CHAPTER 3
It Takes a Kicker
On January 11, 1970, Hank Stram and his Kansas City Chiefs returned for Super Bowl IV. This time they were there to play the Minnesota Vikings. Once again, most people expected the AFL Chiefs to lose. They said the Jets’ win had just been a fluke.
They were wrong. The Chiefs were out for revenge. They were determined to win this one. The Chiefs led from the start. Quarterback Len Dawson connected on pass after pass. He was named the game MVP. But it was placekicker Jan Stenerud who scored the first nine points. His first field goal sailed forty-eight yards, a Super Bowl record. For thirty years, it remained the longest Super Bowl field goal ever kicked.
The score was 3–0. Stenerud kicked another. The score was 6–0. He kicked one more. The score was 9–0. Stenerud kicked an extra point after a Chiefs touchdown. Then he kicked one more.
The final score was Kansas City 23, Minnesota 7. The Chiefs’ placekicker had scored eleven points. An AFL team had won the Super Bowl for the second time. No one was making jokes about the AFL anymore!
Super Bowl V was played in Miami, Florida, on January 17, 1971. The Baltimore Colts had lost Super Bowl III. Now they were back. This time they were up against the Dallas Cowboys.
Don McCafferty was the Colts’ new head coach. He had coached the offense under Don Shula for eight years. It was his first season, and he had taken the Colts to the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl V turned out to be one of the sloppiest Super Bowl games ever. Some people called it the “Blunder Bowl.” Both teams fumbled their way into history. Pass after pass was intercepted. The Colts turned the ball over to the other team seven times. The Cowboys gave the ball up four times. Their record of eleven combined turnovers is still tied for most ever in a Super Bowl.
In the end, the Colts won. But it was not the great victory that the team had hoped for. The final score was 16–13. Chuck Howley was named Super Bowl V’s MVP. Howley was a Dallas Cowboys linebacker. He played for the losing team! That had never happened before. It has never happened since. Howley thought the defeat made the award meaningless. He refused to accept it.
