1979 Pro Bowl

1979 NFL Pro Bowl
DateJanuary 29, 1979
StadiumLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California
MVPAhmad Rashad (Minnesota Vikings)
RefereeJerry Markbreit
Attendance38,333
TV in the United States
NetworkABC
AnnouncersFrank Gifford, Howard Cosell and Don Meredith

The 1979 Pro Bowl was the NFL's 29th annual all-star game which featured the outstanding performers from the 1978 season. The game was played on Monday, January 29, 1979, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California before a crowd of 38,333.[1] The final score was NFC 13, AFC 7.[2]

Chuck Fairbanks of the New England Patriots lead the AFC team against an NFC team coached by Minnesota Vikings head coach Bud Grant.[2] The referee was Jerry Markbreit in his second year as a referee.[2]

Ahmad Rashad of the Minnesota Vikings was named the game's Most Valuable Player.[1] Players on the winning NFC team received $5,000 apiece while the AFC participants each took home $2,500.[3]

As of 2019, this was the last Pro Bowl to be played on a Monday, and the last one to be played in Los Angeles. It was the last one to be played outside Hawaii until the 2010 Pro Bowl which was in Miami Gardens, Florida.

This was also the first Pro Bowl to have players sport their respective team helmets, a custom that still stands today.

  1. ^ a b "Staubach rallies NFC in Pro Bowl". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. AP. January 30, 1979. Retrieved January 17, 2012.
  2. ^ a b c "1979 Pro Bowl game book" (PDF). NFL Game Statistics & Information. National Football League. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
  3. ^ "NFL Pro Bowl history". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on August 10, 2011. Retrieved January 30, 2012.