Super Bowl III, January 1969. Today many of us will gather to watch Super Bowl 53 with friends and family (especially in the United States) but if it wasn’t for
this game 50 years ago we might not be.
The first two “Super Bowls” (officially called the “AFL/NFL Championship Game” were blowouts with Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers
beating up on the Chiefs and Raiders in 1967 and ’68. Many “experts” did not think the “upstart” AFL was at the same level as the more established NFL.
It was a bold prediction from a young quarterback from Alabama named Joe Namath that would set the stage for a real showdown between his New York Jets and the heavily favored Baltimore Colts. Namath was signed in 1965 for the then record salary of $427,000. According to ESPN, Patrick Mahomes contract for 2019 may top $200 Million.
At a press conference during “media week” someone in the back of the room shouted out “The Colts are going to kick your ass.” Namath responded: “Hey, I got news for you. We’re going to win Sunday, I’ll guarantee you…” The Jets won 16-7 and while many “old school” football fans thought it was a disaster, Pete Rozelle (NFL Commissioner) was quoted as saying it was “the greatest thing to happen to pro football.”
Rozelle must have been right, media interest has never been higher and for this year’s game 30 seconds of advertising will cost $5 million. Known as “Broadway Joe,” Namath was a popular figure with the media and maybe the first “modern superstar” of the NFL. Known for dating popular actresses and models he also “defied convention” and made enemies by wearing his hair long and sporting white shoes while everyone else wore black “high-tops.”
In 1985 he was inducted to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
In 1970, the Kansas City Chiefs would go on to defeat the Minnesota Vikings as the two leagues merged into what we now know as the “AFC and NFC.” The rest is history.
Play action! Namath passing from the pocket. Emerson Boozer (32) gains yardage as Bubba Smith (78) is blocked. Smith (6’7” 285 lbs.) RIP (1945-2011) is one of the greatest defensive linemen in history. If you weren’t around back then, you would most likely know him from the “Police Academy” movies. Only 66, a possible cause of death was the “CTE” suffered during his playing career. Finally, Namath handing off to Matt Snell (41) who scored the game’s only touchdown.
The other photos are of Namath “out and about.” The commercial with Farrah
must have been filmed in the 70’s when she was on “Charlie's Angels.” The other pictures are talking with reporters before the game and dating Raquel Welch.
It’s good to be the Quarterback.
