On This Date in Sports January 14, 1968: Packers II Good
In collaboration with the Sportsecyclopedia.com
The Green Bay Packers continued to assert the dominance of the NFL as they beat the Oakland Raiders 33-14 in the second AFL-NFL World Championship Game at Miami’s Orange Bowl. Like the year before quarterback Bart Starr is named the game’s MVP, passing for 202 yards with a touchdown. The game would mark the end of an era in Green Bay, as Vince Lombardi stepped down. In nine seasons coaching the Packers, Lombardi won five NFL Championships, including the last three seasons.
When Vince Lombardi arrived, Green Bay became title town, as he ended a decade of losing by 7-5 record. The following year, the Packers played in the NFL Championship Game, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Packers reached the summit in 1961, winning the first of back-to-back NFL Championships. After falling short in 1963 and 1964, the Packers reclaimed the crown in 1965. A year later, they won the NFL Championship again and the right to be called World Champions after beating the Kansas City Chiefs in the first championship between the AFL and NFL.
When 1967 began, he let people know that he would step down at the end of the season as the Packers sought a third straight championship. It was trying season for Green Bay, as they posted a 9-4-1 record to win the NFL Central. That year, the NFL was broken into four divisions of four teams giving Green Bay the chance to win the division, as their record would not have been good enough under the previous format. In the Western Conference Championship, the Packers beat the Los Angeles Rams 28-7 before the fans in Milwaukee. A week later, they won their third straight NFL Championship beat the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in the Ice Bowl at Lambeau Field.
While the Packers were making one last run at glory in the NFL, a new power was rising in the AFL. Led by coach John Rauch and the passing of Daryle Lamonica, the Oakland Raiders won the Western Division with a record of 13-1, with their only loss coming to the New York Jets at Shea Stadium. The Raiders dominance continued into the postseason as they crushed the Houston Oilers 40-7 in the AFL Championship Game.
For the second year, the champions of the two professional leagues would meet. The game was still called the AFL-NFL World Championship game, though a new name was unofficially attached when Kansas City Chiefs Owner Lamar Hunt saw his daughter playing with a super ball. The name would become official the following season, but heading into Super Bowl II, nobody was taking the game seriously. The AFL was still regarded as an inferior league, as Green Bay was favored by two touchdowns.
The game was like a war for Vince Lombardi, who had little respect for the upstart AFL and did not want to be the first NFL coach to lose the World Championship. The Packers pushed the Raiders around from the start. Oakland was hanging tough early, as the Packers had to settle for a pair of field goals by Don Chandler. The Packers would use the big play to find the end zone as Bart Starr connected with Boyd Dowler on a 62-yard pass play to extend the lead to 13-0 in the early stages of the second quarter. The Raiders would answer as Daryle Lamonica connected with Bill Miller on a 23-yard touchdown pass. After stopping the Packers on offense, Oakland had a chance to make the game interesting, but George Blanda missed a 47-yard field goal attempt. The Packers would go down the field and extend the lead to 16-7 at the half as Chandler nailed his third field goal of the game.
In the third quarter, Green Bay continued to pull away, as Donny Anderson had a two-yard touchdown run, while Don Chandler kicked another field goal to make the score 26-7. In the fourth quarter, the Packers got the first pick-six in Super Bowl history, as Heb Adderly picked off Lamonica and ran it back 60 yards to put the game on ice at 33-7. The Raiders would get another score, as Daryle Lamonica again hooked up with Bill Miller. However, the 33-14 win for Green Bay continued to allow the narrative that the AFL was inferior to the NFL, and the “Super Bowl” was nothing more than an exhibition.
Vince Lombardi would step down following the season, as he was given a victory ride following his final game with the Packers. He would only stay away for one year, as he took over the Washington Redskins in 1969 and ended a long string of losing seasons again at 7-5-2. Sadly, it would be his last season, as Lombardi succumbed due to cancer before the 1970 season. Due to his wins in the first two Super Bowls, the trophy would be renamed in his honor.