The '1966 NFL season' was the 47th
regular season of the
National Football League, and the season after which was played
Super Bowl I, though it was called the
AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the
Atlanta Falcons. This was the last season that the NFL had just two divisions, and that the conference champions went directly to the NFL Championship Game without playing in playoff games.
The AFL-NFL merger agreement
As the competitive war between the NFL and the
American Football League reached its peak, the two leagues agreed to merge on
June 8,
1966. Under the agreement:
★ The two leagues would combine to form an expanded league with 24 teams, which would be increased to 26 teams by
1969, and to 28 teams by
1970 or soon thereafter.
★ All existing teams would be retained, and none of them would be moved outside of their metropolitan areas.
★ While maintaining separate schedules through 1969, the leagues agreed to play an annual
AFL-NFL World Championship Game beginning in January,
1967.
★ The two leagues would officially merge in 1970 to form one league with two conferences.
Thus, after the
Green Bay Packers defeated the
Dallas Cowboys in the NFL Championship Game, they then went on to beat the
American Football League's
Kansas City Chiefs in the first annual AFL-NFL World Championship Game (later known as
Super Bowl I).
Major rule changes
★ Goal posts were standardized in the NFL. They were to be between 3 to 4 inches in diameter, painted bright yellow, with two non-curved supports offset from the goal line, and uprights 20 feet above the crossbar. This new goal post rule is often referred to as the "
Don Chandler Rule", the kicker for the
Green Bay Packers. Although widely denied, the height increase of the uprights was in reaction to the previous season's
Western Conference playoff game in
Green Bay. Chandler kicked a high 27-yard field goal, near the upright, that tied the game with under two minutes remaining. The game went to the fourteenth minute of
overtime when Chandler hit a 25-yard field goal (uncontroversial) that finally defeated the
Baltimore Colts. Both teams had been without their starting quarterbacks (the Colts started their emergency QB, halfback
Tom Matte). The Packers went on to defeat the
Cleveland Browns in the
1965 NFL championship game. In
1967, the new "slingshot" goal post would be made standard, with one curved support from the ground. In
1974, the goal posts would be returned to the end line, and the uprights would be extended to 30 feet above the crossbar.
Final standings
''W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against''
''Note: Teams current name is included within the () if name/location has been changed''
NFL Championship Game
★ Green Bay 34, Dallas 27 at
Cotton Bowl,
Dallas, Texas,
January 1,
1967
See also
★ '
Super Bowl I:' Green Bay (NFL) 35, Kansas City (AFL) 10, at
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum,
Los Angeles, California
References
★ ''NFL Record and Fact Book'' (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
★
NFL History 1961-1970 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
★
1966 season in details
★ ''Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League'' (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)
★ ''When Pride Still Mattered, A Life of Vince Lombardi'', by David Maraniss, 1999, p.381, (ISBN 0-684-84418-4)
العربية
中国
Français
Deutsch
Ελληνική
हिन्दी
Italiano
日本語
Português
Русский
Español
