January 20 Football History

🏈 Gridiron Gold: A Legacy of Championships and Controversy

January 20th is a date etched into the DNA of professional football. It has hosted everything from the birth of dynasties in the 1980s to some of the most debated officiating moments of the modern era. Whether it’s Terry Bradshaw launching bombs at the Rose Bowl, Joe Montana dismantling the Dolphins’ “Marine Corps” defense, or Tom Brady outlasting a young Patrick Mahomes in an Arrowhead overtime thriller, this date consistently delivers high-stakes drama. Beyond the Super Bowls and title games, January 20th also marks the anniversary of the unique 1950 draft and a Pro Bowl kicking performance that still stands in the record books today.

January 20 Football Image of the Day

January 20 Football History Timeline

• January 20, 1950 – Bellevue-Stratford Hotel, Philadelphia –The Detroit Lions picked Leon Hart from the University of Notre Dame with the first pick of the 1950 NFL Draft. The interesting thing about this Draft class was that not one player in the top ten picks has become a Hall of Famer at the time of this writing, per the Pro-Football-Reference.com site. San Francisco’s pick of Leo Nomellini at number 11 is where we see the first in this Draft Class to make the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The only other Hall member from this draft was Ernie Stautner, as the 22nd overall pick by Pittsburgh.
• January 20, 1974, Arrowhead Stadium, KC, Missouri: At the 24th NFL Pro Bowl, it was a game for the lovers of good defenses to witness as the AFC held on against the NFC, 15-13. The coaches of the teams were John Madden for the AFC and Tom Landry for the Cowboys. According to the American Football Database, Miami kicker Garo Yepremian was the Most Valuable Player in the contest as he scored all of the AFC’s points on his 5 successful field goals, which is still a Pro Bowl record! It is interesting to note that the victors each received $ 2000, while each member of the losing team put $1500 into the bank.
• January 20, 1975, Miami Orange Bowl – The coaches at the 25th NFL Pro Bowl were John Madden of the AFC’s Raiders and Chuck Knox of the LA Rams, according to the VictoriaAdvocate.com website. The Pro Bowl was still an important game back then, as even the Monday Night Football crew was there to carry it live on ABC. This was Larry Csonka’s fifth and final Pro Bowl. The outcome of the contest had the NFC squad of stars edging out their AFC counterparts, 17-10. The game’s MVP was James Harris, the quarterback of the Los Angeles Rams.
• January 20, 1980 – Rose Bowl, Pasadena, California – Super Bowl XIV was billed as Tinsel Town versus the Steel City, as the Los Angeles Rams faced the defending champs, the Pittsburgh Steelers. A Washington Post article from the day after the game provides the details. The Steelers entered the game as 11-point favorites, and they covered that spread, but the game was not an easy one for them by any means. A timely interception by Jack Lambert, spectacular catches by Lynn Swann and John Stalworth, and a near-record passing performance from Terry Bradshaw were all needed to overcome the Rams. The LA Defense put the Blonde Bomber under pressure all game and picked off three of his passes, but he shrugged those off and entertained the crowd of over 103,000 packed into the Rose Bowl to watch a fourth quarter surge by the Steelers. Pittsburgh was in fact trailing 19-17 early in the fourth before Stallworth scored by reeling in a 73-yard bomb early in the fourth stanza to erase a 19-17 Ram lead. Then Stalworth somehow gathered in a 45-yarder in the midst of three Ram defenders with three minutes left to set up Franco Harris ‘ one-yard plunge to ice the game. The Pittsburgh Steelers retained their World Championship with a 31-19 victory  over the LA Rams.  Terry Bradshaw was named the game’s MVP.
• January 20, 1985, Stanford Stadium, Stanford, California – At Super Bowl XIX, the San Francisco 49ers knocked off the Miami Dolphins, 38-16. According to 49ersWebzone.com, the game was described as a one-sided affair where a young Dan Marino and the Dolphins found themselves vastly overmatched against a guy named Joe Montana. The 49ers defense played exceptionally well, all but silencing Marino’s hot hand and making the high-powered Dolphins offense look quite pedestrian. Joe Montana threw for 331 yards and 3 scores as he earned the Most Valuable Player award in the victory.

The Pro-Football-Reference Quick Hitter Conference Championship headlines:

• January 20, 1991 – Rich Stadium, Orchard Park, NY – The AFC Championship for the 1990 season culminated in the Buffalo Bills blasting the Los Angeles Raiders, 51-3! Bills QB Jim Kelly threw for 300 yards and 2 TDs; his favorite target was James Lofton, who caught five balls for 113 and a score, and Thurman Thomas rushed for a touchdown as part of his 138 yards on the ground. (source)
• January 20, 1991 – Candlestick Park, San Francisco – There was only one TD scored in the NFC Championship game for the 1990 season, and it was by the team that ended up on the losing side. It doesn’t sound right to hear that, but Joe Montana’s 61-yard scoring strike to wide receiver John Taylor in the 3rd quarter was the only time either team crossed the goal line per the Pro-Football-Reference.com. Matt Bahr of the Giants had an active day as he kicked 5 field goals to supply all of the Giants’ points as they beat the San Francisco 49ers, 15-13.
• January 20, 2008, Gillette Stadium, Foxborough. The New England Patriots defeated the San Diego Chargers, 21-12, in the AFC Championship game. According to Pro-Football-Reference, Tom Brady tossed two touchdown passes, and Laurence Maroney rushed in another to power the scoring for the Patriots to advance them to Super Bowl XLII with an unblemished 18-0 record.  
• January 20, 2008 – Lambeau Field, Green Bay – The NFC Championship was a great quarterback matchup as Eli Manning and his Giants would run their offense, and Brett Favre would do likewise for the Packers team, according to Pro-Football-Reference. Favre got the better of the quarterback battle as he passed for 236 yards and two touchdowns, but his two picks were costly as the New York Giants beat Green Bay 23-20 in Overtime to earn the right to face the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.
• January 20, 2013 – Gillette Stadium, Foxborough – In the 2012 season’s AFC Championship tilt, it was the Baltimore Ravens who more than doubled up the New England Patriots by the score of 28-13. Tom Brady threw for a solid 320 yards against a tough Ravens defense, but with just one touchdown and having two passes intercepted, he was upstaged by the three scoring passes by Joe Flacco, who kept the ball out of defenders’ hands per the Pro-Football-Reference.com to advance to Super Bowl XLVII.
• January 20, 2013 – Georgia Dome, Atlanta – What a game the NFC Championship was! The Pro-football-Reference websiteshows that after Atlanta held a 24-14 advantage at the half, the Niners played stingy defense in the second half and Frank Gore pounded the ball across the goal line twice to lift San Francisco to a 28-14 victory over Atlanta to advance to Super Bowl XLVII against the Ravens in the Harbaugh Bowl! We will discuss that game on February 3!  
• January 20, 2019 Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans – At the NFC Championship game, according to Pro-Football-Reference.com, the Los Angeles Rams outlasted the New Orleans Saints, 26-23, in overtime. The infamous “Pass Interference No-Call” stunned the NFL fan base. According to an article on Ringer.com, with less than two minutes remaining in the game and the score tied at 20, the Saints were well within field-goal range at the Rams’ 13-yard line. Three plays later, the Saints faced a third-and-10, and a conversion would’ve meant that they’d be able to work the clock to mere seconds and attempt a chip-shot field goal that would’ve basically punched their tickets to the Super Bowl.  Drew Brees dropped back and looked for receiver Tommylee Lewis, but the wideout got basically destroyed by Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman prior to the ball getting to him. No yellow laundry was tossed onto the field, so the Saints were forced to kick earlier than they should have had to, leaving the Rams 1:41 to mount a  comeback. And that they did, kicking the tying score in regulation and the game winner in overtime to have the opportunity to go to Super Bowl LIII.
• January 20, 2019, Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City – What a game and what storylines it had. The main one being the greatest Quarterback of all time, in Tom Brady, leading his team against the new gun slinger in the NFL, Patrick Mahomes. They each had their bright spots in the contest, but none was any bigger than Mahomes putting the Chiefs on his back and scoring 24 points in the fourth, including a game-tying field goal with just 8 seconds left in regulation, Pro-Football-Reference.com. It was Brady and the Patriots, though, that had a drive of their own in the extra session that finished the game with a 2-yard Rex Burkhead touchdown. The New England Patriots outlasted the Kansas City Chiefs in overtime 37-31 to face the Rams in Super Bowl LIII.

January 20 Football Hall of Fame Birthday

Conclusion: A Date for the History Books

From the draft rooms of the 1950s to the modern era of overtime heartbreakers, January 20th serves as a microcosm of football’s evolution. It reminds us that greatness can come from anywhere—be it a kicker like Garo Yepremian scoring every point for his team, or a Hall of Fame wide receiver like Ronnie Mallett rising from the NAIA ranks to national recognition. Whether defined by the brilliance of Montana and Bradshaw or the sting of a missed whistle in New Orleans, the stories from this day continue to shape the legacy of the sport we love.