Super Bowl V - WikiHQ

Super Bowl V was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Baltimore Colts and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Dallas Cowboys to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1970 season. It was the fifth edition of the Super Bowl and the first modern-era NFL championship game. The Colts defeated the Cowboys by the score of 16–13 on a field goal with 5 seconds left in the game to win their first Super Bowl and first NFL championship since 1959. The game was played on January 17, 1971, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, and was the first Super Bowl game played on artificial turf; specifically, the game was played on a Poly-Turf surface.

The game was the first Super Bowl played after the completion of the AFL–NFL merger. Beginning with this game and continuing to the present day, the Super Bowl has served as the NFL's championship game, with the winner of the AFC Championship Game and the winner of the NFC Championship Game facing off in the culmination of the NFL playoffs. As per the merger agreement, all 26 AFL and NFL teams were divided into two conferences with 13 teams in each. Along with the Colts, the Cleveland Browns and Pittsburgh Steelers agreed to join the ten AFL teams to form the AFC; the remaining 13 NFL teams formed the NFC. This explains why the Colts represented the NFL in Super Bowl III, but the AFC for Super Bowl V. Baltimore advanced to Super Bowl V after posting an regular season record. Meanwhile, the Cowboys were making their first Super Bowl appearance after posting a regular season record.

The game is often referred to as the "Blunder Bowl," "Blooper Bowl," or "Stupor Bowl" due to it being marred with poor play, a blocked PAT, missed opportunities, penalties, turnovers, and officiating miscues. The two teams combined for a Super Bowl record 11 turnovers, with five solely in the fourth quarter. The Colts' seven turnovers remain the most committed by a Super Bowl champion. Dallas also set a Super Bowl record with 10 penalties, costing them 133 yards. It was finally settled when Colts rookie kicker Jim O'Brien made a 32-yard field goal with five seconds left in regulation time, then a Super Bowl record for least time in the lead for a champion. Baltimore overcame a 13–6 deficit after three quarters and the loss of its starting quarterback Johnny Unitas to an injury in the second quarter. To date, the game is the only Super Bowl in which the Most Valuable Player Award was given to a member of the losing team: Cowboys' linebacker Chuck Howley, the first non-quarterback to win the award, after making two interceptions (sacks and tackles were not yet recorded).

Due to its blunders, the game is often regarded among the worst Super Bowls ever played, but is also recognized as the title the Colts needed after losing Super Bowl III.

Background

Host selection process

The NFL awarded Super Bowl V to Miami on March 17, 1970, at the owners' meeting held in Honolulu. It marked the third Super Bowl to be played in the Orange Bowl. Three cities submitted bids: Miami, New Orleans, and Los Angeles (Coliseum). A potential bid by Pasadena (Rose Bowl) failed to materialize, and Houston (Astrodome) dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with conventions.

Baltimore Colts

thumb|[[Earl Morrall (with ball) running a play during Super Bowl V]]

The Colts were an unspectacular but well-balanced veteran team, led by 37-year-old star quarterback Johnny Unitas. He had regained his starting spot on the team in 1969 upon recovering from an injury that led him to miss the majority of the 1968 season. Unitas played inconsistently during the 1970 regular season; he threw for 2,213 yards, but recorded more interceptions than touchdowns. He also had injury problems, missing two regular season games and giving Earl Morrall more significant playing time. Morrall put up better statistics (792 yards, 9 touchdowns, 4 interceptions, and a 97.6 passer rating), but head coach Don McCafferty decided to start Unitas for the playoffs. (According to Jim O'Brien, Morrall was just as good as Unitas in the players' opinion.)

In addition, Baltimore had three solid weapons in the passing game: wide receivers Eddie Hinton and Roy Jefferson, and future Hall of Fame tight end John Mackey combined for 119 receptions, 1,917 yards, and 15 touchdowns. In the backfield, running back Norm Bulaich was the team's top rusher with 426 yards and 3 touchdowns, while also catching 11 passes for another 123 yards.

The Colts' main strength was their defense. Pro Bowl defensive tackle Bubba Smith anchored the line. Behind him, the Colts had two outstanding linebackers: Pro Bowler Mike Curtis, who recorded 5 interceptions, and Ted Hendricks. In the secondary, Pro Bowl safety Jerry Logan recorded 6 interceptions for 92 return yards and 2 touchdowns, while safety Rick Volk had 4 interceptions for 61 return yards.

Don Klosterman, formerly with San Diego, Kansas City, and Houston in the AFL, became the Colts' general manager in 1970. Future Colts GM Ernie Accorsi was the public relations director.

Baltimore finished the regular season winning the AFC East with an record, the best in the AFC. Only the Minnesota Vikings had a better record among all NFL teams at

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys overcame many obstacles during the regular season. Running back Calvin Hill, the team's second leading rusher with 577 yards and four touchdowns, was lost for the year after suffering a leg injury late in the regular season. Wide receiver Bob Hayes was also benched by head coach Tom Landry for poor performances on several occasions.

Most significantly, the Cowboys had a quarterback controversy between Craig Morton and Roger Staubach; the two alternated as starters during the regular season. Landry eventually settled on Morton for most of the latter half of the season, because he felt less confident that Staubach would follow his game plan (Landry called all of Morton's plays). Morton had also done well in the regular season, throwing for 1,819 yards and 15 touchdowns, with only seven interceptions, earning him a passer rating of 89.8. In contrast, Staubach, although a noted scrambler and able to salvage broken plays effectively, threw for 542 yards, and only two touchdowns with eight interceptions, giving him a 42.9 rating.

Hayes was the main deep threat on the team, catching 34 passes for 889 yards (a 26.1 yards per catch average) and ten touchdowns, while also rushing four times for 34 yards and another touchdown, and adding another 116 yards returning punts. On the other side of the field, wide receiver Lance Rentzel (who would be deactivated for the last few weeks of the season and postseason following an indecent exposure charge; being replaced in the starting lineup by Reggie Rucker) recorded 28 receptions for 556 yards and 5 touchdowns.

thumb|200px|[[Mel Renfro was a key part of the Cowboys' famed "Doomsday Defense"]]

However, the main strength on the Cowboys offense was their running game. Rookie running back Duane Thomas rushed 151 times for 803 yards (a 5.1 yards per carry average) and five touchdowns, while adding another 416 yards returning kickoffs. Fullback Walt Garrison, who replaced the injured Hill, provided Thomas with excellent blocking and rushed for 507 yards and three touchdowns. Garrison was also a good receiver out of the backfield, catching 21 passes for 205 yards and 2 touchdowns. Up front, Pro Bowl guard John Niland and Hall of Famer Rayfield Wright anchored the offensive line.

Like the Colts, the Cowboys' main strength was their defense. Nicknamed the "Doomsday Defense", they allowed just one touchdown in their last six games prior to the Super Bowl. Their line was anchored by Hall of Fame defensive tackle Bob Lilly. Behind him, linebackers Lee Roy Jordan, Dave Edwards, and Hall of Famer Chuck Howley excelled at stopping the run and pass coverage. The Cowboys had an outstanding secondary, led by the Hall of Fame tandem of Mel Renfro and Herb Adderley, who combined for seven interceptions. Dallas also had two rookie safeties: Hall of Famer Cliff Harris and Charlie Waters, who led the team with five interceptions, while Harris recorded two.

Dallas finished the regular season winning the NFC East with a record, winning their final five regular season games to overcome the St. Louis Cardinals (who lost their final three games and fell to third place in the final standings) and New York Giants (who lost their finale to the Los Angeles Rams; a Giants victory would have given New York the NFC East title based upon a better division record and forced a coin toss between the Cowboys and Detroit Lions for the wild card playoff spot).

Playoffs

In the playoffs, Dallas defeated Detroit in sunny weather at the Cotton Bowl, with a field goal and a safety. Later, the Cowboys overcame the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC championship game, aided by Thomas' 143 rushing yards, along with interceptions by Renfro and Jordan late in the third quarter that were both converted into touchdowns.

Meanwhile, the Colts advanced to the Super Bowl by beating the Cincinnati Bengals and the Oakland Raiders in the playoffs at Memorial Stadium.

Super Bowl pregame news and notes

For the Colts, Super Bowl V represented a chance to redeem themselves for their humiliating loss to the New York Jets in Super Bowl III. Volk commented, "Going to the game a second time took away some of the awe. I think we were able to focus better. There was no way we were going to let ourselves get beat again."

Vice President Spiro Agnew, a Colts fan since the team began playing in Baltimore in 1953, attended the game. Agnew was Governor of Maryland prior to his election as Richard Nixon's running mate in 1968. Nixon himself was a huge football fan and had a vacation home in Key Biscayne, approximately ten miles from the Orange Bowl.

Also in attendance was boxing great Muhammad Ali, who signed autographs for many young fans. Ali was in south Florida training for his March 8 heavyweight championship fight vs. Joe Frazier in New York City.

Kickoff for this game was at 2:00 pm, making it the earliest starting time in the Eastern Time Zone in Super Bowl history, and one of only three Super Bowls to start in the morning for viewers in the Pacific Time Zone (the others were Super Bowl VI in New Orleans and Super Bowl X in Miami).

Broadcasting

The game was broadcast in the United States by NBC with play-by-play announcer Curt Gowdy, color commentator Kyle Rote, and sideline reporter Bill Enis.

Although the Orange Bowl was sold out for the event, unconditional blackout rules in the NFL in the era prohibited the live telecast from being shown in the Miami area. The blackout was challenged in Miami-Dade District Court by attorney Ellis Rubin, and although the judge denied Rubin's request since he felt he did not have the power to overrule the NFL, he agreed with Rubin's argument that the blackout rule was unnecessary for the Super Bowl. The game was also the first Super Bowl to be carried live in the state of Alaska, thanks to NBC's then-parent company RCA acquiring the Alaska Communications System from the United States Air Force.

The video of the complete original broadcast, up until Chuck Howley's second interception, the first play of the fourth quarter, exists; however, the rest of the fourth quarter is missing from network vaults. The complete audio, including the post-game, does exist. Broadcast excerpts of the crucial fourth-quarter plays, recovered from the Canadian feed of NBC's original, also exist and circulate among collectors. (Two different NFL Films game compilations also cover the fourth-quarter plays, in part.)

46.04 million people in the US watched the game on television, resulting in a rating of 39.9 and a market share of 75.

Entertainment

The bands from Southern University and Southeast Missouri State College performed before the game, while trumpeter Tommy Loy played the national anthem. Loy also played the anthem before every Cowboys' home game from the mid-1960s until the late-1980s. The Southeast Missouri State Golden Eagle Band was featured during the halftime show along with singer Anita Bryant.

The game had one of the first planned jet fly-bys. The fly-by, which was supposed to happen right at the end of the national anthem, ended up coming 5 minutes after the anthem had ended.

This was the third consecutive (and final) Super Bowl to feature the Vince Lombardi Trophy on the 50-yard line. Originally the trophy was supposed to be painted gray, but the league changed it to silver which led to problems washing it out of the poly turf surface.

Halftime show

The Super Bowl V halftime show was headlined by the Southeast Missouri State Marching Band, with Anita Bryant as a guest. Up with People were also included as performers.

This was the third time that the Southeast Missouri State Marching Band had performed at the Miami Orange Bowl (venue of Super Bowl V), having previously performed during the halftime of the 1965 and 1969 Orange Bowl games. The band was directed by LeRoy Mason. The arrangement of this song was created by her musical director Charles Bird, and had been created for the band to accompany her. It had been adapted from a previous recording Bryant had done of the tune. then landed in the arms of tight end John Mackey, who sprinted 75 yards for a touchdown, the final one of Mackey's career. The Cowboys subsequently blocked kicker Jim O'Brien's extra point attempt to keep the score tied at 6–6, with O'Brien later saying that he was "awfully nervous" and hesitated a second too long before kicking it.

Dallas, backed up to their own end zone, punted after a three-and-out. The Colts would have received the ball inside Dallas territory following the punt, but a clipping penalty on Baltimore running back Jack Maitland pushed the Colts back to their own 39 to begin the drive. Two plays later, however, Morrall completed a 45-yard pass to running back Tom Nowatzke to reach the Cowboys' 15-yard line.

Fourth quarter

However, three plays later, on the first play of the fourth quarter, Morrall threw an interception to Howley in the end zone to preserve the Cowboys' 13–6 lead.

After forcing the Cowboys to punt, the Colts regained the ball on their own 18-yard line, still trailing 13–6. Aided by a pass interference penalty on Dallas safety Charlie Waters and a 23-yard pass from Morrall to Jefferson, the Colts advanced into Dallas territory. A second pass interference penalty, which was called on defensive back Cornell Green, gave the Colts a first down at the Dallas 39-yard-line. An 8-yard run by Nowatzke moved the ball to the 31-yard line. The Colts then attempted to fool the Cowboys with a flea-flicker, resulting in one of the oddest plays in Super Bowl history. Havrilak took a handoff and ran right, intending to lateral the ball back to Morrall, but Pugh stormed into the backfield and prevented him from doing so. Havrilak (who played quarterback at Bucknell University) then threw a pass intended for Mackey, but it was caught instead by Hinton, who promptly took off for the end zone. However, Green stripped Hinton from behind at the 11, and the loose ball bounced wildly into the end zone, evading recovery attempts by six different players until it was eventually pushed through the back of the end zone for a touchback, thus returning the ball to the Cowboys at their 20.

Three plays after the turnover, Morton threw a pass that was deflected by Garrison and intercepted by Colts safety Rick Volk, who returned the ball 30 yards to the Cowboys' 3-yard line before being tackled by wide receiver Reggie Rucker (Morrall later referred to that play as the play of the game). Then, on 2nd-and-35, Morton threw a pass that slipped through the hands of Reeves and bounced for an interception into the arms of Mike Curtis, who then returned the ball 13 yards to the Cowboys' 28-yard line.

Two plays later, with nine seconds left in the game, O'Brien kicked the go ahead 32-yard field goal, giving Baltimore their first lead of the game, 16–13. O'Brien says he was "on automatic" and was so calm and concentrating so hard that he didn't hear anything and saw only the ball.

Colts defensive end Bubba Smith would later refuse to wear his Super Bowl V ring because of the "sloppy" play. In a similar action, Cowboys linebacker Chuck Howley was named the Super Bowl MVP, despite being on the losing team, but Howley initially refused to accept the award because he stated that it was meaningless to him since his team lost. He reluctantly accepted the honor since it included the awarding of a brand-new station wagon that he decided to use as a gift for his wife. During the game, Howley recorded two tackles and two interceptions, one of which he returned for 22 yards.

Don McCafferty became the first rookie head coach to win a Super Bowl. The feat was not repeated until George Seifert led the San Francisco 49ers to victory in Super Bowl XXIV. McCafferty was also the first Super Bowl-winning coach who did not wear coat and tie, opting for a short-sleeved T-shirt with a mock turtleneck.

This Super Bowl would also start a trend with the team that lost the game would come back the next year and win it. Dallas lost this game but they would come back and win it all the next year in Super Bowl VI while their opponents, the Miami Dolphins, lost that game, and would go on to win Super Bowl VII the following season.

Two rule changes that were adopted before the 1974 season were:

When the defensive team commits an illegal use of hands, arms, or body foul from behind the line of scrimmage, the penalty will be assessed from the previous spot instead of the spot of the foul.
The penalties for offensive holding, illegal use of hands, and tripping were reduced from 15-yards to 10-yards.

These would have reduced the severity of the two Dallas offensive holding penalties in Super Bowl V.

This was the first and only Super Bowl where the Trophy presentation was done by somebody other than the commissioner, in this case, Marie Lombardi the wife of recently deceased coach Vince Lombardi. Super Bowl V also marked the debut of the newly renamed Vince Lombardi Trophy. Vince Lombardi died on September 3, 1970 and was to enter his second season as the Washington Redskins head coach.

Box score

Final statistics

Sources:The NFL's Official Encyclopedic History of Professional Football, (1973), p. 149, Macmillan Publishing Co. New York, NY, LCCN 73-3862, NFL.com Super Bowl V, Super Bowl V Play Finder Bal, Super Bowl V Play Finder Dal

Statistical comparison

{| class="wikitable"

!Baltimore Colts

!Dallas Cowboys

|First downs||14||10

|First downs rushing||4||4

|First downs passing||6||5

|First downs penalty||4||1

|Third down efficiency||3/11||1/13

|Fourth down efficiency||0/1||0/0

|Net yards rushing||69||102

|Rushing attempts||31||31

|Yards per rush||2.2||3.3

|Passing – Completions/attempts||11/25||12/26

|Times sacked-total yards||0–0||2–14

|Interceptions thrown||3||3

|Net yards passing||260||113

|Total net yards||329||215

|Punt returns-total yards||5–12||3–9

|Kickoff returns-total yards||4–90||3–34

|Interceptions-total return yards||3–57||3–22

|Punts-average yardage||4–41.5||9–41.9

|Fumbles-lost||5–4||1–1

|Penalties-total yards||4–31||10–133

|Time of possession||28:37||31:23

|Turnovers||7||4

Individual statistics

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="6" style=";"|Colts passing

!C/ATT1

!Yds

!TD

!INT

!Rating

|Johnny Unitas

|3/9

|88

|68.1

|Earl Morrall

|7/15

|147

|54.0

|Sam Havrilak

|1/1

|25

|118.8

! colspan="6" style=";"|Colts rushing

!Car2

!Yds

!TD

!LG3

!Yds/Car

|Tom Nowatzke

|10

|33

|3.30

|Norm Bulaich

|18

|28

|1.56

|Johnny Unitas

|4.00

|Sam Havrilak

|3.00

|Earl Morrall

|1.00

! colspan="6" style=";"|Colts receiving

!Rec4

!Yds

!TD

!LG3

!Target5

|Roy Jefferson

|52

|23

|John Mackey

|80

|75

|Ed Hinton

|51

|26

|Sam Havrilak

|27

|25

|Tom Nowatzke

|45

|Norm Bulaich

|Tom Mitchell

|Ray Perkins

{| class="wikitable"

! colspan="6" style=";"|Cowboys passing

!C/ATT1

!Yds

!TD

!INT

!Rating

|Craig Morton

|12/26

|127

|34.1

! colspan="6" style=";"|Cowboys rushing

!Car2

!Yds

!TD

!LG3

!Yds/Car

|Walt Garrison

|12

|65

|19

|5.42

|Duane Thomas

|18

|35

|1.94

|Craig Morton

|2.00

! colspan="6" style=";"|Cowboys receiving

!Rec4

!Yds

!TD

!LG3

!Target5

|Dan Reeves

|46

|17

|Duane Thomas

|21

|Walt Garrison

|19

|14

|Bob Hayes

|41

|Mike Ditka

|Reggie Rucker

1Completions/attempts

2Carries

3Long gain

4Receptions

5Times targeted

Records set

The following records were set or tied in Super Bowl V, according to the official NFL.com boxscore, the 2016 NFL Record & Fact Book The minimums are shown (in parentheses).

{| class="wikitable"

!colspan=3|Player records in Super Bowl V

|Longest scoring play || 75-yard pass || rowspan=3|John Mackey (Baltimore)

|Longest reception || 75 yards

|-style="border-bottom: 2px solid gray"

|Longest touchdown reception || 75 yards

|Longest pass || 75 yards (TD) || Johnny Unitas (Baltimore)

|Most interceptions thrown, career || 4 ||Earl Morrall (Baltimore)

!colspan=3|Special teams

|Most kickoff return yards, game || 90 ||rowspan=4|Jim Duncan (Baltimore)

|Most kickoff return yards, career || 90

|Highest kickoff return average, game (3 returns) || 22.5 yards (4–90)

|- style="border-bottom: 2px solid gray"

|Highest kickoff return average, career (4 returns) ||22.5 yards (4–90)

|Most punts, game || 9 || Ron Widby (Dallas)

|Most fair catches, game || 3 ||Ron Gardin (Baltimore)

!colspan=3|Records tied

|-style="border-bottom: 2px solid gray"

|Most interceptions thrown, game || 3 ||Craig Morton (Dallas)

|Most interceptions, game || 2 ||rowspan=2|Chuck Howley (Dallas)

|- style="border-bottom: 2px solid gray"

|Most interceptions, career || 2

|Most kickoff returns, game || 4 || rowspan=2 |Jim Duncan

|-style="border-bottom: 2px solid gray"

|Most kickoff returns, career || 4

|-style="border-bottom: 2px solid gray"

|rowspan=2|Most fumbles, game Most fumbles, career || rowspan=2| 1 || style="border-bottom: 2px solid gray"|Ron Gardin Johnny Unitas Jim Duncan Eddie Hinton Earl Morrall (Baltimore)

|-style="border-bottom: 2px solid gray"

| Duane Thomas (Dallas)

|Rowspan=2|Most fumbles recovered, game Most fumbles recovered, career ||rowspan=2| 1 || style="border-bottom: 2px solid gray" |Earl Morrall Jim Duncan

|Cliff Harris Jethro Pugh Richmond Flowers (Dallas)

{| class="wikitable"

!colspan=3|Team records set

{| class="wikitable"

! width="150px" style=";" | Baltimore !! Position !! width="150px" style=";" | Dallas

|colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Offense

| Eddie Hinton || style="text-align:center;" | WR || bgcolor="#FFCC00" | Bob Hayes‡

| Bob Vogel || style="text-align:center;" | LT || Ralph Neely

| Glenn Ressler || style="text-align:center;" | LG || John Niland

| Bill Curry || style="text-align:center;" | C || Dave Manders

| John Williams || style="text-align:center;" | RG || Blaine Nye

| Dan Sullivan || style="text-align:center;" | RT || bgcolor="#FFCC00" | Rayfield Wright‡

| bgcolor="#FFCC00" | John Mackey‡ || style="text-align:center;" | TE || Pettis Norman

| Roy Jefferson || style="text-align:center;" | WR || Reggie Rucker

| bgcolor="#FFCC00" | Johnny Unitas‡ || style="text-align:center;" | QB || Craig Morton

| Norm Bulaich || style="text-align:center;" | RB || Duane Thomas

| Tom Nowatzke || style="text-align:center;" | RB || Walt Garrison

| colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" | Defense

| Bubba Smith || style="text-align:center;" | LE || Larry Cole

| Billy Ray Smith || style="text-align:center;" | LT || Jethro Pugh

| Fred Miller || style="text-align:center;" | RT || bgcolor="#FFCC00" | Bob Lilly‡

| Roy Hilton || style="text-align:center;" | RE || George Andrie

| Ray May || style="text-align:center;" | LLB || Dave Edwards

| Mike Curtis || style="text-align:center;" | MLB || Lee Roy Jordan

| bgcolor="#FFCC00" | Ted Hendricks‡ || style="text-align:center;" | RLB || bgcolor="#FFCC00" | Chuck Howley‡

| Charlie Stukes || style="text-align:center;" | LCB || bgcolor="#FFCC00" | Herb Adderley‡

| Jim Duncan || style="text-align:center;" | RCB || bgcolor="#FFCC00" | Mel Renfro‡

| Jerry Logan || style="text-align:center;" | LS || Cornell Green

| Rick Volk || style="text-align:center;" | RS || Charlie Waters

Officials

Referee: Norm Schachter #56 second Super Bowl (I)
Umpire: Paul Trepinski #22 first Super Bowl
Head linesman: Ed Marion #26 first Super Bowl
Line judge: Jack Fette #39 first Super Bowl
Back judge: Hugh Gamber #70 first Super Bowl
Field judge: Fritz Graf #34 first Super Bowl
Alternate referee: Jack Reader #42 worked Super Bowls I and III as a back judge. Named NFL Assistant Director of Officiating in 1974.
Alternate umpire: Pat Harder #88 never had an on-field assignment in a Super Bowl. Alternate umpire for Super Bowl XVI

Note: A seven-official system was not used until 1978, also back judge and field swapped titles in 1998.

References

External links

Super Bowl V: De-Noised & Color-Corrected Broadcast. Dave Volsky's Back Door via YouTube.com, June 8, 2023. (Video.)
Super Bowl V Box Score at Pro Football Reference
Super Bowl official website
Pro Football Stats, History, Scores, Standings, Playoffs, Schedule & Records – Large online database of NFL data and statistics