The Minnesota Vikings set a dubious record when they lost 16-6 to the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl IX on Jan. 12, 1975. The Vikings became the first team to lose the big game three times.
Of course, Minnesota would go on to lose Super Bowl XI to Oakland a couple of years later for their fourth loss. Buffalo would later also later reach four Super Bowl losses without a win.
New England and Denver share the mark for most Super Bowl losses with five, although both have also won the game multiple times. The Patriots are 6-5 and the Broncos are 3-5.
The Vikings were one of four NFC teams to finish with a 10-4 record but they did play both of their playoff games at home at Metropolitan Stadium against another 10-4 team, beating the St. Louis Cardinals 30-14 in the divisional round and the Los Angeles Rams 14-10 in the NFC Championship Game.
The Steelers used three different starting quarterbacks during the season but compiled a 10-3-1 record.
After Terry Bradshaw joined other players in striking for a week during the preseason, coach Chuck Noll named Joe Gilliam as the starter when the regular season began.
He was the first black QB to start his team's first game of a season, and his selection provoked a negative reaction from a number of Steeler fans who weren't ready for a black QB. Bradshaw told reporters he'd like to be traded.
After a win over Baltimore to open and a tie with Denver, Gilliam was only 8-for-31 with two interceptions in a 17-0 home loss to Oakland. Noll stayed with Gilliam through three more wins victories before returning Bradshaw to the starting lineup.
Noll would later reveal that Gilliam had started abusing drugs, which the coach said cost him the trust of his teammates.
Bradshaw won his first two starts but lost the starting position again after going 13-35 for 140 yards with an interception in a loss at Cincinnati. Terry Hanratty was the starter at Cleveland, but he had more passes caught by the Browns than the Steelers as he went 2-15 for 63 yards with three interceptions although Pittsburgh did win 26-16.
Bradshaw was reinstated as the starter and the Steelers would finish the regular season 10-3-1 before beating the Buffalo Bills 32-14 at Three River Stadium before upsetting the Oakland Raiders 24-13 on the road.
Bud Grant and Chuck Noll were the head coaches of the Super Bowl teams.
While they were both considered "old school" they took different approaches to dealing with their team the week before the game in New Orleans.
Grant had his veteran team headquartered at the Airport Hilton far from the French Quarter and a curfew was imposed every night.
Noll leaned on his experience as an assistant with the Baltimore Colts that were upset by the New York Jets in Super Bowl III and didn’t want was an overconfident team that would play not to lose on Sunday.
So the Steelers had no curfew and no bed check the first three nights in New Orleans and then had a midnight curfew for the remainder of the week. Also, the players had Monday and Tuesday off and their wives were allowed to stay with them in their hotel rooms.
That meant that the youthful Steelers hit Bourbon Street hard early in the week and stayed out until the wee hours. As linebacker Andy Russell recalled, by the time the Steelers started practicing on Wednesday, players were begging for a bed check.
Pittsburgh players also had another distraction.
Players were allotted four Super Bowl tickets with an option to buy 20 more at $25 apiece.
Before leaving Pittsburgh, several players sold their extra tickets for $150 each to travel agents.
Other players were looking to make a bigger profit and took their tickets to New Orleans, where they offered them to ticket brokers.
However, any tickets not sold by Sunday morning dropped in value quickly to as little as $5 as rain fell because of rain that fell throughout the week and a game day forecast of temperatures in the 40s. About 1,000 tickets went unsold, and several Steelers had to eat most of their extra tickets.
Superdome not ready
New Orleans had been awarded the bid for the game with the assurance that the Superdome would be completed. However, the new facility would not be available until the 1975 season, so the game was played in Tulane Stadium.
The Super Bowl was the final professional game played in the stadium, which would continue to be used through 1979.
On the day of the game, rain was falling, and the temperature dropped to the mid-40s. The hard rain stopped by game time, but the skies stayed overcast, and a persistent drizzle continued along with 17 mile per hour winds that made the wind chill 22.
As the teams were waiting for the introductions, a shirtless fan wearing a Viking horned helmet collapsed in the stands from a massive heart attack close to the Steelers. Several fans tried to help him, but he passed away.
“The man dropped dead right in front of me,” said Pittsburgh QB Terry Bradshaw. “He died with his horns on. And it didn't stop the program for one second.”
Neither team’s offense would score in the first half. The Steelers led 2-0 at halftime as Pittsburgh’s Dwight White would down Frank Tarkenton in the end zone after the Vikings signal caller fell on a fumble.
Franco Harris scored on a nine-yard run and Roy Gerela kicked the extra point to give the Steelers a 9-0 lead in the third quarter.
The Vikings would make it a one-score game in the fourth quarter.
With Pittsburgh’s Bobby Walden standing on his own one-yard line to receive the snap, Matt Blair would crash in from the punter’s right to block the kick. Terry Brown caught the ball on the bounce in the end zone for a touchdown. Fred Cox missed the PAT when his kick hit the left upright, leaving the score at 9-6 with 10:33 to play.
Holding that three-point lead, Bradshaw led the Steelers on a 66-yard drive that chewed up nearly half of the fourth quarter. The drive culminated with Bradshaw connecting with tight end Larry Brown on a four-yard TD. Gerela’s extra point made it 16-6, which was the final.
Pittsburgh's "Steel Curtain" defense forced four turnovers while holding the Vikings' potent offense to just 119 total yards. Harris was the game’s MVP, rushing 34 times for 158 yards and a touchdown.
Super Bowl IX box score
Pittsburgh 0 2 7 7 – 16
Minnesota 0 0 0 0 - 6
Scoring plays
First quarter
None
Second quarter
PITT – Safety. Dwight White tackled Fran Tarkenton in end zone
Third quarter
PITT – Franco Harris 9 run (Roy Gerela kick)
Fourth quarter
MINN – Terry Brown recovered blocked punt in end zone (kick failed)
PITT – Larry Brown 4 pass from Terry Bradshaw (Roy Gerela kick)
Individual statistics
Offense
Rushing
Pittsburgh: Franco Harris 34-158, Rocky Bleier 17-65, Terry Bradshaw 5-33, Lynn Swann 1- -7. Minnesota: Chuck Foreman 12-18, Fran Tarkenton 1-0, Dave Osborn 8- -1.
Receiving
Pittsburgh: Larry Brown 3-49, John Stallworth 3-24, Rocky Bleier 2-11, Frank Lewis 1-12. Minnesota: Chuck Foreman 5-50, Stu Voigt 2-31, Dave Osborn 2-7, John Gilliam 1-16, Oscar Reed 1- -2.
Passing
Pittsburgh: Terry Bradshaw 9-14-96-1-0. Minnesota: Fran Tarkenton 11-26-102-0-2.
Defense
Fumble recoveries
Pittsburgh: Joe Greene 1-0, Franco Harris 1-0, Loren Toews 1-0, Bobby Walden 1- -7. Minnesota: Randy Poltl 1-0, Fran Tarkenton 1- -10.
Interceptions
Pittsburgh Mike Wagner 1-26, Mel Blount 1-10, Joe Greene 1-0. Minnesota: None.
Team statistics
First downs: Pittsburgh 17, Minnesota 9.
Rushing: Pittsburgh 57-249, Minnesota 21-17.
Passing: Pittsburgh 9-14-84-1-0. Minnesota 11-26-102-3-0.
Fumbles-lost: Pittsburgh 4-2, Minnesota 3-2.
Penalties: Pittsburgh 8-122, Minnesota 4-18.
MTM connection
In an episode that aired the night before Super Bowl IX, The Mary Tyler Moore Show on CBS (which was set in Minneapolis) used the game as a plot line.
While Lou Grant (played by Ed Asner) had taught Ted Baxter (Ted Knight) how to bet on football throughout the season it was Ted who had developed a winning strategy.
They pooled their money and finished the regular season in the black. Since Ted's strategy would not work on the Super Bowl game's spread, it was agreed they would not place a bet on the Super Bowl.
However, Ted was crushed when it was revealed that Lou actually did place a (losing) bet. Lou bet all the season's winnings on the Steelers.
At the end of the show, Mary Tyler Moore announced the following over the credits: "If the Pittsburgh Steelers win the actual Super Bowl tomorrow, we want to apologize to the Pittsburgh team and their fans for this purely fictional story. If on the other hand, they lose, remember, you heard it here first."
As it turned out, her apology did go into effect.
The uncredited play-by-play announcer that can be heard during the Super Bowl broadcast on the MTM episode was Dick Enberg. NBC did broadcast the game that year, however, it was Curt Gowdy who was the main play-by-play announcer for NBC at that time.
Future Hall of Famers in Super Bowl IX:
Pittsburgh Steelers
Art Rooney
Chuck Noll
Mel Blount
Terry Bradshaw
Joe Greene
Jack Ham
Franco Harris
Jack Lambert
John Stallworth
Lynn Swann
Mike Webster
Minnesota Vikings
Bud Grant
Carl Eller
Paul Krause
Alan Page
Fran Tarkenton
Mick Tinglehoff
Ron Yary
Fun facts
This was the last Super Bowl to feature flag style pylons.
The national anthem was sung by the New Orleans Mardi Gras Chorus of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America.
The pregame and halftime shows featured the Grambling marching band.
The game was broadcast in the United States by NBC with play-by-play announcer Curt Gowdy and color commentators Al DeRogatis and Don Meredith. Charlie Jones served as the event's field reporter and covered the trophy presentation. Hosting the coverage was NBC News reporter Jack Perkins and Jeannie Morris. At the time Morris was the wife of former Chicago Bears wide receiver and WMAQ-TV sports anchor Johnny Morris. She became the first woman to participate in Super Bowl coverage.
NBC Radio broadcast the game with Jim Simpson and John Brodie as the announcers.
On that date
No. 1 TV show: All in the Family
No. 1 Movie: The Towering Inferno
No. 1 song: Mandy, Barry Manilow
No. 1 book: Centennial, James Michener
Governor of Minnesota: Wendell Anderson
U.S. President: Gerald Ford
Significant news story: The top story of the day came from the telecast of the Super Bowl. Chrysler Corporation’s ad during the game offered car rebates as part of their Car Clearance Carnival to stimulate auto sales and reduce their inventory of unsold cars. Buyers of a new Plymouth Duster or Dodge Dart received a $200 check from Chrysler, and those who traded in a Ford Pinto or Chevy Vega received an additional $100. The cash back amount eventually increased to $400. The rebate scheme was an immediate hit, with one auto sales veteran saying he'd "never felt anything like this".