1976 Pro Bowl
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| Date | January 26, 1976 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, Louisiana | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Billy Johnson (Houston Oilers) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Fred Silva | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 32,108 | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, and Alex Karras | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1976 Pro Bowl was the NFL's 26th annual all-star game which featured the outstanding performers from the 1975 season. The game was played on Monday night, January 26, 1976, at the new Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana,[1] with 32,108 in attendance.[2][3] The final score was NFC 23, AFC 20. It was also the first Pro Bowl game played indoors.
The game featured the best players in the National Football League as selected by the league's coaches. John Madden of the Oakland Raiders led the AFC team against an NFC team led by Los Angeles Rams head coach Chuck Knox.[4]
The AFC's Billy "White Shoes" Johnson was named the game's MVP on the strength of a 90-yard punt return touchdown and a second punt return of 55 yards that set up a field goal.[2][5] The referee was Fred Silva.[6]
Players on the winning NFC team received $2,000 apiece while the AFC participants each took home $1,500.[7]
Rosters[]
The 40-man Pro Bowl squads consisted of the following players:[8][9]
Offense[]
| Position | AFC | NFC |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | Terry Bradshaw – Pittsburgh[a][10] Ken Anderson – Cincinnati Dan Pastorini – Houston[b] |
Fran Tarkenton – Minnesota[a] Jim Hart – St. Louis Roger Staubach – Dallas[b][a] Mike Boryla – Philadelphia |
| Running back | O. J. Simpson – Buffalo Franco Harris – Pittsburgh Lydell Mitchell – Baltimore John Riggins – NY Jets |
Chuck Foreman – Minnesota Terry Metcalf – St. Louis Lawrence McCutcheon – Los Angeles Jim Otis – St. Louis |
| Wide receiver | Lynn Swann – Pittsburgh Isaac Curtis – Cincinnati Cliff Branch – Oakland Ken Burrough – Houston |
Mel Gray – St. Louis John Gilliam –Minnesota Harold Jackson – Los Angeles Charley Taylor – Washington |
| Tight end | Riley Odoms – Denver Rich Caster – NY Jets |
Charle Young – Philadelphia Charlie Sanders – Detroit |
| Tackle | Art Shell – Oakland George Kunz – Baltimore Russ Washington – San Diego |
Ron Yary – Minnesota Dan Dierdorf – St. Louis Rayfield Wright – Dallas |
| Guard | Bob Kuechenberg – Miami Gene Upshaw – Oakland Joe DeLamielleure – Buffalo |
Ed White – Minnesota Conrad Dobler – St. Louis Tom Mack – Los Angeles |
| Center | Jim Langer – Miami Jack Rudnay – Kansas City |
Tom Banks – St. Louis Jeff Van Note – Atlanta |
Defense[]
| Position | AFC | NFC |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive end | John Dutton – Baltimore L. C. Greenwood – Pittsburgh Elvin Bethea – Houston |
Jack Youngblood – Los Angeles Cedrick Hardman – San Francisco Fred Dryer – Los Angeles |
| Defensive tackle | Jerry Sherk – Cleveland Joe Greene – Pittsburgh Curley Culp – Houston |
Alan Page – Minnesota Merlin Olsen – Los Angeles Wally Chambers – Chicago |
| Middle linebacker | Willie Lanier – Kansas City[a] Jack Lambert – Pittsburgh Randy Gradishar – Denver[b] |
Jeff Siemon – Minnesota Jack Reynolds – Los Angeles |
| Outside linebacker | Andy Russell – Pittsburgh Jack Ham – Pittsburgh Phil Villapiano – Oakland |
Chris Hanburger – Washington Isiah Robertson – Los Angeles Fred Carr – Green Bay |
| Cornerback | Mel Blount – Pittsburgh Lemar Parrish – Cincinnati Emmitt Thomas – Kansas City |
Roger Wehrli – St. Louis Lem Barney – Detroit Bobby Bryant – Minnesota |
| Safety | Mike Wagner – Pittsburgh Jake Scott – Miami Jack Tatum –Oakland[a] Glen Edwards – Pittsburgh[b][10] |
Cliff Harris – Dallas Ken Houston – Washington Paul Krause – Minnesota |
Special teams[]
| Position | AFC | NFC |
|---|---|---|
| Kicker | Jan Stenerud – Kansas City | Jim Bakken – St. Louis |
| Punter | Ray Guy – Oakland | John James – Atlanta |
| Return specialist | Billy Johnson – Houston | Steve Odom – Green Bay |
Roster Notes:
- bold denotes player who participated in game
- a Injured player; selected but did not play
- b Replacement selection due to injury or vacancy
Number of selections by team[]
Note: these numbers include players selected to the team but unable to play as well as replacements for these injured players, so there are more than 40 players in each conference.
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References[]
- ^ "Pro Bowl fun closes '75 season". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. January 26, 1976. p. 3C.
- ^ a b "NFC turns to home cookin' to hand AFC 23-20 loss". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 27, 1976. p. 2B.
- ^ "1976 Pro Bowl game book" (PDF). NFL Game Statistics & Information. National Football League. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 30, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
- ^ "Franco, O. J. give AC TD Edge in Pro Bowl". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. AP. January 26, 1976. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
- ^ "Boryla Passes Nip AFC". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. AP. January 27, 1976. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
- ^ "Pro Bowl Proves Ray Guy Can Really Punt". The Union Democrat. UPI. January 27, 1976. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
- ^ "NFL Pro Bowl history". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
- ^ "10 Steelers in Pro Bowl". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. December 25, 1975. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
- ^ "1976 Pro Bowl players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
- ^ a b "Steelers Everywhere in Pro Bowl Clash". Pittsburgh Press. January 25, 1976. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
Categories:
- Pro Bowl
- 1975 National Football League season
- 1976 in American football
- 1976 in sports in Louisiana
- American football in New Orleans
- Sports competitions in New Orleans
- Caesars Superdome
- January 1976 sports events in the United States