Super Bowl III
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| Image:SuperBowlIII.png | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 12, 1969 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Orange Bowl Stadium | ||||||||||||||||||
| City | Miami, Florida | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Joe Namath, Quarterback | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Colts by 18 | ||||||||||||||||||
| National Anthem | Anita Bryant | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coin toss | Game referee | ||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | "America Thanks" with Florida A&M University | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 75,389 | ||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. TV | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis and Kyle Rote | ||||||||||||||||||
| Nielsen Ratings | 36.0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Market Share | 71 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Cost of 30-sec Commercial | $55,000 USD | ||||||||||||||||||
Super Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl" (The two previous AFL-NFL Championship Games would retroactively be called "Super Bowls" as well).
The game was played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The American Football League (AFL) champion New York Jets defeated the National Football League (NFL) champion Baltimore Colts, 16–7, in the first Super Bowl victory for the AFL.
Jets quarterback Joe Namath, who completed 17 out of 28 passes for 206 yards, was named the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player.
This game is regarded as one of the biggest upsets in American sports history. The National Football League champion Colts were heavily favored (in some books, by over 20 points) to defeat the American Football League champion Jets. Although the upstart AFL had successfully forced the long-established NFL into a merger agreement three years earlier, the AFL was not generally respected as having the same calibre of talent as the NFL. Plus, the AFL representatives were heavily defeated in the first two Super Bowls.
Super Bowl III was broadcast on NBC in the United States with Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis and Kyle Rote. While the Orange Bowl was sold out for the game, the live telecast was not shown in Miami due to both leagues' unconditional blackout rules of the time.
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Background
To many observers, the Colts were a surprise choice to make it to the Super Bowl because of the way they started the regular season. Starting quarterback Johnny Unitas, widely considered the best quarterback in NFL history, suffered an injury to his elbow on his throwing arm early in the season. His replacement, veteran backup Earl Morall, had never started an NFL game in all 12 seasons of his career. But Morrall surprised everyone by leading the Colts to a 13-1 record and winning the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. He threw for 2,902 yards, 27 touchdowns, with 17 interceptions, giving him the highest passer rating in the league (93.2) during the regular season. His performance was so impressive that Colts coach Don Shula decided to keep Morall in the starting lineup long after Unitas was healthy enough to play. Then, the Colts avenged their sole regular season loss against the Cleveland Browns by beating them, 34-0, in the NFL Championship Game.
The Colts offense excelled in both passing and rushing, ranking second in the NFL in points scored (402). Wide receivers Jimmy Orr (29 receptions, 743 yards, 6 touchdowns) and Wille Richardson (37 receptions, 698 yards, 8 touchdonws) provided Baltimore with a deep threat, with Orr averging 25.6 yards per catch, and Richardson averaging 18.9. Tight end John Mackey also recorded 45 receptions for 644 yards and 5 touchdowns. Pro Bowl running back Tom Matte was the team's top rusher with 662 yards and 9 touchdowns. He was also a good receiver out of the backfield, catching 25 passes for 275 yards and another touchdown. Running backs Terry Cole and Jerry Hill also contributed, combining for 778 rushing yards and 236 receiving yards.
The Colts defense led the NFL in fewest points allowed (180). Bubba Smith, a 6'7 295 pound defensive tackle, anchored the line and was a major force at stopping the run. Linebacker Mike Curtis was cosidered one of the top linebackers in the NFL. And Baltimore also had an explosive secondary, consisting of defensive backs Bobby Boyd (8 interceptions), Rick Volk (6 interceptions), Lenny Lyles (5 interceptions), and Jerry Logan (3 interceptions).
By contrast, the New York Jets entered Super Bowl III with an 11-3 regular season record, but barely defeated the Oakland Raiders, 27-23, in the AFL Championship Game, after recovering a fumble on their own 27-yard line with less than two minutes left.
Jets quarterback Joe Namath had been rather inconsistent in the regular season, throwing for 3,147 yards, but only completing just 49.2 percent of his passes, and throwing more interceptions (17) then touchdowns (15). Still, he led the offense effectively enough for them to finish the regular season with more total points scored (419) then Baltimore. More importantly, Namath usually found ways to win. For example, late in the fourth quarter of the AFL championship game, Namath threw an interception that allowed the Raiders to take the lead. But he then made up for his mistake by completing 3 consecutive passes on the ensuing drive, and advanced the ball 68 yards in just 55 seconds to score a touchdown to regain the lead for New York.
The Jets had outstanding wide receivers for Namath to throw to. Future hall of fame wide receiver Don Maynard had the best season of his career, catching 57 passes for 1,297 yards (an average of 22.8 yards per catch) and 10 touchdowns. Wide receiver George Sauer was also a big threat, recording 66 receptions for 1,141 yards and 3 touchdowns. The Jets also had a pair of great running backs: halfback Matt Snell was the top rusher on the team with 747 yards and 6 touchdowns, while fullback Emerson Boozer also contributed 441 yards and 5 touchdowns.
The Jets also had a powerful defense that was so strong that Namath himself credited them as the main reason for the team's success. Jerry Philbin, John Elliot, and Vernon Biggs anchored the defensive line, and made it difficult for opponents to either rush the ball or protect their quarterbacks. Behind them, the Jets had a good linebacker core, led by middle linebacker Al Atkinson. And the Jets secondary was led by defensive backs Johnny Sample, who recorded 7 interceptions, and Jim Hudson, who recorded 5.
Still, every AFL team, including New York, was not generally respected as having the same calibre of talent as any NFL team. But three days before the game, Namath appeared at the Miami Touchdown Club and boldly predicted to the audience, "The Jets will win on Sunday. I guarantee it." Interestingly enough, Namath later claimed he only made his famous "guarantee" in response to a rowdy Colts fan at the club, who boasted the Colts would easily defeat the Jets. Namath said he never intended to make such a public prediction, and never would have done so if he had not been confronted by the fan.
Game summary
New York entered the game with their wide receiver Don Maynard playing injured. But his 112-yard, two touchdown performance against the Oakland Raiders in the AFL championship game made the Colts defense so wary of him that Namath took advantage of the single coverage on other receivers. Meanwhile, the Jets defense shut down the Colts offense for most of the game.
The Jets took the opening kickoff but had to punt. Then on the Colts' first drive, they advanced the ball to the Jets' 19-yard line, but after two incomplete passes and a sack, they had to settle for a field goal attempt. But defensive lineman/kicker Lou Michael's 27-yard kick went wide right.
With less than 20 seconds left in the period, split end George Sauer caught a pass from Namath but fumbled the ball and the Colts recovered at New York's 12-yard line. However, on third down (the second play of the second half) Baltimore quarterback Earl Morrall's pass was intercepted by Jets cornerback Randy Beverly in the end zone for a touchback. Starting from their own 20-yard line, Jets running back Matt Snell rushed on the next 4 plays, advancing the ball 26 yards. Namath later completed 3 consecutive passes, moving the ball to the Colts 23-yard line. Running back Emerson Boozer gained just 2 yards on the next play, but Snell followed it up by catching a 12-yard pass to the 9-yard line, a 5-yard run to the 4-yard line, and capped the drive with a 4-yard touchdown run. The score gave the Jets a 7-0 lead, and marked the first time in that an AFL team led in the Super Bowl.
Later in the second period, Baltimore reached New York's 16-yard line, aided by a Super Bowl record 58-yard run by running back Tom Matte. But with 2 minutes left in the half, Morrall was intercepted by cornerback Johnny Sample at the 2-yard line. The Jets then were forced to punt on their ensuing drive, and the Colts threatened to score again with a flea flicker play. Matte took the handoff, ran up to the line, and then pitched the ball back to Morrall. The play fooled the Jets defense and receiver Jimmy Orr was wide open in the end zone. But Morall did not see him and instead threw a pass intended for running back Jerry Hill that was intercepted by Jets safety Jim Hudson as time expired, maintaining the Jets' 7-0 lead at halftime.
Matte then lost a fumble on the first play from scrimmage in the second half, which led to Jim Turner's 32-yard field to increase the Jets' lead, 10-0. Then after forcing the Colts to punt again, Turner kicked another field goal to make the score 13-0. On that drive, Namath temporarily went out of the game after injuring his right thumb, and was replaced by backup quarterback Babe Parilli for a few plays.
After Turner's second field goal, Colts head coach Don Shula took Morrall out of the game and put in the sore armed Unitas to see if he could provide a spark to Baltimore's offense. But Unitas could not get the Colts offense moving on their next drive and they were forced to punt again.
Turner kicked his third field goal early in the final period to make the score 16-0. The Colts finally scored late in the fourth quarter, on an 80 yard, 14 play drive, ending with Hill's 1-yard touchdown run, cutting the lead 16-7. And Baltimore was able to recover the ensuing onside kick, and march to New York's 19-yard line. But Unitas' pass on fourth down fell incomplete, and the Jets were able to eat most of the rest of the clock.
Snell rushed for 121 yards while Sauer caught eight passes for 133 yards.
Scoring Summary
- NYJ - Snell 4 run (J. Turner kick)
- NYJ - FG J. Turner 32
- NYJ - FG J. Turner 30
- NYJ - FG J. Turner 9
- BAL - Hill 1 run (Michaels kick)
Trivia
- This game was the only time a Super Bowl was played at the same site as the previous year's Super Bowl. Super Bowl II was also played at the Orange Bowl.
See also
External link
| The Super Bowl |
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