How the Super Bowl Was Born

By: Bob Johnson   Date: January 31, 2006

The late Tex Schramm was the General Manager of the Dallas Cowboys. He always believed that there should be some sort of World Championship game between the old AFL and the NFL. His meeting with Lamar Hunt, in a car parked at Love Field airport in Dallas, brought about the idea of the Super Bowl. The rest is history.

Schramm was a big part of the merger when the AFL and NFL leagues came together. So was Dallas businessman Lamar Hunt who owed the AFL Dallas Texans and eventually moved them to Kansas City as the Chiefs. Tex's dream was to have some sort of World Championship. He talked with Hunt about this, but didn't know what they would call it. There was a round ball in the back seat of the car and when Tex asked about it, Hunt said it belonged to his young son. It was something that was sold at the Seven Eleven convenience stores then called a "Super Ball". From that, came the name Super Bowl.

The modern game of Pro Football we see today was shaped in large part by Schramm. He is one of the few people in the Hall of Fame that never played a down. I met him once. He was always thinking of ways to improve the game. He had his own radio show here in Dallas and was fascinating to listen to. You couldn't help but learn something from listening to his ideas about football. He was constantly thinking of innovative idea about the game. He was truly one of a kind

The next time you see NFL Cheerleaders, instant replay, referees using microphones, the Wildcard playoff system, sudden death overtime, and hash marks in the center of the field. Think of Tex Schramm. In fact, he even got the league to move the goal posts from the goal line to the end line. These are just a few of the many things that Tex Schramm initiated to make the modern game of NFL football what it is today. He was an innovative genius that made the modern NFL what it is today. That includes having a hand in actually naming the Super Bowl.