COWBOYS MAKE TO THEIR FIRST SUPER BOWL

The Cowboy's played the Baltimore Colts in their first Super Bowl. The Baltimore Colts were members on the NFL that switched to the American Football Conference (along with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Cleveland Browns) as part of the NFL-AFL merger. This was not the Colt's first Super Bowl. The Colts lost Super Bowl III to the New York Jets.

Super Bowl V was marked by strong defenses producing 10 turnovers (6 by Baltimore). Despite this, Dallas got off to a quick start with a pair of field goals to lead 6-0 early in the second quarter. The pace of the game changed when Johnny Unitas completed a controversial 75-yard touchdown pass to John Mackey. The pass was attended for Eddie Hinton and was defended by Mel Renfro. The two went up for the ball at the same time. The ball bounced off Hinton and to Mackey and completed the touchdown. Officials said the ball touched Renfro before Mackey caught it and thus was a legal play (NFL Rules at the time stated that a ball could not rebound from one teammate to another without a defending player touching it first). The play stood. However, the Colts could not take the lead as the Cowboys blocked the extra point. Duane Thomas for Dallas scored a touchdown after an Unitas fumble and Dallas took a 13-6 half-time lead.

A fumble by Baltimore on the opening kickoff of the second half gave Dallas a chance to open the lead. Dallas drove to the two-yard line where a second controversial play went against Dallas. Duane Thomas fumbled and it appeared that center Dave Manders recovered. However, officials did not see the recovery and awarded the ball to Baltimore. The score remained 13-6 and stayed that way into the fourth quarter. However, two late interceptions by Craig Morton of Dallas lead to 10 Baltimore points, including the game-winning 32-yard field goal as time expired.

The loss was especially bitter for Dallas considering they had the lead for so long and two controversial plays went against Dallas giving Baltimore a touchdown and costing Dallas another. On the bright side, Chuck Howley was voted the game's Most Valuable Player. He was the first player to win the award on the losing team.

Starting Lineups

First Quarter

Dal - FG, Mike Clark, 14 Yard

Second Quarter

Dal - FG, Mike Clark, 30 Yard

Bal - TD, John Mackey 75 Yard Pass from Johnny Unitas (Kick Blocked)

Dal - TD, Duane Thomas 7 Yard Pass from Craig Morton (Mike Clark Kick)

Fourth Quarter

Bal - TD, Tom Nowatzke 2 Yard Run(Jim O'Brien Kick)

Bal - FG, Jim O'Brien, 32 Yard

Individual Stats