By Darin The 1970 season marks one of the most pivotal organizational shifts in professional football history. The long-awaited AFL-NFL merger officially took effect, unifying 26 professional teams under a single shield. This season established the modern structure of the game and introduced broadcasting formats that transformed football into an undeniable American spectacle.
The Merger and the Birth of Primetime
To balance the newly formed conferences after the merger, three established NFL franchises—the Baltimore Colts, Cleveland Browns, and Pittsburgh Steelers—agreed to move to the newly created American Football Conference (AFC) to join the former AFL teams. The remaining 13 NFL franchises formed the National Football Conference (NFC).
Simultaneously, the league dramatically expanded its media footprint with the debut of Monday Night Football on ABC. Broadcasting the game in prime time with the dynamic and often polarizing commentary trio of Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, and Keith Jackson turned the sport into weekly appointment television and a cultural event.
Individual Gridiron Milestones
The 1970 regular season featured two of the most famous individual achievements in NFL history:
- Tom Dempsey’s 63-Yard Field Goal: On November 8, New Orleans Saints kicker Tom Dempsey, who was born without toes on his right foot and wore a custom flat-front shoe, kicked a 63-yard game-winning field goal as time expired. This shattered the previous NFL record by seven yards and stood unmatched for 28 years.
- George Blanda’s Miracle Month: At 43 years old, Oakland Raiders quarterback and kicker George Blanda put together an unprecedented five-game stretch. Over five consecutive weeks, Blanda threw late game-tying or game-winning touchdown passes, or kicked late game-tying or game-winning field goals, earning him the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year award.
Super Bowl V
The culmination of the 1970 season was Super Bowl V, played on January 17, 1971, at the Orange Bowl in Miami. It pitted the AFC Champion Baltimore Colts against the NFC Champion Dallas Cowboys.
Often referred to as the “Blunder Bowl” due to poor, erratic play, the game was marred by a record 11 combined turnovers and 14 penalties. Despite the sloppy execution, the finish was highly dramatic.
The Colts’ victory provided redemption for their massive upset loss to the Jets in Super Bowl III two years prior, cementing the competitive parity of the newly merged league.
| Team | Final Score | Historic Note |
| Baltimore Colts | 16 | Rookie kicker Jim O’Brien secured the win with a 32-yard field goal with five seconds remaining. |
| Dallas Cowboys | 13 | Linebacker Chuck Howley intercepted two passes and became the first and only Super Bowl MVP from a losing team. |
College Football: Triumphs and Tragedy
The collegiate landscape in 1970 was marked by intense competition and profound heartbreak.
- The National Championship: The college football title remained split among multiple polls, but the Nebraska Cornhuskers emerged as the consensus AP National Champions after finishing 11-0-1 and defeating LSU in the Orange Bowl. The Texas Longhorns and Ohio State Buckeyes also claimed shares of the title in other recognized polls.
- The Marshall University Tragedy: On November 14, 1970, Southern Airways Flight 932 crashed shortly before landing in Huntington, West Virginia. The crash claimed the lives of all 75 people on board, including 37 players of the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team, the coaching staff, and team boosters, marking the deadliest sports-related aviation disaster in U.S. history.
A Deep Dive into 1970 Football History and Highlights
- January 1, 1970 – The Cotton Bowl had the No. 1 Texas Longhorns against the No. 9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish in a thriller.
- January 1, 1970 – The Rose Bowl provided viewers with its 56th edition of the classic, and pitted the USC Trojans against the Michigan Wolverines. This was a defensive battle that saw Southern Cal come out on top 10-3, with Trojan flanker Bob Chandler named the game MVP.
- January 4, 1970 – Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland –The Kansas City Chiefs met their rivals, the Oakland Raiders, in the 1969 AFL Championship game. The Chiefs’ defense came to play and made it tough sledding for the Raiders all game, forcing 4 interceptions. KC earned the right to advance to the Big Game in a 17-7 victory over the home team.
- January 4, 1970 – Metropolitan Stadium, Bloomington, Minnesota –Meanwhile, at the NFL Championship game to see who would face the Chiefs, it was the Minnesota Vikings who outlasted the Cleveland Browns, 27-7.
- January 11, 1970 – Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana –Super Bowl IV had the Minnesota Vikings taking on the Kansas City Chiefs for the right to win the Lombardi Trophy, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com. The Chiefs jumped out to a 16-0 halftime lead based on three Jan Stenerud field goals and a rushing TD by Running Back Mike Garrett. The teams exchanged touchdowns in the third quarter on a Vikings Dave Osborn plunge, and a KC Len Dawson pass connection to Otis Taylor for a 46-yard touchdown. The Chiefs captured the NFL title by knocking off the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7. The game’s Most Valuable Player was Quarterback Len Dawson.
- January 16, 1970, -The NFL realigned into 3 divisions in each Conference after the official merger of the AFL into the NFL, per the American Football Fandom site. As we discussed in earlier posts, the NFL had 16 teams prior to the merger, while the AFL had only 10. The easiest way to balance the conferences was to move three traditionally NFL teams into the new AFC to join the existing AFL squads. So in the realignment, the Baltimore Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Cleveland Browns all joined the old AFL squads in the conference. The divisions were listed as the AFC West, consisting of the Raiders, Chargers, Broncos, and Chiefs. The AFC East consisted of the Bills, Colts, Patriots, Jets, and Dolphins. The Central Division of the AFC placed the Browns, Bengals, Oilers, and Steelers together. Over in the other conference, the NFC East consists of the Eagles, Redskins, Cowboys, Giants, and Cardinals. The NFC Central comprised the Packers, Bears, Vikings, and Lions. The Rams, 49ers, Saints, and Falcons made up the NFC West.
- January 17, 1970 – In Houston’s Astrodome, the 9th and final AFL All-Star Game saw the Western Division defeat the Eastern Division 26-3, with Los Angeles Charger quarterback John Hadl receiving MVP honors.
- January 18, 1970 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum –The 20th NFL Pro Bowl featured the Western Conference outlasting the Eastern Conference, 16-13. Chicago Bears legendary halfback Gale Sayers and George Andrie, the defensive end of the Dallas Cowboys, were selected as the game’s Most Valuable Players.
- January 27, 1970 – In the 1970 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers chose future Hall of Famer Terry Bradshaw from Louisiana Tech with the first pick of the entire draft. Bradshaw would be the signal-caller who won those 4 Super Bowls for Chuck Noll that we just talked about, and Terry was the MVP of 2 of them!
- March 18, 1970 – The NFL selected Wilson as the official football & scoreboard for the official time.