East 20

West 10

January 22, 1967

The 1967 Pro Bowl game was played in a heavy rainstorm at the Coliseum in Los Angeles. The game was the second lowest attendance in history next to the first Pro Bowl in 1939. A sparse crowd of 15,062 braved the elements to attend. The game proved that the NFL had a successor to the great Jim Brown, who had retired after the 1965 season, with the presence of the Bears’ Gayle Sayers. The coaches were Tom Landry for the East and George Allen for the West.

The East took the opening kickoff and marched 70 yards behind 7 consecutive pass completions by Don Meredith of the Cowboys. Pittsburgh’s Mike Clark kicked an 18 yard field goal. Later in the first, Sayers fumbled and John Brewer of Cleveland recovered. Five plays later, Clark connected on his second field goal from 17 yards and the score was 6-0 after one. Cleveland’s Frank Ryan, who alternated with Meredith by quarters, led the East on a 67 yard, nine play drive that culminated in a one yard plunge by rookie of the year Johnny Roland of St. Louis for the touchdown. After Larry Wilson of the Cardinals intercepted a Starr pass, Ryan led the East to paydirt again, hitting teammate Gary Collins with an 18 yard touchdown pass. The score was 20-0 at the half. It was all the scoring the East would need.

The second half was a showcase for Sayers. He swept end for 52 yards in the third quarter to set up the Rams’ Bruce Gossett for a 27 yard field goal. He gained 110 yards on 11 carries on the afternoon. In the fourth quarter, Starr hit Ken Willard of San Francisco on a 51 yard pass play. The final score was 20-10.

For the second year in a row, the East had dominated the West on the strength of turnovers. They recovered two fumbles and intercepted four passes. Sayers was voted the outstanding back of the game and Floyd Peters of the Eagles was lineman of the game.

Gayle Sayers carries

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