ADDENDUM: Heading and starting bid updated from catalog. This ball holds over 60 autographs with members from both Super Bowl III participating teams.
Though the Super Bowl had been held every season since 1967, it was the third edition in 1969 that transformed the AFL-NFL championship game into the greatest sporting event on the calendar, and put football on the road to surpassing baseball as “America’s Game.” Super Bowl III pitted the veteran NFL professionals of the Baltimore Colts against the flashy, irreverent New York Jets of the upstart AFL. Johnny Unitas, a 10-year veteran well into his Hall of Fame career, led Baltimore while New York’s leader was the trash-talking new-comer Joe Namath, who three days before the game personally guaranteed a win over the heavily favored Colts. While the old vs. new, David vs. Goliath matchup insured a good audience, the game proved to be one of the most exciting of the early Super Bowls, with New York shocking Baltimore by the score of 16-7. Namath was declared the game’s MVP and instantly became the face of modern professional football.
Over 60 signatures (30+ from each team) including several Hall of Famers from the Super Bowl Champion Jets and NFL Champion Colts have adorn this vintage official Wilson "The Duke" league ball. Present on the ball is the hero of the game, Joe Namath (signed “Joe Willie Namath” twice) as well as teammates Randy Rasmussen, Pete Lammons, Babe Parilli, Winston Hill, Bill Rademacher, Carl McAdams, Ralph Baker, George Sauer Jr., Don Maynard (twice), Matt Snell, Ray Hayes, Bill Mathis, Dave Herman, Mike D’Amato, Randy Beverly, Emerson Boozer, Gerry Philbin, Cornell Gordon, Sam Walton, John Neidert, Johnny Sample, Bob Talamini, Paul Crane, Earl Christy, OL coach Joe Spencer, head coach Weeb Ewbank and others.
The Colts are represented by Johnny Unitas (upside down in blue), Earl Morrall, Lou Michaels, John Mackey, Willie Richardson, Jerry Hill, Bubba Smith, Lenny Lyles, Preston Pearson, Bob Boyd, Fred Miller, Dick Szymanski, Sam Ball, Rick Volk, Bob Vogel, Tom Mitchell, David Lee, Jerry Logan, Terry Cole, Jim Ward, Charles Stukes, Glenn Ressler, Alex Hawkins, Mike Curtis, Bill Curry, John Williams, Ocie Austin, head coach Don Shula, defensive coordinator Chuck Knoll, offensive coordinator Don McCafferty and more.
The official game ball (not presented to us as used) is stamped "THE DUKE NFL-AFL CHAMPIONSHIP" on one top panel. The other top panel adjacent to the laces is stamped with the Thorp Sporting Goods logo and "OFFICIAL - National Football League - Eastern Conference - Western Conference" flanked by the Wilson and Commissioner Pete Rozelle stamps. It comes in excellent condition with light wear. It holds some air, but we did not want to test the vintage bladder with a needle to see if it can fully inflate. The signatures are primarily in varying shades of black ink (ranging mostly 6-7/10 in our book), with a few select names in blue pen. All autographs are clearly legible on the brown leather. A tremendous piece that captures the signatures of all the key players from one of the greatest Super Bowls of all-time. Autographs pre-certified by PSA/DNA.