1.
American Football Conference
–
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League, the highest professional level of American football in the United States. This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference, currently contain 16 teams each, a series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger, thus making the current total 16 clubs per each conference. Since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, the New England Patriots have won nine AFC titles, the most of any team in the conference, since 2002, the AFC has 16 teams, organized into four divisions each with four teams, East, North, South and West. Two of these games are assigned on the basis of a teams final divisional standing from the previous season. The remaining 8 games are split between the roster of two other NFL divisions and this assignment shifts each year and will follow a standard cycle. Using the 2012 regular season schedule as an example, each team in the AFC West plays against every team in the AFC North and NFC South. In this way, non-divisional competition will be mostly among common opponents – the exception being the two games assigned based on the teams prior-season divisional standing, at the end of each season, the top six teams in the conference proceeds into the playoff. These teams consist of the four winners and the top two wild card teams. The AFC playoffs culminate in the AFC Championship Game with the receiving the Lamar Hunt Trophy. The AFC Champion then plays the NFC Champion in the Super Bowl, both the AFC and the NFC were created after the NFL merged with the American Football League in 1970. The AFL began play in 1960 with eight teams, and added two expansion clubs before the merger. In order to equalize the number of teams in each conference, since the merger, five expansion teams have joined the AFC and two have left, thus making the current total 16. When the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the league in 1976 and this arrangement lasted for one season only before the two teams switched conferences. The Seahawks eventually returned to the NFC as a result of the 2002 realignment, the expansion Jacksonville Jaguars joined the AFC in 1995. There have been five teams that have relocated at least once, in 1984, the Baltimore Colts relocated to Indianapolis in 1984. In California, the Oakland Raiders relocated to Los Angeles in 1982, the Houston Oilers moved to Tennessee in 1997, where they were renamed the Tennessee Oilers. The team would change its name again, two later, to the Tennessee Titans. The NFL would again expand in 2002, adding the Houston Texans to the AFC, by contrast, the NFC has sent 12 different teams during that same time frame
2.
1988 San Francisco 49ers season
–
The San Francisco 49ers 1988 season was their 43rd season in the National Football League. The season was highlighted by their third Super Bowl victory, at one point, they were 6–5 and in danger of missing the playoffs but rose to defeat the Washington Redskins on a Monday night, eventually finishing the season at 10–6. They gained a measure of revenge by thrashing the Minnesota Vikings 34–9 in the first round, the 49ers then traveled to Chicagos Soldier Field, where the chill factor at gametime was 26 degrees below zero. They defeated the Chicago Bears 28–3 in the NFC Championship, for the 49ers, it was their first Super Bowl appearance since they defeated the Miami Dolphins in Super Bowl XIX. The 49ers alternated quarterbacks as Montana and Steve Young both started at various points of the season, the 1988 season was the last for Simmons as 49ers broadcaster. With the regular season and postseason, the 49ers compiled a total of 13 victories on the season, in 2011, the New York Giants would tie this record. The 1988 San Francisco 49ers season held training camp at Sierra College in Rocklin, the team had a quarterback controversy with Montana and Steve Young each starting at quarterback during the season. But after a 6–5 start, Montana led the 49ers to win 4 of their final 5 regular season games, Montana finished the regular season with 238 completions for 2,981 yards and 18 touchdowns, and also added 132 rushing yards. His favorite target was Rice, who recorded 64 receptions for 1,306 yards and 9 touchdowns, Craig was also a key contributor with a total of 2,036 combined rushing and receiving yards and 10 touchdowns, earning him the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. Fullback Tom Rathman also made a big impact, rushing for 427 yards, the 49ers defense was led by defensive backs Ronnie Lott, Eric Wright, Jeff Fuller, and Tim McKyer, who recorded a combined total of 18 interceptions. McKyer led the team with 7, while Lott recorded 5, linebacker Charles Haley was also a big contributor with 11.5 sacks and 2 fumble recoveries. Notes, The Saints, fresh off the first winning season in history, clawed to a 17–10 halftime lead in the second quarter. Montana came in and fired a 77-yard touchdown in the minutes to Jerry Rice. The 49ers lost to the Falcons for only the time since 1981 as Joe Montana was intercepted three times and sacked three times in a 34–17 rout. Gerald Riggs of the Falcons rushed for 115 yards and a touchdown, the Niners rebounded by putting up 580 yards of offense in a 38–7 rout of the Seahawks. Joe Montana threw four touchdowns and Steve Young added a fifth while Roger Craig, the Seahawks Jeff Kemp was intercepted three times and Kelly Stouffer added a fourth pick. Joe Montana threw for 191 yards and an interception, he was replaced by Young as John Elway tied the game 13–13 on a touchdown to Vance Johnson. Wind gusts up to 40 MPH suddenly hit Candlestick Park and made passing more difficult, in overtime a Steve Young pass was intercepted, setting up Rich Karlis winning field goal
3.
National Football Conference
–
The National Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League, the highest professional level of American football in the United States. This conference and its counterpart, the American Football Conference, currently contain 16 teams each, a series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger, thus making the current total 16 clubs per each conference. Since the 1970 AFL–NFL merger, the Dallas Cowboys lead the NFC with the most conference titles, the current NFC title holders are the Atlanta Falcons. Since 2002, the NFC has 16 teams that organized into four divisions each with four teams, East, North, South, two of these games are assigned on the basis of a particular teams final divisional standing from the previous season. The remaining 8 games are split between the roster of two other NFL divisions and this assignment shifts each year and will follow a standard cycle. Using the 2012 regular season schedule as an example, each team in the NFC West plays against every team in the AFC East and NFC North. In this way, non-divisional competition will be mostly among common opponents – the exception being the two games assigned based on the teams prior-season divisional standing, at the end of each season, the top six teams in the conference proceeds into the playoff. These teams consist of the four winners and the top two wild card teams. The NFC playoffs culminate in the NFC Championship Game with the receiving the George Halas Trophy. The NFC Champion then plays the AFC Champion in the Super Bowl, both the AFC and NFC were created after the NFL merged with the American Football League in 1970. When the AFL began play in 1960 with eight teams, the NFL consisted of 13 clubs, by 1969, the AFL had expanded to ten teams and NFL to 16 clubs. However, team owners could not agree to a plan on how to align the clubs in the NFC. When the Seattle Seahawks and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers joined the league in 1976, they were placed in the NFC and AFC, respectively. The Seahawks returned to the NFC as a result of the 2002 realignment, the Carolina Panthers joined the NFC in 1995. Parity is generally greater among NFC teams than AFC teams, the only NFC team that has never made a Super Bowl appearance is the Detroit Lions. Since the 2002 realignment, the time that an NFC team made back-to-back Super Bowl appearances was the Seattle Seahawks in 2013 and 2014. Since 1970, only two teams have relocated, in 1988, the St. Louis Cardinals moved to Phoenix, Arizona, while the Los Angeles Rams moved to St. Louis in 1995, and back to Los Angeles again in 2016. The original NFC logo, in use from 1970–2009, depicted a blue N with three stars across it, the three stars represented the three divisions that were used from 1970–2001
4.
Hard Rock Stadium
–
Hard Rock Stadium is a multipurpose football stadium located in Miami Gardens, Florida, a suburb north of Miami. It is the stadium of the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League. The facility also hosts the Orange Bowl, a college football bowl game. It was the home to the Florida Marlins of Major League Baseball from 1993 to 2011. The stadium has hosted five Super Bowls, the 2010 Pro Bowl, two World Series, four BCS National Championship Games, the round of the 2009 World Baseball Classic. The stadium will host Super Bowl LIV in 2020, for their first 21 seasons, the Miami Dolphins played at the Orange Bowl. Joe Robbie, the founder, led the financing campaign to build a new home for the team. He believed it was only a matter of time before a Major League Baseball team came to South Florida, at his request, the stadium was built so only minimal renovations would be necessary to ready it for a baseball team. Most notably, the field was somewhat wider than is normally the case for an NFL stadium. The wide field makes it fairly easy to convert the stadium for soccer. Because of this decision, the first row of seats is 90 ft from the sideline in a football configuration. This resulted in an intimate venue for football compared to other football facilities built around this time. At the time it opened in 1987, the stadium was located in an area within Miami-Dade County. Miami Gardens was incorporated on May 13,2003, the first preseason game for the Dolphins was played on August 16,1987 against the Chicago Bears. The first regular game was scheduled for September 27, a week 3 game against the New York Giants. The first regular season NFL game played there was a 42–0 Dolphins victory over the Kansas City Chiefs on October 11,1987, the game was in the middle of the 1987 NFL strike, and was played with replacement players. The stadium hosted its first Monday Night Football game on December 7 of that year, in addition to the Super Bowl, several other playoff games have been played in the stadium, including the 1992 AFC Championship Game, which the Dolphins lost to the Buffalo Bills, 29–10. The Dolphins are 5–3 in playoff games held here, losing the most recent one in January 2009, the team is unbeaten here against the Minnesota Vikings, San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles/St
5.
Miami
–
Miami is a seaport city at the southeastern corner of the U. S. state of Florida and its Atlantic coast. According to the U. S. Census Bureau, Miamis metro area is the eighth-most populous, Miami is a major center, and a leader in finance, commerce, culture, media, entertainment, the arts, and international trade. In 2012, Miami was classified as an Alpha−World City in the World Cities Study Groups inventory, in 2010, Miami ranked seventh in the United States in terms of finance, commerce, culture, entertainment, fashion, education, and other sectors. It ranked 33rd among global cities, in 2008, Forbes magazine ranked Miami Americas Cleanest City, for its year-round good air quality, vast green spaces, clean drinking water, clean streets, and citywide recycling programs. According to a 2009 UBS study of 73 world cities, Miami was ranked as the richest city in the United States, Miami is nicknamed the Capital of Latin America and is the largest city with a Cuban-American plurality. Miami has the third tallest skyline in the U. S. with over 300 high-rises, Downtown Miami is home to the largest concentration of international banks in the United States, and many large national and international companies. The Civic Center is a center for hospitals, research institutes, medical centers. For more than two decades, the Port of Miami, known as the Cruise Capital of the World, has been the number one cruise port in the world. It accommodates some of the worlds largest cruise ships and operations, Metropolitan Miami is the major tourism hub in the American South, number two in the U. S. after New York City and number 13 in the world, including the popular destination of Miami Beach. The Miami area was inhabited for thousands of years by indigenous Native American tribes, the Tequestas occupied the area for a thousand years before encountering Europeans. An Indian village of hundreds of people dating to 500–600 B. C. was located at the mouth of the Miami River, in 1566 the explorer, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, claimed it for Spain. A Spanish mission was constructed one year later in 1567, Spain and Great Britain successively controlled Florida, and Spain ceded it to the United States in 1821. In 1836, the US built Fort Dallas as part of its development of the Florida Territory and attempt to suppress, the Miami area subsequently became a site of fighting during the Second Seminole War. Miami is noted as the major city in the United States conceived by a woman, Julia Tuttle, a local citrus grower. The Miami area was known as Biscayne Bay Country in the early years of its growth. In the late 19th century, reports described the area as a promising wilderness, the area was also characterized as one of the finest building sites in Florida. The Great Freeze of 1894–95 hastened Miamis growth, as the crops of the Miami area were the ones in Florida that survived. Julia Tuttle subsequently convinced Henry Flagler, a tycoon, to expand his Florida East Coast Railway to the region
6.
Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award
–
The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award, or Super Bowl MVP, is presented annually to the most valuable player of the Super Bowl, the National Football Leagues championship game. The winner is chosen by a fan vote during the game, the media panels ballots count for 80 percent of the vote tally, while the viewers ballots make up the other 20 percent. The games viewing audience can vote on the Internet or by using cellular phones, Super Bowl XXXV, the Super Bowl MVP has been awarded annually since the games inception in 1967. Through 1989, the award was presented by SPORT magazine, bart Starr was the MVP of the first two Super Bowls. Since 1990, the award has been presented by the NFL, at Super Bowl XXV, the league first awarded the Pete Rozelle Trophy, named after the former NFL commissioner, to the Super Bowl MVP. Ottis Anderson was the first to win the trophy, Most award winners have received cars from various sponsors. The most recent Super Bowl MVP was New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, Brady is the only player to have won four Super Bowl MVP awards, Joe Montana has won three and three others—Starr, Terry Bradshaw, and Eli Manning—have won the award twice. Starr and Bradshaw are the ones to have won it in back-to-back years. The MVP has come from the team every year except 1971. Harvey Martin and Randy White were named co-MVPs of Super Bowl XII, including the Super Bowl XII co-MVPs, seven Cowboys players have won Super Bowl MVP awards, the most of any NFL team. Quarterbacks have earned the honor 28 times in 51 games, mark Rypien and Hines Ward are the only players born outside the United States to earn the Super Bowl MVP, having been born in Canada and South Korea, respectively
7.
Jerry Rice
–
Jerry Lee Rice is a former American football wide receiver who played 20 seasons in the National Football League, primarily with the San Francisco 49ers. He is statistically the most productive receiver in NFL history and is considered one of the greatest football players of all time. He is the leader in most major statistical categories for wide receivers, including receptions, touchdown receptions. Rice was selected to the Pro Bowl 13 times and named All-Pro 12 times in his 20 NFL seasons and he won three Super Bowls with the 49ers and an AFC Championship with the Oakland Raiders. As of 2016, Rice holds over 100 NFL records, the most of any player by a wide margin, in 1999, The Sporting News listed Rice second behind Jim Brown on its list of Footballs 100 Greatest Players. In 2010, he was chosen by NFL Networks NFL Films production The Top 100, in 2010, Rice was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Jerry Lee Rice was born in Starkville, Mississippi, and grew up in the town of Crawford, Mississippi. He attended B. L. Moor High School in Oktoc, according to his autobiography Rice, his mother did not allow him to join the schools football team in his freshman year. As a sophomore, Rice was caught cutting class by the schools principal, after Rice sprinted away, the principal told the schools football coach about his speed and he was offered a place on the team. While at B. L. Moor, Rice also played basketball and was on the track, Rice attended Mississippi Valley State University from 1981 to 1984. He became a standout receiver and acquired the nickname World due to his ability to catch anything near him, in 1982, Rice played his first season with redshirt freshman quarterback Willie Totten. Rice caught 66 passes for 1,133 yards and seven touchdowns as a sophomore that year, together, Totten and Rice became known as The Satellite Express and set numerous NCAA records in the spread offense of coach Archie Cooley, nicknamed The Gunslinger. Rice had a record-setting 1983 campaign, including NCAA marks for receptions and receiving yards and he also set a single-game NCAA record by catching 24 passes against Southern University. As a senior in 1984, he broke his own Division I-AA records for receptions and his 27 touchdown receptions in that 1984 season set the NCAA record for all divisions. The 1984 Delta Devils attracted national attention, scoring 628 points, subsequent to an August practice experiment, Cooley had Totten call all the plays at the line of scrimmage without a huddle. The result was even more staggering offensive numbers, Rice caught 17 passes for 199 yards against Southern,17 for 294 against Kentucky State, and 15 for 285 against Jackson State. He scored five touchdowns in a game twice that year. Rice was named to every Division I-AA All-America team and finished ninth in Heisman Trophy balloting in 1984, in the Blue–Gray Classic all-star game played on Christmas Day, he earned MVP honors
8.
Wide receiver
–
A wide receiver is an offensive position in American and Canadian football, and is the key player in most of the passing plays. They get their name because they are split out wide, furthest away from the rest of the team, wide receivers are among the fastest players on the field. The wide receiver functions as the pass-catching specialist, the wide receivers principal role is to catch passes from the quarterback. On passing plays, the attempts to avoid, outmaneuver. If the receiver becomes open, or has a path to the destination of a catch. Once a pass is thrown in his direction, the goal is to first catch the ball. A receivers height and weight also contribute to his expected role, a wide receiver has two potential roles during running plays. Particularly in the case of draw plays and other trick plays, alternatively, he may block normally for the running back. Well-rounded receivers are noted for blocking defensive backs in support of teammates in addition to their pass-catching abilities, sometimes wide receivers are used to run the ball, usually in some form of end-around or reverse. This can be effective because the defense usually does not expect them to be the carrier on running plays. For example, wide receiver Jerry Rice rushed the ball 87 times for 645 yards and 10 touchdowns in his 20 NFL seasons, in even rarer cases, receivers may pass the ball as part of a trick play. Despite the infrequency of these plays, some receivers have proven to be capable passers, wide receivers may also serve on special teams as kick returners or punt returners, as gunners on kick coverage teams, or as part of the hands team during onside kicks. Finally, on errant passes, receivers must frequently play a role by attempting to prevent an interception. If a pass is intercepted, receivers must use their speed to chase down, in the NFL, wide receivers can use the numbers 10–19 and 80–89. The wide receiver out of a position known as the end. Originally, the played on the offensive line, immediately next to the tackles. By the rules governing the forward pass, ends and backs are eligible receivers, most early football teams used the ends as receivers sparingly, their position often left them in heavy traffic with many defenders around. By the 1930s, some teams were experimenting with moving one end far out near the sideline and these split ends became the prototype for the modern wide receiver
9.
Pro Football Hall of Fame
–
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football. As of 2017, there are a total of 310 members of the Hall of Fame, groundbreaking for the building was held on August 11,1962. The original building contained just two rooms, and 19,000 square feet of interior space, in April 1970, ground was broken for the first of many expansions. This first expansion cost $620,000, and was completed in May 1971, the size was increased to 34,000 square feet by adding another room. The pro shop opened with this expansion and this was also an important milestone for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, as yearly attendance passed the 200,000 mark for the first time. In November 1977, work began on another project, costing US$1,200,000. It was completed in November 1978, enlarging the shop and research library. The total size of the hall was now 50,500 square feet, the building remained largely unchanged until July 1993. The Hall then announced yet another expansion, costing US$9,200,000 and this expansion was completed in October 1995. The buildings size was increased to 82,307 square feet, the most notable addition was the GameDay Stadium, which shows an NFL Films production on a 20-foot by 42-foot Cinemascope screen. Through 2017, all inductees except one, played part of their professional career in the NFL. For CFL stars, there is a parallel Canadian Football Hall of Fame, only one player, the Chicago Bears have the most Hall of Famers among the leagues franchises with 32 enshrinees. Enshrinees are selected by a 46-person committee, largely made up of media members, each city that has a current NFL team sends one representative from the local media to the committee. A city with more than one franchise sends a representative for each franchise, there are also 13 at-large delegates, and one representative from the Pro Football Writers Association. Except for the PFWA representative, who is appointed to a term, all other appointments are open-ended and terminated only by death, incapacitation, retirement. To be eligible for the process, a player or coach must have been retired for at least five years. Any other contributor such as an owner or executive can be voted in at any time. Fans may nominate any player, coach or contributor by simply writing to the Pro Football Hall of Fame via letter or email
10.
Bill Walsh (American football coach)
–
William Ernest Walsh was an American football coach. He served as coach of the San Francisco 49ers and the Stanford Cardinal football team. After retiring from the 49ers, Walsh worked as a broadcaster for several years. Walsh went 102–63–1 with the 49ers, winning 10 of his 14 postseason games along with six division titles and he was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1981 and 1984. In 1993, he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, born in Los Angeles, Walsh played running back in the San Francisco Bay Area for Hayward High School in Hayward. Walsh played quarterback at the College of San Mateo for two seasons, both John Madden and Walsh played and coached at the College of San Mateo early in their careers. After playing at the College of San Mateo, Walsh transferred to San Jose State University and he also participated in intercollegiate boxing. Walsh graduated from San Jose State with a degree in physical education in 1955. He served under Bob Bronzan as a assistant coach on the Spartans football coaching staff. His masters thesis was entitled Flank Formation Football -- Stress, Defense, thesis 796. W228f Following graduation, Walsh coached the football and swim teams at Washington High School in Fremont, California. Walsh was coaching in Fremont when he interviewed for an assistant coaching position with Marv Levy, I was very impressed, individually, by his knowledge, by his intelligence, by his personality, and hired him, Levy said. Levy and Walsh, two future NFL Hall of Famers, would never produce a season at Cal. After coaching at Cal, Walsh did a stint at Stanford as an assistant coach, Walsh began his pro coaching career in 1966 as an assistant with the AFLs Oakland Raiders. As a Raider assistant, Walsh was trained in the passing offense favored by Al Davis. In 1968, Walsh moved to the AFL expansion Cincinnati Bengals and it was there that Walsh developed the philosophy now known as the West Coast Offense, as a matter of necessity. Cincinnatis new quarterback, Virgil Carter, was known for his mobility and accuracy. The new offense was much better suited to Carters physical abilities, Walsh spent eight seasons as an assistant with the Bengals. Ken Anderson eventually replaced Carter as starting quarterback, and together with wide receiver Isaac Curtis, produced a consistent
11.
Ronnie Lott
–
Lott played college football for the University of Southern California, and was honored as a consensus All-American. A first-round pick in the 1981 NFL Draft, he played professionally for the San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Raiders, New York Jets, Lott was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He attended Frisbie Junior High and Eisenhower High School in Rialto, California and he considered his time at Eisenhower High School the best years of his life. The football stadium was named after Lott, even though he never played in the stadium. Lott was also the winner of the 1977 Ken Hubbs Award, given to the greater San Bernardino, Lott graduated from the University of Southern California in 1981 with a degree in public administration. During his years at USC, he helped the team to a share of the 1978 national championship, Lott was a unanimous All-American and team captain in 1980. In 2002, he was inducted as one of 15 new members of the College Football Hall of Fame and he was also a 1995 inductee to the USC Athletic Hall of Fame. Upon entering USC, Lott and teammate and future NFL star Marcus Allen were both considered for the tailback and safety positions, after much consideration, head coach John Robinson asked Lott to play defense because he was a better tackler than Allen. He was also one of the reasons that USC teammate Riki Ellison got into the NFL after he. After college, Lott was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 1981 NFL Draft. The level of skill demonstrated by the 6-foot, 203-pound standout was instantly recognized, in his first season, he recorded seven interceptions, helped the 49ers to win Super Bowl XVI, and also became only the second rookie in NFL history to return three interceptions for touchdowns. His outstanding play resulted in his second for Rookie of the Year honors. Lott switched to the safety position in 1985, in his 10 years with the 49ers, Lott helped them win eight division titles and four Super Bowls, XVI, XIX, XXIII, and XXIV. He is one of five players that were on all four 1980s 49er Super Bowl wins, the other four are quarterback Joe Montana, linebacker Keena Turner, cornerback Eric Wright, and wide receiver Mike Wilson. After his career with San Francisco, Lott signed as an agent in 1991 with the Los Angeles Raiders. In 1991, he led the league in interceptions for a second time, in 1995, Lott signed a free agent deal with the Kansas City Chiefs, but was injured in the preseason. He returned to the 49ers in 1995, but the injuries he had suffered over the four seasons continued to plague him. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, his first year of eligibility, in his 14 NFL seasons, Lott recorded 8.5 sacks and 63 interceptions, which he returned for 730 yards and five touchdowns
12.
Joe Montana
–
He also briefly played for the Kansas City Chiefs. After winning a national championship at Notre Dame, Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with San Francisco. Traded before the 1993 season, he spent his two years in the league with the Kansas City Chiefs. While a member of the 49ers, Montana started and won four Super Bowls and was the first player ever to have been named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player three times. He also holds Super Bowl career records for most passes without an interception, Montana was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2000, his first year of eligibility. In 1989, and again in 1990, the Associated Press named Montana the NFL Most Valuable Player, four years earlier, in 1986, Montana won the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year Award. Montana was elected to eight Pro Bowls, as well as being voted 1st team All-Pro by the AP in 1987,1989, and 1990. Montana had the highest passer rating in the National Football Conference five times, noted for his ability to remain calm under pressure, Montana helped his teams to 31 fourth-quarter come-from-behind victories. In the closing moments of the 1981 NFC Championship Game and Super Bowl XXIII, the touchdown at the end of the championship game was so memorable that sports journalists, fans, and many others, refer to the play simply as The Catch. The touchdown in the moments of Super Bowl XXIII came at the end of a 92-yard drive with only 36 seconds left on the game clock. The 49ers retired the number 16, the jersey number Montana wore while with the team, in 1993, Montana was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs and led the franchise to its first AFC Championship Game in January 1994. In 1994, Montana earned a spot on the NFL 75th Anniversary All-Time Team, in 1999, editors at The Sporting News ranked Montana third on their list of Footballs 100 Greatest Players. Also in 1999, ESPN named Montana the 25th greatest athlete of the 20th century, in 2006, Sports Illustrated rated him the number-one clutch quarterback of all time. Montana was born to Joseph Clifford Montana, Sr. and Theresa Marie Bavuso Montana in New Eagle, Pennsylvania and he grew up in the city of Monongahela, a coal mining town 25 miles south of Pittsburgh. His maternal grandparents, Vincenzo James Bavuso and Josephine Savarino Bavuso, were both Italian immigrants and his maternal grandmother Josephine emigrated from Sicily to the United States with her parents, Domenico Savarino and Vincenza Diecidue Savarino, in 1921. Upon their arrival in the United States, the Savarino family first settled in eastern Ohio, in the coal mining community of Harpersville, Smithfield Township. A few years later, the relocated to the Elm Grove area of Wheeling, Ohio County. Montana expressed an early interest in sports, and it was Montana Sr. who first taught him the game of football, Montana started to play youth football when he was just eight years old, aided in part by his father
13.
Steve Young
–
Jon Steven Steve Young is a former professional American football quarterback who played 15 seasons in the National Football League and is best known for his 13 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers. He also briefly played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Los Angeles Express of the United States Football League, Young played college football for Brigham Young University. Young was named the APs NFL Most Valuable Player in 1992 and 1994, during his 1994 MVP campaign, he set a new NFL record for passer rating at 112.8. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame, at the time of his retirement, he had the highest passer rating among NFL quarterbacks with at least 1,500 passing attempts. As of the end of the 2016 season, he is ranked fifth all-time in passer rating and his 43 career rushing touchdowns are second among quarterbacks, while his 4,239 rushing yards ranks third all time. Born in Salt Lake City, Utah, Young attended Greenwich High School in Greenwich and he earned 1978 All-FCIAC West Division First Team honors in his junior year, his first year starting at quarterback for the Cardinals, under head coach Mike Ornato. In 1979, he again earned All-FCIAC West Division First Team honors, along with CIAC All-State honors. In two seasons, he ran the ball 267 times for 1,928 yards, in the option offense run by Greenwich, passing was always the second option, he completed only 41 percent of his throws for 1,220 yards. On Thanksgiving Day in November 1979, Steve was Quarterback for Greenwich High School starting in the F. C. I. A. C Championship Game. In that FCIAC game, Greenwich High lost to Darien High School, during his senior year, he was co-captain of the football, basketball and baseball teams. In basketball, he averaged 15 points a game, in baseball, he hit.384 and played center field when he wasnt pitching. He was 5-1 and threw a 3-0 no-hitter against New Canaan High School, because Young was such a great runner, he was heavily recruited by the University of North Carolina, who wanted him to play quarterback in the option offense they were using at the time. However, Young ultimately decided to attend BYU, initially, he struggled at throwing the ball, and BYUs coaching staff considered switching him to defensive back because of his athleticism. However, he worked hard to improve his skills and eventually succeeded record-setting Jim McMahon as BYUs starting QB. He passed for 3,902 yards and 33 touchdowns in the regular season and he also added 544 yards rushing. With Young at quarterback, BYU set an NCAA record by averaging 584.2 yards of offense per game. He also finished second in voting for the Heisman Trophy, behind Nebraska running back Mike Rozier, Young capped his college career by scoring the game-winning touchdown in BYUs 21–17 victory over Missouri in the 1983 Holiday Bowl. Young finished his career with 592 pass completions for 7,733 yards and 56 touchdowns
14.
Billy Joel
–
William Martin Billy Joel is an American singer-songwriter and pianist. Since releasing his first hit song, Piano Man, in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and his compilation album Greatest Hits Vol.1 &2 is one of the best-selling albums in the US. Joel had Top 40 hits in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, achieving 33 Top 40 hits in the US and he is also a six-time Grammy Award winner who has been nominated for 23 Grammy Awards. He has sold more than 150 million records worldwide, making him one of the artists of all time. Joel was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, in 2001, Joel received the Johnny Mercer Award from the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In 2013, Joel received the Kennedy Center Honors, the nations highest honor for influencing American culture through the arts, with the exception of the 2007 songs All My Life and Christmas in Fallujah, Joel stopped writing and releasing pop/rock material after 1993s River of Dreams. However, he continues to tour, and he plays songs from all eras of his solo career. William Martin Joel was born in the Bronx on May 9,1949, in 1963, when ZIP codes were assigned, the section of Levittown in Oyster Bay was given a Hicksville, New York ZIP code and has since been part of Hicksville. Joels father, Howard Joel, a classical pianist, was born in Germany, to a Jewish family, Howard immigrated to Switzerland and later to the US to escape the Nazi regime. Joels mother, Rosalind, was born in England to Jewish parents, Philip, Rosalind and Howard Joel divorced in 1957. Howard Joel moved to Vienna, Austria, Billy Joel has a sister, Judith, and a half-brother, Alexander Joel, a classical conductor in Europe, who was the chief musical director of the Staatstheater Braunschweig from 2001 to 2014. He reluctantly began piano lessons at an age, at his mothers insistence, his teachers including the noted American pianist Morton Estrin. As a teenager, Joel took up boxing so he could defend himself and he boxed successfully on the amateur Golden Gloves circuit for a short time, winning 22 bouts, but abandoned the sport shortly after his nose was broken in his 24th boxing match. Joel attended Hicksville High School until 1967, but he did not graduate with his class, though Joel was a comparatively strong student, at the end of his senior year, he did not have enough credits to graduate. Rather than attend school to earn his diploma, Joel decided to begin a career in music, I told them. If Im not going to Columbia University, Im going to Columbia Records, Joel did eventually sign with Columbia. In 1992, he submitted essays to the board and was awarded his diploma at Hicksville Highs annual-graduation ceremony,25 years after leaving. After seeing The Beatles on The Ed Sullivan Show, Joel decided to pursue a career in music, in an interview he said of the groups impact, That one performance changed my life … Up to that moment Id never considered playing rock as a career
15.
Nick Buoniconti
–
Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti is a former American Football League and National Football League Hall of Fame middle linebacker, who played for the Boston Patriots and Miami Dolphins. Buoniconti was born to Nicholas Anthony Buoniconti Sr. and Pasqualina Patsy Mercolino in Springfield, the couple ran a family bakery in the predominantly Italian South End of the city. He was raised Catholic and played football for Cathedral High School, in 1985, his son Marc suffered a spinal cord injury making a tackle for The Citadel, rendering him a quadriplegic. Nick became the face of the group that founded the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Buoniconti graduated from Notre Dame, and was drafted by the American Football Leagues Patriots in the round of the 1962 AFL draft. In 1960, as a junior, was second on the Fighting Irish in tackles with 71. As a senior in 1961, he led the team with 74 tackles as the Irish co-captain and was rewarded with 2nd-team All-America selections from UPI, TSN, and he was the only All-American on Notre Dames 1961 team. As a tackle, Buoniconti was the captain of the 1961 Notre Dame football team, drafted by the Boston Patriots in the 1962 American Football League college draft and switched to linebacker, Buoniconti made an immediate impact, as he was named the teams rookie of the year. The following year, he helped Boston capture the 1963 AFL Eastern Division title, with Boston, he appeared in five AFL All-Star Games, and recorded 24 interceptions, which is still the seventh-most in team history. He was named 2nd team All-AFL in 1963 and the season began a run of five consensus All-AFL seasons in the following six seasons. Buoniconti is a member of the Patriots All-1960s Team and the AFL All-Time Team and he was traded to the AFLs Miami Dolphins in 1969. He continued to play well with the Dolphins, in 1969–1974 and 1976, and made the AFL All-Star team in 1969, Buoniconti was also named All-AFC in 1972. His leadership made him a cornerstone of the Dolphins defense, during his years there, the team advanced to three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, the second of which was the teams 1972 undefeated season. In 1973, he recorded a then-team record 162 tackles and he was named to the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl in 1972 and 1973. Buoniconti ended his career with an unofficial 24 sacks, eighteen with the Patriots and he was named the Dolphins Most Valuable Player three times. In 1990, he was voted as a linebacker on the Dolphins Silver Anniversary All-Time team, on November 18,1991, he was enshrined on the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll at Hard Rock Stadium. Buoniconti earned his law degree during his years with the Patriots and he was a practicing attorney for a short time. He was also president of the US Tobacco Company during the late 1970s, Buoniconti was a leading critic of studies which showed that smokeless tobacco caused cancer of the mouth as well as other types of cancer
16.
Bob Griese
–
Robert Allen Griese is a former American football quarterback who earned All-American honors with the Purdue Boilermakers before being drafted in 1967 by the American Football Leagues Miami Dolphins. Griese led the Dolphins to three consecutive Super Bowl appearances, including two Super Bowl victories, Griese was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Indiana Football Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1990. He later worked as a commentator for college football on ESPN on ABC. Griese was born in Evansville, Indiana to Ida and Sylverious Slick Griese, Slick owned a plumbing company in Evansville and died in 1955 when Bob was ten years old. Bob played baseball primarily, and excelled as a pitcher and he also starred in basketball and football at Evansvilles Rex Mundi High School. He earned 12 varsity letters for the Monarchs and he led the basketball team to the No.1 ranking in Indiana during the 1962–63 season and a record of 19–3. He scored 900 points in his school career and while being named All-Sectional. The Monarchs were 15–5 during his Junior and Senior seasons, as he was named 1st Team All-City for three seasons, after being recruited by several colleges for football, Bob chose Purdue, where he majored in business management and became a three-sport star. In 1984, Bob was inducted into the Indiana Football Hall of Fame, while at Purdue, Bob became a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity. In college Griese pitched for the team, going 12-1 one season, played guard on the basketball team, and played quarterback, kicker. There were many games where Griese scored every one of Purdues points, as of the beginning of the 2016 season, he ranks #10 in all-time scoring at Purdue, #5 in scoring among non-kickers and #4 among kickers. Griese’s passing skills greatly improved under the tutelage of head coach Jack Mollenkopf, in his junior year at game against the top-ranked Notre Dame, Griese completed 19 of 22 passes as he led the Boilermakers to an upset win. Griese was a two-time All-American at Purdue, finishing at #8 in the 1965 Heisman Trophy race and was the runner-up to Steve Spurrier for the 1966 Heisman Trophy. Purdue finished second in the Big Ten in 1966, and he led the schools first appearance in the Rose Bowl and he was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1992. He was also awarded the Big Ten Medal of Honor for excellence in athletics and academics and his sterling college career earned him induction into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1984. Purdue did not have a practice of retiring numbers and instead, on December 11,2014, the Big Ten Network included Griese on The Mount Rushmore of Purdue Football, as chosen by online fan voting. Griese was joined in the honor by Drew Brees, Rod Woodson, Griese was the fourth player selected in the 1967 Common Draft. He was selected by the AFLs Miami Dolphins, Griese recorded 2,005 yards and 15 touchdowns in his rookie year in Miami
17.
Larry Little
–
Lawrence Chatmon Little is a former professional American football offensive guard who played in the National Football League. He played collegiately at Bethune-Cookman College, in Daytona Beach, Florida and he was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1993. He then played with the National Football League Dolphins from 1970 through 1980, I didnt particularly like the trade, Little said in the January 1974 issue of SPORT. Little was a key contributor to the success of the Dolphins punishing running attack of the early and mid-1970s, which featured Larry Csonka, Mercury Morris, and Jim Kiick. He also served as football coach of his alma mater, from 1983 to 1991. In addition, Little served as coach of the Ohio Glory of the World League of American Football. On December 16,1993 Larry was added to the Miami Dolphins Honor Roll, in 1999, he was ranked number 79 on The Sporting News list of the 100 Greatest Football Players. Littles younger brother, David Little, was a linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers, in 2007 was named to the Florida High School Association All-Century Team which selected the Top 33 players in the 100-year history of high school football in the state of Floridas history. List of American Football League players Larry Little at the Pro Football Hall of Fame Larry Little at the College Football Data Warehouse
18.
Elvis impersonator
–
An Elvis impersonator is someone who impersonates or copies the look and sound of musician Elvis Presley. There are even a number of stations that exclusively feature Elvis impersonator material. While some of the impersonators perform a range of Presley music, the raw 1950s Elvis. Contrary to popular belief, Elvis impersonators have existed since the mid-1950s, Nelson even performed alongside Presley when they first met, also in 1954. The friendship between Nelson and Presley is documented in the book Elvis in Texas, the second known impersonator was a 16-year-old boy named Jim Smith. In 1956, shortly after Elvis began to rise in popularity, Smith began jumping on stage, dave Ehlert from Waukegan, IL began performing as Elvis in 1967 a full 10 years before Elvis died. Some of his contemporaries included Rick Saucedo of Chicago and Johnny Hara, Ehlert performed throughout the Chicago Metro Area until Elvis died, then traveled the country with his act. He was on hand for the 1 year anniversary of Elvis death at the Prince William County Fair in Manassas, VA on August 16,1978. He has continuously performed his Elvis Tribute for almost 50 years including performances in Las Vegas and headlining an Elvis Tribute Show in Branson, only after Elvis untimely death on August 16,1977 that impersonating Elvis started to become popular in the mainstream. The large growth in Elvis impersonators seems tightly linked with his iconic status. American protest singer Phil Ochs appeared in concert in March 1970 at Carnegie Hall wearing a 1950s Elvis-style gold lamé suit and his performance may be considered the first significant Elvis impersonation. Jeremy Spencer of British blues-rock band Fleetwood Mac became known for his high-energy Elvis tribute performances during his tenure with the band. Spencer would perform as Elvis as the part of a mini-set in which he also did other impersonations of figures such as Buddy Holly. In the mid-1970s, Andy Kaufman made an Elvis impersonation part of his act and he is considered to be one of the first notable Elvis impersonators and Elvis himself said that Kaufman was his favorite impersonator. In his act, Kaufman would precede with several failed impersonations before unexpectedly launching into a skilled impersonation of Elvis Presley, as Kaufman gained fame, the impersonation was used less and less. According to a joke, Elvis himself entered an Elvis lookalike contest at a local restaurant shortly before his death. There are many different types of Elvis impersonator, most fall under the following categories, Look-alikes who concentrate more on visual elements of Elvis fashion and style using accessories such as wigs, costumes and jewelry. Sound-alikes who concentrate on changing their voice to sing or talk like Elvis, notable examples of this type include country artist Ronnie McDowell and rock n roll artist Ral Donner
19.
NFL on NBC
–
NFL on NBC is the branding used for broadcasts of National Football League games that are produced by NBC Sports, and televised on the NBC television network in the United States. The name was used until 1998, when the network lost the rights to the American Football Conference to CBS. NFL coverage returned to NBC on August 6,2006, under the title NBC Sunday Night Football, NBC also packages a limited number of Thursday night games each year. Since NBC acquired the Sunday Night Football package from ESPN, game coverage is usually preceded by the pre-game show Football Night in America. By 1955, NBC became the home to the NFL Championship Game. The 1958 NFL Championship Game, played at Yankee Stadium, between the Baltimore Colts and the New York Giants went into sudden death overtime, NBC televised the NFL Championship Game until 1963. The contract for the game was separate than the regular season contract held by CBS. Prior to 1962, each team had its own television contract. NBC also held the rights to home games involving the Pittsburgh Steelers. While the games were blacked out in Pittsburgh and Baltimore, they were broadcast on other NBC stations, in some cases, the game broadcast was seen on CBS in the visiting teams home region. NBC covered eleven games in 1960 and 13 games in 1961 in a Game of the Week format, NBC would take one week off due to its coverage of the World Series. During this era, NBC broadcast pre-recorded and edited hour-long broadcasts of NFL games in the off-season under the title Best of Pro Football, during this period, NBC also held the rights to the Pro Bowl via the Los Angeles newspapers charities. NBC televised the Pro Bowl following the 1951 and 1952 seasons, on April 5,1961, NBC was awarded a two-year contract for the radio and television rights to the NFL Championship Game, paying US$615,000 annually for the rights. On May 23,1963, NBC was awarded exclusive network broadcast rights for the 1963 NFL Championship Game for $926,000, NBC resumed football telecasts on a regular basis in 1965. On December 13,1966, the rights to the Super Bowl for four years were sold to CBS, the first ever AFL-NFL World Championship Game was played on January 15,1967. Because CBS held the rights to nationally televise NFL games and NBC had the rights to broadcast AFL games, NBC did have some problems with the dual telecast, the network did not return in time from a halftime commercial break for the start of the second half. Therefore, the first kickoff was stopped by the officials and was redone once NBC returned to the broadcast. The next three AFL-NFL World Championship Games, later renamed the Super Bowl, were divided by the two networks, CBS broadcast Super Bowls II and IV while NBC covered III
20.
Dick Enberg
–
Richard Alan Dick Enberg, Ph. D. is a retired American sportscaster. He provided play-by-play for various sports on radio and television networks. Enberg is well known for his signature on-air catchphrases Touch em all and Oh and he also announced or hosted the Tournament of Roses Parade for many years, sometimes with the help of family members. Enberg retired from broadcasting in 2016, Enberg was born in Mount Clemens, Michigan. Following high school in nearby Armada, he played college baseball, Enberg then went on to graduate school at Indiana University, where he earned masters and doctorate degrees in health sciences. While at Indiana, Enberg voiced the first radio broadcast of the Little 500, from 1961 to 1965 he was an assistant professor and baseball coach at Cal State Northridge, then known as San Fernando Valley State College. Enberg is also a member of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity, in the late 1960s, Enberg began a full-time sportscasting career in Los Angeles, working for KTLA television and KMPC radio. Enberg was named California Sportscaster of the Year four times during this period, in the 1960s, Enberg announced boxing matches at L. A. s Olympic Auditorium. In 1968, Enberg was recommended by UCLA athletic director J. D. Enberg continued to call the occasional UCLA game for TVS through the early 1970s, usually teaming with Rod Hundley. In the 1970s, Enberg called the 1979 NCAA Championship game between Michigan State, led by Magic Johnson, and Indiana State, led by Larry Bird. He also hosted the television game show Sports Challenge. In the 1970 opening conference game in Pauley Pavilion, Oregon went into a stall against the UCLA Bruins, Enberg had run out of statistics and began to fill his radio broadcast with small talk. The movie Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid had just been released, and Enberg was humming the tune to Raindrops Keep Fallin on My Head, two nights later, at the Oregon State game, many students brought the lyrics to the song. Enberg promised that he would sing the song if UCLA won the conference championship and he sang the song following the final game of the season. The event was recorded in the Los Angeles Times and was recounted in the book Pauley Pavilion. During the 2006 NCAA Mens Basketball Championship broadcast, there was a feature on the event. In 1973, Enberg hosted the game show Baffle, which lasted just a year before being cancelled in 1974, a year later, producer Monty Hall hired Enberg to host the shorter-lived Three for the Money. In 1975, Enberg joined NBC Sports, Enberg replaced Curt Gowdy as lead play-by-play announcer for the NFL on NBC in 1979, and would pick up the networks telecast of the Rose Bowl Game in 1980
21.
Merlin Olsen
–
Merlin Jay Olsen was an American football player, announcer, and actor. He played his entire 15-year professional football career in National Football League as a tackle with the Los Angeles Rams. He was selected to the Pro Bowl a record 14 straight times, a recipient of the 1961 Outland Trophy as the best lineman in college football, Olsen is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and the College Football Hall of Fame. As an actor, he portrayed farmer Jonathan Garvey on Little House on the Prairie, after leaving that series, he starred in his own NBC drama, Father Murphy. Olsen attended Utah State University where he became a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity and he graduated from the College of Business and Social Sciences at USU with a bachelors degree in Finance in 1962 and a masters degree in Economics in 1971. He later received a doctorate degree in business from the Huntsman School. In football, as a senior, he was a consensus All-American selection and was the winner of the Outland Trophy, after Olsens junior year of 1960 he was also named All-American by the Football Writers Association of America and Newspaper Enterprise Association. He was also All-Conference in both 1960 and 1961, Olsen and Utah State were in the 1960 Sun Bowl, losing to New Mexico State, 20–13. Led by Olsen, the Aggie defense held the New Mexico State Aggies to just 44 rushing yards on 32 carries. The Aggie defense Olsen anchored as a senior gave up an average of 50.8 rushing yards,88.6 passing yards, and 139.4 total yards which all still stand as school records for defense. The 1961 Aggie defense gave up an average 7.8 points a game, which is second in history behind Olsens 1960 team. Additionally, the Aggie defense held four opponents to less than 100 total yards, one, the University of Idaho, was held to a school-record 23 total yards, with the Aggies winning 69–0. The Aggies, not known as a national football program. The Aggies had a combined 18–3–1 record during Olsens junior and senior seasons under coach John Ralston and were conference champions those two seasons as well, Olsen played in the East-West Shrine Game in 1961 and in 2003 was voted to the games Hall of Fame. He also played in the Hula Bowl after his season and was voted MVP of the game. Olsen is a member of the State of Utah’s Sports Hall of Fame, in 2000, he was selected by Sports Illustrated as one of the State of Utah’s Top 50 Athletes of the Century. He was voted to the All-Academic All-America Hall of Fame in 1988, in 1969, he was voted to the Newspaper Enterprise Association All-Time All-America team with collegiate greats such as Bronko Nagurski, Red Grange, Jim Thorpe, and O. J. Simpson, among others. In 2008, Olsen was named to the 75th Anniversary All-Sun Bowl Team to commemorate the Sun Bowl Associations Diamond Anniversary, Utah State University announced the intention to name its football field after Olsen during a ceremony in Logan during halftime of the USU-St
22.
Super Bowl XXII
–
The Redskins defeated the Broncos by the score of 42–10, winning their second ever Super Bowl. The game was played on January 31,1988 at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego and this Super Bowl came at the end of a season that was shortened by a players strike. Each team only missed one regular season due to the labor dispute. The Broncos were making their second consecutive Super Bowl, and third appearance, after posting a 10–4–1 regular season record, largely through the strength of their quarterback. This would be the last time that a team with a tie in their season record would play in a Super Bowl until the 2012 San Francisco 49ers played in Super Bowl XLVII with an 11–4–1 record. The Redskins, who were making their fourth Super Bowl appearance after posting an 11–4 regular season record, were led by quarterback Doug Williams, after Williams entered the season as a backup, he was promoted to starter midway through the season and led Washington to two playoff victories. In games not started by Williams, the team was 11-2, Williams was 0-2 as a starter during the regular season. Williams, who was named the Super Bowl MVP, completed 18 of 29 passes for a Super Bowl record 340 yards and four touchdowns and he also became the first player in Super Bowl history to pass for four touchdowns in a single quarter, and four in a half. Williams was the first African American starting quarterback to win a Super Bowl, the 10-point deficit was the largest deficit overcome by a team to win the Super Bowl in any given season until Super Bowl LI. NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXII to San Diego on May 24,1984 during their May 23–25,1984 meetings in Washington and this was the first Super Bowl to be played at Jack Murphy Stadium in San Diego, California. Fourteen cities were part of the process, which was scheduled to award four Super Bowls. The bidding cities included, Anaheim, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Pasadena, Philadelphia, San Francisco, San Diego, Seattle, Tampa, and Tempe. The Philadelphia host committee assembled what was considered a strong, but long-shot bid, Jacksonville had no NFL team at the time, the Jacksonville Jaguars were founded in 1993 and would not start play until 1995. After the balloting for XXI took over two hours to complete, XXII was also voted on, but the voting for XXIII, San Diego was awarded the game, marking the second time consecutive Super Bowls were played in the same state, with Pasadena hosting Super Bowl XXI. This has now happened three times in NFL history, Super Bowls II and III were both played at the Miami Orange Bowl and Super Bowls XLIII and XLIV were played in Florida, Williams had taken a rather unconventional route to the Super Bowl. He began his career as the first round pick of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1978. After five seasons, a dispute caused him to leave the team. When that league folded a few later, Williams found himself out of a job until Redskins coach Joe Gibbs asked him to join the team to be the backup for quarterback Jay Schroeder
23.
Super Bowl
–
The Super Bowl is the annual championship game of the National Football League. The game is the culmination to a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. Normally, Roman numerals are used to each game, rather than the year in which it is held. For example, Super Bowl I was played on January 15,1967, the single exception to this rule is Super Bowl 50, which was played on February 7,2016, following the 2015 regular season. The next game, Super Bowl LII, scheduled for February 4,2018, the game was created as part of a merger agreement between the NFL and its then-rival league, the American Football League. It was agreed that the two champion teams would play in the AFL–NFL World Championship Game until the merger was to officially begin in 1970. After the merger, each league was redesignated as a conference, currently, the National Football Conference leads the league with 26 wins to 25 wins for the American Football Conference. The Pittsburgh Steelers have the most Super Bowl championship titles, with six, the New England Patriots have the most Super Bowl appearances, with nine. The day on which the Super Bowl is played, now considered by some as an unofficial American national holiday, is called Super Bowl Sunday and it is the second-largest day for U. S. food consumption, after Thanksgiving Day. In addition, the Super Bowl has frequently been the most-watched American television broadcast of the year, in 2015, Super Bowl XLIX became the most-watched American television program in history with an average audience of 114. The NFL restricts the use of its Super Bowl trademark, it is called the Big Game or other generic terms by non-sponsoring corporations. As a result, watching and discussing the broadcasts commercials has become a significant aspect of the event, for four decades after its 1920 inception, the NFL successfully fended off several rival leagues. However, in 1960, it encountered its most serious competitor when the American Football League was formed. The AFL vied heavily with the NFL for both players and fans, but by the middle of the decade the strain of competition led to merger talks between the two leagues. Prior to the 1966 season, the NFL and AFL reached an agreement that was to take effect for the 1970 season. As part of the merger, the champions of the two agreed to meet in a world championship game for professional American football until the merger was effected. A bowl game is a college football game. Exploiting the Rose Bowl Games popularity, post-season college football contests were created for Miami, New Orleans, and El Paso, Texas in 1935, by the time the first Super Bowl was played, the term bowl for any major American football game was well established
24.
Super Bowl XXIV
–
The 49ers finished the 1989 regular season with a league best 14–2 record. This game remains the most lopsided game in Super Bowl history to date, San Franciscos 55 points were the most ever scored by one team, and their 45-point margin of victory was the largest ever. The 49ers are also the team to score at least eight touchdowns in a Super Bowl. San Francisco quarterback Joe Montana was named the Super Bowl MVP and he completed 22 of 29 passes for a total of 297 yards and a Super Bowl record 5 touchdowns, while also rushing for 15 yards. Montanas 75.9 completion percentage was the second highest in Super Bowl history, NFL owners voted to award Super Bowl XXIV to New Orleans, Louisiana on March 14,1985 during their March 10–15,1985 meetings held in Phoenix. This would be a seventh time that New Orleans hosted the Super Bowl. Tulane Stadium was the site of Super Bowls IV, VI, and IX, while the Louisiana Superdome previously hosted XII, XV, originally, the selection was to be voted on during the May 23–25,1984 meetings. However, after balloting for XXI took more than two hours, voting for XXIV was rescheduled, twelve cities were part of the bidding process, which was scheduled to award two Super Bowls. The bidding cities included, Anaheim, Detroit, Houston, Jacksonville, Miami, Minneapolis, New Orleans, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Seattle, Tampa, New Orleans entered as the favorite. The 49ers entered the game seeking to win their second straight Super Bowl and their two losses were only by a combined margin of 5 points. The 49ers offense was just as dominating as it was during the regular season. Quarterback Joe Montana threw for 3,512 yards,26 touchdowns, Montana also rushed for 227 yards and 3 touchdowns, and earned both the NFL Most Valuable Player Award and the NFL Offensive Player of the Year Award. Wide receiver Jerry Rice had another outstanding season, catching 82 passes for 1,483 yards and 17 touchdowns, running back Roger Craig was the teams leading rusher with 1,054 yards and 6 touchdowns, and he recorded 49 receptions for 473 yards and another touchdown. But other stars on the 49ers offense began to emerge, enabling the team to spread the ball around, tight end Brent Jones recorded 40 receptions for 500 yards. Fullback Tom Rathman had the best season of his career, rushing for 305 yards, kicker Mike Cofer scored 136 points while making a career high 80. 6% of his field goals. Even Montanas backup, Steve Young, had a year, throwing for 1,001 yards and 8 touchdowns with only 3 interceptions. With all of these weapons, San Franciscos offense led the league in yards from scrimmage. The 49ers defense allowed the third-fewest points in the NFL, defensive end Pierce Holt recorded 10.5 sacks, as did linebacker Charles Haley
25.
American football
–
The offense must advance at least ten yards in four downs, or plays, or else they turn over the football to the opposing team, if they succeed, they are given a new set of four downs. Points are primarily scored by advancing the ball into the teams end zone for a touchdown or kicking the ball through the opponents goalposts for a field goal. The team with the most points at the end of a game wins, American football evolved in the United States, originating from the sports of association football and rugby football. The first game of American football was played on November 6,1869, during the latter half of the 1870s, colleges playing association football switched to the Rugby Union code, which allowed carrying the ball. American football as a whole is the most popular sport in the United States, Professional football and college football are the most popular forms of the game, with the other major levels being high school and youth football. As of 2012, nearly 1.1 million high school athletes and 70,000 college athletes play the sport in the United States annually, almost all of them men, in the United States, American football is referred to as football. The term football was established in the rulebook for the 1876 college football season. The terms gridiron or American football are favored in English-speaking countries where other codes of football are popular, such as the United Kingdom, Ireland, New Zealand, American football evolved from the sports of association football and rugby football. What is considered to be the first American football game was played on November 6,1869 between Rutgers and Princeton, two college teams, the game was played between two teams of 25 players each and used a round ball that could not be picked up or carried. It could, however, be kicked or batted with the feet, hands, head or sides, Rutgers won the game 6 goals to 4. Collegiate play continued for years in which matches were played using the rules of the host school. Representatives of Yale, Columbia, Princeton and Rutgers met on October 19,1873 to create a set of rules for all schools to adhere to. Teams were set at 20 players each, and fields of 400 by 250 feet were specified, Harvard abstained from the conference, as they favored a rugby-style game that allowed running with the ball. An 1875 Harvard-Yale game played under rugby-style rules was observed by two impressed Princeton athletes and these players introduced the sport to Princeton, a feat the Professional Football Researchers Association compared to selling refrigerators to Eskimos. Princeton, Harvard, Yale and Columbia then agreed to play using a form of rugby union rules with a modified scoring system. These schools formed the Intercollegiate Football Association, although Yale did not join until 1879, the introduction of the snap resulted in unexpected consequences. Prior to the snap, the strategy had been to punt if a scrum resulted in bad field position, however, a group of Princeton players realized that, as the snap was uncontested, they now could hold the ball indefinitely to prevent their opponent from scoring. In 1881, both teams in a game between Yale-Princeton used this strategy to maintain their undefeated records, each team held the ball, gaining no ground, for an entire half, resulting in a 0-0 tie
26.
National Football League
–
The National Football League is a professional American football league consisting of 32 teams, divided equally between the National Football Conference and the American Football Conference. The NFL is one of the four professional sports leagues in North America. The NFLs 17-week regular season runs from the week after Labor Day to the week after Christmas, with each team playing 16 games, the NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association before renaming itself the National Football League for the 1922 season. The NFL agreed to merge with the American Football League in 1966, and the first Super Bowl was held at the end of that season, the merger was completed in 1970. Today, the NFL has the highest average attendance of any sports league in the world and is the most popular sports league in the United States. S. The NFLs executive officer is the commissioner, who has authority in governing the league. The team with the most NFL championships is the Green Bay Packers with thirteen, the current NFL champions are the New England Patriots, who defeated the Atlanta Falcons 34–28 in Super Bowl LI. Another meeting held on September 17,1920 resulted in the renaming of the league to the American Professional Football Association, the league hired Jim Thorpe as its first president, and consisted of 14 teams. Only two of these teams, the Decatur Staleys and the Chicago Cardinals, remain, the first event occurred on September 26,1920 when the Rock Island Independents defeated the non-league St. Paul Ideals 48–0 at Douglas Park. On October 3,1920, the first full week of league play occurred, the following season resulted in the Chicago Staleys controversially winning the title over the Buffalo All-Americans. In 1922, the APFA changed its name to the National Football League, in 1932, the season ended with the Chicago Bears and the Portsmouth Spartans tied for first in the league standings. This method had used since the leagues creation in 1920. The league quickly determined that a game between Chicago and Portsmouth was needed to decide the leagues champion. Playing with altered rules to accommodate the playing field, the Bears won the game 9–0. Fan interest in the de facto championship game led the NFL, beginning in 1933, the 1934 season also marked the first of 12 seasons in which African Americans were absent from the league. The de facto ban was rescinded in 1946, following public pressure, the NFL was always the foremost professional football league in the United States, it nevertheless faced a large number of rival professional leagues through the 1930s and 1940s. Rival leagues included at least three separate American Football Leagues and the All-America Football Conference, on top of regional leagues of varying caliber. Three NFL teams trace their histories to these leagues, including the Los Angeles Rams
27.
Miami Gardens, Florida
–
Miami Gardens is a suburban city located in north-central Miami-Dade County, Florida. Its boundaries stretch from I-95 and NE 2nd Avenue on the east, to NW 47th and NW 57th Avenues on the west, the city name comes from one of the major roadways through the area, Miami Gardens Drive. According to a 2011 estimate from the US Census Bureau, the city had a population of 109,680 and it is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,012,331 people at the 2015 census. Miami Gardens was incorporated on May 13,2003, the citys neighborhoods of Andover, Bunche Park, Carol City, Lake Lucerne, Norland, Opa-locka North, and Scott Lake were previously unincorporated areas within Miami-Dade County. Around that time the tax revenues dropped to being the third lowest in Miami-Dade County. In 2012, Oliver Gilbert, only the mayor the city has had. Once inaugurated, Mayor Gilbert expressed confidence that a CRA would have the effect of stimulating growth in Miami Gardens. The city was incorporated in 2003, but various parts of the city appear as designated places in the 2000 census and previous censuses. They now make up the neighborhoods of Andover, Bunche Park, Carol City, Lake Lucerne, Norwood, Opa-locka North, and Scott Lake. The United States Census Bureau estimates that the population of Miami Gardens was 109,680 on July 1,2011, in 2010, there were 34,284 housing units of which 6. 0% are vacant. The population is 46. 8% male and 53. 2% female, family households made up 78. 4%, while 21. 6% were non-family households. The average household size was 3.28 members, and the city covered 20 square miles, as of 2000, the Bunche Park neighborhood of Miami Gardens had the ninth highest percentage of African-American and black residents in the US, with 96. 5% of the populace. It had the nineteenth highest percentage of Jamaican residents in the US, at 5. 80% and it also had the fifty-sixth most Haitians in the US, at 2. 50% while it had the twentieth highest percentage of Nicaraguans, at 2. 20% of all residents. The Carol City neighborhood of Miami Gardens is also home to the seventieth highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, according to City Rating, Miami Gardens crime statistics have decreased in the past 7 years. The crimes that have decreased the most are property crimes and violent crimes, the crime rate for Miami Gardens for 2012 is expected to be lower than in 2010. Miami Gardens city violent crime rate was 138. 67% higher than the violent crime rate. City property crime rate was 66. 98% higher than the property crime rate. In 2010 Miami Gardens city violent crime rate was higher than the violent crime rate in Florida by 77. 64%, Miami Gardens is home to the Miami Dolphins, who play in Hard Rock Stadium on land that was part of the Lake Lucerne CDP
28.
Miami metropolitan area
–
The Miami metropolitan area, also known as the Greater Miami Area or South Florida, is the 67th largest metropolitan area in the world and the eighth-largest metropolitan area in the United States. It is entirely located in the portion of the U. S. State of Florida. Its land area is 6,137 sq. mi, the three counties together have principal cities including Miami, Fort Lauderdale, Pompano Beach, West Palm Beach, and Boca Raton. Besides its association with the South Florida region, is also synonymous with an area known collectively as the Gold Coast. This includes the four counties of Martin, St. Lucie, Indian River. The Miami metropolitan statistical area is longer than any other urbanized area in the United States except for the New York metropolitan area and it was the eighth most densely populated urbanized area in the United States in the 2000 census. As of the 2000 census, the area had a land area of 1,116 square miles, with a population of 4,919,036. Miami and Hialeah had population densities of more than 10,000 per square mile, the Miami Urbanized Area was the fourth largest urbanized area in the United States in the 2010 census. The Miami metropolitan area includes several urban clusters as of the 2000 Census which are not part of the Miami Urbanized Area. The following is a list of the twenty largest cities in the Miami metropolitan area as ranked by population, the Miami area is a very diverse community with a large proportion of foreign-born residents, in large part due to its proximity to Latin America and the Caribbean. Another large factor are residents who were former snowbirds from the Northeast and, to a lesser extent, politically speaking, the region is heavily Democratic. Broward County is the second most reliably Democratic county in the state, as of the 2005 American Community Survey,5,334,685 people lived in the metropolis. The Miami area has a very large Jewish community,10. 2% of the population was Jewish in the 2000 Census, There is also a sizable Muslim community numbering at 70,000. Population, As of the 2010 U. S. Census,2.8 million were females and 2.6 million were males. The median age was 38.6 years, 24% of the population were under 18 years and 15% were 65 years and older. There were 2,097,626 households, and 1,378,108 families residing in the Miami metropolitan area, among people at least five years old living in the region in 2005, 52% spoke English at home while 48% spoke some other language at home. Of those speaking a language other than English at home, 78% spoke Spanish, households and families, There were 2,338,450 households, The average household size was 2.6 people. Families made up 65% of the households in the Miami area and this figure includes both married-couple families and other families
29.
Miami Orange Bowl
–
The Miami Orange Bowl was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, west of downtown in Little Havana. Considered a landmark, it was the stadium for the Miami Hurricanes college football team. It also hosted the professional Miami Dolphins for their first 21 seasons, the stadium was the temporary home of the FIU Golden Panthers while its FIU Stadium underwent expansion during the 2007 season. From 1966 to 1968, and again in the 1970s, a dolphin was situated in a water tank in the open end of the Orange Bowl. He would jump in the tank to celebrate touchdowns and field goals, the tank that was set up in the 1970s was manufactured by Evan Bush and maintained during the games by Evan Bush and Dene Whitaker. Flipper was removed from the Orange Bowl after 1968 to save costs, the event was moved to Pro Player Stadium beginning on December 31,1996. In 1999, the game was hosted at the Orange Bowl for one final time due to a scheduling conflict. The minor league Miami Marlins baseball team played games in the Orange Bowl from 1956 to 1960. The stadium was on a block bounded by Northwest 3rd Street, Northwest 16th Avenue, Northwest 6th Street. The Orange Bowl was demolished in 2008 and the site is now occupied by Marlins Park, the stadium was built by the City of Miami Public Works Department. Construction began in 1936 and was completed in December 1937 and featured stadium lights, the stadium opened for Miami Hurricanes football on December 10,1937. From 1926 to 1937 the University of Miami played in a stadium near Tamiami Park, the Orange Bowl was originally named Burdine Stadium after Roddy Burdine, one of Miamis pioneers and the owner of the Burdines department store chain. It originally seated 23,739 people along the corresponding to the lower level of the sideline seats in the stadiums final configuration. Attendance for its first Orange Bowl in January 1938 was under 19,000, seating was added in the end zones in the 1940s, and by the end of the 1950s the stadium was double-decked on the sidelines. In 1966, the AFL expansion Miami Dolphins played their regular season game in the stadium on September 2. The west end zone upper deck section was added in the 1960s. On January 1,1965, the Orange Bowl Game was the first college game to be televised in prime time. In 1977, the permanent seats in the east end zone were removed, the city skyline was visible to the east through the open end, over the modern scoreboard and palm trees
30.
Super Bowl XVI
–
The 49ers defeated the Bengals by the score of 26–21 to win their first Super Bowl. The game was played on January 24,1982, at the Pontiac Silverdome in Pontiac, Michigan and it marked the first time that a Super Bowl was held at a cold-weather city. The domed stadium saved the crowd at the game from the cold and snowy weather. Super Bowl XVI also became one of the most watched broadcasts in American television history, with more than 85 million viewers, for the first time since Super Bowl III, both teams were making their first Super Bowl appearance. The 49ers posted a 13–3 regular season record, and playoff wins over the New York Giants, the Bengals finished the regular season with a 12–4 record, and had postseason victories over the Buffalo Bills and the San Diego Chargers. Cincinnatis 356 yards of offense to San Franciscos 275 marked the first time in Super Bowl history that the team which was outgained in total yards won. The Bengals also committed 4 turnovers to San Franciscos 1, the Bengals managed to score their final touchdown with 20 seconds left, but could not recover the ensuing onside kick. Montana was named the Super Bowl MVP, completing 14 of 22 passes for 157 yards and one touchdown, while rushing for 18 yards. The NFL awarded Super Bowl XVI to Pontiac, Michigan on March 13,1979 at the meetings in Honolulu. San Francisco finished the season with a league-best 13–3 record. The 49ers success surprised many because they finished with a 6–10 record during the season. A major reason for the improvement was the emergence of their young quarterback Joe Montana. In just his third season in the league, Montana completed 311 out of 488 passes for 3,565 yards and 19 touchdowns and his favorite targets were receivers Dwight Clark and Freddie Solomon, along with tight end Charle Young. Running back Ricky Patton was the top rusher on the team with 543 yards and 4 touchdowns, multi-talented running back Earl Cooper also provided the team with a good running and receiving threat, rushing for 330 yards and catching 51 passes for 477 yards. Much of San Franciscos success was aided by their offensive line, which featured Dan Audick, John Ayers, Fred Quillan, Randy Cross, and Keith Fahnhorst. Three-year veteran defensive back Dwight Hicks led the team with nine interceptions, which he returned for 239 yards, the Bengals finished with the best regular season record in the AFC at 12–4. Cincinnati was also a team because, like the 49ers. And prior to year, they had never won a playoff game in their entire history
31.
Super Bowl XIII
–
The Steelers defeated the Cowboys by the score of 35–31. The game was played on January 21,1979, at the Orange Bowl in Miami and this was the first Super Bowl that featured a rematch of a previous one, and both teams were attempting to be the first club to ever win a third Super Bowl. Dallas was also the defending Super Bowl XII champion, and finished the 1978 regular season with a 12–4 record, and posted victories over the Atlanta Falcons. Pittsburgh entered the game after posting a 14–2 regular season record and playoff wins over the Denver Broncos, Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who was named Super Bowl MVP, completed 17 out of 30 passes for Super Bowl records of 318 passing yards and 4 touchdown passes. Bradshaw eclipsed Bart Starrs Super Bowl record for passing yards in the first half with 253 yards in the air as the Steelers led 21–14 at intermission. His 75-yard touchdown pass in the quarter also tied Johnny Unitas in Super Bowl V for the longest pass in a Super Bowl. The Cowboys were able to close, only trailing 21–17 at the end of the third quarter. Dallas also could not overcome turnovers, drops, and a penalty during the second half. The game came to be known as Black Sunday in Las Vegas, the point spread opened at Pittsburgh -3.5 points. As the Steelers backers placed bets on them the sportsbooks adjusted the line and it eventually hit Pittsburgh -4.5 and then the Dallas money poured in on the Cowboys. It eventually settled at Pittsburgh at -4, the Steelers four-point margin of victory meant the Las Vegas sportsbooks lost the vast majority of wagers on the game. The NFL awarded Super Bowl XIII to Miami on June 14,1977 at the meetings held in New York. For the 1978–79 season, the NFL extended its schedule from 14 regular season games to 16 and he ranked as the second highest rated passer in the league, his 28 touchdown passes led the league, and he won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award. Wide receivers Lynn Swann and John Stallworth provided the team with a deep threat. Swann recorded 61 receptions for 880 yards and 11 touchdowns, while Stallworth had 41 receptions for 798 yards and 9 touchdowns. Tight end Randy Grossman, who replaced injured starter Bennie Cunningham for most of the season, also was a big factor, recording 37 receptions for 448 yards, halfback Rocky Bleier had 633 rushing yards and 5 touchdowns, while also catching 17 passes for 168 yards. The Steelers success on offense was due in large measure to their offensive line. Once again, defensive tackles Joe Greene and L. C. Greenwood anchored the line, while Pro Bowl linebackers Jack Ham and Jack Lambert combined for 7 interceptions
32.
Super Bowl XVII
–
The Redskins defeated the Dolphins by the score of 27–17 to win their first Super Bowl championship. The game was played on January 30,1983 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena and this Super Bowl came at the end of a season that was significantly shortened by a players strike. Teams ended up only playing nine regular games, and the league conducted a special 16-team. The Redskins had an NFC-best 8–1 regular season record, while the Dolphins finished at 7–2, both teams advanced through the first three postseason rounds to Super Bowl XVII. This was also the second Super Bowl to rematch teams, the first being Super Bowl XIII, nevertheless, Miami built a 17–10 halftime lead with Jimmy Cefalos 76-yard touchdown catch and Fulton Walkers 98-yard kickoff return. Wide receiver Charlie Brown then added a touchdown with his 6-yard scoring reception. Riggins was named Super Bowl MVP, finishing the game with 2 Super Bowl records, the most rushing yards in a Super Bowl game, and he was the first player from an NFC team to rush for 100 yards in a Super Bowl. Riggins also recorded a reception for 15 yards, giving him more total yards than the entire Miami team, the NFL awarded Super Bowl XVII to Pasadena on March 13,1979 at the owners meetings in Honolulu. A 57-day-long players strike reduced the 1982 regular season from a 16-game schedule to 9, because of the shortened season, the NFL adopted a special 16-team playoff tournament. Eight teams from each conference were seeded 1–8 based on their season records. The modified schedule forced the league to extend the season into January for the first time. After the 57-day strike, the NFL extended the season one weekend, moving back the start of the playoffs. The strike-shortened season impacted 4 teams that made the playoffs during the 1981 regular season, the San Francisco 49ers, winners of Super Bowl XVI, suffered a 3–6 record. The Buffalo Bills, the New York Giants, and the Philadelphia Eagles did not qualify for the playoffs either, the Cleveland Browns and Detroit Lions qualified for the playoffs despite 4–5 records, the only sub-. The Dolphins finished the regular season with a 7–2 record. The clubs main strength was their defense, nicknamed the Killer Bees because 6 of their 11 starters had last names began with the letter B. The Killer Bees, anchored by Pro Bowl defensive tackle Bob Baumhower, led the league in fewest total yards allowed, linebacker A. J. Duhe was extremely effective at blitzing and in pass coverage. And the Dolphins secondary, consisting of defensive backs Don McNeal, Gerald Small and brothers Lyle and Glenn Blackwood, combined for 11 interceptions
33.
Angel Stadium
–
Angel Stadium of Anaheim, originally known as Anaheim Stadium and later Edison International Field of Anaheim, is a modern-style ballpark located in Anaheim, California. The stadium is referred to by its unofficial nickname The Big A. It is the fourth-oldest active Major League Baseball stadium, behind Fenway Park, Wrigley Field and it hosted the 1967,1989, and 2010 Major League Baseball All-Star Games. Located near the boundary of the parking lot is the landmark Big A sign and electronic marquee. The halo located near the top of the 230 tall, 210-ton sign is illuminated following games in which the Angels win, which gives rise to the fan expression, Light up the Halo. The station provides convenient access to the stadium, the nearby Honda Center, and Disneyland from various communities along the route, which links San Luis Obispo, Los Angeles, and San Diego. The Anaheim Resort Transit stops at the center along with Orange County Transportation Authority buses. and 2 to 3 AMA Supercross Championship races a year, the stadium also houses the studios and offices of the Angels owned and operated flagship radio station, KLAA. Angel Stadium has been the home of the Angels since their move from Los Angeles, on August 31,1964, ground was broken for Anaheim Stadium and in 1966, the then-California Angels moved into their new home after having spent four seasons renting Dodger Stadium from the Dodgers. The stadium was built on a parcel of about 160 acres of land originally used for agricultural purposes by the Allec, Russell. Consistent with many sports stadiums built in the 1960s, it is located in a suburban area. The field dimensions were derived from a study conducted by the Angels. Based on the air density at normal times, the Angels tried to formulate dimensions that were fairly balanced between pitcher, hitter and average weather conditions. The Angels tinkered with those dimensions several times, expanding or contracting parts of the outfield by a few here and there. One of the no-hitters, on June 1,1975, was his fourth, the Coliseum seated almost 100,000 people, and the Rams had trouble filling it even in their best years. Rosenbloom brokered a deal by which the Rams would move from Los Angeles to an expanded Anaheim Stadium, to add more seats for football games, the mezzanine and upper decks were extended completely around the playing field, resulting in a roughly trapezoidal, completely enclosed stadium. An elevated bank of bleachers was built in right field, and temporary seats were placed underneath, another bank of bleachers was built in left field. As a result, the view of the mountains and State Highway 57 was lost. A black and white scoreboard/instant replay video board was installed above the newly constructed upper deck seats in left field, a triangular metal spire was added to the top of the Jumbotron to evoke the original emplacement of the Big A
34.
Pontiac Silverdome
–
The Pontiac Silverdome, formerly known as the Silverdome, is a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan, United States. It opened in 1975 and sits on 127 acres of land, when the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, the first use of the technique in a major athletic facility. The roof has since been removed, with a seating capacity of 82,000, it was the largest stadium in the National Football League until FedEx Field in suburban Washington, D. C. opened in 1997. It was primarily the home of the Detroit Lions of the NFL from 1975 to 2001 and was home to the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association from 1978 to 1988. In 2012 the Silverdome served as the venue of the Detroit Mechanix of the American Ultimate Disc League. After the opening of Ford Field in 2002, the stadium was left without a permanent tenant and it first closed in 2006, but after multiple attempts to solicit redevelopment plans, the city sold the stadium at auction in 2009. It reopened in 2010 and hosted events, but closed again by 2013. The roof was deflated in 2013 and has since been removed, owners auctioned the stadiums contents in 2014 with no future development through June 2015, and plans for demolition failed after February of 2016. As of March 2017, an agreement has been made, for the World Cup matches, a natural grass surface capable of growing inside the dome was developed and installed by a team from Michigan State University. This grass surface was laid upon wooden pallets atop the artificial turf that is usually used and it was the first time that World Cup games were played indoors. On March 29,1987, the World Wrestling Federations WrestleMania III established the record for attendance of 93,173, the largest recorded attendance for a live indoor sporting event in North America. The record stood until February 14,2010 when the 2010 NBA All-Star Game broke the indoor sporting event record with an attendance of 108,713 at Cowboys Stadium, the Silverdome hosted an AMA Supercross Championship round from 1976 to 2005. In 2012, the Silverdome became the stadium of the citys professional Ultimate Frisbee team. That year, the Silverdome hosted the AUDL championship game, as on August 11, after the roof had been collapsed and the stadium abandoned, Red Bull produced a video of BMX rider Tyler Fernengel riding inside the Silverdome in 2015. That same year, a racing event at the former parking lot marked the beginning of Woodward Dream Cruise. The idea of a sports complex was part of a dream of C. Don Davidson, a Pontiac, Michigan native and star high school athlete, Davidson, upon graduating from Pontiac Central High School in 1947 and completing active duty with the U. S. Marine Corps, attended North Carolina State University on a football scholarship. He returned to Pontiac in 1965 and was shocked to see the deterioration of the city of Pontiac, Davidson embarked upon what would eventually become an obsession for him to see his beloved city succeed
35.
Astrodome
–
The NRG Astrodome, also known as the Houston Astrodome or simply The Astrodome, is the worlds first multi-purpose, domed sports stadium, located in Houston, Texas. Construction on the began in 1962, and it officially opened in 1965. Additionally, the Astrodome was the venue of the Houston Livestock Show. When opened, it was named the Harris County Domed Stadium and was nicknamed the Eighth Wonder of the World, while originally utilizing a natural grass playing surface, the Astrodome became the first major sports venue to feature artificial turf, which became known as AstroTurf. In another technological first, the Astrodome featured the Astrolite, which was the first animated scoreboard, the Astrodome received considerable renovations in 1988 that significantly expanded seating, and altered many original features. By the 1990s, the Astrodome was becoming obsolete, unable to secure a new stadium, Oilers owner Bud Adams moved the team to Tennessee after the 1996 season, where they eventually became the Tennessee Titans. Although it no longer had any primary tenants, the venue regularly hosted events during the 2000s, the Astrodome was declared non-compliant with fire code by the Houston Fire Department in 2008 and parts of it were demolished in 2013 after several years of disuse. In 2014 it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places, in 2017, the Texas Historical Commission designated the Astrodome a State Antiquities Landmark. Major League Baseball expanded to Houston in 1960 when the National League agreed to add two teams, the Houston Colt. 45s were to begin play in 1962, along with their expansion brethren New York Mets. Roy Hofheinz, a mayor of Houston, and his group were granted the franchise after they promised to build a covered stadium. It was thought a covered stadium was a must for a league team to be viable in Houston due to the areas subtropical climate. Game-time temperatures are usually above 97 °F in July and August, with high humidity, Hofheinz abandoned his interest in the worlds first air-conditioned shopping mall, The Galleria, and set his sights on bringing major league baseball to Houston. The Astrodome was designed by architects Hermon Lloyd & W. B, morgan, and Wilson, Morris, Crain and Anderson. Structural engineering and structural design was performed by Walter P Moore Engineers and it was constructed by H. A. Lott, Inc. for Harris County, Texas. It stands 18 stories tall, covering 9.5 acres, the dome is 710 feet in diameter and the ceiling is 208 feet above the playing surface, which itself sits 25 feet below street level. The scoreboard, eventually known as the Astrolite, was designed by Fair Play Scoreboards of Des Moines, having designed the scoreboard for Dodger Stadium several years prior, team owner Roy Hofheinz was not impressed with the initial proposal for a much more generic type of scoreboard. Project designer Jack Foster teamed up with a creative professional based in Kansas City to create the first animated scoreboard and its reported cost was $2.1 million. The Dome was completed in November 1964, six ahead of schedule
36.
Gator Bowl Stadium
–
The Gator Bowl was an American football stadium in Jacksonville, Florida. The old stadium and its replacement have hosted the Gator Bowl, Jacksonvilles first football venue was built in 1927 and 1928 with a seating capacity of 7,600. Known as Fairfield Stadium, its purpose was to serve as home field for Jacksonvilles three new high schools—Lee, Jackson and Landon. At the opening of the stadium, Florida Governor John W. Martin called the stadium the best place in Florida to watch a football game, on January 1,1946, the stadium received national attention when it hosted the first Gator Bowl game. The stadium was expanded to 16,000 seats in 1948, prior to the 1949 game, the seating capacity was expanded to 36,058, at which it remained until 1957. It was home to the World Football Leagues Jacksonville Sharks in 1974 and it was the home of a North American Soccer League team, the Jacksonville Tea Men from 1981 to 1982 and then a United States Football League team, the Jacksonville Bulls from 1984 to 1985. The stadium was the site of the Gator Bowl from 1949 to 1993 and it also hosted the annual Florida–Georgia game between the University of Georgia and the University of Florida college football teams from 1933 to 1993. The Gator Bowl hosted the 1968 and 1969 AFL All-Star Games, the Beatles played a concert at the Gator Bowl on their first American Tour on September 11,1964. When the Beatles found out that the concert was going to be segregated, they refused to play there unless they allowed the audience to be desegregated. Paul McCartney went on record about their disapproval of the situation, John Lennon said, We never play to segregated audiences and we arent going to start now. Id sooner lose our appearance money, city officials relented, allowing the stadium to be integrated, and the band played to a desegregated audience. The concert was held the day after Hurricane Dora struck St. Augustine, most of Jacksonville was without electricity and power was not restored for several days. Despite the hurricane,23,000 fans attended, paying $4, during the concert, Ringo Starrs drums were nailed to the stage because of 45 mph winds. The historic structure was almost entirely razed in 1994, as part of a remodeling effort which essentially built a new stadium. The new stadium was renamed Jacksonville Municipal Stadium, almost none of the original infrastructure remains, except for the west upper deck and the ramping system. The game resumed the following year in Jacksonville
37.
Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome
–
The Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome was a domed sports stadium located in downtown Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was also the home of the Minnesota Strikers of the North American Soccer League in 1984, on January 18,2014, the Metrodome roof was deflated, signaling the beginning of demolition work. The Vikings played at the University of Minnesotas TCF Bank Stadium for the 2014 and 2015 NFL seasons, the stadium had a fiberglass fabric roof that was self-supported by air pressure and was the third major sports facility to have this feature. The Metrodome was similar in design to the former RCA Dome, the Metrodome was reputedly the inspiration for the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan. The stadium was the facility to have hosted a Super Bowl, World Series, MLB All-Star Game. The Metrodome was the ninth-oldest stadium in the NFL, locally, the Metrodome had several nicknames such as The Dome, The Thunderdome, and The Homer Dome. The Metrodome was torn down in sections while construction of U. S, by the early 1970s, the Minnesota Vikings were unhappy with Metropolitan Stadiums relatively small capacity for football. Before the AFL-NFL merger, the NFL had declared that stadiums with a capacity smaller than 50,000 were not adequate for their needs. The biggest stadium in the area was the University of Minnesotas Memorial Stadium, supporters of a dome also believed that the Minnesota Twins would benefit from a climate-controlled stadium to insulate the team from harsh Minnesota weather later in the season. The Met would have likely needed to be replaced in any event, broken railings and seats could be seen in the upper deck by the early 1970s, and by its final season they had become a distinct safety hazard. Construction success of other domed stadiums, particularly the Pontiac Silverdome near Detroit, Downtown Minneapolis was beginning a revitalization program, and the return of professional sports from suburban Bloomington was seen as a major success story. A professional team hadnt been based in downtown Minneapolis since the Minneapolis Lakers left for Los Angeles in 1960, uncovering the Dome by Amy Klobuchar describes the 10-year effort to build the venue. The stadium was named in memory of former mayor of Minneapolis, U. S. Senator, vice President, Hubert Humphrey, who died in 1978. The Metrodome itself cost $68 million to build—significantly under budget—totaling around $124 million with infrastructure and it was a somewhat utilitarian facility, though not quite as spartan as Metropolitan Stadium. One stadium official once said all the Metrodome was designed to do was get fans in, let em see a game. The Metrodome is the venue to have hosted a MLB All-Star Game, a Super Bowl, an NCAA Final Four. The 1985 MLB All-Star Game, several games of the 1987 and the 1991 World Series, Super Bowl XXVI in 1992, the NCAA Final Four was held at the Metrodome in 1992 and 2001. The Metrodome also served as one of the four venues for the NCAA Division I Basketball Championship in 1986,1989,1996,2000,2003,2006
38.
Mercedes-Benz Superdome
–
The Mercedes-Benz Superdome, often referred to simply as the Superdome, is a domed sports and exhibition venue located in the Central Business District of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. It primarily serves as the venue for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League. Plans were drawn up in 1967 by the New Orleans modernist architectural firm of Curtis and Davis and the building opened as the Louisiana Superdome in 1975. Its steel frame covers a 13-acre expanse and the 273-foot dome is made of a lamellar multi-ringed frame and has a diameter of 680 feet and it is adjacent to the Smoothie King Center. The Superdome gained international attention of a different type in 2005 when it housed thousands of people seeking shelter from Hurricane Katrina, the building suffered extensive damage as a result of the storm, and was closed for many months afterward. It was eventually decided the building would be refurbished and reopened in time for the Saints 2006 home opener on September 25. On October 3,2011, it was announced that German automaker Mercedes-Benz purchased naming rights to the stadium, the new name took effect on October 23,2011. Atlantas Mercedes-Benz Stadium, set to open in 2017, will become the fifth stadium to bear the name of the German automaker, the Superdome is located on 70 acres of land, including the former Girod Street Cemetery. The dome has a space of 125,000,000 cubic feet, a height of 253 feet, a dome diameter of 680 feet. The Superdome has a listed seating capacity of 76,468 or 73,208. However, published figures from events such as the Sugar Bowl football game have exceeded 79,000. The basketball capacity does not reflect the NCAAs new policy on arranging the basketball court on the 50-yard line on the football field, in 2011,3,500 seats were added, increasing the Superdomes capacity to 76,468. The Superdomes capacity was 75,167 for WWE WrestleMania XXX, the actual capacity is 73,208 people. The team regularly draws capacity crowds, the NFL has hosted seven Super Bowls at the Superdome, most recently Super Bowl XLVII in 2013. The 1976 Pro Bowl was held at the Superdome on Monday and it was the NFLs 26th annual all-star game. Tulane University played their games at the stadium from 1975 to 2013 before moving to on-campus Yulman Stadium. The BCS National Championship Game was played at the Superdome four times, the College Football Playoff semifinal game is played every three years in the stadium. Two other bowl games are played there annually, the Sugar Bowl
39.
Veterans Stadium
–
Veterans Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in Philadelphia, in the U. S. state of Pennsylvania. It was located at the northeast corner of Broad Street and Pattison Avenue, the listed seating capacities in 1971 were 65,358 seats for football, and 56,371 for baseball. It hosted the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League from 1971 to January 2003, the 1976 and 1996 Major League Baseball All-Star Games were held at the venue. The Vet also hosted the annual Army-Navy football game seventeen times, in addition to professional baseball and football, the stadium hosted other amateur and professional sports, large entertainment events, and other civic affairs. It was demolished by implosion in March 2004 after being replaced by the adjacent Citizens Bank Park, a parking lot now sits on its former site. As early as 1959, Phillies owner Bob Carpenter proposed building a new ballpark for the Phillies on 72 acres adjacent to the Garden State Park Racetrack in Cherry Hill, New Jersey. The Phillies then-home, Connie Mack Stadium, was starting to show its age, had inadequate parking, furthermore, in 1959 alcohol sales at sporting events were banned in Pennsylvania but were legal in New Jersey. The proposed ballpark would have seated 45,000 fans, been expandable to 60,000, the American Leagues Philadelphia Athletics had moved to Kansas City, Missouri after the 1954 season and Philadelphians werent about to lose another professional sports franchise. In 1964, Philadelphia voters approved a US$25-million-bond issue for a new stadium to serve as the home of both the Eagles and the Phillies, because of cost overruns, the voters had to go to the polls again in 1967 to approve another $13 million. At a total cost of $60 million, it was one of the most-expensive ballparks to date, the stadium was named by the Philadelphia City Council, in 1968, for the veterans of all wars. As early as December 1969, the Phillies expected that they would play the first month of the 1970 season at Connie Mack Stadium before moving to the new venue, however, the opening was delayed a year because of a combination of bad weather and cost overruns. The stadiums design was circular, and was known as an octorad design. Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego had been similarly designed, as was the case with other cities where this dual approach was tried, the fundamentally different sizes and shapes of the playing fields made the stadium inadequate to the needs of either sport. The Phillies played their first game at the stadium on Saturday, April 10,1971, beating the Montreal Expos, 4–1, jim Bunning was the winning pitcher while Bill Stoneman took the loss. Entertainer Mike Douglas, whose daily talk show was taped in Philadelphia, the emcee for the opening ceremonies was newly arrived Harry Kalas. Boots Day opened the game by grounding out to Bunning, larry Bowa had the stadiums first hit and Don Money slugged the first home run. As the stadium aged, its condition deteriorated, a hole in the wall allowed visiting teams players to peep into the Eagles Cheerleaders dressing room. So many mice infested the stadium that the security force employed cats as mousers, the final football game played at the Vet was the Eagles 27–10 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC Championship Game on January 19,2003
40.
Candlestick Park
–
Candlestick Park was an outdoor sports and entertainment stadium located in San Francisco, California, in the Bayview Heights area. The stadium was built as the home of Major League Baseballs San Francisco Giants. It was also the field of the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League from 1971 to 2013. The 49ers moved to Levis Stadium before the beginning of the 2014 NFL season, the stadium was situated at Candlestick Point on the western shore of the San Francisco Bay. Due to its next to the bay, strong winds often swirled down into the stadium. The surface of the field was natural bluegrass, but for nine seasons, from 1970 to 1978, a sliding pit configuration, with dirt cut-outs only around the bases, was installed in 1971, primarily to keep the dust down in the breezy conditions. Following the 1978 football season, the turf was replaced with natural grass. When the New York Giants arrived in San Francisco in 1958, they played their games at the old Seals Stadium at 16th. As part of the agreement regarding the Giants relocation to the west coast, most of the land at Candlestick Point was purchased from Charles Harney, a local contractor. Harney purchased the land in 1952 for a quarry and industrial development and he made a profit of over $2 million when he sold the land for the stadium. Harney received a contract to build the stadium. The entire deal was the subject of a Grand Jury investigation in 1958, ground was broken in 1958 for the stadium and the Giants selected the name of Candlestick Park, after a name-the-park contest on March 3,1959. Prior to the choice of the name, its site had been shown on maps as the generic Bay View Stadium. It was the first modern stadium, as it was the first to be built entirely of reinforced concrete. The stadium was enclosed during the winter of 1970–71 in preparation for the 49ers who were moving from their long time home of Kezar Stadium, with stands built around the outfield. The result was that the speed dropped marginally, but often swirled around throughout the stadium. Candlestick played host to two Major League Baseball All-Star Games in its life as home for the Giants, the stadium hosted the first of two games in 1961 and later hosted the 1984 All-Star Game. The Giants played a total of six postseason series at Candlestick, they played host to the NLCS in 1971,1987, and 1989, the World Series in 1962 and 1989, the 49ers hosted eight NFC Championship games during their time at Candlestick
41.
Kingdome
–
The Kingdome was a multi-purpose stadium in Seattles SoDo neighborhood. The stadium served as both the outdoor and indoor venue for the Seattle Sounders of the North American Soccer League and hosted numerous amateur sporting events, concerts. The Kingdome measured 660 feet wide from its inside walls, the idea of constructing a covered stadium for a major league football and/or baseball team was first proposed to Seattle officials in 1959. Construction began in 1972 and the stadium opened in 1976 as the stadium of the Sounders. The Mariners moved in the year, and the SuperSonics moved in the next year. As a result, public funding packages for new, purpose-built stadiums for the Mariners and Seahawks were approved in 1995 and 1997, the Mariners moved to Safeco Field midway through the 1999 season, and the Seahawks temporarily moved to Husky Stadium after the 1999 season. The Kingdome was demolished by implosion on March 26,2000, King County paid off the bonds used to build and repair the Kingdome in 2015,15 years after its demolition. In 1959, Seattle restaurateur David L. Cohn wrote a letter to the Seattle City Council suggesting the city needed a covered stadium for a professional sports franchise. A domed stadium was thought to be a must due to Seattles frequent rain, at the time, the city had Husky Stadium and Sicks Stadium for collegiate football and minor league baseball, respectively, but both were deemed inadequate for a major league team. In 1967, the American League granted Seattle an expansion franchise that would be known as the Seattle Pilots, the Pilots were supposed to begin play in 1971 along with the Kansas City Royals. However, when Senator Stuart Symington of Missouri got wind of those plans, community members decried the idea, claiming the committee was influenced by special interest groups. The Pilots only drew 677,000 fans that season, not nearly enough to even. The Pilots ownership group ran out of money by the end of the season, and with the plans in limbo. The push to build the stadium continued despite the lack of a major league sports team to occupy it. In May 1970 voters rejected the proposal to build the stadium at Seattle Center and this drew sharp opposition primarily from the International District community, which feared the impact of the stadium on neighborhood businesses located east of the site. In 1972, a ceremony was held on the King Street site on November 2. Several protesters attended the ceremony, disrupted the speakers, and at one point threw mud balls at them, on December 5,1974, the NFL awarded Seattle an expansion franchise to occupy the new stadium, the team was later named the Seattle Seahawks. Construction lasted another two years, and the stadium held a ceremony on March 27,1976
.jpg)