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| Date | January 26, 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Louisiana Superdome New Orleans,Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Billy Johnson (Houston Oilers) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Fred Silva | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 32,108 | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Frank Gifford,Howard Cosell, andAlex Karras | ||||||||||||||||||
The1976Pro Bowl was theNFL's 26th annualall-star game which featured the outstanding performers from the1975 season. The game was played onMonday night, January 26, 1976, at the newLouisiana Superdome inNew Orleans,Louisiana,[1] with 32,108 in attendance.[2][3] The final score wasNFC 23,AFC 20. It was also the first Pro Bowl game played indoors.
The game featured the best players in theNational Football League as selected by the league's coaches.John Madden of theOakland Raiders led theAFC team against anNFC team led byLos Angeles Rams head coachChuck Knox.[4]
The AFC'sBilly "White Shoes" Johnson was named the game'sMVP on the strength of a 90-yard punt return touchdown and a second punt return of 55 yards that set up a field goal.[2][5] The referee wasFred Silva.[6]
Players on the winning NFC team received $2,000 apiece while the AFC participants each took home $1,500.[7]
The 40-man Pro Bowl squads consisted of the following players:[8][9]
| Position | AFC | NFC |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive end | John Dutton – Baltimore L. C. Greenwood – Pittsburgh Elvin Bethea – Houston | Jack Youngblood – Los Angeles Cedrick Hardman –San Francisco Fred Dryer – Los Angeles |
| Defensive tackle | Jerry Sherk –Cleveland Joe Greene – Pittsburgh Curley Culp – Houston | Alan Page – Minnesota Merlin Olsen – Los Angeles Wally Chambers –Chicago |
| Middle linebacker | Willie Lanier – Kansas City[a] Jack Lambert – Pittsburgh Randy Gradishar – Denver[b] | Jeff Siemon – Minnesota Jack Reynolds – Los Angeles |
| Outside linebacker | Andy Russell – Pittsburgh Jack Ham – Pittsburgh Phil Villapiano – Oakland | Chris Hanburger – Washington Isiah Robertson – Los Angeles Fred Carr –Green Bay |
| Cornerback | Mel Blount – Pittsburgh Lemar Parrish – Cincinnati Emmitt Thomas – Kansas City | Roger Wehrli – St. Louis Lem Barney – Detroit Bobby Bryant – Minnesota |
| Safety | Mike Wagner – Pittsburgh Jake Scott – Miami Jack Tatum –Oakland[a] Glen Edwards – Pittsburgh[b][10] | Cliff Harris – Dallas Ken Houston – Washington Paul Krause – Minnesota |
| Position | AFC | NFC |
|---|---|---|
| Kicker | Jan Stenerud – Kansas City | Jim Bakken – St. Louis |
| Punter | Ray Guy – Oakland | John James – Atlanta |
| Return specialist | Billy Johnson – Houston | Steve Odom – Green Bay |
Roster Notes:
Note: these numbers include players selected to the team but unable to play as well as replacements for these injured players, so there are more than 40 players in each conference.