It's been 57 years since the Ice Bowl occurred at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Some football fans may have seen or read on TV about Bart Starr sneaking into the endzone to seal the victory against the Dallas Cowboys. Some may have seen or read about the bitterly cold temperatures that blanketed Lambeau during the game. However, several interesting facts and tidbits may not be commonly known about this event. Therefore, I'm including several interesting details that made this gridiron game an iconic event.
INTERESTING FACTS ABOUT THE ICE BOWL
This game was played at Lambeau Field on the last day of December 1967, 57 years from today.
Because of the hostile conditions in which the game was played, the rivalry between the two teams, and the head coaches, it has been immortalized as the Ice Bowl.
It was the last game Vince Lombardi coached at Lambeau Field.
When the Packers faced the Rams at Milwaukee County Stadium eight days before the Ice Bowl, the temperature was 20 degrees Fahrenheit. About a week later, 100 miles north, the game time temperature was -15 degrees Fahrenheit (with an average wind chill around −48 °F, −44 °C).
This game at Lambeau is still the coldest game ever in NFL history.
A former Packers running back said that on that historic day, Astroturf "was like a pillow" compared to the frozen tundra.
In those years, the last game of the NFL season was not yet coined the "Super Bowl." It was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. Because Green Bay won this game, they played in the Second AFL-NFL World Championship Game at the time.
The NFL 100 Greatest Games ranked this game as the third most incredible game in NFL history.
In a press release the day before the game, Packers quarterback Bart Starr admitted he had endured a very "frustrating season."
The heaviest player on the Packers squad in 1967 was 260 pounds, and the same for the Cowboys.
It appeared that the Packer dynasty of the 1960s was ending as the team had grown old. Ten starters were over 30, nine more than when they won their first NFL title under Lombardi in 1961. They had lost their backfield tandem of Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor, who had been the heart of Lombardi's first three championships.
This NFL Championship Game was the 35th Championship Game in the NFL.
Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier (I out to buy you a hotdog) served as sideline reporters. (The link outlines my brief interaction with Tom in 1971.)
It's been said that approximately 500,000 NFL and/or Packer fans claimed to attend the "Ice Bowl." However, the attendance that day was 50,861. Nearly 450,000 fans are not telling the truth!
The Packers linebacker Dave Robinson's car wouldn't start, and the towing service representative said, "You're No. 110 on the list." He then reached out to a neighbor (with a functioning car), who drove Dave and his wife to the game. The neighbor's reward was two tickets to the game.
This game was a rematch of the previous year's NFL Championship game and featured two Hall of Fame coaches: Tom Landry of the Cowboys and Vince Lombardi of the Packers. Interestingly, both coaches knew each other well, having coached together for the New York Giants in the late 1950s.
After the Ice Bowl victory, the Packers defeated the Oakland Raiders 33-14. That victory gave the Packers three championships in a row, and as of today, that record has never been broken. Thanks to Peter King, who recently reminded NFL fans: "The NFL has had a team win three titles in a row. Green Bay won the NFL Championship Game in 1965 over Cleveland, the last year before Super Bowls began, and then the first two Super Bowls. And before postseason football, Green Bay won the NFL by having the best regular-season record in 1929, 1930, and 1931."
Many players from the Cowboys and Packers were convinced that it was too cold to play. However, the weather was no better the following day, so the NFL officials decided to go ahead with the game on Sunday.
My mother and father attended the game with a neighbor couple and complained that their car didn't have heat as they drove 151 miles north from Southeastern Wisconsin. They knew it would be pretty cold, but seeing the temperature sign on a bank as they stopped for gas, they thought the temperature sign had broken.
Before the start of the season, the Packers and Lombardi spent $80,000 on an underground heating system, a first in the NFL. A grid of electric coils buried inches below the surface of the Lambeau Field turf was designed to keep the grass soft and provide a good playing surface in cold weather. There was one problem, though. The field was covered overnight with a tarp, which trapped the heat and created condensation. When the tarp was removed before the game, the moist turf immediately started freezing.
WHAT OCCURRED ON AND OFF THE FIELD DURING THE ICE BOWL GAME
Some fans missed the fourth quarter (and final Packer drive) because they were trying to get warm in the bathroom.
My father witnessed women in dresses, mink coats, and head scarves at game time. However, they were nowhere to be seen before the start of the second quarter.
In an attempt to stay warm during the game, thermos of spiked coffee was commonplace among fans.
Cowboys had 11 first downs, compared to the Packers' 18, and quarterback Don Meredith passed for only 59 yards, compared to Starr's 191.
In Lambeau, fans wore ski masks, coats, gloves, and blankets to address the elements. Some forward-thinking fans brought newspapers to protect their bottoms from the rigid metal benches.
Chuck Mercein, who Lombardi brought in from the New York Giants, rushed six times for 20 yards and caught two passes for 22 yards in the "Ice Bowl." On the Packer's final scoring play, Chuck, behind Starr, raised both his arms. Some analysts thought he was celebrating, but because physically helping a teammate into the end zone was a penalty at the time, he was merely indicating to the officials that he didn't aid Starr in any way getting in the end zone.
It was reported that Jerry Kramer, the All-Pro guard for the Packers, claimed he was offsides on the pivotal play with 16 seconds remaining.
Bob Hayes, who won gold medals at the '64 Summer Olympics, was a wide receiver for the Cowboys then. Nicknamed "Bullet Bob," the Packer's defensive players quickly learned that to keep warm, Bob kept his hands in his pants on running plays. So when this occurred, the defensive players, especially the Packer's cornerbacks and safeties, would ignore him and focus primarily on the running back.
The Packers punter, Donnie Anderson, averaged 28.8 yards per punt on eight punts. Danny Villaneuva of the Cowboys averaged 39.1 punts on eight punts and was one for two on-field goals.
For the final play by Green Bay trailing 17-14, the thermometer read −20 °F (−29 °C), and the Packers called their last timeout. They attempted to attack the south end zone on third down at the two-foot line. The field conditions were very challenging, with a low sun angle in late December, and this part of the field received minimal sunlight. With no timeouts and near the Cowboys goal line, the announcers were assuming a pass as a failed run with 16 seconds remaining would eliminate another play, but Starr followed right guard Jerry Kramer into the endzone for the score of 21-17, which became the final score.
CELEBRATIONS FOLLOWING THE ICE BOWL
The Packers celebrated their fantastic victory and partied at Fuzzy's, a bar near Lambeau Field owned by lineman Fuzzy Thurston.
Jerry Kramer, the Hall of Fame guard who helped pave a path for Starr to sneak into the end zone, said, "The celebration went on for most of the night, and all of Green Bay and Wisconsin was having a good time. But Fuzzy's heating system in the room he had reserved for us didn't work, and it was so cold inside we could see our breath in the party room."
Welders in the parking lot after the Packer's victory cut up the goalposts, selling small pieces to fans who had witnessed the iconic game.
INTERESTING NUGGETS ABOUT THE REGULAR SEASON AND PLAYOFFS IN 1967
Before 1975, the playoff sites were rotated, so home-field advantage was known before the start of the season. In 1967, the winners of the Capital and Central divisions hosted the conference championship. That meant both the Packers (Central division winners) and Cowboys (Capital division winners) hosted the conference championship. Furthermore, the Western Conference game-winner was designated to host the NFL Championship game. The Cowboys defeated the Browns in the conference championship, and the Packers beat the Rams in Milwaukee. Fortunately for the Packers, their victory over the Rams (Western Conference winner) meant they would host the NFL Championship game in Green Bay.
In addition, even though the Rams had a superior record to the Packers, the game was played at Milwaukee County Stadium. It was the only playoff game ever played at Milwaukee County Stadium.
Unfortunately for the Baltimore Colts, who were also 11- 1- 2 but lost the tiebreaker to the Rams and weren't included in the postseason.
In the Eastern Conference Championship game, the Cowboys (9-5) hosted the Cleveland Browns (9-5).
Eastern Conference divisions were:
Capitol (Dallas, New Orleans, Philadelphia, and Washington).
Century (Cleveland, New York, Pittsburgh, and St. Louis).
In the Western Conference Championship game, the Packers (9-4-1) hosted the Los Angeles Rams (11-1-2).
Western Conference divisions were:
Central (Chicago, Detroit, Green Bay, and Minnesota).
Coastal (Atlanta, Baltimore, Los Angeles, and San Francisco).
The Iconic Ice Bowl Revisited
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