Ken Belson, the excellent New York Times reporter, has a story about CTE and the '72 Dolphins (see "The Perfect ’72 Dolphins and Football’s Ultimate Toll").
Sunday the Kansas City Chiefs return to the Super Bowl for the first time in 50 years. The last time they were there was January 11, 1970, at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, a few years prior to the Dolphins perfect season.
This week I've been watching the YouTube above, a lovingly restored kinescope of the original CBS telecast of AFL-NFL World Championship Game between the Minnesota Vikings and Kansas City Chiefs with play-by-play by Jack Buck and Pat Summerall.
The Chiefs ran a "Power I" formation: three backs lined up directly behind quarterback Lenny Dawson. The backs would usually motion out of the formation, with the tight end taking his place on the line and the two running backs in a three-point stance behind and to the right and left of the quarterback.
It is interesting to watch. The players are slower than today's players. Everything takes place much closer to the line of scrimmage. Lots of physicality but nowhere near the level of athleticism in today's game. Conditioning, nutrition and money have all improved in 50 years.
But something has been lost. We were a far more people-powered nation in 1970, less hierarchical and not smothered by corporate branding and in thrall to the U.S. Armed Forces. Was the nation more conformist? Yes. Was it militarist? Yes, but not in the way we are today.
You'd have to watch the video to see what I mean.
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