January 14 Football History

From All-Star battles in the 1940s to Super Bowl triumphs and championship clashes, January 14 is a landmark on the NFL calendar. This date encompasses pivotal events, including the first modern Pro Bowl, Hall of Fame drafts, key AFL signings, and decisive championship games. Notably, it marks the Miami Dolphins’ perfect season conclusion. Discover how January 14 shaped football through legends like Jim Brown, Bart Starr, and Joe Montana, and the rise of iconic franchises.

January 14 Football Image of the Day

The Big Green of Dartmouth dominated Harvard that day in the second-to-last game of the season, 11-0. Harvard finished the season with a respectable 9-3 record, while Dartmouth had one of the school’s best seasons ever, finishing at 9-1. Princeton 11-0 and Yale 11-1 finished as the top two teams in the East that year.

January 14 Football History Timeline: The Date Where NFL History Was Forged

• January 14, 1940 – Gilmore Stadium, Los Angeles – The 2nd NFL All-Star Game went on as scheduled, as the Champion Green Bay Packers would play the best players from the remainder of the League. The All-Stars featured Washington’s Slingin’ Sammy Baugh and Bears Sid Luckman under center, with Detroit’s Cotton Price, per the Pro-Football-Reference.com. Green Bay under coach Curly Lambeau had the star power of Don Hutson, Clarke Hinkle, and Beattie Feathers. The Packers showed why they were the top team, defeating the NFL All-Stars 16-7.
• On January 14, 1946, the NFL Draft for the 1946 season had Frank Dancewicz, the flashy quarterback from the University of Notre Dame, selected first by the Boston Yanks. The American Football Database tells us that Frank played three seasons in the NFL, all with Boston. Quarterbacking runs strong in his bloodline because Frank’s grandson, Chris Pizzotti, was later the starting signal caller for Harvard’s football team.
• January 14, 1951 – Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum – The very first NFL Pro Bowl game took place. We had seen in prior years that the NFL used an All-Star game to celebrate their top players of the season against the team that had just recently won the title. The NFL broke away from that format to a closer facsimile of what we witness today, except the players from the championship games would also participate. The first game itself was a good one, as the American Conference outlasted the National Conference, 28-27, per Pro-Football-Reference.com. Cleveland Browns quarterback Otto Graham claimed the Most Valuable Player Award for the game.
• On January 14, 1961, the AFL signed its first player away from the NFL. Former Chicago Bears Willard Dewveall signs with the Houston Oilers, according to a Medium.com story. There were others like the retired former Bear George Blanda, who thought George Halas never gave him a fair shake at the QB position in Chicago.
• January 14, 1962 – LA Memorial Coliseum – The 12th NFL Pro Bowl was played as the NFL’s Western Conference edged out the Eastern Conference, by the score of 31-30. MVPs were the great  Jim Brown of the Cleveland Browns and Green Bay’s Defensive tackle Henry Jordan. Other stars in this contest of the NFL’s best players of 1961 included Jim Taylor, who led the league in rushing that season with the Packers, Giants QB Y.A. Tittle, Mike Ditka, the tight end of the Bears, Detroit Lions players Alex Karras, Yale Lary, and Dick Night Train Lane, and so many more legends, which can be found on the Pro-Football-Reference website. It was a big play at the end by Johnny Unitas that is our January 14 Football Fix quote of the day.
• January 14, 1968 – Miami Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida – In the day, it was dubbed the second AFL-NFL World Championship Game, but later became known as Super Bowl II. The AFL’s Oakland Raiders met the NFL’s top team, the Green Bay Packers. The Washington Post has a great write-up on the game. I encourage you to check it out for the details. Bart Starr showed why he was one of the best in the business, and the Packers’ defense was phenomenal. Raider signal caller Daryle Lamonica was under siege most of the day, and this pressure forced some crucial errors. One of these was the 60-yard pick-six that Green Bay cornerback Herb Adderley had in the fourth quarter to pad an already big Packers lead. The Green Bay Packers played well as a team and upstaged the Oakland Raiders, 33-14. The game’s MVP was Bart Starr, who was sacked 3 times but managed to throw for 202 yards and a score against a very good Oakland defense. (source)
• January 14, 1973 – LA Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California – Super Bowl VII featured a team on a mission, mentioned multiple times in this series: the Miami Dolphins. The franchise that stood in the way of gridiron immortality was the Washington Redskins. It was a hard-hitting game, and the Dolphins used running back Larry Csonka to fuel their offense. He pounded out a game-high 112 yards on the ground against the fierce Redskin defense. The game got pretty exciting late in the contest, according to a story on the WashingtonPost.com. The Dolphins held a 14-0 lead with over two minutes remaining. Washington forced Miami to attempt a 42-yard field goal to ice the game, but instead the kick was blocked, and the loose ball ended up in kicker Garo Yepremian’s hands, and he unwisely tried to toss it forward, but after a tip of the pass, Washington’s Mike Bass grabbed the errant throw and found the endzone at the 2:07 mark in the final quarter. The Dolphins were forced to punt after a three-and-out, and Washington was in business at their own 30-yard line with 1:14 remaining. The Dolphin defense came in and put an end to the comeback bid, and the clock expired with two Miami defenders piled up on Redskin quarterback Billy Kilmer. The final score was Miami 14-7, a thrilling finish to complete the first and so far the only undefeated championship season in the Super Bowl era. The game’s MVP was Miami Safety Jake Scott.
• On January 14, 1990, the AFC Championship at Denver’s Mile High Stadium was a matchup of two teams we had seen three times in a four-year period of the late 1980’s: the Cleveland Browns and the Denver Broncos. The website Taylorblitztimes.com has a great, detailed article on the game.  Denver Broncos beat Cleveland Browns 37-21
• January 14, 1990 – Candlestick Park, San Francisco – The NFC Championship: San Francisco 49ers crushed the Los Angeles Rams, 30-3, to advance to the Super Bowl, per Pro-Football-Reference.com. The only three touchdowns of the game came during the 21 unanswered points in the second quarter, powered by the Niners’ Bert Jones, Roger Craig, and Joe Montana, culminating in John Taylor’s 18-yard scoring connection.
• January 14, 1996 – Three Rivers Stadium, Pittsburgh – The season’s AFC Championship featured the Indianapolis Colts and their gritty quarterback, Jim Harbaugh. Chuck Moody of the United Press International covered the game story as Pittsburgh’s Bam Morris plunged in with 1:34 left to put the Steelers up by four points late. The game got a little bit hairy after that, though, as Harbaugh launched a Hail Mary to the endzone that his receiver, Aaron Bailey, had in his hands momentarily until it rolled out to hit the artificial turf of Three Rivers Stadium. The Pittsburgh Steelers hung on to overcome the Indianapolis Colts, 20-16, and advance to the Super Bowl.
• January 14, 1996 – Texas Stadium, Irving – The NFC Championship game had the Dallas Cowboys outlast the Green Bay Packers, 38-27.
• On January 14, 2001, the AFC Championship at Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland featured the Baltimore Ravens defeating the Oakland Raiders, 16-3.
  January 14, 2001 – Giants Stadium, East Rutherford – NFC Championship, New York Giants beat Minnesota Vikings, 41-0

January 14 Football Hall of Fame Birthday

• Vernon Smith

Conclusion

January 14 isn’t just a simple day on the calendar; it is a true cornerstone of professional football history. Whether it marks the domination of a champion like the 1940 Green Bay Packers, the dawn of the modern Pro Bowl era, or the indelible perfection of the 1972 Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl VII, this date consistently delivers high-stakes drama and monumental shifts in the NFL landscape. It is a day defined by excellence, solidifying legacies and reminding fans that the quest for gridiron greatness is a constant, recurring spectacle woven through the decades.