Jan. 15, 1967
Grambling State University made history when the historically black university’s marching band performed at the first Super Bowl (then called AFL-NFL World Championship Game), won by the Green Bay Packers, 35-10, over the Chiefs.
Jan. 11, 1970
Vibraphonist Lionel Hampton was the first Black artist to perform at a Super Bowl halftime show when he played “A Tribute to Mardi Gras” with jazz trumpeter Doc Severinsen, opera singer Marguerite Piazza, trumpeter Al Hirt and the Southern University marching band. More than 80,000 people were in attendance that day in Tulane Stadium in New Orleans when the Chiefs beat the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7.
Jan. 12, 1975
Pittsburgh running back Franco Harris became the first Black and Italian American to be named the game’s MVP when he rushed for 158 yards in leading the Steelers over the Minnesota Vikings, 16-6. It was the Steelers’ first Super Bowl win. (Harris died in December at 72.)
Jan. 31, 1988
Before Doug Williams became a football coach and an executive, he made history twice during his playing career. When the Tampa Bay Buccaneers selected him in the 1978 NFL draft, he became the first Black quarterback picked in the first round. A decade later, he became the first Black quarterback to start and win a Super Bowl, in 1988 leading Washington over the Denver Broncos, 42-10. After the historic matchup with Hurts and Mahomes was set last month, Williams told NBC Philadelphia that he wants people to change their mindset surrounding the abilities of Black quarterbacks, adding that Jalen and Mahomes’ historic moment is “overdue.”
Feb. 4, 2007
Before serving as a game analyst for NBC’s “Football Night in America,” Tony Dungy and Lovie Smith became the first Black head coaches to face off in a Super Bowl in 2007. Dungy’s Indianapolis Colts defeated Smith’s Chicago Bears, 29-17, making Dungy the first Black coach to win a Super Bowl.
Feb. 3, 2008
Mike Carey was the first Black referee to lead an officiating crew at the Super Bowl (the New York Giants beat the New England Patriots, 17-14). Carey was a running back for the Santa Clara Broncos before graduating in 1971. He joined the NFL in 1990 as a side judge and was promoted to referee during the 1995 season. In 2008, Carey became the second Black referee to preside over an NFL game, after Johnny Grier in 1988.
Feb. 3, 2019
Quinton Peron and Napoleon Jinnies made history as the first Black male and openly gay cheerleaders to perform at the Super Bowl. Super Bowl LIII in Atlanta featured the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots, with both Peron and Jinnies cheering for the Rams, which lost to the Patriots, 13-3, in the lowest scoring Super Bowl in history.
Feb. 12, 2023
Autumn Lockwood, a coaching assistant for the Philadelphia Eagles, is set to become the first Black woman to coach in a Super Bowl. The game on Sunday will also make Lockwood the fourth woman to coach in the Super Bowl, after Katie Sowers, Lori Locust and Maral Javadifar.