San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
Merger ushers in the modern era during wild 1970s
Note: This is part of a series of stories by the Associated Press to commemorate the 100th anniversary season of the NFL. This week: The 1970s.
The NFL’s final and biggest merger kicked the league into a new era in 1970, the start of a decade where pro football entered the modern era. Combining the American Football League and the NFL meant splitting 26 teams into two conferences.
The Raiders came from the AFL, and joined the new American Football Conference with Baltimore, Buffalo, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Denver, Houston, Kansas City, Miami, New England, the New York Jets, Pittsburgh and San Diego.
The 49ers, who debuted as an original team in the AllAmerica Football Conference in 1946 and joined the NFL after the AAFC’s demise in 1950, became part of the new National Football Conference with Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Detroit, Green Bay, the Los Angeles Rams, Minnesota, New Orleans, the New York Giants, Philadelphia, St. Louis Cardinals and Washington.
The NFL expanded to 28 teams in 1974 with Seattle and Tampa Bay starting play in 1976.
Top teams
Pittsburgh: NFL’s first team to win three Super Bowl championships.
Miami: Three straight Super Bowl berths, two titles and a perfect 170 season in 1972. Dallas: Won two Super Bowls, but lost two more — both to the Steelers.
Oakland: The Raiders won only one Super Bowl in this decade, but were among the league’s most entertaining teams and always seemed to find themselves in the wildest games: The Immaculate Reception, the Sea of Hands, the Ghost to the Post and the Holy Roller (see below).
Top players
Ken Stabler, Oakland: His “Snake” nickname alone would’ve been enough, but the lefthanded quarterback also was a twotime NFL MVP and a member of the AllDecade Team of the 1970s.
O.J. Simpson, Buffalo: Long before his postcareer infamy, the former Heisman Trophy winner from USC and San Francisco’s Galileo High became the first player in NFL history to run for more than 2,000 yards in a season in 1973, finishing with 2,003 yards.
Bob Griese, Miami: The quarterback led the Dolphins to three AFC titles and two Super Bowl victories.
Roger Staubach, Dallas: The twotime Super Bowl winner and a Super Bowl MVP led the NFL in passing four times, and coined the phrase “Hail Mary” for a desperation pass.
Walter Payton, Chicago: Sweetness ran for 275 yards on Nov. 20, 1977, then a singlegame record.
Terry Bradshaw, Joe Greene, Jack Ham, Lynn Swan of Pittsburgh: All Hall of Famers for their roles in the Steelers’ dominating run.
Alan Page, Minnesota: The future Minnesota Supreme Court justice was a member of the Purple People Eaters. Page was only the second defensive player named the NFL’s MVP in 1971 and a twotime Defensive Player of the Year who had 173 sacks and played 238 consecutive games.
Earl Campbell, Houston: The NFL’s MVP and Rookie of the Year in 1978, he won the first of his four league rushing titles. His best season came in 1980 with 1,934 yards, and he finished with 9,407 yards rushing and 74 touchdowns in eight seasons.
Top coaches
Tom Landry: Took Dallas to five Super Bowls in this decade, winning two titles and losing three others by a combined 11 points. Landry also coached the first wildcard team to reach a Super Bowl in January 1976. Chuck Noll: Turned the Steel
ers into one of the best teams of alltime as the NFL’s first to win three Super Bowl titles with a Steel Curtain defense that sent four players to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Don Shula: Led Miami to the NFL’s first undefeated regular season and finished off the only perfect season at 170 on Jan. 14, 1973. He also led the Dolphins to a second straight Super Bowl title.
Memorable games
The Immaculate Reception: If not for Franco Harris scooping the ball up before hitting the turf at Three Rivers Stadium, the Steelers’ run to three Super Bowl championships might’ve been delayed a year. Instead, he helped Pittsburgh beat the Raiders 137 for the Steelers’ first win in the playoffs on Dec. 23, 1972.
Sea of Hands: The Raiders ended Miami’s run of consecutive Super Bowl berths at three straight Dec. 21, 1974, with a playoff victory in Oakland. Stabler was being pulled down by Vern Den Herder when he shoved the ball toward the end zone where Clarence Davis grabbed the ball away from two Dolphins defenders for the winning TD.
The Hail Mary: Last gasp throws had been called a “Hail Mary” try before Dec. 28, 1975. But Staubach finding Drew Pearson for a 50yard TD pass to beat the Vikings in Minnesota branded such throws when Staubach explained his gamewinning throw by saying, “I closed my eyes and said a Hail Mary.”
Ghost to the Post: The Raiders and Baltimore Colts played into double overtime of their AFC divisional playoff game on Dec. 24, 1977. Oakland won 3731 only after Dave Casper caught a 42yard pass from Stabler to set up the tying field goal late in regulation, and the tight end also caught a 10yard TD pass for the victory in the fifthlongest game in NFL history.
The Holy Roller: On Sept. 10, 1978, in San Diego, the Raiders beat the Chargers on a forward fumble that was finally recovered by Casper in the end zone. Stabler had fumbled the ball forward to start the play, Raiders running back Pete Banaszak pounced on it on the 12 but couldn’t recover it, pushing the ball forward. Casper then batted the ball ahead until he recovered for the touchdown and a 2120 win. The play, derisively known as the Immaculate Deception by Chargers fans, led to an NFL rule change.
Super Bowl Goes Indoors: The 1978 Super Bowl marked more than just Dallas’ second championship under Landry. The NFL took its marquee game indoors for the first time at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans on Jan. 15.
Game changers
Highlights: Names went on the back of jerseys, and the point after touchdown changed to one point. In 1972, owners decided to start counting tie games as a halfgame won and lost. The NFL agreed in 1973 to use a uniform numbering system for jerseys limiting groups of numbers to different positions. Division winners started earning homefield advantage in the playoffs in 1975.
16game season: The preseason went from six games to four with two games tacked onto the regular season for the 1978 season. A second wildcard team also was added to the playoffs.
Football abroad: The NFL first tested its popularity outside North America on Aug. 16, 1976, when the thenSt. Louis Cardinals beat San Diego 2010 in an exhibition in Tokyo.
Blackouts: Congress started testing the blackout rule in 1973, requiring a sellout 72 hours before kickoff for teams to show games in local markets. The rule lasted until September 2014.
Teresa M. Walker is an Associated Press writer.