On this date (actually, yesterday’s)
Vikings hosted first NFL Christmas Day game
This is the latest installment of our semiregular ‘On this Date’ series. It was done last weekend with the intention of sending it out on Christmas Day, but my knack for being sick on holidays returned. Anyway, here it is. If you have an event that you’d like to see featured you can email your request to sportsdr44@hotmail.com
There were two NFL games yesterday, Christmas Day. The road team won both as Kansas City downed Pittsburgh 29-10 and Baltimore was a 31-2 winner at Houston.
For its first 52 years, the NFL did not play on Christmas Day. That changed 53 years ago today. And with two games being played on a Wednesday they may be here to stay.
Actually, two games were played on the last Saturday of 1971.
The Minnesota Vikings hosted the Dallas Cowboys in an NFC Divisional playoff game at Metropolitan Stadium at noon. At 3 p.m., the Kansas City Chiefs hosted the Miami Dolphins in the AFC.
The Vikings had won the NFC Central Division title with an 11-3 record, while the Cowboys won the East Division with an identical 11-3 mark. At the time, the NFL rotated home field advantage between the divisions, so the game was played at the Met with a game time temperature of 22 degrees with a wind chill of 11.
Dallas used five takeaways and won 20-12.
A combined 17 Hall of Fame members were part of the history-making game.
That group was led by a pair of Hall of Fame coaches.
Minnesota: Bud Grant
Dallas: Tom Landry
There were also two front office personnel who’ve earned election to the Hall
Minnesota: Jim Finks
Dallas: Tex Schramm
A total of 13 Hall of Fame players competed in the game.
Minnesota
Carl Eller
Paul Krause
Alan Page
Ron Yary
Dallas
Herb Adderley
Lance Alworth
Mike Ditka
Forrest Gregg
Bob Hayes
Bob Lilly
Mel Renfro
Roger Staubach
Rayfield Wright
Mike Clark kicked field goals of 26 and 44 yards for Dallas, sandwiched around a 27-yarder by the Vikings’ Fred Cox and the Cowboys led 6-3 at halftime.
Dallas scored two third-quarter TDs. Duane Thomas scored from 13 yards out and Staubach threw a nine-yard touchdown pass to Hayes to lead 20-3.
The Vikings pulled to within 20-5 when Page sacked Staubach in the end zone for a safety and closed the gap to the 20-12 final when Gary Cuozzo (who replaced starter Bob Lee) threw a six-yard TD pass to Stu Voigt.
NFC Divisional box score
Dallas 3 3 14 0 - 20
Minnesota 0 3 0 9 - 12
Scoring plays
First quarter
DALL – Mike Clark 26 FG
Second quarter
MINN – Fred Cox 27 FG
DALL – Mike Clark 44 FG
Third quarter
DALL – Duane Thomas 13 run (Mike Clark kick)
DALL – Bob Hayes 9 pass from Roger Staubach (Mike Clark kick)
Fourth quarter
MINN – Safety. Alan Page tackled Roger Staubach in end zone
MINN – Stu Voigt 6 pass from Gary Cuozzo (Fred Cox kick)
Individual statistics
Offense
Rushing
DALL: Duane Thomas 21-66, Calvin Hill 14-28, Roger Staubach 2-2, Walt Garrison 2-2. MINN: Clint Jones 15-52, Bob Lee 3-28, Dave Osborn 6-13, Jim Lindsey 1-6, Bob Grim 1-2.
Receiving
DALL: Bob Hayes 3-31, Lance Alworth 2-33, Calvin Hill 2-14, Mike Ditka 2-18, Duane Thomas 1-23. MINN: Gene Washington 5-70, Bob Grim 4-74, Stu Voigt 4-46, Oscar Reed 4- -3, Jim Lindsey 1-25, Ed White 1- -2.
Passing
DALL: Roger Staubach 10-14-99-2-0. MINN: Gary Cuozzo 12-22-124-1-2, Bob Lee 7-16-86-0-2.
Defense
Fumble recoveries
DALL: Jethro Pugh 1-0
Interceptions
DALL: Cliff Harris 1-30, Chuck Howley 1-26, Herb Adderly 1-8, Lee Roy Jordan 1-5.
Team statistics
First downs: Minn 17, Dall 10.
Rushing: Minn 26-101, Dall 39-98.
Passing: Minn 19-38-210-1-4, Dall 10-14-99-2-0.
Fumbles-lost: Minn 1-1.
Penalties: Minn 2-18, Dall 2-10.
Second game
The second NFL game played on Christmas occurred later the same day in what would be the final NFL game at Municipal Stadium in Kansas City.
That contest also made history as the Dolphins edged the Chiefs 27-24 in what remains the longest game ever played as the teams played double overtime. Garo Yepremian’s 37-yard field goal finally ended the game after 82 minutes and 40 seconds of playing time.
In the loss, Ed Podolak had 350 all-purpose yards, still a record in an NFL playoff game. Podolak had 85 yards rushing on 17 carries, caught eight passes for 110 yards, returned three kickoffs for 154 yards and had two punt returns for one yard. He scored two touchdowns, one on a seven-yard pass from Len Dawson and one on a three-yard run.
Podolak, who is from Atlantic, Iowa, played college football at the University of Iowa and following his retirement from the NFL, was color analyst on Iowa football radio broadcasts for 42 years, retiring in 2024.
The winners of those 1971 Christmas Day games would reach the Super Bowl.
The Cowboys would beat the San Francisco 49ers 14-3 in the NFC Championship Game, while the Dolphins shut out the Baltimore Colts 21-0 for the AFC title.
Dallas beat Miami 24-3 in Super Bowl VI at New Orleans.
Next Christmas game
The next NFL game to be played on Christmas would not be played until 1989 and the Vikings were involved in that, beating the Cincinnati Bengals 29-21 at the Metrodome. That marked the first regular-season game played on Christmas.
Minnesota has played four games on Christmas Day, compiling a 1-3 record.
The Vikings lost 30-23 at Baltimore on a Sunday night in 2005, and 52-33 at New Orleans on a late Friday afternoon game in 2020.
There are 12 teams who have never played a Christmas game.
NFL Christmas Day games
Results of NFL games played on Christmas Day.
Playoff games
1971: Dallas Cowboys 20, Minnesota Vikings 12
1971: Miami Dolphins 27, Kansas City Chiefs 24 (2 OT)
Regular season
1989: Minnesota Vikings 29, Cincinnati Bengals 21
1993: Houston Oilers 10, San Francisco 49ers 7
1994: Miami Dolphins 27, Detroit Lions 20
1995: Dallas Cowboys 37, Arizona Cardinals 13
1999: Denver Broncos 17, Detroit Lions 7
2000: Tennessee Titans 31, Dallas Cowboys 0
2004: Kansas City Chiefs 31, Oakland Raiders 30
2004: Denver Broncos 37, Tennessee Titans 16
2005: Chicago Bears 24, Green Bay Packers 17
2005: Baltimore Ravens 30, Minnesota Vikings 23
2006: Philadelphia Eagles 23, Miami Dolphins 7
2006: New York Jets 13, Miami Dolphins 10
2009: San Diego Chargers 42, Tennessee Titans 17
2010: Arizona Cardinals 27, Dallas Cowboys 26
2011: Green Bay Packers 35, Chicago Bears 21
2016: Pittsburgh Steelers 31, Baltimore Ravens 27
2016: Kansas City Chiefs 33, Denver Broncos 10
2017: Pittsburgh Steelers 34, Houston Texans 10
2017: Philadelphia Eagles 19, Oakland Raiders 10
2020: New Orleans Saints 52, Minnesota Vikings 33
2021: Green Bay Packers 24, Cleveland Browns 22
2021: Indianapolis Colts 22, Arizona Cardinals 16
2022: Green Bay Packers 26, Miami Dolphins 20
2022: Los Angeles Rams 51, Denver Broncos 14
2022: Tampa Bay Buccaneers 19, Arizona Cardinals 16
2023: Las Vegas Raiders 20, Kansas City Chiefs 14
2023: Philadelphia Eagles 33, New York Giants 25
2023: Baltimore Ravens 33, San Francisco 49ers 19
2024: Kansas City Chiefs 29, Pittsburgh Steelers 10
2024: Baltimore Ravens 31, Houston Texans 2
Christmas Day records
The records of each NFL team in Christmas Day games. Teams are listed in alphabetical order.
Arizona Cardinals 1-3
Atlanta Falcons 0-0
Baltimore Ravens 3-1
Buffalo Bills 0-0
Carolina Panthers 0-0
Chicago Bears 1-1
Cincinnati Bengals 0-1
Cleveland Browns 0-1
Dallas Cowboys 2-3
Denver Broncos 2-2
Detroit Lions 0-2
Green Bay Packers 3-1
Houston Texans 0-2
Indianapolis Colts 1-0
Jacksonville Jaguars 0-0
Kansas City Chiefs 3-2
New England Patriots 0-0
Philadelphia Eagles 3-0
Pittsburgh Steelers 2-1
Las Vegas Raiders 1-2
Los Angeles Chargers 1-0
Los Angeles Rams 1-0
Miami Dolphins 2-3
Minnesota Vikings 1-3
New Orleans Saints 1-0
New York Giants 0-1
New York Jets 1-0
San Francisco 49ers 0-1
Seattle Seahawks 0-0
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1-0
Tennessee Titans 2-2
Washington Commanders 0-0
Free kick
Back to the 1971 Miami-Kansas City game.
Chiefs’ coach Hank Stram elected not to try to use a seldom-used rule to potentially end the game in regulation.
In a 24-24 game, Kansas City kicker Jan Stenerud missed a 35-yard field goal with 35 seconds left. Miami was unable to move the ball and was faced with fourth down at the end of regulation.
Miami’s Larry Seiple punted, and Kansas City’s Dennis Homan made a fair catch on the Chiefs’ 32-yard line as time expired.
KC could have used the obscure “Fair Catch Kick” rule. A team receiving a punt from their opponent can fair catch it and request a fair catch kick.
That means that they can attempt a FG with a holder from the spot of the fair catch. The defense must stand 10 yards away, which gives the kicker more time for a running start as opposed to the usual two-step approach. That would make longer field goals possible.
According to the rule, even if time expires during the punt, the receiving team can still request the kick, and the play will be run with no time on the clock. And since the goal post was on the goal line in 1971, it would have been a 68-yard field goal attempt.
A missed kick could be returned and Stram feared Miami return man Mercury Morris would return a short kick and win the game for the Dolphins. Stram chose to let the game go to overtime.
Last Thursday only the seventh successful fair catch kick was made by Cameron Dicker of the Los Angeles Chargers vs. Denver.
Successful fair catch kicks
Here are the successful fair catch kicks in the NFL. Listed are date, kicker, team, opponent and distance (where known).
11-06-1921: Curly Lambeau, Green Bay Packers vs. Evansville Crimson Giants, unknown
11-26-1933: Ken Strong, New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers, 30
09-13-1964: Paul Hornung, Green Bay Packers vs. Chicago Bears, 52
12-04-1966: Fred Cox, Minnesota Vikings vs. Atlanta Falcons, 40
11-03-1968: Mac Percival, Chicago Bears vs. Green Bay Packers, 43
11-21-1976: Ray Wersching, San Diego Chargers vs. Buffalo Bills, 45
12-19-2024: Cameron Dicker, Los Angeles Chargers vs. Denver Broncos, 57
We are the champions
Here are the reigning champions in each sport when the Vikings and Cowboys played on Dec. 25, 1971.
Super Bowl: Baltimore Colts
World Series: Pittsburgh Pirates
NBA: Milwaukee Bucks
NHL: Montreal Canadiens
College football: Nebraska
College basketball: UCLA
Masters: Charles Coody
Daytona 500: Richard Petty
Indy 500: Al Unser Sr.
On that date
No. 1 TV show: All in the Family
No. 1 Movie: Diamonds Are Forever
No. 1 song: Brand New Key, Melanie
No. 1 book: Wheels, Arthur Hailey
Governor of Minnesota: Wendell Anderson
U.S. President: Richard Nixon
Significant news story: Civil rights activist Jesse Jackson founded the anti-poverty organization "Operation PUSH" (People United to Save Humanity).