January 1, 1978: The American Football Conference Championship Game is played at Mile High Stadium in Denver, Colorado. It is the culmination of not just a great season for the home team, but of their city's coming of age.
The Denver Broncos were an original franchise in the American Football League in 1960. They played at Bears Stadium, built in 1948 as 18,000-seat ballpark, home of the Class AAA Denver Bears. For the Broncos, it was expanded to 34,000 seats with the addition of outfield seating. The name was changed to Mile High Stadium in 1966, and by 1968 much of the stadium was triple-decked and seated 51,706.
Denver had never previously had a major league sports team, unless you count the original version of the Denver Nuggets, who played in the Amateur Athletic Union from 1932 to 1948, in the National Basketball League in the 1948-49 season, and in the NBA in the 1949-50 season, before folding. The Bears had won a few minor-league Pennants, and Colorado was a college sports hotbed. It was hoped that the establishment of the Broncos would make the growing city "major league."
But, at least competitively, the Broncos did not cooperate. They never had a winning season for the length of the AFL, topping out at 7-7 in 1962. In 1973, their 4th season in the merged NFL, they went 7-5-2, including a notable tie with the Oakland Raiders in their 1st Monday Night Football game on ABC. In 1976, they finished 9-5, just missing the Playoffs.
In 1977, Mile High Stadium was transformed into a 76,273-seat horseshoe, whose east stands could be moved in to conform to the shape of a football field, or out to allow enough room for a regulation baseball field. The old-time ballpark had become, by the standards of the time, a modern football stadium.
With a new coach, Robert "Red" Miller, the Broncos stood out, and not just because of their bright blue helmets and their brighter orange jerseys. Craig Morton, who had quarterbacked the Dallas Cowboys into Super Bowl V (but lost it), led an offense with running backs Otis Armstrong and Rob Lytle, and receivers Haven Moses and Rick Upchurch.
The defense, known as the Orange Crush after a brand of soda, was spectacular. With end Lyle Alzado, tackles Rubin Carter and Paul Smith, linebackers Randy Gradishar and Tom Jackson, cornerbacks Steve Foley and Louis Wright, and safety Billy Thompson, they were hard to score upon. And Jim Turner, who had kicked the Jets to Super Bowl glory 9 seasons earlier, was still a formidable weapon.
The Broncos won their 1st 6 games, holding opponents to an average of less than 6 points per game. When they won their 5th, demolishing the defending NFL Champion Oakland Raiders, 30-7 at the Oakland Coliseum on October 16, people began to take notice. The Raiders ending their streak in Denver, 2 weeks later, restored some doubt. But beating the team that won the 2 Super Bowls before that, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 21-7 at home, restored the feeling.
All the while, the City of Denver, the State of Colorado, and indeed the entire Rocky Mountain region was turned on by this. Orange decorations were everywhere. It seemed to carry over: The new Nuggets, formed as the Denver Rockets in the ABA in 1967, got off to a strong start. Even the NHL's Colorado Rockies, struggling for attendance, were playing well in their 2nd season in the city, after a difficult 1st one.
Still, at the time, Americans tended not to regard a city as "major league" unless it had a team in Major League Baseball. Denver wasn't there yet. But now, in the Autumn of 1977, there was talk that Charlie Finley might sell the Oakland Athletics to Denver oil baron Marvin Davis, so he could move the A's to Mile High Stadium for the 1978 season, and it seemed serious.
As Terry Frei, a sportswriter for the Denver Post in 1977, wrote in his 2008 book '77: Denver, the Broncos, and a Coming of Age:
Those of us in Colorado at the time got to watch and be a part of a town turning into a city. The transformation was already underway, involving forces that had nothing to do with sports. Yet, looking back, I'm convinced that never has one team, one season, one year, been such a crucial part of a market's transformation and even maturation.
Frei seemed to suggest that Denver had become the 1st American city to truly be major league without having a major league baseball team. Miami and New Orleans had NFL teams, and New Orleans then also had an NBA team. But they were cities with a certain specific character, where they could be major American cities without being "major league." Washington, D.C. had lost its baseball team after the 1971 season, but it was the nation's capital, so, of course, it was major league.
Denver became the 1st city to truly cross that divide, because of "Broncomania." It had gripped Denver so much that people began to joke that the A's should drop their green & gold color scheme, and become the Orange Sox. (In the end, they stayed in Oakland for a while longer.)
The Broncos went 12-1, winning the AFC Western Division for the 1st time in their 18 seasons, before losing the regular season finale, 14-6 away to the Dallas Cowboys. At the time, that loss seemed meaningless, a dropped piece of cake at the end of a nice picnic.
On Christmas Eve, December 24, 1977, the Broncos played their 1st Playoff game. And it was against the mighty Steelers. The game was tied 14-14 at the half, but the Broncos dominated the 2nd half, and won, 34-21. This set up a duel in the mountains with the Raiders for New Year's Day, January 1.
Turner missed 3 field goals and had an extra point blocked. But the Raiders also had a problem, as their Hall of Fame receiver Fred Biletnikoff left the game with a shoulder injury. While the Raiders got to the Broncos' 2-yard line on their 1st drive, they were held to a field goal. Morton threw a 74-yard pass to Moses to make it 7-3, and that score held until halftime.
In the 3rd quarter, the Raiders' Clarence Davis fumbled, and Brison Manor recovered it at the Raider 17. The Broncos got to the 2, and then came one of those controversial plays that seemed to follow the Raiders around in the 1970s.
Lytle tried to jump over the goal line with the ball, but was hit in midair by Jack Tatum, and fumbled. The Raiders' Mike McCoy recovered, but the officials ruled that Lytle's forward progress was stopped before the fumble. Replays showed otherwise. The officials then penalized the Raiders half the distance to the goal line for their unsportsmanlike conduct in arguing the call, and Jon Keyworth scored the touchdown, giving the Broncos a 14-3 lead.
The Raiders and their fans have whined about it ever since. But after the Broncos then recovered a fumbled punt, Morton threw a touchdown pass to Jack Dolbin, but it was ruled an incomplete pass, and the replays showed that this call was also incorrect, leading to one of Turner's missed field goals. So, given the fact that the Raiders were saved from being down 21-3 with a quarter and change to go, and given how many bogus calls went their way in those days, they need a big steaming cup of shut the hell up.
Early in the 4th quarter, Ken Stabler threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to Dave Casper, and it was 14-10 Denver. A Floyd Rice interception appeared to put the Raiders in the driver's seat, and they got to the Bronco 22. But Bob Swenson intercepted Stabler, and returned the ball to the Raider 17. Morton then threw a touchdown pass to Moses, making it 20-10, though Turner's extra point was blocked.
With 3:16 left, Stabler threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Casper, making it 20-17. But the Broncos managed to run the clock out, and they had their 1st Conference Championship. The capital city of the Rocky Mountain region, and their favorite sports team, had grown up.
This win put the Broncos into Denver's 1st World Championship in any sport, Super Bowl XII, at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans. They would face the Dallas Cowboys, who, on this day, defeated the Minnesota Vikings, 23-6 at Texas Stadium in the Dallas suburb of Irving, Texas, for the National Football Conference Championship.
But there would be no happy ending: They didn't handle the increased attention well, they didn't handle the distractions of the Big Easy well, and they certainly didn't handle the Cowboys well. Dallas won, 27-10, in a game considered one of the least interesting Super Bowls.
The Broncos didn't finish the job, but they did something more important. Like the 1967 Boston Red Sox, who lost the World Series after an "Impossible Dream" of a Pennant, the '77 Broncos lifted up their city, they made themselves an iconic team, and they made Bronco fans recognized as among the best in the NFL. The team would lose 3 more Super Bowls, before winning back-to-back Super Bowls in the late 1990s, and splitting a pair of Super Bowls in the 2010s.
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January 1, 1978 was a Sunday. Because of this, the traditional New Year's Day bowl games were moved to the next day, January 2. Number 1 Texas were upset by Number 5 Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl, Number 2 Oklahoma were upset by Number 6 Arkansas in the Orange Bowl, Number 3 Alabama beat Number 9 Ohio State in the Sugar Bowl, and Number 4 Michigan were upset by Number 13 Washington in the Rose Bowl. Notre Dame, rather than numerically-rightful Alabama, were recognized as National Champions.
Baseball was out of season. There were 3 games played in the NBA:
* The New York Knicks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers, 96-87 at Madison Square Garden. This was Walt Frazier's 1st game back at The Garden after the Knicks shockingly traded him to the Cavs.
* The Portland Trail Blazers beat the Kansas City Kings, 107-102 at the Portland Memorial Coliseum.
* And the Seattle SuperSonics beat the Chicago Bulls, 114-96 at the Seattle Center Coliseum. Gus Williams led all scorers on the day with 32 points.
There were 3 games in the NHL:
* The Atlanta Flames and the Buffalo Sabres played to a tie, 2-2 at the Buffalo Memorial Auditorium.
* The Vancouver Canucks beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 3-2 at the Chicago Stadium.
* And the Los Angeles Kings beat the Colorado Rockies, 5-1 at The Forum outside Los Angeles in Inglewood, California.
And there were 3 games in the World Hockey Association:
* The Quebec Nordiques beat the Birmingham Bulls, 5-2 at the Birmingham-Jefferson Civic Center in Birmingham, Alabama.
* The New England Whalers beat the Cincinnati Stingers, 4-3 at the Riverfront Coliseum (now the Heritage Bank Center) in Cincinnati.
* And the Houston Aeros beat the Edmonton Oilers, 2-1 at the Northlands Coliseum in Edmonton.
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