When Was the First Super Bowl Played: Exact Date & Highlights

If you’re asking when was the first super bowl played, the short answer is January 15, 1967. That game — later retroactively named Super Bowl I — pitted the NFL champion Green Bay Packers against the AFL champion Kansas City Chiefs at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum; Green Bay won 35–10.

How I checked the facts (and what matters)

I used primary game records, contemporary reporting, and official league references to confirm date, location, score, rosters and context. That matters because several people confuse the AFL–NFL merger timeline or mix the exhibition games of the era with the first official championship matchup. For clarity, I cross-checked the play-by-play and box score with authoritative sources listed below.

Quick facts you can use right now

• Date: January 15, 1967.
• Venue: Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
• Teams: Green Bay Packers (NFL) vs. Kansas City Chiefs (AFL).
• Final score: Packers 35, Chiefs 10.
• Attendance: 61,946.
• Most notable: Vince Lombardi’s Packers dominated; Bart Starr named MVP.

Context: Why that January 1967 game was different

People sometimes call any big pro football title a “Super Bowl” casually. But this specific matchup was arranged after the NFL and AFL agreed to a championship meeting ahead of an eventual merger. The game wasn’t originally called “Super Bowl” in every official reference at the time — the name stuck and was retroactively applied as the leagues merged — but the date and result are well documented.

Evidence and sources

Primary contemporary box scores and play-by-play confirm the date and score; a concise, accessible reference is the Super Bowl I page on Wikipedia. For league context and historical framing, the NFL’s official history pages and retrospective pieces provide reliable commentary on the game’s significance. The Pro Football Hall of Fame also preserves rosters, photos and narratives from the game which are useful for researchers and fans alike.

Why I trust these sources: the NFL archives are primary and curated; the Pro Football Hall of Fame holds contemporaneous materials; and multiple newspaper archives from January 1967 (AP and major dailies) published box scores the next day. Cross-referencing these reduces errors like mismatched attendance figures or misattributed plays.

What actually happened on the field — a concise game flow

Green Bay scored early and often. Bart Starr completed key passes and led sustained drives; the Packers’ combination of running and efficient short passing stifled the Chiefs’ defense. Kansas City mounted a few promising drives but committed turnovers and couldn’t sustain enough offense to close the gap. The final margin, 35–10, reflects Green Bay’s control rather than a one-score swing — they won convincingly.

Common mistakes people make about this question

One mistake: confusing the first championship game between pro leagues with the first game actually named a Super Bowl. Another: misremembering the year — because the NFL season spans two calendar years, it’s easy to think 1966 or 1968 instead of the precise date, January 15, 1967. Also, some fans conflate early AFL exhibition games with official interleague championships; those were not Super Bowl I.

Why this question spikes in searches

There are recurring reasons searches surge: anniversaries, viral posts comparing today’s Super Bowl spectacle to the first one, or media pieces about the AFL–NFL merger. Social feeds sharing a single iconic photo can prompt people to check “when was the first super bowl played” to confirm the context. This article answers that quickly and then gives the background readers usually want next.

Multiple perspectives and what historians debate

Some historians focus on rule differences between the AFL and NFL that made early interleague matchups interesting; others emphasize the cultural impact — the Super Bowl evolved into a national entertainment event far beyond sport. There’s also discussion about attendance and broadcast reach: Super Bowl I was broadcast on two networks and didn’t command the astronomical ratings later editions did. Debates continue about how much the first game’s outcome influenced the merger’s pacing — my read is that the outcome reinforced the notion the NFL held the upper hand, but momentum for merger was already in place.

What this means for fans and researchers

Short-term: if you need the date and key facts for a post, a classroom project, or a trivia question, use January 15, 1967; Packers 35, Chiefs 10; Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. Long-term: understanding Super Bowl I helps explain how the event transformed into a cultural institution. If you’re researching trends in sports broadcasting or league consolidation, this game is a clear starting point.

Recommendations for deeper research (quick wins)

1. Read contemporary newspaper coverage from January 16, 1967, to see how the game was reported the next day.
2. Review the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s archival photos and rosters to get names and positions correct; their materials often include official programs and game notes.
3. Compare play-by-play data with modern analytics to see how play-calling and tempo have changed — the contrast is striking and informative.

Sources and further reading

• Super Bowl I — Wikipedia (compact facts, box score, references)
• Pro Football Hall of Fame (archival photos, rosters, contextual essays)
• NFL Official Site (league history and retrospectives)

Bottom line: the single-sentence answer

When was the first Super Bowl played? January 15, 1967 — Green Bay beat Kansas City 35–10 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Quick heads up: if you use this in a project or post, cite one of the linked authoritative sources above rather than a secondary summary. That avoids propagated errors and gives readers a path to primary details (box score, play-by-play, attendance).