January 15 Football History

🏈 January 15: Where Gridiron Legends Are Made

From the first whistle of the original All-Star Game to the glory of Super Bowl victories, January 15th holds a crucial place in football lore. This single day has witnessed the birth of historic traditions, the retirement of generational talents, and the crowning of champions. It’s a day marked by firsts—including the very first NFL All-Star Game in 1939—and unforgettable championship clashes that set the stage for modern football. Get ready to journey through time and relive the pivotal moments, legendary births, and shocking upsets that have made January 15th a powerhouse date on the gridiron calendar.

January 15 Football Image of the Day

January 15 Football History Timeline

• January 15, 1939 – Wrigley Field, Chicago – A new addition to the NFL lineup of games arrived as the first NFL All-Star Game. The NFL Championship game winners would have the honor of facing the best players from all the other League squads. The profootballhof.com website states that the 1938 NFL Champions were the New York Giants, who defeated Green Bay 23-17 on December 11. In this All-Star game, the Giants narrowly defeated the All-American All-Stars, 13-10.
• January 15, 1956 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – The 6th NFL Pro Bowl assembled the League’s top players to battle each other, representing their respective Conferences. That season, it was the Eastern Conference that edged out its Western Conference rivals by the narrowest of margins, 31-30. The game’s Outstanding Player award was claimed by Ollie Matson, the running back of the Chicago Cardinals, per the American Football Database. Matson apparently had the play of the game on a 91-yard zig-zagging punt return, per a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article, the morning after the game.  
• January 15, 1961 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – 11th NFL Pro Bowl results are once again brought to us via an American Football Database post. In the game, the Western Conference knocked off the Eastern Conference, 35-31. The coaches  selected to guide the Pro Bowlers were Buck Shaw of the Philadelphia Eagles and Vince Lombardi of the Green Bay Packers. It was the final contest for the outstanding Quarterback Norm Van Brocklin, who hung up his helmet after the game. The game’s MVPs were Baltimore Colts Johnny Unitas and New York Giants Linebacker Sam Huff.
• January 15, 1966 – Rice Stadium, Houston – The AFL All-Star Game was played for the fifth time to celebrate the top players in the League. The All-Star squad would face the League Champion Buffalo Bills, according to the website RemembertheAFL.com. It was the All-Stars who would get the better of the Champs in this game as they beat the Buffalo Bills, 30-19. The Most Valuable Players in the game were the Jets quarterback Joe Namath and Frank Buncom, the linebacker from the Los Angeles Chargers.
• January 15, 1967 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – The First AFL-NFL World Championship game, later referred to as Super Bowl I, was played. The AFL put up their champ, the Kansas City Chiefs, against the old guard of the NFL, the Green Bay Packers. The Packers of Vince Lombardi were the heavy favorites, but still a record television audience of over 60 million viewers tuned in to watch the game, according to History.com. To the surprise of most, the Chiefs only trailed by four at the halftime break. In the second half, Green Bay turned the temperature up a bit and scored a TD set up by a Willie Wood interception and a 50-yard return off of KC QB Len Dawson. Elijah Pitts scored two of the Packers’ touchdowns, and end Max McGee added a third as the Green Bay Packers rolled the Chiefs, 35-10. Green Bay signal caller Bart Starr was recognized as the game’s MVP.
• January 15, 1978 – Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans – Super Bowl XII featured the Denver Broncos and their Orange Crush Defense against the Doomsday Defense of the Dallas Cowboys. The Golden Rankings website states that it was the Dallas D that prevailed, supported by the high-flying Cowboys offense featuring running back Tony Dorsett and quarterback Roger Staubach. The Cowboys displayed the superior team that day, winning by three scores over the Denver Broncos, 27-10.  For the first time in Super Bowl history, two MVPs were chosen, both from the defensive side of the ball, as Dallas’ defensive end Harvey Martin shared the spotlight with teammate and Jan 15 birthday boy Randy White.
• On January 15, 1994, Lawrence Taylor announced his retirement from the NFL, per a report on SportsCasting.com. Taylor, known as LT, was a member of the New York Giants for his entire Pro career, which spanned 13 seasons from 1981 through 1993. He made the Pro Bowl in 10 of those seasons and was voted the 1986 NFL Most Valuable Player after dropping quarterbacks an amazing 20.5 times behind the line of scrimmage.
• January 15, 1995 – Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh – San Diego traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the Steelers in the AFC Championship game. The folks at BoltsfromtheBlue.com have an excellent synopsis of the game. The first half went pretty much as most experts expected. The Steelers’ defense was stout, holding the Chargers to 3 points and less than 50 yards of total offense, while the Steelers led 10 -0 at halftime. The powerful Pittsburgh run game was sputtering, though, as San Diego’s defense held one of the League’s top rushers, Barry Foster, to little gain on the ground. The second half had a bit of a surprise as blocking tight end Alfred Pupunu was the target of a quarterback Stan Humphries’ 43-yard touchdown pass play, and the Chargers were in the game down by 3. Late in the fourth, the Steelers sent an all-out blitz on Humphries, who found speedster Tony Martin in single coverage with no safety help, and the Chargers scored again. The San Diego Chargers denied the Pittsburgh Steelers, claiming a 17-13 victory that sent them to the Super Bowl.
• January 15, 1995 – Candlestick Park, San Francisco – NFC Championship: San Francisco 49ers beat Dallas Cowboys, 38-28 per OnthisDay.com.
• On January 15, 1997, San Francisco head coach George Seifert announced his resignation after 8 highly successful NFL seasons with the 49ers. An archived LA Times report gives a great read on the situation.  Seifert was a San Fran native and served as the Niners’ defensive coordinator under Bill Walsh, and he was on staff for three Super Bowl wins as an assistant coach. When he took over for Walsh in 1989, he led the team to two more Super Bowl victories over the next 5 seasons. The reasons for the resignation were unclear, but George left as the franchise’s winningest coach with a 98-30 record. (source)

January 15 Football Hall of Fame Birthdays

• Randy White
• Marty Lyons
• Kenny Easley

A Day of Firsts and Final Acts

Beyond the championships, January 15th is a day for celebrating individual greatness. It was the date of the very first AFL-NFL World Championship Game (Super Bowl I) in 1967, where Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers established the NFL’s dominance. It also saw Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor (LT) announce his retirement in 1994, marking the end of a legendary 13-season career. Furthermore, this date celebrates the birthdays of defensive icons like Randy White and Kenny Easley, both of whom became NFL Defensive Players of the Year and Pro Football Hall of Famers. January 15th truly encapsulates the full spectrum of football history: from the collective thrill of a championship battle to the recognition of individual brilliance that shapes the game.