3 6 4 15 2 63 64 Green Bay running back Elijah Pitts 22 runs behind lineman Jerry Kramer 64 in Super Bowl I on January 15 1967 6 in 1958. In 1959 the team went 7-5 In 1961 the Packers won the first of back-to-back NFL championships Around that same time the American Football League AFL was forming For a half decade the NFL and the AFL fought over the best players But the leagues never met on the field Everything changed in June 1966 That year the leagues decided to merge In 1970 the AFL teams would officially join the NFL Until then the two league champions would meet in an annual title game The first one was played on January 15 1967 It was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game Within a few years it would have a new name the Super Bowl
PACKER SWEEP The Kansas City Chiefs represented the AFL in the first Super Bowl Waiting for them in the Los Angeles Coliseum were the mighty Packers Green Bay was already known as the top team in either league The Packers had also won the previous year's NFL title in 1965 Coming into Super Bowl I the Packers boasted talent on both sides of the ball In 1966 the Packers defense was spectacular The group held opponents to 11.6 points per game That excellent defense was backed by a fearsome running game The Packers most famous play was the power sweep Quarterback Bart Starr would toss to a running back who was running wide Linemen would hop out of their stances and race in front of the back forming a wall of blockers Green Bay ran it so well that it became known as the Packer Sweep Both units thrived in Super Bowl I The Packers defense held the Chiefs to 10 points HALL OF FAME TALENTS In addition to coach Vince Lombardi 11 players who appeared for the Packers in the first two Super Bowls are in the Hall of Fame Quarterback Bart Starr led the offense He was joined by running backs Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung Linemen Jerry Kramer and Forrest Gregg are also enshrined Hall of Fame defensive players included linemen Henry Jordan and Willie Davis linebackers Ray Nitschke and Dave Robinson and defensive backs Herb Adderley and Willie Wood 7
Meanwhile the offense ran for 130 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-10 victory FOR ALL TIME Lombardi was considered one of the NFL's great coaches even before the Packers won Super Bowl I And though the Packers were an aging team in 1967 Lombardi guided Green Bay to another Super Bowl Before the game rumors were swirling that it might be the 54-year-old's last game with the team Quarterback Bart Starr was named the Most Valuable Player MVP of both Super Bowl I and Super Bowl II 8
Green Bay squared off against the Oakland Raiders in what is now known as Super Bowl II The Raiders had an excellent passing attack led by strong-armed quarterback Daryle Lamonica But it was the Packers who went deep early in the game Less than four minutes into the second quarter Starr drilled a 62-yard touchdown pass to star receiver Boyd Dowler The score helped Green Bay build a 16-7 halftime lead Despite the advantage the Packers felt like they had been sloppy It was not the kind of football their beloved head coach wanted If it was going to be Lombardi's last game the players wanted to send him out the right way As one Packer put it the team decided to play the second half for the old man The team led 26-7 in the fourth quarter when cornerback Herb Adderley put the finishing touch on the win He picked off a Lamonica pass and raced 60 yards for a touchdown After the game offensive linemen Forrest Gregg and Jerry Kramer carried Lombardi off the field Lombardi did retire from coaching the Packers after the game Two years later the NFL legend passed away The league decided to honor Lombardi by naming the Super Bowl trophy after him To this day any team that wins a Super Bowl feels the legacy of the game's first dynasty in their hands 9
