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What Pete Rozelle DIDN'T Do.

He DIDN'T think up the Super Bowl.

        As early as 1963, American Football League Commisioner Joe Foss challenged Rozelle and the NFL to a playoff game between AFL and NFL champions, as reported in the 16 December, 1963 issue of Sports Illustrated.  Rozelle's response? "As I have said on a number of occasions, we have no plans for such a game."
 

He DIDN'T name the Super Bowl.

          AFL founder and Texans/Chiefs owner Lamar Hunt did.
 

He DIDN'T negotiate the AFL-NFL merger.

          The AFL-NFL merger was agreed to in 1966 between a group of AFL and NFL franchise owners after the NFL owners approached Lamar Hunt asking him to consider a merger of the NFL with the AFL.  The reason they asked for a merger was in large part due to AFL Commissioner Al Davis' aggressive signing of NFL stars to AFL contracts.  The negotiations were held without the knowledge of Davis or NFL commissioner Rozelle.  Davis was against the merger because of the compensation AFL teams were required to pay the NFL, and because he believed the AFL would be the superior league if allowed to remain separate.
          Although Davis opposed it, there can be no doubt that the merger agreement was a direct result of his bold moves while he was Commissioner of the AFL. Ironically, Pete Rozelle is erroneously given credit for the merger, even though he consistently refused to have a game between NFL and AFL champions, and the fact that Rozelle was "out of the loop" when the AFL and NFL owners negotiated the merger.
 

He DIDN'T invent gate-sharing, nationwide game telecasts, or TV revenue sharing. 

           AFL owners agreed at the league's inception to share gate receipts between home and visiting teams.  Harry Wismer, owner of the Titans of New York, conceived nationally telecast AFL games, televised double-headers, and equal sharing of TV revenues among all league franchises.  Those ideas were all used by the AFL since its incepton.
 

Though he tried, he DIDN'T destroy all the AFL footballs that had Al Davis's signature.
(Click HERE)

 

He DIDN'T launch expansion of Professional Football by fourteen new franchises.

           Nor did he introduce to Pro Football the following: moving sideline TV cameras; miked players; official game time kept on the scoreboard clock; player names on jerseys; nor the two-point conversion.  THE AFL DID. 
 

He DIDN'T postpone the NFL's games after JFK's assassination.

 

 
 
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Last revision: 16 October 2014 ~ Angelo F. Coniglio, nospam.RemembertheAFL@aol.com
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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