Bama Central

Did SI Foresee Joe Namath Winning Super Bowl III? Roll Call, December 9, 2024

Your daily briefing on what's going on with Alabama athletics, including how to watch the Crimson Tide.

Christopher Walsh

Sports Illustrated: Joe Namath Eyes the Super Bowl, Dec. 9. 1968
Sports Illustrated: Joe Namath Eyes the Super Bowl, Dec. 9. 1968 / Sports Illustrated
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Little did anyone know it at the time, but on this date in 1968, the legendary status of Joe Namath was primed to go into orbit.

As the starting quarterback of the New York Jets, he appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated with the headline "Joe Namath Eyes the Super Bowl," which seemed likely only in that his team had a good chance to make the Super Bowl, but probably not win.

That's what had happened in the first two Super Bowls, when the AFL champions were destroyed by Bart Starr and the Green Bay Packers. This was before the AFL/NFL merger and the young league was still considered to be vastly inferior. However, the magazine was based in New York and Namath had made the city his own. So when the Jets got hot at the end of the season, winning eight of their last nine games, it put him on the cover (while it had the chance).

The story description in the table of contents read: "It's crazy, sure, so don't run out and bet all your money that it will happen, but Edwin Shrake, in a moment of sheer fantasy, writes a letter to a friend describing how Joe Namath (see cover) and the New York Jets set the sporting world on its ear."

However, the Jets had already lost their last game of the season. When the Raiders and Chiefs finished tied atop the AFL Western Division, they played a tiebreaker game won by Oakland, 41-6. A week later the Raiders traveled cross county and lost in New York in the AFL Championship Game, 27-23.

It set up Super Bowl III in Miami, on January 12, 1969, when the Baltimore Colts were favored by 19 1/2 points, but the Jets shocked the world, 16-7.

Monday's Crimson Tide Schedule:

Nothing scheduled until Saturday as it's Finals Week.

Crimson Tide Results:

No games scheduled, but Alabama football did have its annual awards banquet.

Did You Notice?

  • Fresh off leading Marshall to the Sun Belt conference title Saturday, former Crimson Tide assistant Charles Huff was named the head coach at Southern Miss. The Thundering Herd subsequently hired North Carolina State defensive coordinator Tony Gibson as head coach.
  • Tua Tagovailoa went 6-for-7 for 67 yards during Miami's game-winning drive in overtime against the Jets. Overall, he threw for 331 yards and two touchdowns.
  • Even though they lost to the Eagles 22-16, the Panthers seem pretty happy with Bryce Young now. He made a pretty amazing play out of the end zone and nearly led Carolina to the late win only to see a dropped touchdown by Xavier Legette.

See also Bama in the NFL, Week 14 Tracker: 5 Biggest Receiving Performances All-Time

On This Date in Crimson Tide History:

December 9, 1986: Paul W. “Bear" Bryant, the winningest major college coach of all-time, was officially inducted into the Football Hall of Fame. John David Crow accepted the honor for his old coach, the first person ever unanimously selected to the Hall. – Bryant Museum

Crimson Tide Quote of the Day:

“At Alabama, our players do not win Heisman Trophies. Our teams win national championships.”

- Paul W. “Bear” Bryant

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Christopher Walsh
CHRISTOPHER WALSH

Christopher Walsh is the founder and publisher of BamaCentral, which first published in 2018. He's covered the Crimson Tide since 2004, and is the author of 26 books including Decade of Dominance, 100 Things Crimson Tide Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die, Nick Saban vs. College Football, and Bama Dynasty: The Crimson Tide's Road to College Football Immortality. He's an eight-time honoree of Football Writers Association of America awards and three-time winner of the Herby Kirby Memorial Award, the Alabama Sports Writers Association’s highest writing honor for story of the year. In 2022, he was named one of the 50 Legends of the ASWA. Previous beats include the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, along with Major League Baseball’s Arizona Diamondbacks. Originally from Minnesota and a graduate of the University of New Hampshire, he currently resides in Tuscaloosa.

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