In 1960 a 13-year-old
boy in Litchfield,
Conn., was entranced by
the explosiveness of the
games he saw on the
family's 21-inch
black-and-white.
"Watching the AFL as a
kid is how I fell in
love with football,"
says Dick Ebersol, who
as the chairman of NBC
Sports would authorize
the payment of billions
for the rights to
televise AFC games and
later the NFL on Sunday
night. "The wide-open
offenses seemed so much
more exciting."
ABC
was the AFL's TV partner
for the league's first
five years, then in 1965
NBC swooped in with a
five-year, $42.7 million
deal—more than double
what CBS was paying for
rights to NFL games. The
established league,
sensing the rapid rise
of the AFL, ordered CBS
not to give the upstart
league's scores during
its NFL telecasts. That
year, in the midst of
the war between the
leagues, SI put Alworth
on the cover and called
him the best receiver in
football.
In 1971 the lithe and
nimble 6-foot, 186-pound
wideout was traded to
the Dallas Cowboys—and
experienced NFL culture
shock. "I was taken to
see coach [Tom] Landry
in his office," says
Alworth, now 68. "There
was just a bare gray
desk in there, and he
never said 'Hello' or
'Welcome to the
Cowboys.' He just said,
'We traded for you
because you'll block. If
you'll block, we'll win
the Super Bowl.' I said,
'I'll block.' He said,
'Good,' and he got up
and walked out."
Just as Landry
promised, one of the
greatest downfield
threats in history, a
receiver who had
averaged 19.4 yards per
catch in the AFL, spent
most of the year
blocking. Alworth caught
34 passes and had a
career-low two
touchdowns. And just as
Landry promised, the
Cowboys won the Super
Bowl.
