Playoff Bowl - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Playoff Bowl was a post-season game for third place

Third place playoff

The third place playoff is a single match that is included in many sporting knockout tournaments to decide which competitor or team will be credited with finishing third and fourth. The teams that compete in the third place playoffs are usually the two losing semi-finalists in a particular...

in the NFL

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...

, played ten times following the -69

1969 NFL season

The 1969 NFL season was the 50th regular season of the National Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger. To honor the NFL's 50th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season.As per the...

seasons. Bell

Bert Bell

De Benneville "Bert" Bell was the National Football League commissioner from 1946 until his death in 1959. As commissioner, he helped chart a path for the NFL to facilitate its rise in becoming the most popular sports attraction in the United States...

was a co-founder of the Philadelphia Eagles

Philadelphia Eagles

The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

as well as a co-owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers

Pittsburgh Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...

during much of the 1940s. He was the commissioner of the NFL

National Football League

from until his death in October , which occurred while attending an Eagles

1959 Philadelphia Eagles season

The 1959 Philadelphia Eagles season was their 27th in the league. They improved on their previous output of 2–9–1, winning seven games. The team failed to qualify for the playoffs for the tenth consecutive season.-Off Season:...

-Steelers

1959 Pittsburgh Steelers season

-Schedule:- Week 1 : Cleveland Browns :at Forbes Field, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania* Game time:* Game weather:* Game attendance: 33,844* Referee:* TV announcers:Scoring drives:...

game.

Locations

All ten games in the Playoff Bowl series were contested at the Orange Bowl

Miami Orange Bowl

The Orange Bowl, formerly Burdine Stadium, was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the home stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team...

in Miami

Miami, Florida

Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...

. The games were played in January, the week following the NFL championship game (and the collegiate Orange Bowl game on New Year's Day). The NFL's

National Football League

Pro Bowl

In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...

(all-star

All-star

All-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...

game) was played the week after the Playoff Bowl.

History

After the 1959 season, NFL owners faced competition from the newly formed 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...

and wanted a vehicle through which to showcase more of its supposedly superior NFL professional football product on television. At the time, unlike the AFL, which had a contract with ABC-TV for nationally televised games, often double-headers, few NFL games were televised during the season and there was only one scheduled post-season game, the NFL Championship Game. The Playoff Bowl was devised to match the second-place teams from the NFL's two conferences (Eastern & Western). This doubled from two to four the number of top NFL teams appearing in post-season play on national television.

The 1966 season required another game following the American Football League

American Football League

Championship Game and the NFL Championship Game, the first of four AFL-NFL World Championship Game

Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...

s between the champions of the two major Professional Football

Professional football

In the United States and Canada, the term professional football includes the professional forms of American and Canadian gridiron football. In common usage, it refers to former and existing major football leagues in either country...

leagues for the undisputed championship. The establishment of the AFL-NFL World Championship Game (Super Bowl was not its official name until Super Bowl III

Super Bowl III

Super Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...

) was the first phase of the AFL-NFL merger

AFL-NFL Merger

The AFL–NFL merger of 1970 was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League and the American Football League...

of June 1966. This new mega-game between the rival leagues was played in mid-January at a warm weather location, two weeks after the championship games for each league. The NFL's Playoff Bowl was played during the idle week, and because of the major-league status of the AFL, interest in the game was waning.

In the season, the NFL expanded to 16 teams and four scheduled post-season contests. The NFL sub-divided its two conferences (now 8 teams each) into two divisions of four teams each: The Capitol and Century divisions in the Eastern conference, and the Central & Coastal divisions in the Western conference. The four division winners advanced to the post-season, competing for their conference titles in the first round of the NFL playoffs. The winners (conference champions) advanced to the NFL championship game, the losers (conference runners-up) appeared in the Playoff Bowl to vie for third place. For the three seasons (-69

1969 NFL season

) preceding the merger with the AFL

American Football League

, the loser of the NFL's third place game ended up with a peculiar record of 0-2 for that post-season.

The end of the Playoff Bowl

When the merger was completed for the season, there was discussion about continuing the Playoff Bowl, with the losers of the AFC

American Football Conference

The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....

and NFC

National Football Conference

The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL.-Current teams:Since 2002, the NFC has comprised 16 teams,...

Championship Games playing each other during the idle week before the Super Bowl

Super Bowl

. There were now seven post-season games in the NFL (three for each conference, plus the Super Bowl), and the Pro Bowl

Pro Bowl

all-star game. A "loser's game" was not necessarily attractive for the league, and the Playoff Bowl came to an end.

Official status

Although the ten Playoff Bowls were official third place playoff

Third place playoff

games at the time they were played, the NFL currently classifies them as exhibition games, and does not include them in the official results (or statistics) for the post-season.

Criticism

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...

detested the Playoff Bowl, coaching in the games following the and seasons, after winning NFL titles in and 1962

1962 NFL season

The 1962 NFL season was the 43rd regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, CBS signed a contract with the league to televise all regular-season games for a $4.65 million annual fee....

. To his players, Lombardi called the Playoff Bowl "the 'Shit Bowl', ...a losers' bowl for losers." This lack of motivation may explain his 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...

' rare postseason defeat in the 1964 game (January 1965) to the St. Louis Cardinals

Arizona Cardinals

The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...

. After that loss, he fumed about "a hinky-dink football game, held in a hinky-dink town, played by hinky-dink players. That's all second place is – hinky dink."

Using the Playoff Bowl (and loss) as motivation in , the Packers won the first of three consecutive NFL championships from -67

1967 NFL season

The 1967 NFL season was the 48th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 16 teams with the addition of the New Orleans Saints. The league's teams were realigned into four divisions: the Capitol and Century Divisions in the Eastern Conference, and the Central and...

. As of 2010, the Packers are the only NFL team ever to achieve this "three-peat

Three-peat

Three-peat is a contraction of the words three and repeat, which has been trademarked for commercial use by retired basketball coach Pat Riley; the active trademarks in force are registered under numbers 1552980, 1878690, and 1886018...

" in the post-season era (which began in ). During this successful run, the Packers also won the first two Super Bowl

Super Bowl

s in convincing fashion. In an ironic twist, Lombardi's final game (and victory) as head coach

Head coach

A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches...

of the Packers

Green Bay Packers

was 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....

, played in "rinky-dink" Miami's

Miami, Florida

Orange Bowl

Miami Orange Bowl

in January 1968.

All-Pro

Pro Bowl

defensive tackle

Tackle (American football)

Tackle is a playing position in American and Canadian football. Historically, in the one-platoon system a tackle played on both offense and defense. In the modern system of specialized units, offensive tackle and defensive tackle are separate positions....

Roger Brown appeared in five Playoff Bowls, the most by any player, and was on the winning side each time (Detroit Lions

Detroit Lions

The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...

, 1960–61–62; Los Angeles Rams

St. Louis Rams

The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...

, 1967, 1969). He said playing in those seemingly meaningless contests was like having "the worst inferiority complex

Inferiority complex

An inferiority complex, in the fields of psychology and psychoanalysis, is a feeling that one is inferior to others in some way. Such feelings can arise from an imagined or actual inferiority in the afflicted person...

." He added, "I was in five of them, and to have played in it five in the ten years it was in existence is pitiful."

Legacy

One vestige of the Playoff Bowl remained through the 2008 season in that the head coaches of the losing teams from the conference championship games were the head coaches of their conferences' Pro Bowl

Pro Bowl

teams. From 1980 to 2009, this all-star

All-star

game has been played at Aloha Stadium

Aloha Stadium

Aloha Stadium is a stadium located in the Halawa CDP, City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii, United States. Currently Aloha Stadium is home to the University of Hawaii Warriors football team...

in Honolulu the Sunday following the Super Bowl

Super Bowl

. However, in 2010

2010 Pro Bowl

The 2010 AFC–NFC Pro Bowl was the NFL's all-star game for the 2009 season. It took place at 8:00 PM EST on Sunday, January 31, 2010, at Sun Life Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, the home stadium of the Miami Dolphins and host site of Super Bowl XLIV...

, the Pro Bowl moved to Miami, just as the Playoff Bowl was, and was played the week before Super Bowl XLIV

Super Bowl XLIV

Super Bowl XLIV was an American football game between the American Football Conference champion Indianapolis Colts and the National Football Conference champion New Orleans Saints to decide the National Football League champion for the 2009 season. The Saints defeated the Colts by a score of...

(as the Playoff Bowl was in the Super Bowl era). The game will return to Hawaii for 2011 and 2012, with future sites to be determined.

For the 2009 season, a new rule for determining the Pro Bowl coaches resulted in the disappearance of one Playoff Bowl legacy. The coaching staffs for the 2010 Pro Bowl did not come from the losers of the conference championship games, but instead from the teams with the best regular-season records among those that lost in the divisional round of the playoffs in each conference.

Playoff Bowl results

All ten games were played at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.

Season	Date	Winner	Score	Runner up
1960	January 7, 1961	Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... (1)	17-16	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...
1961	January 6, 1962	Detroit Lions (2)	38-10	Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
1962	January 6, 1963	Detroit Lions (3)	17-10	Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
1963	January 5, 1964	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... (1)	40-23	Cleveland Browns
1964	January 3, 1965	St. Louis Cardinals Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... (1)	24-17	Green Bay Packers
1965	January 9, 1966	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 .... (1)	35-3	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...
1966	January 8, 1967	Baltimore Colts (2)	20-14	Philadelphia Eagles
1967	January 7, 1968	Los Angeles Rams (1)	30-6	Cleveland Browns
1968	January 5, 1969	Dallas Cowboys (1)	17-13	Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
1969	January 3, 1970	Los Angeles Rams (2)	31-0	Dallas Cowboys

Num	Team	W	L	PCT
3	Detroit Lions	3	0	1.00
3	Dallas Cowboys	1	2	.333
3	Cleveland Browns	0	3	.000
2	Baltimore Colts	2	0	1.00
2	Los Angeles Rams	2	0	1.00
2	Green Bay Packers	1	1	.500
2	Philadelphia Eagles	0	2	.000
1	St. Louis Cardinals	1	0	1.00
1	Minnesota Vikings	0	1	.000
1	Pittsburgh Steelers	0	1	.000

Broadcasters

Season	Network	Play-by-play	Color commentator(s) Color commentator A color commentator is a sports commentator who assists the play-by-play announcer, often by filling in any time when play is not in progress. The color analyst and main commentator will often exchange comments freely throughout the broadcast, when the play-by-play announcer is not describing the...	Sideline reporter(s)
1969 1969 NFL season The 1969 NFL season was the 50th regular season of the National Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger. To honor the NFL's 50th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season.As per the...	CBS NFL 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:...	Jack Whitaker	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.... and Don Perkins Don Perkins Donald Anthony Perkins is a former American football halfback who spent eight seasons with the NFL's Dallas Cowboys.-Early years:...
1968 1968 NFL season The 1968 NFL season was the 49th regular season of the National Football League. As per the agreement made during the 1967 realignment, the New Orleans Saints and the New York Giants switched divisions; the Saints joined the Century Division while the Giants became part of the Capitol Division.The...	CBS NFL 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:...	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...	Paul Christman Paul Christman Paul Joseph Christman was an American football player and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He played college football for the University of Missouri and professionally for the Chicago Cardinals and Green Bay Packers.-Collegiate career:A St...	Frank Glieber Frank Glieber Frank John Glieber was an American sportscaster.-Early life and career:...
1967 1967 NFL season The 1967 NFL season was the 48th regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 16 teams with the addition of the New Orleans Saints. The league's teams were realigned into four divisions: the Capitol and Century Divisions in the Eastern Conference, and the Central and...	CBS NFL 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:...	Frank Glieber Frank Glieber Frank John Glieber was an American sportscaster.-Early life and career:...	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....
1966 1966 NFL season The 1966 NFL season was the 47th regular season of the National Football League, and the season after which was played Super Bowl I, though it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons, thus an odd number of teams...	CBS NFL 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:...	Chuck Thompson Chuck Thompson Charles L. "Chuck" Thompson was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles and the National Football League's Baltimore Colts...	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...
1965 1965 NFL season The 1965 NFL season was the 46th regular season of the National Football League.Because the Green Bay Packers and Baltimore Colts ended up tied in the Western Conference standings after the regular season ended, a conference playoff game was held in Green Bay. Although the Packers had defeated the...	CBS NFL 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:...	Frank Glieber Frank Glieber Frank John Glieber was an American sportscaster.-Early life and career:... (first half) and Chuck Thompson Chuck Thompson Charles L. "Chuck" Thompson was an American sportscaster best known for his broadcasts of Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles and the National Football League's Baltimore Colts... (second half)	Pat Summerall Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall is a former American football player and television sportscaster, having worked at CBS, Fox, and ESPN.Summerall is best known for his work with John Madden on NFL telecasts for CBS and Fox.-High school:...
1964 1964 NFL season The 1964 NFL season was the 45th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season started, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle reinstated Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, who had been suspended for the 1963 season due to...	CBS NFL 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:...	Jack Drees (first half) and Earl Gillespie Earl Gillespie Earl W. Gillespie was an American sportscaster, best known as the radio voice of Major League Baseball's Milwaukee Braves from 1953 to 1963.... (second half)	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....
1963 1963 NFL season The 1963 NFL season was the 44th regular season of the National Football League. On April 17, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle indefinitely suspended Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras for gambling on their own teams, as well as other NFL games;...	CBS NFL 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:...	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... (first half) and Ken Coleman Ken Coleman Kenneth R. Coleman was an American radio and television sportscaster for 38 years . He was born in Quincy, Massachusetts.... (second half)	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....
1962 1962 NFL season The 1962 NFL season was the 43rd regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, CBS signed a contract with the league to televise all regular-season games for a $4.65 million annual fee....	CBS NFL 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:...	Chris Schenkel Chris Schenkel Christopher Eugene "Chris" Schenkel was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and baritone voice.-Early life and career:Schenkel began his broadcasting career at radio... (first half) and 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... (second half)	Warren Lahr Warren Lahr Warren Lahr is a former professional American Football player who played defensive back for the Cleveland Browns . He was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1947 NFL Draft...
1961 1961 NFL season The 1961 NFL season was the 42nd regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 14 teams with the addition of the Minnesota Vikings, after the team's owners declined to be charter members of the new American Football League. The schedule was also expanded from 12 games per...	CBS NFL 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:...	Chris Schenkel Chris Schenkel Christopher Eugene "Chris" Schenkel was an American sportscaster. Over the course of five decades he called play-by-play for numerous sports on television and radio, becoming known for his smooth delivery and baritone voice.-Early life and career:Schenkel began his broadcasting career at radio... (first half) and Van Patrick Van Patrick Van Patrick was an American sportscaster, best known for his play-by-play work with the Detroit Lions and Detroit Tigers.... (second half)	Johnny Lujack Johnny Lujack John Christopher Lujack Jr. is a former American football quarterback and 1947 Heisman Trophy winner.Lujack was born on January 4, 1925, in Connellsville, Pennsylvania. He played college football for the University of Notre Dame, and professionally for the Chicago Bears. Lujack was the first of...

External links

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