Let’s be honest, if you were sitting in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum back on January 15, 1967, you probably wouldn't have felt like you were witnessing the birth of a global phenomenon.
The stadium was nearly a third empty.
Ticket prices were a "staggering" twelve bucks, which people actually complained was too expensive. Imagine that. Today, that wouldn't even buy you a lukewarm beer at the stadium. But that afternoon, the Green Bay Packers didn't just win a game; they essentially validated the entire history of the National Football League by crushing the Kansas City Chiefs 35-10.
Why the Green Bay Packers Won the First Super Bowl Ever
The score looks like a blowout, and honestly, by the end, it was. But it wasn't always that way.
Vince Lombardi, the legendary Packers coach, was incredibly stressed. He wasn't just coaching for a trophy; he was coaching for the reputation of the NFL. At the time, the NFL was the established, "grown-up" league, while the American Football League (AFL) was seen as a flashy, inferior upstart. Lombardi famously told his players they had to win to prove the NFL’s superiority.
The game was actually pretty tight at halftime. The Packers were only up 14-10.
The Chiefs, led by quarterback Len Dawson, were moving the ball. They looked like they belonged on the same field. Then the third quarter happened.
The Turning Point
Everything shifted on a single play. Packers safety Willie Wood intercepted a pass from Dawson and sprinted 50 yards down to the Kansas City 5-yard line. It sucked the air right out of the Chiefs' sideline.
Elijah Pitts ran it in for a touchdown shortly after.
From that moment on, Green Bay just squeezed the life out of the game. They scored 21 unanswered points in the second half. It was a masterclass in "Lombardi Time"—disciplined, brutal, and efficient football that the younger AFL team just couldn't replicate over four quarters.
The MVP Nobody Expected
When you think of the Packers' greats, you think of Bart Starr. And yeah, Starr was the MVP. He was surgical, completing 16 of 23 passes for 250 yards and two touchdowns.
But the real story of the first Super Bowl ever is Max McGee.
McGee was a veteran wide receiver who basically spent the night before the game out on the town. He figured there was no way he was playing. He told the starter, Boyd Dowler, "I hope you don’t get hurt. I’m not in very good shape."
Naturally, Dowler got hurt on the second series of the game.
McGee, likely nursing a massive hangover, had to borrow a helmet because he’d left his in the locker room. He went out and caught seven passes for 138 yards and two touchdowns. One of those was a ridiculous one-handed snag that shouldn't have been possible. It remains one of the greatest "bench player" performances in the history of sports.
What Most People Get Wrong About Super Bowl I
First off, it wasn't even called the "Super Bowl" at the time.
The official name was the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. It’s a mouthful, right? The name "Super Bowl" was actually coined by Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt, who saw his daughter playing with a toy called a "Super Ball" and the name just stuck in his head.
Another weird fact? The game was broadcast on two different networks at the same time: CBS and NBC.
- CBS carried the NFL's feed.
- NBC carried the AFL's feed.
Because of the rivalry between the networks, they actually built a literal fence between their production trucks in the parking lot. They couldn't stand each other. And if you’re looking for the original footage today? Good luck. Both networks actually wiped their tapes of the game to save money on storage. It took decades for NFL Films to piece together a full version of the game using various clips from other sources.
The Legacy of the 35-10 Victory
When the final whistle blew, the Packers had secured their place in history.
Bart Starr got a Corvette. The players got a $15,000 winning bonus (the Chiefs got $7,500). But more importantly, the "National Football League" brand remained intact.
Lombardi was relieved. He later admitted that the pressure to win was almost unbearable. He felt that if the Packers had lost, it would have been a stain on the NFL that would never wash off. Instead, they set the standard.
Final Stats for the History Books
- Final Score: Green Bay Packers 35, Kansas City Chiefs 10
- Date: January 15, 1967
- Location: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
- Attendance: 61,946 (The only Super Bowl to never sell out)
- Key Players: Bart Starr (MVP), Max McGee (7 rec, 138 yards), Willie Wood (Game-changing INT)
If you want to truly understand the modern NFL, you have to look at this game. It wasn't just a win for Green Bay; it was the proof of concept for the merger that would happen a few years later. The Chiefs would eventually get their revenge by winning Super Bowl IV, proving the AFL was legit, but for that one afternoon in LA, the Packers were the only kings of football.
To dive deeper into this era of football, your next step should be researching the 1967 Ice Bowl. It was the NFL Championship game played just weeks before the first Super Bowl in conditions so cold the referees' whistles froze to their lips. Understanding that game explains exactly why the Packers were tough enough to handle anything the Chiefs threw at them in the California sun.