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3 Super Bowl books to celebrate the 50th anniversary

For in-depth retrospectives of the first 49 Super Bowls, these recent releases are hard to beat.

3. ‘When It Was Just a Game: Remembering the First Super Bowl,’ by Harvey Frommer

  • By Ross Atkin

This book takes an in-depth look at the very first Super Bowl, which was originally called the AFL-NFL Championship Game. (Only in its third year was the name “Super Bowl” adopted). The inaugural game between the victorious Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs was played in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum before just 61,946 fans, far below the stadium’s capacity. Sports historian and journalist Harvey Frommer weaves much of the story of that game together using the oral history provided in interviews with the players, coaches, fans, and members of the media.

Here’s an excerpt from When It Was Just a Game:

“Another minor controversy was centered on which league’s football would be used in the game. It was decided that Green Bay would use the NFL Wilson ‘Duke ‘ ball, and Kansas City would stay with its AFL-sanctioned Spalding J5-V. Little difference existed aside from the AFL ball being a little more pointed than the NFL one. A quarter an inch longer and thinner than the Wilson model, some said the AFL was a bit easier to throw.

“On offense, the football would be changed by game referee Norm Schacter, the NFL’s top official. Sometimes the wrong ball would wind up in the hands of an irritated center or other player, who complained and insisted on having the ‘correct’ football.”

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Mark Sappenfield
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