It was the end of an era in professional football.

After years of competing against each other, the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) merged to form one football powerhouse in 1970.

Considered by the media, sports fans, players, and coaches as a more “amateur league”, the AFL emerged as a true contender when the New York Jets upset the heavily favored Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III in 1969. The AFL took home its first Super Bowl trophy that year and forged a path for what would become the NFL as we know it.

After the merger, the league split into two conferences: the AFC and the NFC. In the year 1970, 13 teams would battle in each conference to meet in Super Bowl V. After a history of tough losses in big games, two teams rose to the top—the Dallas Cowboys and the Baltimore Colts.

NFL 1970 also includes stories and anecdotes about:

• Forty-three-year-old quarterback/kicker George Blanda leading the Oakland Raiders into the playoffs with several heroic come-from-behind wins
• A new playoff format introducing a “wild card” slot
• The creation of Monday Night Football and how it changed primetime television sports forever
• The clashing of legendary players and coaches like Larry Czonka, Bubba Smith, Terry Bradshaw, Johnny Unitas, John Madden, and more