This post is part of the 50 Seasons in 50 Weeks Series.
After winning the Eastern Conference in 1966, the Cowboys were set to take on the Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship Game on January 1, 1967. The Packers had already won three NFL titles during the 1960s, including the championship in 1965. The Cowboys’ only postseason experience was the 1965 Playoff Bowl.
The key to the Dallas offense was Bob Hayes, who set a franchise record with 1,232 receiving yards on 64 receptions. He hauled in 13 touchdown passes as well. Running back Dan Reeves complemented Hayes out of the backfield. Reeves scored a total of 16 touchdowns, including eight rushing and eight receiving.
Don Meredith had his best season as a pro in 1966, throwing for 2,805 yards with 24 touchdowns and only 12 interceptions. However, he was injured late in the year. There was some concern going into the title game about his availability.
The illustration above appeared in Sports Illustrated on December 19, 1966. The caption read:
[Left] Dallas gains if Bob Hayes can win hare-hound races with Packer Corner Back Herb Adderley.
[Right] Computer-precise Bart Starr leads all passers, rarely errs. Cowboys Don Meredith likes to rocket bombs but is sometimes burned.
The Dallas defense made great strides in 1966 and finished the season ranked second in total defense. According to SI:
The championship game may well boil down to how successfully Bart Starr can discover exploitable seams in the Dallas pass defense. Cornell Green, who has developed from a college basketball player into the best corner back in the Eastern Division, will have to handle Boyd Dowler, Warren Livingston must stop Bob Long or Max McGee, and Mike Gaechter will be giving away a good deal of height and weight to Marv Fleming, the massive Green Bay tight end. In Mel Renfro the Cowboys have a free safety to match Willie Wood.
The caption:
[Left] Kangaroo bounds of Corner Back Cornell Green may not be enough to thwart Packers’ giraffe-tall end, Boyd Dowler, money man in the clutch.
[Right] Lionlike Cowboy Tackle Bob Lilly might have trouble with bulldog Guard Fuzzy Thurston.
Weathermen predicted rain for the game, which began at 3 p.m. on January 1. For those who could not or did not purchase tickets, the game was blackened out in the 75-mile radius surrounding the City of Dallas. The Irving Jaycees threatened to seek an injunction prohibiting the league from blacking the game out, but to no avail. To watch the game live on television, fans had to purchase tickets to a close circuit television showing at the old Dallas Memorial Auditorium (now the Dallas Convention Center). Price of a ticket to watch the game on television: $8. That would be just over $50 in today’s dollars.
The game was broadcast live on KRLD in Dallas. The television broadcast was shown via delayed telecast at 4 p.m. on Monday, January 2. The delayed broadcast was shown instead of the Merv Griffin Show.
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