page_title: Super Bowl III
section_title: Television
hierarchical_section_title: Super Bowl III / Television
caption_attribution_description: English: Front and back covers of the Super Bowl III press guide.
context_page_description: Super Bowl III was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the trademark name "Super Bowl". Played on January 12, 1969, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida, the game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in both American football history and in the recorded history of sports. The 18-point underdog American Football League champion New York Jets defeated the National Football League champion Baltimore Colts by a score of 16–7.
  This was the first Super Bowl victory for the AFL. Before the game, most sports writers and fans believed that AFL teams were less talented than NFL clubs, and expected the Colts to defeat the Jets by a wide margin. Baltimore posted a 13–1 record in the regular season and shut out the Cleveland Browns 34–0 in the NFL Championship Game. The Jets were 11–3 in the regular season, and defeated the Oakland Raiders 27–23 in the AFL Championship Game.
  Jets quarterback Joe Namath famously made an appearance three days before the Super Bowl at the Miami Touchdown Club and personally guaranteed his team's victory.
context_section_description: The game was broadcast in the United States by NBC Sports – at the time, still a "Service of NBC News" – with Curt Gowdy handling the play-by-play duties and joined by color commentators Al DeRogatis and Kyle Rote in the broadcast booth. Also helping with NBC's coverage were Jim Simpson (reporting from the sidelines) and Pat Summerall, on loan from CBS (helping conduct player interviews for the pregame show, along with Rote). In an interview later done with NFL Films, Gowdy called it the most memorable game he ever called because of its historical significance.
  While the Orange Bowl was sold out for the game, the live telecast was not shown in Miami due to both leagues' unconditional blackout rules at the time.
  This game is thought to be the earliest surviving Super Bowl game preserved on videotape in its entirety, save for a portion of the Colts' fourth quarter scoring drive. The original NBC broadcast was aired as part of the NFL Network Super Bowl Classics series.
caption: Super Bowl III media guide
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