The season is over for the Minnesota Vikings, but we’ll continue our weekly Vikings newsletter as we alter our usual Game Notes format to review the team’s appearances in the Super Bowl the next four Sundays.
Spoiler alert: They lose all four.
We’ll start with Super Bowl IV on Jan. 11, 1970 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans. Minnesota also played in Super Bowls VII, IX and XI.
The Vikings dominated the NFL in 1969, their ninth year as a franchise.
It was Bud Grant's third year as head coach after a successful 10-year run in the Canadian Football League at Winnipeg. The Blue Bombers advanced the Grey Cup six times under Grant, winning four.
Minnesota had the NFL's best defense and highest-scoring offense. The Vikings allowed an NFL-record 133 points on defense and scored 379 points.
The Vikings had a 12-2 regular-season record with the losses came on the opening Sunday and the final week. In between, Minnesota won 12 straight, the league's longest winning streak in 35 years.
In the NFL Playoffs, the Vikings rallied to top the Los Angeles Rams 23-20 in the divisional round and then Cleveland 27-7.
Kansas City won the AFL crown. After an 11-3 regular season and second-place finish in the Western Division, the Chiefs defeated the defending Super Bowl champion New York Jets 13-6 and Oakland 17-7. The Raiders had defeated the Chiefs twice during the regular season.
Minnesota was installed as a 13-point favorite in the last game prior to the NFL-AFL merger.
The NFL had won two of the first three Super Bowls with Green Bay beating Kansas City and Oakland before the Jets surprised the Baltimore Colts the previous year.
The Chiefs would pull the AFL even, beating the Vikings 23-7.
Kansas City led 16-0 at halftime. Jan Stenerud kicked field goals of 48, 32 and 25 yards and Mike Garrett scored from five yards out on ’65 toss power trap.’ You can go find the clip if you want to watch it. The NFL blocks me from sharing a link.
The Vikings got on the board in the third quarter with Dave Osborn scoring from four yards out and Fred Cox kicked the extra point.
KC would put the game away later in the quarter with Len Dawson and Otis Taylor combining on a 46-yard touchdown.
The final offensive totals were fairly even although the Chiefs won convincingly. Kansas City had 273 yards (151 rushing and 122 passing) while Minnesota had 239 yards (67-172).
Dawson was 12-for-17 for 142 yards passing with one interception for Kansas City. For the Vikings, Joe Kapp was 16-25 for 183 yards with two interceptions in his final game for Minnesota and Gary Cuozzo was 1-3 for 16 yards with one interception.
Fun facts
Here are some fun facts about Super Bowl IV:
The winning share for the Chiefs was $15,000 per player.
Cost of a Super Bowl ticket was $15.
A total of 16 eventual Hall of Famers were involved in the game. Kansas City: Len Dawson (QB), Curley Culp (DT), Buck Buchanan (DT), Bobby Bell (LB), Willie Lanier (LB), Emmitt Thomas (CB), Jan Stenerud (K), Hank Stram (head coach), Lamar Hunt (owner). Minnesota: Mick Tingelhoff (C), Ron Yary (OT), Carl Eller (DE), Alan Page (DT), Paul Krause (S), Bud Grant (head coach), Jim Finks (general manager).
The game was televised on CBS with Jack Buck on play-by-play, Pat Summerall as analyst and Frank Gifford and Jack Whitaker on the sidelines.
CBS had the radio rights with Bob Reynolds on play-by-play and Tom Hedrick as analyst.
National anthem
Pat O' Brien voiced the national anthem with Doc Severinsen on trumpet.
Here’s the halftime show. You have to watch a promo and a Gillette commercial at the beginning and there’s another vintage Gillette commercial at the end.
The No. 1 song on the day of the Vikings-Chiefs Super Bowl was ‘Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head’ by B.J. Thomas.
The No. 1 movie that day was NOT Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, where Raindrops Keep Falling on My Head was featured but instead was the latest James Bond 007 film ‘On Her Majesty’s Secret Service’ Bonus fun fact: That was the only movie in which George Lazenby portrayed James Bond.
The No. 1 TV show that week was Marcus Welby M.D. on ABC, which had just debuted the previous September.
Season results
Results from the 1970 season for both the Chiefs and Vikings.
Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs 27, San Diego Chargers 9
Kansas City Chiefs 31, Boston Patriots 0
Cincinnati Bengals 24, Kansas City Chiefs 19
Kansas City Chiefs 26, Denver Broncos 13
Kansas City Chiefs 24, Houston Oilers 0
Kansas City Chiefs 17, Miami Dolphins 10
Kansas City Chiefs 42, Cincinnati Bengals 22
Kansas City Chiefs 29, Buffalo Bills 7
Kansas City Chiefs 27, San Diego Chargers 3
Kansas City Chiefs 34, New York Jets 16
Oakland Raiders 27, Kansas City Chiefs 24
Kansas City Chiefs 31, Denver Broncos 17
Kansas City Chiefs 22, Buffalo Bills 19
Oakland Raiders 10, Kansas City Chiefs 6
Kansas City Chiefs 13, New York Jets 6
Kansas City Chiefs 17, Oakland Raiders 7
Kansas City Chiefs 23, Minnesota Vikings 7
Minnesota Vikings
New York Giants 24, Minnesota Vikings 23
Minnesota Vikings 52, Baltimore Colts 14
Minnesota Vikings 19, Green Bay Packers 7
Minnesota Vikings 31, Chicago Bears 0
Minnesota Vikings 31, St. Louis Cardinals 10
Minnesota Vikings 24, Detroit Lions 10
Minnesota Vikings 31, Chicago Bears 14
Minnesota Vikings 51, Cleveland Browns 3
Minnesota Vikings 9, Green Bay Packers 7
Minnesota Vikings 52, Pittsburgh Steelers 14
Minnesota Vikings 27, Detroit Lions 0
Minnesota Vikings 20, Los Angeles Rams 13
Minnesota Vikings 10, San Francisco 49ers 7
Atlanta Falcons 10, Minnesota Vikings 3
Minnesota Vikings 23, Los Angeles Rams 20
Minnesota Vikings 27, Cleveland Browns 7
Kansas City Chiefs 23, Minnesota Vikings 7