On the final day of 1967, the Ice Bowl became one of the most iconic games in football history as temperatures dipped to an NFL-record low 13-below zero in Green Bay and the expression “frozen tundra” became another name for Lambeau Field. The Packers beat the Dallas Cowboys, winning the NFL title and advancing to the Super Bowl on a quarterback sneak by Bart Starr with mere seconds left as Jerry Kramer pushed Jethro Pugh out of the way.
With even colder temperatures possible for Sunday night in Green Bay, David Maraniss, who wrote “When Pride Still Mattered: A Life of Vince Lombardi,” is tweeting that 1967 game.
Lombardi had a rule that linemen could wear gloves, but not players who might conceivably touch the ball. Dave Robinson told the equipment man, Maraniss writes, “Give me a pair of those brown gloves and the old man will never know the difference.”
Lombardi conferred with his quarterback during a timeout just before Starr scored, with Lombardi instructing him, “Run it and let’s get the hell out of here!”
The victory put Lombardi and the Packers in the second Super Bowl against the Oakland Raiders, the AFL champions. The Ice Bowl was Lombardi’s next-to-last game as Green Bay’s coach.