Moving to Center Stage

1959 was a milestone year for football and the NFL. Vince Lombardi became head coach at Green Bay; the national media gave increasing attention to the NFL with a Time cover story and CBS’s “The Violent World of Sam Huff” leading the way; and Pete Rozelle was chosen the New Commissioner following the death of Bert Bell. Lamar Hunt and “Bud” Adams announced the formation of the American Football League in 1959 and a battle to sign players followed. The signing battle was costly to both leagues and put great pressure on all teams to settle. The AFL was aided in its survival by television contracts and their millionaire owners. The AFL moved to sign African-American players and this accelerated the desegregation process. The AFL played a different style of football and that helped attract fans. Key developments included the signing of Joe Namath by the New York Jets, expansion of both leagues, and wild spending on bonuses in 1965. In 1966 Lamar Hunt and Tex Schramm began secret negotiations on a merger. The settlement in 1966 was complicated but did include the agreement for an AFL/NFL Championship game and a retention of separate leagues until 1970. The merger approval by Congress involved political maneuvering including the creation of the New Orleans franchise in exchange for Congressman Hale Boggs’s work on the legislation. Between 1966 and 1970 the details were worked out by a Merger Committee representing both leagues. The final obstacle was divisional realignment necessitating some NFL teams moving from the National Conference to the American Conference. This was settled when Cleveland, Baltimore, and Pittsburg agreed to a move. In the meantime the Super Bowl was already becoming a major event aided by Joe Namath’s guarantee of a Jets victory in Super Bowl III.