forced a punt, and their offense stormed back for another score, this time driving 65 yards in just three plays. After a 13-yard run by Ben Wilson
and a 6-yard run by Travis Williams
, Starr threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Dowler, making the score 14-0. Then on the second play of the Cowboys ensuing drive, defensive back Herb Adderly intercepted Don Meredith
's pass and returned it 15 yards to the Dallas 32. But after a run for no gain and an incompletion, Cowboys linaman George Andrie
sacked Starr for a 10-yard loss, pushing Green Bay out of field goal range.
Dallas' offense went the entire second quarter without gaining a first down, but Green Bay committed two costly turnovers that led to 10 Dallas points. First, Starr lost a fumble while being sacked by Cowboys lineman Willie Townes
. Andrie recovered the ball and returned it 7 yards for a touchdown, cutting the lead in half. Then, with time almost out in the second quarter, Packers safety Willie Wood fumbled a Dallas punt after calling for a fair catch, and Cowboys rookie defensive back Phil Clark
recovered the ball at the Green Bay 17-yard line. The Packers were able to keep Dallas out of the end zone, but kicker Danny Villanueva
kicked a 21-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10 by halftime.
In the third quarter, the Cowboys finally managed to get sustained drive going, moving the ball to the Green Bay 18-yard line. But Packers linebacker Lee Roy Caffey
ended the drive by forcing a fumble from Meredith that was recovered by Adderly. Then after a Packers punt, Dallas once again got moving with a drive to the Green Bay-30 yard line. But once again they failed to score as Caffey sacked Meredith for a 9-yard loss on third down and Villanueva's missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.
On the first play of the final quarter, the Cowboys took a 17-14 lead with running back Dan Reeves
' 50-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lance Rentzel
on a halfback option play
.
Later in the quarter, a 15-yard facemask penalty on Dallas rookie Dick Daniels during a Wood punt return gave Green Bay the ball on the Cowboys 47-yard line. The Packers then drove into scoring range and had a chance to tie the game, but kicker Don Chandler
missed a 40-yard field goal attempt.
With just over 5 minutes remaining, Villanueva punted the ball deep into Packer territory, and Wood returned it nine yards before being brought down at the Packers own 32 yard line.
, and a 19-yard throw to fullback Chuck Mercein
. Then Mercein ran 8 yards to a first down on the Cowboys' 3-yard line on the next play. Twice Anderson attempted to run the ball into the end zone, but both times he was tackled at the 1-yard line, the second time after his footing failed on the icy field. By then the thermometer read twenty below zero.
On third-and-goal at the Dallas two-foot line with 16 seconds remaining, Starr called the Packers' final timeout to confer with Lombardi. Starr immediately asked right guard
Jerry Kramer
whether he could get enough traction on the icy turf for a wedge play, and Kramer responded with an unequivocal yes.
Summerall told the rest of CBS crew to get ready for a roll-out pass, because without any timeouts remaining a failed run play would end the game. Landry expected a pass attempt because an incompletion would stop the clock and allow the Packers one more play on fourth down, either for a touchdown (to win) or a field goal attempt (to tie and send the game into overtime). But Green Bay's pass protection on the slick field had been seriously tested during the game; the Cowboys had sacked Starr eight times.
On the sidelines, Starr told Lombardi he wanted to run a 31 wedge, but with him keeping the ball, rather than handing off to the fullback. Lombardi told Starr to "Run it, and let's get the hell out of here!" Lombardi was asked by Pat Peppler
what play Starr would call, to which Lombardi replied, "Damned if I know." Starr returned to the huddle and called a Brown right 31 Wedge, but with him keeping the ball. and Kramer and center
Ken Bowman
executed a post-drive block (double-team) on left defensive tackle Jethro Pugh
as Starr crossed the goal line for a 20-17 lead.
kicked the extra point to make the score 21-17. Dallas downed the kickoff in their end zone, and after two Dallas incompletions the game was over. At the conclusion of the game, jubilant Packer fans streamed onto the field knocking over Packer and Cowboy players alike.
Ray Nitschke
developed frostbite
in his feet, causing his toenails to fall off and his toes to turn purple. Bart Starr had frostbite on his fingers and several Packer players were suffering flu like symptoms. Cowboys, George Andrie
, Willie Townes
, and Dick Daniels also suffered frostbite from the game.
The furthest thing from Starr's mind was the thought of playing in Super Bowl II
. To him, this was their Super Bowl. Green Bay went on to finish the postseason by easily defeating the American Football League
(AFL) champion Oakland Raiders
in Super Bowl II.
Brookshier and journalists went into the winning locker room for post-game interviews. At some point, journalists had become aware of the significance of the block Kramer and Bowman had placed on Pugh. Of the eleven cameras Ed and Steve Sabol set up to film the game, Camera Five had become frozen by the time Starr's sneak occurred. This particular camera was fortuitously positioned to offer a perfect view of the block. CBS had been replaying the block repeatedly and had been giving the TV audience a detailed perspective of the workings of the offensive and defensive line. Kramer, understanding this, claimed a significant portion of the spotlight for himself; he was more than happy to serve as a prime example of the idea that an unheralded member of "the trenches" was now in the national spotlight. By coincidence, Kramer had been keeping a written diary of the 1967 season that was to be made into a book co-written by sports journalist Dick Schaap
; the book, titled Instant Replay: The Green Bay Diary of Jerry Kramer, was published in the fall of 1968, and it used the game, the play, and the block as a focal point.
Frank Gifford recounted in his 1993 autobiography The Whole Ten Yards that he requested and received permission from CBS producers to go into the losing locker room for on-air post-game interviews—a practice unheard of in that era. Gifford, as a New York Giants
player and as a broadcaster, already enjoyed a friendship with Meredith, and he approached the quarterback for his thoughts on the game. The exhausted Meredith, in an emotion-choked voice, expressed pride in his teammates's play, and said, in a figurative sense, that he felt the Cowboys did not really lose the game because the effort expended was its own reward. Gifford wrote that the interview attracted considerable attention, and that Meredith's forthcoming and introspective responses played a part in his selection for ABC
's Monday Night Football
telecasts three years later. Defensive tackle Bob Lilly
took a different view, telling reporters that the Cowboys were a great team except they could not win the "big one." Wide receiver Lance Rentzel later remarked that on the team plane home from Green Bay to Dallas' Love Field Airport, "not one word was spoken the entire flight."
Source:The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History of Professional Football, (1973), p. 121, Macmillan Publishing Co. New York, NY, LCCN 73-3862
and the New York Jets
staged an upset victory over the Baltimore Colts
that would bring the AFL to full legitimacy and validate the merger of the two leagues that had been agreed upon in 1966 and would be consummated in 1970
. Landry, not alone, believed that football games should never be held in weather conditions so harsh. The NFL did not award an outdoor Super Bowl to a cold-weather city for decades; the New Meadowlands Stadium
in New Jersey
is scheduled to be the first in 2014.
With Green Bay having won five NFL championships in seven years and the first two Super Bowls, Vince Lombardi retired as head coach of the Packers on February 1, 1968, but retained his position of general manager for the 1968
season.
Many Dallas players described this game as the most devastating loss of the 1966
–1970
period. Having lost this game and the 1966 title game in the waning seconds of each game, Landry was subject to criticism that he was unable to win the Big One, a stigma that persisted until Dallas won their first NFL title in the 1971
season. In the three seasons following 1967, the Cowboys suffered two upsets in the playoffs to the Cleveland Browns, then lost Super Bowl V
to the Baltimore Colts 13-16 on a last-second field goal. Schramm considered this game to be turning point to Dallas becoming America's Team because of the way the Cowboys battled back in the game.
If the Packers did not score on the final drive, Lombardi likely would not have become the iconic fixture in football that he is. Landry later remarked that on the "tundra" of Lambeau Field the better team lost, and that it was Lombardi's ability to develop character in his Packers that gave them the ability to never lose hope. Schramm believed that Lombardi's installation of the heating-coils under the playing field showed he was more concerned with sportsmanship than winning. At Lombardi's funeral mass in 1970 in New York, Terence Cardinal Cooke
gave the eulogy, based on Lombardi's favorite scripture, St. Paul's Run to Win letter to the Corinthians.
Interviewed by reporters amid the Packers' post-game celebrations, Jerry Kramer's comments about Lombardi were widely quoted later. Intimtating that past press treatments of the coach, including an unflattering 1967 Esquire
magazine piece by sportswriter Leonard Schecter were unfair, Kramer said "Many things have been said about Coach. And he is not always understood by those who quote him. The players understand. This is one beautiful man."
The synergy between Gifford and Meredith in the post-game interview prompted Roone Arledge
to team Gifford with Meredith and Howard Cosell
for the second season of Monday Night Football
in 1971
. Don Meredith would never win a championship, but he would later become more famous as an announcer for Monday Night Football
than he had been as a player. Although Landry and Lombardi were very different, they did respect each other and regarded each other as friends.
At the snap of the ball on the block, Jethro Pugh believed that Kramer had moved early. He never mentioned it for years, because he did not think it fair to make excuses. Pugh's reticence on the uncalled offsides would bring him acclaim him as a man of class. Years later, Dan Reeves
, when asked about the quarterback sneak by Starr, said it was a bad call.
A few months later, Lombardi assembled family members, friends and journalists to his home to watch The Greatest Challenge, a highlight film of the game which was produced by Ed Sabol
and his son, Steve, and narrated by John Facenda
. In the finale of the film, Facenda would say of the Green Bay Packers:
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
Championship Game between the Western Conference champion Green Bay Packers
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
and the Eastern Conference champion Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
was the 35th championship game in NFL history
History of the National Football League
The history of the National Football League has roots spanning as far back as 1892 when former Yale All-American guard William Heffelfinger was paid $500 by the Allegheny Athletic Association to play in a game against the Pittsburgh Athletic Club, making him the first ever professional football...
. The game was held at Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field
Lambeau Field is an outdoor football stadium in Green Bay, Wisconsin, the home of the NFL's Green Bay Packers. Opened in 1957 as City Stadium, it replaced the original City Stadium as the Packers' home field...
on December 31, 1967. The winner of the game was destined to meet the champion of the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
in Super Bowl II
Super Bowl II
The second AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later to be known as Super Bowl II, was played on January 14, 1968 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida....
. Due to the adverse conditions the game was played in and the game's climactic finish, it has been immortalized as the Ice Bowl and is considered one of the greatest games in NFL history.
The 1967
1967 in sports
1967 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* The first Alpine Skiing World Cup is organised for the three ski events: Downhill, Slalom and Giant Slalom:** Men's overall champion: Jean-Claude Killy, France...
game was a rematch of the 1966 NFL title game
NFL Championship Game, 1966
The 1966 National Football League Championship Game determined the NFL's champion, which would meet the AFL's champion in Super Bowl I, then formally referred to as the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The NFL Championship Game was held at the Cowboys' home stadium, the Cotton Bowl in Dallas,...
. The Packers had won two consecutive World Championships in 1965 and 1966. The game would pit two future Hall of Fame coaches against each other, Tom Landry
Tom Landry
Thomas Wade "Tom" Landry was an American football player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League history, creating many new formations and methods...
for the Cowboys and Vince Lombardi
Vince Lombardi
Vincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...
for the Packers.
Route to the NFL Championship
The future hall of fame head coach, Tom Landry, of Dallas had led his team to first place in the Capitol Division with a 9-5 record. The Green Bay Packers, and future hall of fame head coach Vince Lombardi, won the Central Division with a 9-4-1 record. In the playoffsNFL playoffs, 1967
The NFL playoffs following the 1967 NFL season culminated in the 1967 title game on New Year's Eve, and determined who would represent the league against the American Football League champions in Super Bowl II....
, the Cowboys met the Century Division champions, the Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and the Packers faced off against the Los Angeles Rams, the Coastal Division
National Football League Coastal Division
The NFL Coastal Division was one of the four divisions of the National Football League that was created prior to the 1967 season when the league realigned its existing Eastern and Western Conferences...
champions. At the Cotton Bowl
Cotton Bowl (stadium)
The Cotton Bowl is a stadium which opened in 1929 and became known as "The House That Doak Built" due to the immense crowds that former SMU running back Doak Walker drew to the stadium during his college career in the late 1940s. Originally known as Fair Park Stadium, it is located in Fair Park,...
, in a spectacular game by quarterback
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Don Meredith
Don Meredith
Joseph Don "Dandy Don" Meredith was an American football quarterback, sports commentator and actor. He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League . He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three years as a player...
, the Cowboys decimated the Browns 52-17. In the week prior to the Rams game, the fire-brand Lombardi inspired his team all week with a rendition of St. Paul's Run to Win letter to the Corinthians
First Epistle to the Corinthians
The first epistle of Paul the apostle to the Corinthians, often referred to as First Corinthians , is the seventh book of the New Testament of the Bible...
and ,in what Bart Starr would later say was Lombardi's most rousing pre-game speech, incited his team to a 28-7 victory over the Rams at Milwaukee County Stadium
Milwaukee County Stadium
Milwaukee County Stadium was a ballpark in Milwaukee, Wisconsin from 1953 to 2000. It was primarily used as a baseball stadium for the Milwaukee Braves and Brewers, but was also used for football games, ice skating, religious services, concerts and other large events...
.
Buildup
The 19671967 in sports
1967 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* The first Alpine Skiing World Cup is organised for the three ski events: Downhill, Slalom and Giant Slalom:** Men's overall champion: Jean-Claude Killy, France...
game was a rematch of the 1966 NFL title game
NFL Championship Game, 1966
The 1966 National Football League Championship Game determined the NFL's champion, which would meet the AFL's champion in Super Bowl I, then formally referred to as the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The NFL Championship Game was held at the Cowboys' home stadium, the Cotton Bowl in Dallas,...
which was held on January 1, 1967. More than two years after football had become the most popular televised sport in the nation, this game featured a match up that all of America hoped for in the NFL Championship. It was the first NFL Championship game that the Green Bay Packers ever participated in that had occurred in Green Bay.
Landry and Lombardi's path crossed in 1954 with the New York Giants when Lombardi became the offensive coordinator and Landry, the left cornerback for the Giants, took on the added role of defensive coordinator. Landry was the best defensive mind of his era and Lombardi was the best offensive coach of his era. From a personality standpoint, Landry and Lombardi were the antithesis of each other. Lombardi was a vociferously demanding coach who would respond with the greatest elation to success and tremendous sadness to the slightest setback. Landry was stoic and calm in even the most tense situations.
The Vegas betting line listed the Packers as 6 1/2 point favorites. The Cowboys would employ their vaunted Doomsday Defense, a nickname given to the defensive unit by a Dallas journalist because it had been successful at making goal-line stands. The eight year-old Dallas franchise was trying to win its first ever world championship. The Packers were on a quest to achieve what had never been done before—three consecutive world championships. To the game, Green Bay brought its renowned Lombardi sweep and the Cowboys brought a defensive scheme, The Flex, which was specifically designed by Landry to stop the running to daylight tactic the Packers employed in their sweep. Although the Packers and the Chicago Bears were arch-rivals, Lombardi most passionate game planning was in preparing for Landry's Flex.
Saturday, on the eve of the game, NFL Pete Rozelle called Jim Kensil and Don Weiss, the executive directors of the NFL, for an update on the weather conditions. It is suspected that they informed him that Sunday's game time temperature of about 5°F was playable . Rozelle, who in June 1966 had seen to it that the AFL-NFL Championship game would always been held in a warm weather city, inquired if the game could be postponed until Monday. Predictions held Monday would be even colder than Sunday and the game was not postponed. Little did they know that the cold front would be far colder and would arrive much sooner than expected. The Packers, who had for years eschewed late home season games because of the cold winters, would play host to the Cowboys in a game that would mark the coldest New Year's Eve in the history of Green Bay and the coldest title game in the history of the NFL, a record that still stands.
David Maraniss
David Maraniss
David Maraniss is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author. As a reporter for The Washington Post he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for his stories about the life and career of candidate Bill Clinton in the 1992 campaign for the U.S...
recounts in his 1999 Vince Lombardi autobiography When Pride Still Mattered that Packer safety Willie Wood left his home Sunday morning to find that his car's battery was frozen and dead. When a local service-station attendant was summoned to start the car, Wood told him "It's just too cold to play. They're going to call this game off."
Weather
The game-time temperature was about −15°F / −26°C, with a wind chillWind chill
Wind chill is the felt air temperature on exposed skin due to wind. The wind chill temperature is always lower than the air temperature, and the windchill is undefined at the higher temps...
around −48°F / −44°C. Lambeau Field's turf-heating system malfunctioned, which left the playing surface as smooth as ice. The heating system, made by General Electric, cost $80,000 and was bought from the nephew of George Halas
George Halas
George Stanley Halas, Sr. , nicknamed "Papa Bear" and "Mr. Everything", was a player, coach, owner and pioneer in professional American football. He was the iconic longtime leader of the NFL's Chicago Bears...
, George Halas Jr. On the sidelines before the game, some Dallas players believed that Lombardi had purposely removed power to the heating coils. The heating system would eventually be given the moniker Lombardi's Folly.
The University of Wisconsin–La Crosse (then Wisconsin State University–La Crosse) Marching Chiefs band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
were scheduled to perform the pre-game and half-time shows. However, during warm-ups in the brutal cold, the woodwind instrument
Woodwind instrument
A woodwind instrument is a musical instrument which produces sound when the player blows air against a sharp edge or through a reed, causing the air within its resonator to vibrate...
s froze and would not play; the mouthpieces of brass instrument
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
s got stuck to the players' lips; and seven members of the band were transported to local hospitals for hypothermia
Hypothermia
Hypothermia is a condition in which core temperature drops below the required temperature for normal metabolism and body functions which is defined as . Body temperature is usually maintained near a constant level of through biologic homeostasis or thermoregulation...
. The band's further performances were canceled for the day. During the game, an elderly spectator in the stands died from exposure http://www.jsonline.com/sports/packers/29416834.html
Prior to the game, many of the Green Bay players were unable to start their cars in the freezing weather, forcing them to make alternate travel arrangements to make it to the stadium on time. Linebacker Dave Robinson had to flag down a random passing motorist for a ride. The referees for the game found they did not have sufficient clothing for the cold, and had to make an early trip to a sporting goods store for earmuffs, heavy gloves, and thermal underwear.http://www.hulu.com/watch/123940/greatest-games-1967-the-ice-bowl#s-p4-so-i0
The officials were unable to use their whistles after the opening kick-off. As referee Norm Schachter blew his metal whistle to signal the start of play, it froze to his lips. As he attempted to free the whistle from his lips, the skin ripped off and his lips began to bleed. The conditions were so hostile that instead of forming a scab, the blood simply froze to his lip. For the rest of the game, the officials used voice commands and calls to end plays and officiate the game. At one point during the game, CBS announcer Frank Gifford
Frank Gifford
Francis Newton "Frank" Gifford is a Hall of Fame former American football player and American sportscaster.-Early life:Gifford was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Lola Mae and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller....
said on air, "I'm going to take a bite of my coffee."
The prior convention to prevent the football field from icing up was to cover the field with dozens of tons of hay.
Media
The game was televised by CBSNFL on CBS
The NFL on CBS is the brand name of the CBS television network's coverage of the National Football League's American Football Conference games, produced by CBS Sports.-Market coverage and television policies:...
, with play by play being done by Ray Scott
Ray Scott (sportscaster)
Ray Scott , was an American sportscaster, best known for his broadcasts for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League. His brother Hal Scott was also a sportscaster.-Early life and career:Scott began his broadcasting career on local radio in the late 1930s...
, for the first half, Jack Buck
Jack Buck
John Francis "Jack" Buck was an American sportscaster, best known for his work announcing Major League Baseball games of the St. Louis Cardinals. Buck received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1987, and is honored with a star on the St. Louis Walk of Fame...
for the second half, and Frank Gifford
Frank Gifford
Francis Newton "Frank" Gifford is a Hall of Fame former American football player and American sportscaster.-Early life:Gifford was born in Santa Monica, California, the son of Lola Mae and Weldon Gifford, an oil driller....
would do the color commentary for the entire game. Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier
Tom Brookshier
Thomas Jefferson "Tom" Brookshier was an American professional football player, coach and sportscaster. He was a starting defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles for seven seasons from 1953 to 1961...
did the commentary.
Two of the four members of the broadcast team for CBS, Frank Gifford and Pat Summerall, were intimately aware of the personality differences that existed between Landry and Lombardi because they had both played on the New York Giants during Landry's and Lombardi's tenure at the Giants. Over 30 million people would tune in to watch the game.
Action
Aided by two Dallas penalties and a 17-yard reception from Donny AndersonDonny Anderson
Garry Don "Donny" Anderson is a former professional American football player who played nine years in the National Football League...
, Green Bay opened up the scoring with an 83-yard, 16-play drive that took nearly 9 minutes off the clock. Bart Starr
Bart Starr
Bryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr is a former professional American football player and coach. Wearing #15, he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971 and head coach from 1975 to 1983, compiling a record of 52–76–3 ....
finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown pass to Boyd Dowler
Boyd Dowler
Boyd Hamilton Dowler is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League who played twelve seasons for the Green Bay Packers and Washington Redskins from 1959 to 1971...
, giving the team a 7-0 first quarter lead. Green Bay's defense quickly forced a punt, and their offense stormed back for another score, this time driving 65 yards in just three plays. After a 13-yard run by Ben Wilson
Ben Wilson (American football)
Benjamin Ivery Wilson is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League.-Pro career:...
and a 6-yard run by Travis Williams
Travis Williams (running back)
Travis Williams was an American football player for the Green Bay Packers. Williams, drafted at the insistence of Packers' coach Vince Lombardi, returned four kickoffs for touchdowns in his rookie season in 1967, setting an NFL record. Among the returns were two in one game against the Cleveland...
, Starr threw a 46-yard touchdown pass to Dowler, making the score 14-0. Then on the second play of the Cowboys ensuing drive, defensive back Herb Adderly intercepted Don Meredith
Don Meredith
Joseph Don "Dandy Don" Meredith was an American football quarterback, sports commentator and actor. He spent all nine seasons of his professional playing career with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League . He was named to the Pro Bowl in each of his last three years as a player...
's pass and returned it 15 yards to the Dallas 32. But after a run for no gain and an incompletion, Cowboys linaman George Andrie
George Andrie
George Joseph Andrie is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League. Andrie prepped at Catholic Central High School.-College career:...
sacked Starr for a 10-yard loss, pushing Green Bay out of field goal range.
Dallas' offense went the entire second quarter without gaining a first down, but Green Bay committed two costly turnovers that led to 10 Dallas points. First, Starr lost a fumble while being sacked by Cowboys lineman Willie Townes
Willie Townes
Willie Carroll Townes is a former professional American football defensive end in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1966 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Tulsa.-Early years:Willie Townes was born on July 21, 1943...
. Andrie recovered the ball and returned it 7 yards for a touchdown, cutting the lead in half. Then, with time almost out in the second quarter, Packers safety Willie Wood fumbled a Dallas punt after calling for a fair catch, and Cowboys rookie defensive back Phil Clark
Phil Clark (American football)
Phil Clark is a former professional American football defensive back in the National Football League. He was born in Burlington, Kentucky. He played college football at Northwestern University...
recovered the ball at the Green Bay 17-yard line. The Packers were able to keep Dallas out of the end zone, but kicker Danny Villanueva
Danny Villanueva
Daniel Dario Villanueva is a former American football placekicker and punter in the National Football League for the Los Angeles Rams and the Dallas Cowboys. Villanueva, who was of Mexican American descent, played college football at New Mexico State University....
kicked a 21-yard field goal to cut the deficit to 14-10 by halftime.
In the third quarter, the Cowboys finally managed to get sustained drive going, moving the ball to the Green Bay 18-yard line. But Packers linebacker Lee Roy Caffey
Lee Roy Caffey
Lee Roy Caffey was an American football linebacker in the National Football League.He played college football at Texas A&M University where he led the Aggies in rushing with 371 yards in 1961. He played on the 1963 College All Star Football Team and in the 1963 Challenge Bowl and is a member of...
ended the drive by forcing a fumble from Meredith that was recovered by Adderly. Then after a Packers punt, Dallas once again got moving with a drive to the Green Bay-30 yard line. But once again they failed to score as Caffey sacked Meredith for a 9-yard loss on third down and Villanueva's missed a 47-yard field goal attempt.
On the first play of the final quarter, the Cowboys took a 17-14 lead with running back Dan Reeves
Dan Reeves
Daniel Edward Reeves is a former American football player and head coach. He has participated in more Super Bowls as player/assistant coach/Head Coach than anyone else...
' 50-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Lance Rentzel
Lance Rentzel
Thomas Lance Rentzel is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys and the Los Angeles Rams from 1965 to 1974.-Early years:...
on a halfback option play
Halfback option play
The halfback option play is an unorthodox play in American football. It resembles a normal running play, but the running back has the option to throw a pass to a wide receiver or tight end before crossing the line of scrimmage....
.
Later in the quarter, a 15-yard facemask penalty on Dallas rookie Dick Daniels during a Wood punt return gave Green Bay the ball on the Cowboys 47-yard line. The Packers then drove into scoring range and had a chance to tie the game, but kicker Don Chandler
Don Chandler
Donald Gene "Don" Chandler was an American college and professional football player who was a punter and placekicker in the National Football League for twelve seasons in the 1950s and 1960s...
missed a 40-yard field goal attempt.
With just over 5 minutes remaining, Villanueva punted the ball deep into Packer territory, and Wood returned it nine yards before being brought down at the Packers own 32 yard line.
The Drive
In what could be their last offensive drive, the Packers took over possession with 4:50 left in the game. The wind chill around −70°F / −57°C, (or −50°F / −46°C) Starr led his team down the field with three key completions: a 13-yard pass to Dowler, a 12-yarder to running back Donny AndersonDonny Anderson
Garry Don "Donny" Anderson is a former professional American football player who played nine years in the National Football League...
, and a 19-yard throw to fullback Chuck Mercein
Chuck Mercein
Charles Schley Mercein is a former professional American football running back in the National Football League for six seasons for the New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, Washington Redskins and New York Jets...
. Then Mercein ran 8 yards to a first down on the Cowboys' 3-yard line on the next play. Twice Anderson attempted to run the ball into the end zone, but both times he was tackled at the 1-yard line, the second time after his footing failed on the icy field. By then the thermometer read twenty below zero.
The block
On third-and-goal at the Dallas two-foot line with 16 seconds remaining, Starr called the Packers' final timeout to confer with Lombardi. Starr immediately asked right guard
Guard (American football)
In American and Canadian football, a guard is a player that lines up between the center and the tackles on the offensive line of a football team....
Jerry Kramer
Jerry Kramer
Gerald Louis "Jerry" Kramer is a former professional football player, author and sports commentator, best remembered for his 11-year NFL career with the Green Bay Packers as an offensive lineman...
whether he could get enough traction on the icy turf for a wedge play, and Kramer responded with an unequivocal yes.
Summerall told the rest of CBS crew to get ready for a roll-out pass, because without any timeouts remaining a failed run play would end the game. Landry expected a pass attempt because an incompletion would stop the clock and allow the Packers one more play on fourth down, either for a touchdown (to win) or a field goal attempt (to tie and send the game into overtime). But Green Bay's pass protection on the slick field had been seriously tested during the game; the Cowboys had sacked Starr eight times.
On the sidelines, Starr told Lombardi he wanted to run a 31 wedge, but with him keeping the ball, rather than handing off to the fullback. Lombardi told Starr to "Run it, and let's get the hell out of here!" Lombardi was asked by Pat Peppler
Pat Peppler
Albert Patterson Peppler is a former football coach and executive who worked for teams that won five National Football League titles...
what play Starr would call, to which Lombardi replied, "Damned if I know." Starr returned to the huddle and called a Brown right 31 Wedge, but with him keeping the ball. and Kramer and center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
Ken Bowman
Ken Bowman
Kenneth Brian Bowman was a center in the National Football League for the Green Bay Packers. Bowman was the center during the winning play of the Ice Bowl in which Bart Starr scored the winning touchdown. Bowman attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
executed a post-drive block (double-team) on left defensive tackle Jethro Pugh
Jethro Pugh
Jethro Pugh, Jr. is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys.-College career:...
as Starr crossed the goal line for a 20-17 lead.
Conclusion
Don ChandlerDon Chandler
Donald Gene "Don" Chandler was an American college and professional football player who was a punter and placekicker in the National Football League for twelve seasons in the 1950s and 1960s...
kicked the extra point to make the score 21-17. Dallas downed the kickoff in their end zone, and after two Dallas incompletions the game was over. At the conclusion of the game, jubilant Packer fans streamed onto the field knocking over Packer and Cowboy players alike.
Aftermath
Emotionally, both the Packers and Cowboy players were spent. The players physically appeared as they had cheated death. In the Packer locker room, the players openly wept. Kramer told interviewers "Many things have been said about Coach (Lombardi). And he is not always understood by those who quote him. The players understand. This is one beautiful man." Packers LinebackerLinebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
Ray Nitschke
Ray Nitschke
Raymond Ernest "Ray" Nitschke was a professional football player who played his entire career as a middle linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the NFL. Wearing #66, he played fifteen seasons, from 1958-72....
developed frostbite
Frostbite
Frostbite is the medical condition where localized damage is caused to skin and other tissues due to extreme cold. Frostbite is most likely to happen in body parts farthest from the heart and those with large exposed areas...
in his feet, causing his toenails to fall off and his toes to turn purple. Bart Starr had frostbite on his fingers and several Packer players were suffering flu like symptoms. Cowboys, George Andrie
George Andrie
George Joseph Andrie is a former American football defensive end in the National Football League. Andrie prepped at Catholic Central High School.-College career:...
, Willie Townes
Willie Townes
Willie Carroll Townes is a former professional American football defensive end in the National Football League. He was drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in the second round of the 1966 NFL Draft. He played college football at the University of Tulsa.-Early years:Willie Townes was born on July 21, 1943...
, and Dick Daniels also suffered frostbite from the game.
The furthest thing from Starr's mind was the thought of playing in Super Bowl II
Super Bowl II
The second AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, later to be known as Super Bowl II, was played on January 14, 1968 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida....
. To him, this was their Super Bowl. Green Bay went on to finish the postseason by easily defeating the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
(AFL) champion Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in Super Bowl II.
Brookshier and journalists went into the winning locker room for post-game interviews. At some point, journalists had become aware of the significance of the block Kramer and Bowman had placed on Pugh. Of the eleven cameras Ed and Steve Sabol set up to film the game, Camera Five had become frozen by the time Starr's sneak occurred. This particular camera was fortuitously positioned to offer a perfect view of the block. CBS had been replaying the block repeatedly and had been giving the TV audience a detailed perspective of the workings of the offensive and defensive line. Kramer, understanding this, claimed a significant portion of the spotlight for himself; he was more than happy to serve as a prime example of the idea that an unheralded member of "the trenches" was now in the national spotlight. By coincidence, Kramer had been keeping a written diary of the 1967 season that was to be made into a book co-written by sports journalist Dick Schaap
Dick Schaap
Richard Jay Schaap was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author.-Early life and education:...
; the book, titled Instant Replay: The Green Bay Diary of Jerry Kramer, was published in the fall of 1968, and it used the game, the play, and the block as a focal point.
Frank Gifford recounted in his 1993 autobiography The Whole Ten Yards that he requested and received permission from CBS producers to go into the losing locker room for on-air post-game interviews—a practice unheard of in that era. Gifford, as a New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
player and as a broadcaster, already enjoyed a friendship with Meredith, and he approached the quarterback for his thoughts on the game. The exhausted Meredith, in an emotion-choked voice, expressed pride in his teammates's play, and said, in a figurative sense, that he felt the Cowboys did not really lose the game because the effort expended was its own reward. Gifford wrote that the interview attracted considerable attention, and that Meredith's forthcoming and introspective responses played a part in his selection for ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
's Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
telecasts three years later. Defensive tackle Bob Lilly
Bob Lilly
Robert Lewis Lilly is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League and photographer. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.-College career:...
took a different view, telling reporters that the Cowboys were a great team except they could not win the "big one." Wide receiver Lance Rentzel later remarked that on the team plane home from Green Bay to Dallas' Love Field Airport, "not one word was spoken the entire flight."
Final statistics
Scoring- GB - Boyd Dowler 8 yard pass from Bart Starr (Don Chandler kick) 7-0 GB
- GB - Boyd Dowler 46 yard pass from Bart Starr (Don Chandler kick) 14-0 GB
- DAL - George Andrie 7 yard fumble return (Danny Villanueva kick) 14-7 GB
- DAL - FG Danny Villanueva 21 yards 14-10 GB
- DAL - Lance Rentzel 50 yard pass from Dan Reeves (Danny Villanueva kick) 17-14 DAL
- GB - Bart Starr 1 yard run (Don Chandler kick) 21-17 GB
Source:The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History of Professional Football, (1973), p. 121, Macmillan Publishing Co. New York, NY, LCCN 73-3862
Statistical comparison
| Dallas Cowboys | Green Bay Packers | |
|---|---|---|
| First downs | 11 | 18 |
| First downs rushing | 4 | 5 |
| First downs passing | 6 | 10 |
| First downs penalty | 1 | 3 |
| Total yards | 192 | 195 |
| Passing yards | 100 | 115 |
| Passing – Completions-attempts | 11-26 | 14-24 |
| Passing – Yards per attempt | 3.8 | 4.8 |
| Interceptions-return yards | 0-0 | 1-15 |
| Rushing yards | 92 | 80 |
| Rushing attempts | 33 | 32 |
| Yards per rush | 2.8 | 2.5 |
| Penalties-yards | 7-58 | 2-10 |
| Fumbles-lost | 3-1 | 3-2 |
| Punts-Average | 8-39.1 | 8-28.8 |
Legacy
The game was the end of an era and the beginning of another. This would be the last year the NFL championship game was considered more important than the Super Bowl, for in the following year Joe NamathJoe Namath
Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
and the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
staged an upset victory over the Baltimore Colts
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
that would bring the AFL to full legitimacy and validate the merger of the two leagues that had been agreed upon in 1966 and would be consummated in 1970
1970 NFL season
The 1970 NFL season was the 51st regular season of the National Football League, and the first one after the AFL-NFL Merger.The merger forced a realignment between the combined league's clubs. Because there were 16 NFL teams and 10 AFL teams, three teams needed to transfer to balance the two new...
. Landry, not alone, believed that football games should never be held in weather conditions so harsh. The NFL did not award an outdoor Super Bowl to a cold-weather city for decades; the New Meadowlands Stadium
New Meadowlands Stadium
MetLife Stadium is a stadium in the New York City Metropolitan Area, part of the MetLife Sports Complex, in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It is the home of the New York Giants and New York Jets of the National Football League and is adjacent to the site of the former Giants Stadium, which was home...
in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
is scheduled to be the first in 2014.
With Green Bay having won five NFL championships in seven years and the first two Super Bowls, Vince Lombardi retired as head coach of the Packers on February 1, 1968, but retained his position of general manager for the 1968
1968 Green Bay Packers season
The 1968 Green Bay Packers season was their 50th overall and the 48th as members of the National Football League. The club posted a 6-7-1 record under first-year head coach Phil Bengston, earning them a third-place finish in the NFC Central division. It was also the Packers' first losing season...
season.
Many Dallas players described this game as the most devastating loss of the 1966
1966 Dallas Cowboys season
The 1966 Dallas Cowboys season was the seventh for the franchise in the National Football League. It involved the 10–3–1 Cowboys qualifying for the NFL post-season for the second time in franchise history, by winning the NFL Eastern Conference title, before losing the NFL Championship Game to the...
–1970
1970 Dallas Cowboys season
The 1970 Dallas Cowboys season was their 11th in the NFL. The club scored 299 points and allowed 221 points. For the fifth consecutive season, the Cowboys finished first in their division. In 1970, the club made its debut on Monday Night Football. The Cowboys lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 38–0...
period. Having lost this game and the 1966 title game in the waning seconds of each game, Landry was subject to criticism that he was unable to win the Big One, a stigma that persisted until Dallas won their first NFL title in the 1971
1971 Dallas Cowboys season
The 1971 Dallas Cowboys season was their 12th in the NFL. The club led the NFL with 406 points scored. Their defense allowed 222 points. For the sixth consecutive seasons, the Cowboys had a first place finish. The Cowboys made it to their second consecutive Super Bowl and beat the Miami Dolphins to...
season. In the three seasons following 1967, the Cowboys suffered two upsets in the playoffs to the Cleveland Browns, then lost Super Bowl V
Super Bowl V
Super Bowl V was an American football game played on January 17, 1971, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, to decide the National Football League champion following the 1970 regular season...
to the Baltimore Colts 13-16 on a last-second field goal. Schramm considered this game to be turning point to Dallas becoming America's Team because of the way the Cowboys battled back in the game.
If the Packers did not score on the final drive, Lombardi likely would not have become the iconic fixture in football that he is. Landry later remarked that on the "tundra" of Lambeau Field the better team lost, and that it was Lombardi's ability to develop character in his Packers that gave them the ability to never lose hope. Schramm believed that Lombardi's installation of the heating-coils under the playing field showed he was more concerned with sportsmanship than winning. At Lombardi's funeral mass in 1970 in New York, Terence Cardinal Cooke
Terence Cardinal Cooke
Terence James Cooke was an American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of New York from 1968 until his death, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1969.-Early life and education:...
gave the eulogy, based on Lombardi's favorite scripture, St. Paul's Run to Win letter to the Corinthians.
Interviewed by reporters amid the Packers' post-game celebrations, Jerry Kramer's comments about Lombardi were widely quoted later. Intimtating that past press treatments of the coach, including an unflattering 1967 Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
magazine piece by sportswriter Leonard Schecter were unfair, Kramer said "Many things have been said about Coach. And he is not always understood by those who quote him. The players understand. This is one beautiful man."
The synergy between Gifford and Meredith in the post-game interview prompted Roone Arledge
Roone Arledge
Roone Pickney Arledge, Jr. was an American sports broadcasting pioneer who was chairman of ABC News from 1977 until several years before his death, and a key part of the company's rise to competition with the two other main television networks, NBC and CBS, in the 1960s, '70s, and '80s.-Early...
to team Gifford with Meredith and Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
for the second season of Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
in 1971
1971 NFL season
The 1971 NFL season was the 52nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl VI when the Dallas Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins...
. Don Meredith would never win a championship, but he would later become more famous as an announcer for Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football
Monday Night Football is a live broadcast of the National Football League on ESPN. From to it aired on ABC. Monday Night Football was, along with Hallmark Hall of Fame, and the Walt Disney anthology television series, one of the longest running prime time commercial network television series...
than he had been as a player. Although Landry and Lombardi were very different, they did respect each other and regarded each other as friends.
At the snap of the ball on the block, Jethro Pugh believed that Kramer had moved early. He never mentioned it for years, because he did not think it fair to make excuses. Pugh's reticence on the uncalled offsides would bring him acclaim him as a man of class. Years later, Dan Reeves
Dan Reeves
Daniel Edward Reeves is a former American football player and head coach. He has participated in more Super Bowls as player/assistant coach/Head Coach than anyone else...
, when asked about the quarterback sneak by Starr, said it was a bad call.
A few months later, Lombardi assembled family members, friends and journalists to his home to watch The Greatest Challenge, a highlight film of the game which was produced by Ed Sabol
Ed Sabol
Edward "Ed" Sabol is an American filmmaker and the founder of NFL Films. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2011 as a contributor due to his works with NFL Films....
and his son, Steve, and narrated by John Facenda
John Facenda
John Thomas Ralph Augustine James Facenda was an American broadcaster and sports announcer. He was a fixture on Philadelphia radio and television for decades, and achieved national fame as a narrator for NFL Films and Football Follies...
. In the finale of the film, Facenda would say of the Green Bay Packers:
Cowboys
- Tex SchrammTex SchrammTexas Earnest "Tex" Schramm, Jr. was the original president and general manager of the National Football League's Dallas Cowboys franchise. Schramm became the head of the Cowboys when the former expansion team started operations in 1960.-Early life and career:Despite his name, Schramm was not born...
(GM) - Tom LandryTom LandryThomas Wade "Tom" Landry was an American football player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League history, creating many new formations and methods...
(coach) - Bob LillyBob LillyRobert Lewis Lilly is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League and photographer. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980.-College career:...
(defensive lineman) - Mel RenfroMel RenfroMelvin Lacy "Mel" Renfro is a former American football defensive back in the National Football League who spent his entire fourteen-year career with the Dallas Cowboys.-High school:...
(defensive back) - Rayfield WrightRayfield WrightLarry Rayfield Wright is a former American football offensive tackle for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League and a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.-High school and college years:...
(offensive lineman) - Bob HayesBob HayesRobert Lee "Bullet Bob" Hayes was an Olympic sprinter turned American football wide receiver in the National Football League for the Dallas Cowboys. An American track and field athlete, he was a two-sport stand-out in college in both track and football at Florida A&M University...
(wide receiver)
Packers
- Vince LombardiVince LombardiVincent Thomas "Vince" Lombardi was an American football coach. He is best known as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers during the 1960s, where he led the team to three straight league championships and five in seven years, including winning the first two Super Bowls following the 1966 and...
(coach) - Bart StarrBart StarrBryan Bartlett "Bart" Starr is a former professional American football player and coach. Wearing #15, he was the quarterback for the Green Bay Packers from 1956 to 1971 and head coach from 1975 to 1983, compiling a record of 52–76–3 ....
(quarterback) - Forrest GreggForrest GreggAlvis Forrest Gregg is a former American football player and coach in the National Football League. During a Pro Football Hall of Fame playing career, he was a part of six championships, five of them with the Green Bay Packers before closing out his tenure with the Dallas Cowboys with a win in...
(offensive lineman) - Willie Wood (defensive back)
- Willie Davis (defensive lineman)
- Ray NitschkeRay NitschkeRaymond Ernest "Ray" Nitschke was a professional football player who played his entire career as a middle linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the NFL. Wearing #66, he played fifteen seasons, from 1958-72....
(linebacker) - Henry JordanHenry JordanHenry Wendell Jordan was an American football defensive tackle who played for two teams, the Green Bay Packers and the Cleveland Browns, during his thirteen-year National Football League career. He played in the NFL from 1957 to 1969.Jordan attended Warwick High School in Newport News, Virginia...
(defensive lineman) - Herb AdderleyHerb AdderleyHerbert Allen Adderley is a former American football cornerback who played for the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League....
(cornerback)
Sources
- Claerbaut, David (2004), Bart Starr: When Leadership Mattered, Lanham, MD: Taylor Trade Publishing ISBN 1-58979-117-7
- Davis, Jeff (2008), Rozelle: Czar of the NFL. New York: McGraw-Hill ISBN 0-07-159352-
- Eisenberg, John (2009), That First Season:: How Vince Lombardi Took the Worst Team in the NFL and Set It on the Path to Glory. New York: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
- Flynn, George L. (1976). The Vince Lombardi Scrapbook. New York: Grosset and Dunlap ISBN 0-448-12401-7
- Gifford, Frank and Richmond, Peter (2008), The Glory Game:How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever. New York:Harper Collins ISBN 978-0-06-171659-1
- Gruver, Ed. (1997). The Ice Bowl: The Cold Truth About Football's Most Unforgettable Game. Ithaca, NY: McBooks Press. ISBN 0-935526-38-2
- Gruver, Edward (2002). Nitschke. Lanham, MD.: Taylor Trade Publishing. ISBN 1-58979-127-4
- Kramer, Jerry, and Schapp, Dick (2006), Instant Replay, The Green Bay Diary of Jerry Kramer. New York: Doubleday ISBN 0385517459 ISBN 978-0385517454 (eISBN 978-0-307-48632-5)
- MacCambridge, Michael (2004, 2005), America's Game. New York: Anchor Books ISBN 978-0-307-48143-6
- When Pride Still Mattered, A Life of Vince Lombardi, by David Maraniss, 1999, (ISBN 0-684-84418-4)
- O'Brien, Michael (1987), Vince: A Personal Biography of Vince Lombardi. New York: William Morrow and Company, Inc. ISBN 0-688-07406-6
- Phillips, Donald T. (2001), Run to Win. New York: St. Martin's Griffin. ISBN 0-312-27298-7 (hc)
- Shropshire, Mike. (1997). The Ice Bowl. New York: Donald I. Fine Books. ISBN 1-55611-532-6
- St. John, Bob (2000). Landry: The Legend and the Legacy. Nashville: Word Publishing ISBN 0-8499-1670-4
Further reading
- Cameron, Steve. (1993). The Packers!. Dallas, TX: Taylor Publishing. ISBN 0-87833-048-8
- Gifford, Frank and Richmond, Peter (2008), The Glory Game:How the 1958 NFL Championship Changed Football Forever. New York: Harper Collins. eISBN 978-0-06-171659-1
- Summerall, Pat and Levin, Michael (2010), Giants:What I learned about life from Vince Lombardi and Tom Landry, Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley and Sons, Inc. eISBN 978-0-470-90908-9
External links
- Pro Football Hall of Fame's description of the game
- ESPN's list of greatest NFL games, includes the Ice Bowl
- WTMJ retrospective of the game with highlights from the original radio broadcast