 The front of the L.A. Memorial Coliseum | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 16, 1966 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum,Los Angeles,California | ||||||||||||||||||
| Co-MVPs | Jim Brown (Cleveland Browns, FB),Dale Meinert (St. Louis Cardinals, LB) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | West by 7 points[1] | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 60,124 | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | CBS | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Jack Drees,Frank Gifford | ||||||||||||||||||
The1966 Pro Bowl was theNational Football League's sixteenth annualall-star game which featured the outstanding performers from the1965 season. The game was played on January 16, 1966, at theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum inLos Angeles,California, with an attendance of 60,124.[2] The West was favored by a touchdown,[1] but the East won in a rout, 36–7.[3]
The Western Conference stars were led byVince Lombardi, head coach of the league championGreen Bay Packers. The coach of the Eastern Conference,Blanton Collier of theCleveland Browns, used the domination of the West that year as a rallying cry for the Eastern team as they prepared to take the field.[4]
During the 1965 season, the Western Conference had dominated the Eastern Conference — Western teams were 13–1 in regular season inter-conference games and had won theleague championship two weeks earlier, the third-placePlayoff Bowl, and the previous two editions in this series. The domination extended to thecollege ranks as well, with the West team winning theRose Bowl and theEast–West Shrine Game (college all-star game).[5]
At the same time, Lombardi felt his West squad was at an unfair disadvantage in the game due to a denial by the league of a last minute appeal to use his own team's quarterback,Bart Starr, in the game. Starr had previously been scratched due to injury, but had recovered sufficiently to play.[5] In his place,San Francisco 49ers quarterbackJohn Brodie threw a record six interceptions, offset with one touchdown pass late in the game toTommy McDonald of theLos Angeles Rams to avoid ashutout.[3]
LinebackerDale Meinert of theSt. Louis Cardinals was named the "lineman of the game" while theCleveland Browns' fullbackJim Brown was awarded "back of the game" honors for the third time in his career. Brown carried 21 times for 65 yards, rushing for three touchdowns in the first half.[3] One story line entering the game never materialized, the anticipated showdown between Brown and halfbackGale Sayers of theChicago Bears, the season's consensusRookie of the Year; Lombardi surprisingly called only a single play for Sayers, a handoff which gained fifteen yards.[5]
This was Brown's final NFL game; he left at the top of his game (league MVP for third time in nine seasons) to pursue an acting career inHollywood. A month shy of thirty years old, he had a year remaining (1966) on a three-year contract, estimated at$60,000 per year ($581,500 in 2024[6]),[7] and officially announced his retirement six months later in July fromEngland, on the set of the1967 filmThe Dirty Dozen.[8][9][10]