Vince Lombardi speaks to a referee while coaching the Green Bay Packers
to victory during Super Bowl I on January 15, 1967.
Photo courtesy of the Herald-Examiner Collection / Los Angeles Public Library.
The first Super Bowl—Super Bowl I— was held on January 15, 1967. Known at the time as the American Football League (AFL)-National Football League (NFL) World Championship Game, the 1967 championship game pitted the Green Bay Packers against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Although "professional" football dates to about 1892, the first end-of-season championship game of professional teams grew out of the rivalry between competing football leagues in the 1960s. Beginning in 1960, the NFL (organized following meetings in Canton, OH, as the American Professional Football Association) found itself competing with the newly established AFL. The two leagues vied for the same players, which forced teams to increase payrolls and incentives while the increased number of teams diluted the fanbase.
Faced with falling revenues and a finite amount of new talent each year, the two leagues began secretly discussing the possibility of a merger. On June 8, 1966, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle announced the merger, which created a 24-team league (with additional teams added in subsequent years) and a combined player draft. As part of the deal, each league's champion would meet in an annual championship game to crown the "world champion" of American football at the end of the season. Seven months later, the NFL champion Green Bay Packers and the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs squared off at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, in Los Angeles, CA.
The NFL's Green Bay Packers, coached by Vince Lombardi and AFL's Kansas City Chiefs, coached by Hank Stram, appeared evenly matched after the first two quarters. Heading to the locker rooms at halftime, the Packers led 14–10.
Following halftime entertainment provided by trumpeter Al Hirt and the University of Arizona Marching Band , the opening Kansas City drive came to an abrupt halt when the Packers' safety Willie Wood intercepted a Chief's pass for a 50-yard return and set up an Elijah Pitts touchdown. The Packers would dominate the second half to win Super Bowl I, 35–10. The next year, quarterback Bart Starr led Green Bay to a second, decisive Super Bowl II victory against the Oakland Raiders. Two years later, the Kansas City Chiefs were finally Super Bowl IV champions after beating the Minnesota Vikings. On February 5, 2017, NRG Stadium in Houston, TX, will host Super Bowl LI.
You can learn more about football and the Super Bowl using data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau and other federal agencies. For example:
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, in Los Angeles, CA, was the venue for the first American Football League (AFL)-National Football
League (NFL) Championship Game—Super Bowl I—on January 15, 1967. The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, 35–10.
Photo courtesy of the County of Los Angeles.
On January 25, 1999 , the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Title 13, U.S. Code prohibited the use of sampling to apportion the U.S. House of Representatives.
Apportionment aside, the Court ruling does allow data to be statistically adjusted for other purposes.
Photo courtesy of the Architect of the Capital.
Since 1955, the Wilson Sporting Goods Factory in Ada, OH, has made as many as 4,000 footballs daily (more than 700,000 annually) for the National Football League.
According to the 2012 Economic Census, the United States was home to 1,629 Sporting and Athletic Goods manufacturing establishments (NAICS 33992) that employed 36,968 people.
Photo courtesy of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
The March 3, 1919 Act Providing for the Fourteenth Census moved Census Day in 1920 to January 1. Congress hoped moving the date away from the growing season would improve collection of agriculture data.
Since the 1930 Census, the Census Bureau has recorded the population as of April 1.