1976 Pro Bowl

1976 NFL Pro Bowl
DateJanuary 26, 1976
StadiumLouisiana Superdome,
New Orleans, Louisiana
MVPBilly Johnson (Houston Oilers)
RefereeFred Silva
Attendance32,108
TV in the United States
NetworkABC
AnnouncersFrank 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]

  1. ^ "Pro Bowl fun closes '75 season". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). UPI. January 26, 1976. p. 3C.
  2. ^ a b "NFC turns to home cookin' to hand AFC 23-20 loss". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 27, 1976. p. 2B.
  3. ^ "1976 Pro Bowl game book" (PDF). NFL Game Statistics & Information. National Football League. Archived (PDF) from the original on February 2, 2014. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  4. ^ "Franco, O. J. give AC TD Edge in Pro Bowl". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. AP. January 26, 1976. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  5. ^ "Boryla Passes Nip AFC". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. AP. January 27, 1976. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  6. ^ "Pro Bowl Proves Ray Guy Can Really Punt". The Union Democrat. UPI. January 27, 1976. Retrieved January 6, 2012.
  7. ^ "NFL Pro Bowl history". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2012.