The 49ers and Chiefs will meet on Sunday to play in Super Bowl LIV, the 54th world championship game in the sport’s history. The Chiefs are making their first appearance in the Super Bowl in 50 years, after playing in two of the first four Super Bowls in history.
Prior to Super Bowl I, football teams around the country competed in two separate leagues that crowned champions – the National Football League, and the American Football League. The two organizations merged in 1969, and for the first time ever the following January, the AFL champion Chiefs faced the NFL champion Packers in a game we now refer to as Super Bowl I. The game was played at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
At the time, the game was simply referred to as the “AFL-NFL World Championship Game.” It wasn’t until Super Bowl IV in 1970, which was won by the Chiefs, that the “Super Bowl” name was used.
Led by game MVP Bart Starr, the favored Packers team blew open Super Bowl I in the third quarter, scoring two touchdowns to take a 28-10 lead. Green Bay finished the game with 21 unanswered points in the second half to win a world championship – and added a second title the next year in Super Bowl II.
You can watch highlights from Super Bowl I on YouTube.
