Super Bowl III was played on January 12, 1969, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The American Football League (AFL) champion New York Jets defeated the National Football League (NFL) champion Baltimore Colts by a score of 16-7. It was the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game.
The game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in both American football history and in sports history. Underdog New York entered the game as 11-point underdogs; some Las Vegas casinos even refused to accept bets on the game. Colts quarterback Johnny Unitas had been injured early in the 1968 season and missed most of it, but he returned for Super Bowl III and completed 17 out of 28 passes for 205 yards. However, he also threw two interceptions that led to Jet touchdowns. Meanwhile, Jets quarterback Joe Namath made good on his guarantee of victory with a flawless performance, completing 15 out of 23 passes for 206 yards and one touchdown. He also ran five times for 27 yards.
This was the first Super Bowl appearance for both teams; they would each go on to make two more appearances apiece over their histories. This was also the last Super Bowl appearance for Colts head coach Don Shula until his sixth and final one following the 1984 season with Miami; Shula retired after that season with an NFL record 347 victories (including playoffs).