The Playoff Bowl was a third-place decider gameplayed after the end of the regular season. Officially acknowledged as the Bert Bell Profit Bowl, it was contested ten times, from the 1960 season to the1969 season, and all games were held atthe Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida.
From 1946 to his death in October 1959, Bert Bell served as NFL Commissioner. In much of the 1940s, he was a co-founder of the Philadelphia Eagles and a partner of the Pittsburgh Steelers. His death occurred during a game between Philadelphia’s Eagles vs Steelers. In the 1960s, more than a million dollars were donated to Bert Bell players’pension system.
After the National Football League(NFL) and theAmerican Football League(AFL) combined into one league in 1970, called the National Football League, there was discussion about continuing the Playoff Bowl, with the losers of theAFCandNFCChampionship Games playing each other during the idle week before theSuper Bowl. However, it was decided that a”losers’ game” may not attract many fans, and thus, the Playoff Bowl wasabolished.
Dallas Cowboys Danny Villanueva in action vs Baltimore Colts at Orange Bowl Stadium in 1966. (Getty)
How manyPlayoff Bowls wereplayed and when?
Ten Playoff Bowls were played in the history of the competition, all held attheOrange Bowl in Miami, Florida,The games took place the week after the NFLchampionship game. The only exception to this was the final game ever, which took place the day before the NFL title game. Another competition followed called theNFL’sPro Bowl, which served as an all-stargame, and was played aweek after the Playoff Bowl.
The firstPlayoff Bowl, contested by the Detroit Lions andthe Cleveland Browns, was played onJanuary 7, 1961;theDetroit Lions won 17-16. The next one was played onJanuary 6, 1962, and the Detroit Lions clinched their second titleafter beating thePhiladelphia Eagles38-10. The Lions secured their third consecutivePlayoff Bowl trophy on January 6, 1963, when they were the better side against the Pittsburgh Steelers (17-10).
OnJanuary 5, 1964, the fourthPlayoff Bowl took place; theGreen Bay Packers beat the Cleveland Browns40-23. The fifth followed onJanuary 3, 1965, as this time, theGreen Bay Packers were a defeated side by St. Louis Cardinals (24-17). The Baltimore Colts celebrated an astonishing 35-3win vs theDallas Cowboys in the sixth edition played on January 9, 1966, in whatwas the most-watched game in the competition’s history with an attendance of 65,569.
TheBaltimore Colts continued their run, this time beating the Philadelphia Eagles 20-14, on January 8, 1967, in the seventhPlayoff Bowl. January 7, 1968, was the date for the eighth series, as theLos Angeles Rams smashed the Cleveland Browns30-6. TheDallas Cowboys made the headlines on January 5, 1969, after triumphing over theMinnesota Vikings 17-13 in the ninthPlayoff Bowl. Eventually, the final edition belonged to the Los Angeles Rams who ruthlessly trashed theDallas Cowboys 31-0 in the tenthPlayoff Bowl, played onJanuary 3, 1970.
