(WWTI) – Ready, Set, Hut! Today is American Football Day.
Rugby and soccer both paved the way for American football in the late 1800s and innovators like Walter Camp and coaches Knute Rockne and Amos Alonzo Stagg changed rules and capitalized on new plays making the game what it is today. College football took off before the pro version in the early 1900s; Bowl games attracted a national audience for college teams and the NCAA version remains popular today.
The NFL had 25 teams by the mid-20s and more teams entered the league during the 1950s. The 1958 NFL Championship Game, known as “The Greatest Game Ever Played,” changed everything; the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants met at Yankee Stadium and played the first “sudden death” overtime game in NFL history. The final score was Colts 23, Giants 17.
Today there are 32 NFL teams split evenly between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. Conference winners meet to determine the league champion in the Super Bowl.
The First Super Bowl was on Sunday, January 15, 1967, the Green Bay Packers Won against Kansas City, here are the rest of the winners of every Super Bowl courtesy of ESPN’s website:
Super Bowl: | Date: | Won | Loss |
I | Jan. 15, 1967 | Green Bay Packers, 35 | Kansas, City Chiefs, 10 |
II | Jan. 14, 1968 | Green Bay Packers, 33 | Oakland Raiders, 14 |
III | Jan. 12, 1969 | New York Giants Jets, 16 | Baltimore Ravens, 7 |
IV | Jan. 11, 1970 | Kansas City Chiefs, 23 | Minnesota Vikings, 7 |
V | Jan. 17, 1971 | Baltimore Ravens, 16 | Dallas Cowboys, 13 |
VI | Jan. 16, 1972 | Dallas Cowboys, 24 | Miami Dolphins, 3 |
VII | Jan. 14, 1973 | Miami Dolphins, 14 | Washington Commanders, 7 |
VIII | Jan. 13, 1974 | Miami Dolphins, 24 | Minnesota Vikings, 7 |
IX | Jan. 12, 1975 | Pittsburgh Steelers, 16 | Minnesota Vikings, 6 |
X | Jan. 18, 1976 | Pittsburgh Steelers, 21 | Dallas Cowboys, 17 |
XI | Jan. 9, 1977 | Oakland Raiders, 32 | Minnesota Vikings, 14 |
XII | Jan. 15, 1978 | Dallas Cowboys, 27 | Denver Broncos, 10 |
XIII | Jan. 21, 1979 | Pittsburgh Steelers, 35 | Dallas Cowboys, 31 |
XIV | Jan. 20, 1980 | Pittsburgh Steelers, 31 | Los Angeles Rams, 19 |
XV | Jan. 25, 1981 | Oakland Raiders, 27 | Philadelphia Eagles, 10 |
XVI | Jan. 24, 1982 | San Francisco 49ers, 26 | Cincinnati Bengals, 21 |
XVII | Jan. 30, 1983 | Washington Commanders, 27 | Miami Dolphins, 17 |
XVIII | Jan. 22, 1984 | Los Angeles Raiders, 38 | Washington Commanders, 9 |
XIX | Jan. 20, 1985 | San Francisco 49ers, 38 | Miami Dolphins, 16 |
XX | Jan. 26, 1986 | Chicago Bears, 46 | New England Patriots, 10 |
XXI | Jan. 25, 1987 | New York Giants, 39 | Denver Broncos, 20 |
XXII | Jan. 31, 1988 | Washington Commanders, 42 | Denver Broncos, 10 |
XXIII | Jan. 22, 1989 | San Francisco 49ers, 20 | Cincinnati Bengals, 16 |
XXIV | Jan. 28, 1990 | San Francisco 49ers, 55 | Denver Broncos, 10 |
XXV | Jan. 27, 1991 | New York Giants, 20 | Buffalo Bills, 19 |
XXVI | Jan. 26, 1992 | Washington Commanders, 37 | Buffalo Bills, 24 |
XXVII | Jan. 31, 1993 | Dallas Cowboys, 52 | Buffalo Bills, 17 |
XXVIII | Jan. 30, 1994 | Dallas Cowboys, 30 | Buffalo Bills, 13 |
XXIX | Jan. 29, 1995 | San Francisco 49ers, 49 | San Diego Chargers, 26 |
XXX | Jan. 28, 1996 | Dallas Cowboys, 27 | Pittsburgh Steelers, 17 |
XXXI | Jan. 26, 1997 | Green Bay Packers, 35 | New England Patriots, 21 |
XXXII | Jan. 25, 1998 | Denver Broncos, 31 | Green Bay Packers, 24 |
XXXIII | Jan. 31, 1999 | Denver Broncos, 34 | Atlanta Falcons, 19 |
XXXIV | Jan. 30, 2000 | St. Louis Rams, 23 | Tennessee Titans, 16 |
XXXV | Jan. 28, 2001 | Baltimore Ravens, 34 | New York Giants, Giants, 7 |
XXXVI | Feb. 3, 2002 | New England Patriots, 20 | St. Louis Rams, 17 |
XXXVII | Jan. 26, 2003 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 48 | Oakland Raiders, 21 |
XXXVIII | Feb. 1, 2004 | New England Patriots, 32 | Carolina Panthers, 29 |
XXXIX | Feb. 6, 2005 | New England Patriots, 24 | Philadelphia Eagles, 21 |
XL | Feb. 5, 2006 | Pittsburgh Steelers, 21 | Seattle Seahawks, 10 |
XLI | Feb. 4, 2007 | Indianapolis Colts, 29 | Chicago Bears, 17 |
XLII | Feb. 3, 2008 | New York Giants, 17 | New England Patriots, 14 |
XLIII | Feb. 1, 2009 | Pittsburgh Steelers, 27 | Arizona Cardinals, 23 |
XLIV | Feb. 7, 2010 | New Orleans Saints, 31 | Indianapolis Colts, 17 |
XLV | Feb. 6, 2011 | Green Bay Packers, 31 | Pittsburgh Steelers, 25 |
XLVI | Feb. 5, 2012 | New York Giants, 21 | New England Patriots, 17 |
XLVII | Feb. 3, 2013 | Baltimore Ravens, 34 | San Francisco 49ers, 31 |
XLVIII | Feb. 2, 2014 | Seattle Seahawks, 43 | Denver Broncos, 8 |
XLIX | Feb. 1, 2015 | New England Patriots, 28 | Seattle Seahawks, 24 |
50 | Feb. 7, 2016 | Denver Broncos, 24 | Carolina Panthers, 10 |
LI | Feb. 5, 2017 | New England Patriots, 34 | Atlanta Falcons, 28 |
LII | Feb. 4, 2018 | Philadelphia Eagles, 41 | New England Patriots, 33 |
LIII | Feb. 3, 2019 | New England Patriots, 13 | Los Angeles Rams, 3 |
LIV | Feb. 2, 2020 | Kansas City Chiefs, 31 | San Francisco 49ers, 20 |
LV | Feb. 7, 2021 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 31 | Kansas City Chiefs, 9 |
LVI | Feb. 13, 2022 | Los Angeles Rams, 23 | Cincinnati Bengals, 20 |
LVII | Feb. 12, 2023 | Kansas City Chiefs, 38 | Philadelphia Eagles, 35 |
Happy American Football Day!