NFL History - 1960 Pete Rozelle Elected NFL Commissioner
NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle

The sports landscape was changed forever on January 26, 1960 when the most innovative sports executive of all time, PETE ROZELLE, was elected Commissioner of the NFL.

"He was the greatest commissioner I have ever seen in sports," says Pittsburgh Steelers owner emeritus DAN ROONEY. "If Pete had not been commissioner, we would have gotten on as a league, but we wouldn't be the sport we grew to be under his tenure, the top American sport."

Rozelle guided the still-developing NFL to its position today as America's most popular sport.

 

He accomplished this feat by convincing rival owners to agree on a league-wide television contract; by successfully merging the NFL with the upstart American Football League; by starting NFL Properties and NFL Films; by creating a pageantry-filled championship game between the two leagues, now known as the Super Bowl; and by taking a chance with ABC-TV that the country wanted to watch primetime football on Monday nights.

And he did it all with a smile.

"He was a very special man," says former Baltimore Ravens owner ART MODELL. "You could like him on Madison Avenue or in Peoria. He would never use his muscle, only his persuasion. He was truly a giant. Remember, there was no frame of reference back then, because no one had done what he accomplished."

Pete Rozelle on:

Super Bowl I

"That first game was the only year we had double network coverage -- CBS and NBC -- and it was a real battle to see who could get the better rating. At that time, everybody made a big thing of it because, except for space shots and Presidential press conferences, that first game was the only event to ever attract multiple network coverage."

Presidents

"I realized the length of time I've served in the job. I've known eight Presidents. There was Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Reagan, Carter, Bush. My favorite, one I was close to and I liked a lot because of his interest in football and his attention to the NFL, was Nixon. My mother was a doorbell-ringing volunteer for him when he ran for Congress the first time."

Most Thrilling Players

"Boy, there were so many, it's difficult. At the very top it would have to be ROGER STAUBACH and WALTER PAYTON (right), both great players and great, outstanding public citizens."

Best Football City

"Green Bay. A small town. People owning their own football team. Rabid supporters."

THE ROZELLE FILE

 

Source: National Football League
BornMarch 1, 1926 in Los Angeles, California
Elected CommissionerJanuary 26, 1960 on the 23rd ballot as a compromise candidate
League-wide TV ContractNFL signed its first league-wide contract on January 10, 1962
NFL Properties Founded1963
NFL Films PurchasedMarch 5, 1964
AFL-NFL MergerA series of meetings in 1966 led to the merger
Super Bowl IOriginally called "AFL-NFL World Championship Game" between Green Bay (NFL) and Kansas City (AFL) on January 15, 1967
Monday Night FootballCleveland defeated the New York Jets 31-21 in the first-ever NFL Monday Night Football game on ABC on September 21, 1970
Inducted into Hall of FameAugust 3, 1985 in Canton, Ohio
RetiredLast day as Commissioner was Saturday, November 4, 1989
DiedDecember 6, 1996
Sportsman of the CenturyNamed the most powerful man in sports during the 20th century by The Sporting News on December 15, 1999

 

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NFL History - 1960 Pete Rozelle Elected NFL Commissioner