The NFL Dallas Cowboys joined the league as an
expansion team in 1960. Since that time they have been a success on and
off the field and have enjoyed an avid following in the state of Texas,
the United States at large and internationally as well. Dallas Cowboys
history is marked with many great events and endless memorable games,
none more so, perhaps, than the Ice Bowl of 1967.
Ice Bowl is a
term that has been attached to a number of sporting events that have
taken place in extremely cold weather conditions. The 35th National
Football League Championship game that took place in 1967 between the
Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys was one such game. Due to the
importance of the game, the rivalry between the teams and the game’s
stunning conclusion, it is considered to be one of the greatest games
played. The weather conditions that the teams endured during the game
cemented its place among the all time greatest games in NFL history.
The
Ice Bowl game of 1967 is remembered not only for the play on the field
but also for all the happenings and consequences attributed to the
brutally cold football conditions. The game that took place on December
31, 1967 at Lambeau Field, home of the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay,
Wisconsin, is one of the coldest NFL games ever played. At game time
the official temperature was -13°F (-25°C), with a wind chill of -48°F
(-44°C). The playing field was as hard as a rock and almost as smooth
as a hockey rink as the cold temperatures overwhelmed the new turf
heating system at the stadium. As a result of the Ice Bowl, Lambeau
Field was affectionately referred to thereafter as “the Frozen Tundra”.
The
Ice Bowl was the second consecutive NFL championship game between the
Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys. The Packers had won the game
in 1966 with a 34-27 defeat of the Cowboys. On this cold day in
December 1967 the Green Bay Packers, coached by legendary great Vince
Lombardi, jumped out to an early 14-0 lead with two touchdown passes
from quarterback Bart Starr to wide receiver Boyd Dowler. However, two
costly turnovers by Green Bay in the second quarter allowed Dallas to
score ten points and end the half down 14-10. Neither team put any
points on the board in the third quarter.
In the fourth quarter
the Cowboys struck early with a 50-yard touchdown pass from running
back Dan Reeves to wide receiver Lance Rentzel on a halfback option
play that put them ahead 17 to 14. Later in the fourth the Packers
missed on a 40-yard field goal attempt. With just under four minutes to
play and on their own 32-yard line, Starr led the Packers down the
field with three key completions. They then ran the ball to the 3-yard
line of the Cowboys. Twice the Packers attempted to run the ball into
the end zone but both times they were stopped at the 1-yard line – the
icy field and poor footing playing a part in the second attempt.
With
only 16 seconds left on the clock Starr called a time-out. He and Coach
Lombardi conferred on the sidelines. Many observers, including the
Cowboys, expected a passing play as a completed pass in the end zone
would win the game and an incompletion would allow for another play for
a touchdown to win or a field goal attempt to take the game to
overtime. The Packers, however, partly influenced by the treacherous
footing and weather conditions had another idea. After the snap Starr
executed a quarterback sneak and went in to score a touchdown giving
the Packers a dramatic 21 to 17 lead. The Cowboys received the ball
back on the kick-off but were unable to advance the ball in the few
remaining seconds. With the victory, the Packers defeated the Cowboys
for the second straight year and won their third consecutive NFL
Championship.
The Green Bay Packers went on to easily defeat the
American Football League Champion, Oakland Raiders, to win Super Bowl
II. At the time the Super Bowl was considered by many to be of lesser
importance than the NFL Championship game (that would all change the
next year when the AFL Champions upset the NFL Champions to claim the
Super Bowl). The Ice Bowl and Super Bowl II marked the end of an era as
Vince Lombardi, after winning five NFL Championship games in seven
years and Super Bowl I and II, retired as head coach of the Packers.
The following season the Packers had a losing record as age and injury
caught up to the team. It would be thirty years before they would be a
dominant force again. On the other hand the Dallas Cowboys were
becoming a force to be reckoned with and would show their domination in
the 1970s winning two Super Bowls.
The bitterly cold weather
experienced at the Ice Bowl had an affect and left its mark on every
aspect of the game including the pre-game and half time entertainment,
how the game was called, the health of the players, and the overall
comfort of the fans. During the warm-up for the pre-game show the wood
wind instruments of the marching band froze and the mouthpieces of the
brass instruments stuck to the players lips. Several of the band
members suffered hypothermia and in the end the performances by the
band were cancelled. The metal whistle used by the official to signal
the start of the game froze to his lips and thus ended the use of
whistles for the day. For the rest of the game the officials used only
their voices to call the plays. Also on this day, the health of players
was compromised as some suffered frostbite during the game and Dallas
Cowboys quarterback Don Meredith was diagnosed with pneumonia and
hospitalized on his return to Texas.
The Ice Bowl of 1967 will
forever go down in the history books as a remarkable game not only due
to “the Frozen Tundra” and the elements the players had to face but
also due to the drama of the final minutes. The game capped an amazing
run for the Green Bay Packers and marked the end of a coaching career
for the legendary Vince Lombardi. It also revealed what was ahead for
Cowboys football and Dallas Cowboys coach Tom Landry as the team
completed their second winning season of what would become 20
consecutive years of winning seasons. At the Ice Bowl of 1967, the
glory days of the Dallas Cowboys were just beginning.
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