1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Championship Game, Aftermath
In the first season after the 1966 title game, all conferences in the Southern U.S. featured at least one black men's basketball player. This marked a change from the 1965–66 season, when numerous Southern conferences, such as the SEC and Atlantic Coast Conference, had not yet integrated. Large college programs began to more actively recruit African Americans for their basketball rosters, removing unofficial quotas that had been in place. By 1985, the number of black players in Division I more than doubled. Kirkpatrick wrote that the game "changed the sport forever. And maybe changed a nation as well."


1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament
The 1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament involved 22 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national men's basketball champion of the NCAA University Division, now Division I. It began on March 7 and ended with the championship game on March 19 in College Park, Maryland. A total of 26 games were played, including a third place game in each region and a national third place game.


1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament
Third-ranked Texas Western (now UTEP), coached by Don Haskins, won the national title with a 72–65 victory in the final over top-ranked Kentucky, led by head coach Adolph Rupp. Haskins started five black players for the first time in NCAA Championship history. Jerry Chambers of Utah was named the tournament's Most Outstanding Player.


1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament
The 2006 film Glory Road is based on the story of the 1966 Texas Western team. Their tournament games against fourth-ranked Kansas and Kentucky are depicted in the film.


1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Locations
The Washington metropolitan area and College Park became the ninth host city, and Cole Field House the tenth host venue, of the Final Four. It was the first time since 1956 that the Final Four was held on a college campus. For the first time ever, the tournament was held entirely on college campuses, something that would only happen once more in the tournament's history. There were three new venues used in the 1966 tournament. The tournament made its first-ever appearance in Los Angeles when Pauley Pavilion on the campus of UCLA hosted the West regional rounds.


1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Locations
The first round in the East was held in the state of Virginia for the first time, at Cassell Coliseum on the campus of Virginia Tech. The Mideast first round was also held in a new arena, at Memorial Gym on the campus of Kent State University. For the second straight year, the Midwest & West first rounds were combined into one venue, this time at the WSU Field House in Wichita. The 1966 tournament would mark the final time the tournament would be held at the University of Iowa; the tournament would return to Ames and Iowa State University in 1972, and Des Moines in 2016 (in games hosted by Drake University).


1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Game summaries
The Tournament is most remembered for the all-black starting five of Texas Western defeating an all-white starting five for Kentucky in the championship game.


1966 NCAA University Division Basketball Tournament, Game summaries
Clem Haskins and Dwight Smith became the first black athletes to integrate the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers basketball program in the Fall of 1963. This put Western Kentucky at the forefront to integrate college basketball in the Southeast. The Western Kentucky Hilltoppers were 2 points away from defeating Michigan and meeting the University of Kentucky Wildcats in the Mideast regional final. A controversial foul called against Smith during a jump ball put Cazzie Russell on the free throw line for Michigan, where he scored the tying and winning baskets.


1966 NCAA University Division Cross Country Championships
The 1966 NCAA University Division Cross Country Championships were the 28th annual cross country meet to determine the team and individual national champions of men's collegiate cross country running in the United States. Held on November 21, 1966, the meet was hosted for the second straight year by the University of Kansas at Rim Rock Farm in Lawrence, Kansas. The distance for this race was 6 miles (9.7 kilometers).


1966 NCAA University Division Cross Country Championships
All NCAA University Division members were eligible to qualify for the meet. In total, 25 teams and 189 individual runners contested this championship.


1966 NCAA University Division Cross Country Championships
The team national championship was won by the Villanova Wildcats, their first team title. The individual championship was won by Gerry Lindgren, from Washington State, with a time of 29:01.04. Lindgren's time set the new event distance record, breaking the record set the previous year by John Lawson. Lindgren's time would hold until 1969, when he himself would break it during his senior year.


1966 NCAA University Division Golf Championship
The 1966 NCAA University Division Golf Championship was the 28th annual NCAA-sanctioned golf tournament to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate golf in the United States.


1966 NCAA University Division Golf Championship
The tournament was held at the Stanford Golf Course in Stanford, California, hosted by Stanford University.


1966 NCAA University Division Golf Championship
Two-time defending champions Houston won the team title, the Cougars' ninth NCAA team national title.


1966 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament
The 1966 NCAA Men's University Division Ice Hockey Tournament was the culmination of the 1965–66 NCAA University Division men's ice hockey season, the 19th such tournament in NCAA history. It was held between March 17 and 19, 1966, and concluded with Michigan State defeating Clarkson 6-1. All games were played at the Williams Arena in Minneapolis, Minnesota.


1966 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Qualifying teams
Four teams qualified for the tournament, two each from the eastern and western regions. The ECAC tournament champion and the two WCHA tournament co-champions received automatic bids into the tournament. An at-large bid was offered to a second eastern team based upon both their ECAC tournament finish as well as their regular season record.


1966 NCAA University Division Men's Ice Hockey Tournament, Format
Despite winning the tournament the ECAC champion was not seeded as the top eastern team; this occurred because the at-large team played and won more games, both in conference and overall. The WCHA co-champion with the better regular season record was given the top western seed. The second eastern seed was slotted to play the top western seed and vice versa. All games were played at the Williams Arena. All matches were Single-game eliminations with the semifinal winners advancing to the national championship game and the losers playing in a consolation game.


1966 NCAA University Division Outdoor Track and Field Championships
The 1966 NCAA University Division Outdoor Track and Field Championships were contested June 16−18 at the 44th annual NCAA-sanctioned track meet to determine the individual and team national champions of men's collegiate University Division outdoor track and field events in the United States.


1966 NCAA University Division Outdoor Track and Field Championships
That year's outdoor meet was hosted by the Indiana University at Billy Hayes Track in Bloomington.


1966 NCAA University Division Outdoor Track and Field Championships
UCLA easily topped the team standings, capturing their second national title.


1966 NCAA University Division Swimming and Diving Championships
The 1966 NCAA University Division Swimming and Diving Championships were contested in March 1966 at the Cadet Gymnasium at the United States Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado at the 43rd annual NCAA-sanctioned swim meet to determine the team and individual national champions of University Division men's collegiate swimming and diving in the United States.


1966 NCAA University Division Swimming and Diving Championships
USC topped the team standings for the fourth consecutive year, once again finishing ahead of Indiana. This was the Trojans' fifth title in program history (and fifth title in six years).


1966 NCAA University Division Tennis Championships
The 1966 NCAA University Division Tennis Championships were the 21st annual tournaments to determine the national champions of NCAA University Division men's singles, doubles, and team collegiate tennis in the United States.


1966 NCAA University Division Tennis Championships
USC captured the team championship, the Trojans' eighth such title. USC finished four points ahead of rivals, and defending champions, UCLA in the final team standings (27–23).


1966 NCAA University Division Tennis Championships, Host site
This year's tournaments were contested at the University of Miami in Miami, Florida.


1966 NCAA University Division Tennis Championships, Team scoring
Until 1977, the men's team championship was determined by points awarded based on individual performances in the singles and doubles events.


1966 NCAA University Division Wrestling Championships
The 1966 NCAA University Division Wrestling Championships were the 36th NCAA University Division Wrestling Championships to be held. Iowa State University in Ames, Iowa hosted the tournament at the Iowa State Armory.


1966 NCAA University Division Wrestling Championships
Oklahoma State took home the team championship with 79 points despite having three individual champions. Yojiro Uetake of Oklahoma State was named the Most Outstanding Wrestler and Tom Peckham of Iowa State received the Gorriaran Award.


1966 NCAA University Division baseball rankings
The following poll makes up the 1966 NCAA University Division baseball rankings. Collegiate Baseball Newspaper published its first human poll of the top 20 teams in college baseball in 1957, and expanded to rank the top 30 teams in 1961.


1966 NCAA University Division baseball rankings, Collegiate Baseball
Currently, only the final poll from the 1966 season is available.


1966 NCAA University Division baseball season
The 1966 NCAA University Division baseball season, play of college baseball in the United States organized by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) began in the spring of 1966. The season progressed through the regular season and concluded with the 1965 College World Series. The College World Series, held for the twentieth time in 1966, consisted of one team from each of eight geographical districts and was held in Omaha, Nebraska at Johnny Rosenblatt Stadium as a double-elimination tournament. Ohio State claimed the championship.


1966 NCAA University Division baseball season, Conference winners
This is a partial list of conference champions from the 1966 season. Each of the eight geographical districts chose, by various methods, the team that would represent them in the NCAA Tournament. 11 teams earned automatic bids by winning their conference championship while 17 teams earned at-large selections.


1966 NCAA University Division baseball season, College World Series
The 1966 season marked the twentieth NCAA Baseball Tournament, which culminated with the eight team College World Series. The College World Series was held in Omaha, Nebraska. The eight teams played a double-elimination format, with Ohio State claiming their first championship with an 8–2 win over Oklahoma State in the final.


1966 NCAA University Division football rankings
Two human polls comprised the 1966 NCAA University Division football rankings. Unlike most sports, college football's governing body, the NCAA, does not bestow a national championship, instead that title is bestowed by one or more different polling agencies. There are two main weekly polls that begin in the preseason—the AP Poll and the Coaches' Poll.


1966 NCAA University Division football rankings, AP Poll
The final AP Poll was released in early December, at the end of the 1966 regular season. In the previous season, the final poll was released in January for the first time, after the bowl games, but not in 1966 or 1967.


1966 NCAA University Division football rankings, AP Poll
The AP Poll ranked only the top ten teams from 1962 through 1967.


1966 NCAA University Division football rankings, Final Coaches' poll
The final UPI Coaches Poll was released prior to the bowl games, in late November. Notre Dame received twenty of the 35 first-place votes; Michigan State received ten, Alabama four, and UCLA one.


1966 NCAA University Division football season
The 1966 University Division football season was marked by some controversy as the year of "The Tie", a famous 10–10 game between the two top-ranked teams, Michigan State and Notre Dame on November 19. Both teams were crowned national champions by various organizations after the regular season concluded, and neither participated in bowl game. Alabama finished the regular season undefeated and was third in the AP poll, while Georgia was fourth. Alabama went on to win the Sugar Bowl in dominant fashion. During the 20th century, the NCAA had no playoff for the major college football teams in the University Division, later known as Division I-A.


1966 NCAA University Division football season
The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The "writers' poll" by Associated Press (AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by United Press International) (UPI). In 1966, both services issued their final polls at the close of the regular season, but before teams competed in bowl games. The Associated Press presented the "AP Trophy" to the winner.


1966 NCAA University Division football season
The AP poll in 1966 consisted of the votes of as many as 63 sportswriters, though not all of them voted in every poll. Those who cast votes would give their opinion of the ten best teams. Under a point system of 10 points for first place, 9 for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined. In the preseason poll for 1966, Alabama was slightly ahead of Michigan State in first place votes (15 vs. 12) and points.


1966 NCAA University Division football season
Prior to the start of the 1966 season, East Carolina was elevated to the University Division.


1966 NCAA University Division football season
The American Broadcasting Company began showing college football in color this season. By the NCAA rules, only 8 national and 5 regional telecasts were allowed during the season.


1966 NCAA University Division football season, September
In the preseason poll released on September 12, the top six teams were from different conferences. First place was the defending champion Alabama Crimson Tide (SEC), followed by defending UPI champ Michigan State (Big Ten), Nebraska (Big Eight), UCLA (Pacific-8), Arkansas (SWC) and Notre Dame (independent).


1966 NCAA University Division football season, September
September 17 No. 2 Michigan State beat North Carolina State 28–10 at home, No. 3 Nebraska beat Texas Christian (TCU) 14–10, and No. 4 UCLA crushed Pittsburgh 57–14 in Los Angeles. At a game in Little Rock, No. 5 Arkansas beat visiting Oklahoma State 14–10, but fell to 6th place in the next poll, while No. 9 USC won at Texas, 10–6. Alabama had not yet begun its season. The poll was 1.Michigan State 2.UCLA 3.Alabama 4.Nebraska and 5.USC.


1966 NCAA University Division football season, September
September 24 No. 1 Michigan State beat Penn State 42–8 at home in East Lansing. No. 2 UCLA won 31–12 at Syracuse, No. 3 Alabama easily handled Louisiana Tech 34–0, and No. 4 Nebraska won over Utah State 28–7 but would drop to sixth. The Cornhuskers were replaced by No. 8 Notre Dame, which had beaten No. 7 Purdue at home, 26–14. No. 5 USC beat Wisconsin in Los Angeles 38–3. In the poll, it was 1.Michigan State 2.UCLA 3.Alabama 4.Notre Dame and 5.USC.


1966 NCAA University Division football season, October
October 1 No. 1 Michigan State won at Illinois, 26–10. No. 2 UCLA hosted Missouri and won, 24–15. No. 3 Alabama beat Mississippi 17–7, while No. 4 Notre Dame won 35–7 at Northwestern and thus jumped over Alabama to No. 3 . No. 5 USC played Oregon State in a game at Portland, winning 21–0, but it dropped from fifth to sixth. Its place was taken by No. 7 Arkansas, which shut out Texas Christian by the same 21–0 score. The next poll was 1.Michigan State 2.UCLA 3.Notre Dame 4.Alabama 5.Arkansas. All of the Top Ten teams remained unbeaten (the next five were USC, Nebraska, Tennessee, Georgia Tech and Florida


1966 NCAA University Division football season, October
October 8 No. 1 Michigan State beat Michigan at home, 20–7. No. 2 UCLA won in Houston against Rice, 27–24. No. 3 Notre Dame and No. 4 Alabama registered shutouts, beating Army (35–0) and Clemson (26–0), respectively. Thus, Notre Dame and Alabama jumped over UCLA. No. 5 Arkansas was itself shut out, 7–0, by the Baylor Bears. They were replaced at fifth place by No. 6 USC which won 17–14 at home against Washington. No. 7 Nebraska beat the Wisconsin Badgers in Madison, 31–3. In a matchup between No. 9 Georgia Tech and No. 8 Tennessee in Atlanta, Tech won 6–3. With two unbeatens gone, the eight remaining in the poll were 1.Michigan State 2.Notre Dame 3.Alabama 4.UCLA 5.USC 6.Nebraska 7.Georgia Tech 8.Florida


1966 NCAA University Division football season, October
October 15 No. 1 Michigan State narrowly beat Ohio State in Columbus, 11–8, while No. 2 Notre Dame held North Carolina scoreless at home, 32–0, which was enough for them to trade places in the next poll. Likewise, No. 3 Alabama edged Tennessee 11–10 while No. 4 UCLA overwhelmed Penn State 49–11 to jump back ahead of Alabama. UCLA's Los Angeles rival, No. 5 USC, beat Stanford 21–7. No. 6 Nebraska won 21–10 over Kansas State. No. 7 Georgia Tech met Auburn in Birmingham, winning 17–3 to stay unbeaten, and No. 8 Florida won at North Carolina State, 17–10. Oklahoma, which was scheduled to face Notre Dame, beat Kansas 35–0, while Purdue (set to face Michigan State) beat Michigan 22–21 in Ann Arbor. Purdue was the only team with a loss in the next poll: 1.Notre Dame 2.Michigan State 3.UCLA 4.Alabama 5.USC 6.Georgia Tech 7.Nebraska 8.Florida 9.Purdue 10.Oklahoma


1966 NCAA University Division football season, October
On October 22, No. 1 Notre Dame met No. 10 Oklahoma at Norman and beat them, 38–0. No. 2 Michigan State hosted No. 9 Purdue and won 41–20, which would give State the Big Ten crown. Because of a Big Ten rule barring two straight Rose Bowl appearances, Purdue went to Pasadena instead of the Spartans. No. 3 UCLA won 28–15 at California in Berkeley, while in Birmingham, No. 4 Alabama handled Vanderbilt 42–6 and No. 5 USC beat visiting Clemson 30–0. It was No. 6 Georgia Tech over Tulane, 35–17, and No. 7


1966 NCAA University Division football season, October
Nebraska won 21–19 at Colorado in a game that would determine the Big 8 championship. Arkansas returned to the Top Ten with a 41–0 triumph over Wichita State at Little Rock and Wyoming (which had gone 6–0–0 with a 35–10 win over Utah State) reached No. 10. The next poll had nine unbeaten teams, and Arkansas: 1.Notre Dame 2.Michigan State 3.UCLA 4.Alabama 5.USC 6.Ga Tech 7.Florida 8.Nebraska 9.Arkansas 5–1 10.Wyoming


1966 NCAA University Division football season, October
October 29 Week Eight featured games in large cities. In a Friday night game in Miami, No. 5 USC lost 10–7 to the Hurricanes. No. 1 Notre Dame met Navy in a game at Philadelphia and won 31–7. No. 2 Michigan State traveled to metropolitan Chicago (Evanston) to beat Northwestern 22–0. In Los Angeles, No. 3 UCLA beat the Air Force Academy 38–13. No. 4 Alabama beat Mississippi State 27–14 in Tuscaloosa. Three other teams won again to go 7–0–0 (No. 6 Georgia Tech over Duke 48–7, No. 7 Florida over Auburn 30–27 and No. 8 Nebraska 35–0 over Missouri). No. 9 Arkansas won 34–0 over Texas A&M, and No. 10 Wyoming's Top Ten ranking ended with its first loss, 12–10 at Colorado State. The remaining unbeatens in the Halloween rankings were 1.Notre Dame 2.Michigan State 3.UCLA 4.Alabama 5.Georgia Tech 6.Nebraska and 7.Florida.


1966 NCAA University Division football season, November
November 5 No. 1 Notre Dame beat Pittsburgh at home, 40–0. No. 2 Michigan State beat Iowa at home, 56–7. In Seattle, The No. 3 UCLA Bruins suffered their first loss, falling 16–3 at Washington. No. 4 Alabama defeated LSU 21–0 at Birmingham. No. 5 Georgia Tech got by Virginia in Atlanta, 14–13. No. 6 Nebraska, which had won 24–13 at Kansas, entered the Top Five, which contained the nation's five unbeaten major teams: 1.Notre Dame 2.Michigan State 3.Alabama 4.Nebraska 5.Georgia Tech.


1966 NCAA University Division football season, November
On November 12, No. 1 Notre Dame crushed Duke 64–0 at home. No. 2 Michigan State won at Indiana 37–19. No. 3 Alabama over South Carolina 24–0 at Tuscaloosa for its third straight shutout win. No. 4 Nebraska won 21–6 over Oklahoma State, and No. 5 Georgia Tech beat Penn State 21–0. The Top Five remained the same, as No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Michigan State prepared to meet on State's turf in East Lansing.


1966 NCAA University Division football season, November
November 19, In "the game of the century" No. 1 Notre Dame played No. 2 Michigan State to a 10–10 tie in East Lansing. The Spartans closed their season with a 9–0–1 record and no postseason game, since they had played the 1965 Rose Bowl and were barred from a repeat. After the game, the AP and UPI split, with the AP ranking Notre Dame No. 1 and the UPI ranking Michigan State No. 1. Without injured star QB Gary Beban, No. 8 UCLA still managed to beat No. 7 USC 14–7.


1966 NCAA University Division football season, November
Although UCLA finished with a better overall record (9–1) and ranking (No.5) than USC (7–3), it was the Trojans who were voted by the conference to go on to the Rose Bowl, due to having played one more "conference game." UCLA students took to the streets protesting the decision in anger, at one point blocking the nearby 405 Freeway. The Rose Bowl would pit USC vs. Purdue when the ideal matchup was largely considered UCLA vs. Michigan State. No. 3 Alabama, No. 4 Nebraska and No. 5 Georgia Tech were all idle. The poll remained unchanged.


1966 NCAA University Division football season, November
On Thanksgiving Day, No. 4 Nebraska and Oklahoma met at Norman, with the Sooners winning 10–9 to leave the Cornhuskers with a 9–1–0 finish. On Saturday, November 26, No. 1 Notre Dame went to Los Angeles to hand No. 10 USC a 51–0 shutout loss—the most points scored against USC up to that time, and USC's largest margin of defeat to this day. No. 3 Alabama won over Southern Mississippi in Mobile. No. 5 Georgia Tech lost to No. 7 Georgia 23–14 at Athens.


1966 NCAA University Division football season, November
The Bulldogs closed with a 9–1–0 finish, an unbeaten SEC record (tied with Alabama), and an invitation to the Cotton Bowl to face SMU. In the final regular poll, Notre Dame, Michigan State and Alabama were first, second and third, with Georgia 4th and UCLA 5th. On December 3, No. 3 Alabama closed its season with a 31–0 win over Auburn in Birmingham, for its fourth straight shutout and a 10–0–0 record.


1966 NCAA University Division football season, Bowl games
In the final AP poll, taken before the bowl games, 9–0–1 Notre Dame (which did not end its 40+ year no-bowls policy until the 1969 season) was the overwhelming choice of the writers for the AP Trophy, with 41 of the 56 first place votes, and Michigan State was second; neither played in a bowl game, as Notre Dame at the time refused all bowl bids and Michigan State was barred from the Rose Bowl due to a Big Ten rule that prevented teams from going to the Rose Bowl in two consecutive seasons. Alabama, which was unbeaten and later won the Sugar Bowl over Nebraska, finished third. Georgia, whose only blemish had been a one-point loss to the Miami Hurricanes, was fourth and UCLA was fifth.


1966 NFL Championship Game
The 1966 National Football League Championship Game was the 34th NFL championship, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. It was the final game of the 1966 NFL season.


1966 NFL Championship Game
It determined the champion of the National Football League (NFL), which met the champion of the American Football League (AFL) in Super Bowl I, then formally referred to as the first AFL–NFL World Championship Game. The Western Conference champion Green Bay Packers (12–2), defending league champions, were hosted by the Dallas Cowboys (10–3–1), the Eastern Conference champions.


1966 NFL Championship Game
At the time, the home field for the NFL Championship Game alternated between the two conferences; even-numbered years were hosted by the Eastern and odd-numbered by the Western. Starting with the 1975 season, playoff sites were determined by regular season record, rather than a rotational basis.


1966 NFL Championship Game
The New Year's college bowl game at the Cotton Bowl for the 1966 season included the SMU Mustangs of Dallas. It was played the day before, New Year's Eve, which required a quick turnaround to transform the natural grass field. The stadium was filled to its 75,504 capacity for both games, but both local teams came up short.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Background
This was the first NFL title game played after the AFL–NFL merger was announced in June 1966. The game was played on January 1, 1967, the second consecutive year that the NFL season ended in January, rather than December. This was the seventh season for the Dallas Cowboys and their first winning record since entering the league in 1960. They were champions of the NFL's Eastern Conference with a 10–3–1 record. The Packers won the Western Conference with a 12–2 record, their eighth consecutive winning season under head coach Vince Lombardi.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Background
Tickets for the game sold for ten dollars, and kickoff was just after 3 p.m. CST, televised by CBS, following the AFL Championship from Buffalo on NBC.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Background
The final score was Green Bay 34, Dallas 27. Two weeks later, Green Bay went on to easily defeat the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl I in Los Angeles.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
The seasoned Packers, defending champions of the 1965 season, were favored by a touchdown over the talented, but young Cowboys team, who had no players with championship experience and only one player over 30, linebacker Chuck Howley. The game was expected to be a shootout, and as wary as the Packers were of Cowboys wide-out Bob Hayes, the fastest man in football at the time, Lombardi made the decision before the game not to put double-coverage on the Olympic champion sprinter. It proved to be a good gamble, as Herb Adderley and Bob Jeter held Hayes to only one reception for one yard. Lombardi also installed a special offense for the game, knowing that the Cowboys had spent time preparing to stop plays like the Packers sweep.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
Green Bay scored on their opening drive, with Elijah Pitts breaking free for a 32-yard run on the opening play – a misdirection play that was part of Lombardi's special game plan. Later Pitts took a circle route pass over the middle from Bart Starr at the Cowboy 5 and broke a tackle by Warren Livingston to cap a 17-yard touchdown play. Then Cowboys defensive back Mel Renfro fumbled the ensuing kickoff, and Packer rookie Jim Grabowski returned it 18 yards to give Green Bay a 14–0 lead before Dallas's first play. But the Cowboys stormed back with a 13-play drive to score on Dan Reeves's 3-yard rushing touchdown. Then after forcing a punt, they drove 59 yards to tie the game at 14 with a 23-yard touchdown burst by fullback Don Perkins.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
Starr broke the tie on the third play of the second quarter with a 51-yard bomb to Carroll Dale over the head of CB Cornell Green. Dallas responded with a 68-yard drive to the Packers 4-yard line, featuring a 40-yard completion from Don Meredith to a wide-open Reeves, but could go no further and settled for an 11-yard Danny Villanueva field goal, cutting their deficit to 21–17. Green Bay had a chance to retake a 7-point lead before halftime, but Don Chandler's 30-yard field goal attempt was blocked by Cowboys tackle Ralph Neely.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
Early in the third quarter, Dallas defensive back Warren Livingston recovered a fumble from Pitts on the Cowboys 21-yard line. Meredith then led the team on a 13-play drive to bring the score to within one point, 21–20, on Villanueva's 32-yard field goal. But on Green Bay's next drive, Starr completed a 40-yard pass to Dale, who beat Green to the outside. From the Dallas 16 Starr hit  Boyd Dowler cutting across the field for his third TD pass of the game, giving the Pack a 28–20 lead going into the fourth quarter.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
Dallas safety Mike Gaechter upended Dowler after the end took several steps in the end zone, causing Dowler to leave the game (Dowler was hampered much of the season by a calcium deposit on his shoulder). Bart Starr had to guide an upset Jim Taylor to the Green Bay sideline when the fiery Green Bay fullback started looking for Gaechter.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
Late in the final period, Hayes fielded a punt on his own 1-yard line and was tackled inside the 5. Don Meredith hit a cold streak and missed several passes, and a Dallas punt gave Green Bay good field position on the Dallas 48. George Andrie sacked Starr on the first play, but Starr then picked up a key first down with a 24-yard pass to tight end Marv Fleming. Later faced with 3rd and 12, he completed a 16-yard pass to fullback Jim Taylor for a first down.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
Starr was again sacked on the drive, this time for an 11-yard loss by Willie Townes. But on third and nineteen, the Packers picked up a Cowboy blitz and Starr threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Max McGee (who replaced the injured Dowler). McGee had told Starr he could beat cornerback Warren Livingston to the outside ("Zig out" pattern). With just 5:20 left, the game appeared to be slipping out of reach for the Cowboys. However, defensive tackle Bob Lilly kept his team in the game by blocking Chandler's extra point attempt, keeping the deficit at 2 scores, 34–20, rather than 3.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
Dallas started their comeback attempt on the ensuing drive. Faced with 3rd down and 20, Meredith threw a 68-yard touchdown pass to tight end Frank Clarke, making the score 34–27. Desperately trying to run out the clock with their ensuing possession, Green Bay started out with an 18-yard reception by Fleming on the Packers 46. But on the next play, Starr was sacked for an 8-yard loss by linebacker Dave Edwards. Townes broke up a screen pass on the next play, and then Taylor was stuffed for a loss. Now faced with 4th down, a heavy rush from the Dallas defense caused Chandler's punt to go just 17 yards, giving the Cowboys the ball on the Green Bay 47-yard line with 2:12 remaining.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
A 21-yard catch by Clarke and a 4-yard run by Perkins advanced the ball to the Green Bay 22-yard line. Then a pass interference penalty on safety Tom Brown gave the Cowboys a first down at the Packer 2-yard line. Halfback Dan Reeves gained a yard on first down. A crucial mistake on a false start by Jim Boeke penalized the Cowboys back to the Green Bay 6 (nullifying a play where a wide-open Pettis Norman had dropped a pass in the end zone), and Reeves then dropped a pass in the flat on second down.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
Reeves had been scratched in the eye on his previous run but did not come out of the game in favor of rookie Walt Garrison despite clouded vision, another mental error. Meredith found tight end Pettis Norman on third down to bring Dallas back to the two-yard line, the end making the catch on his knees. On fourth down, the Cowboys attempted a rollout pass. No one on the Cowboys noticed that end Bob Hayes was in the goal line offense instead of Frank Clarke, who was typically used for better blocking.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
Packer linebacker Dave Robinson recognized the play from films, brushed Hayes aside, stormed into the Cowboy backfield and enveloped Meredith. Somehow Meredith got a wobbly sidearm toss away, but Tom Brown intercepted the pass in the end zone as the intended receiver, Hayes, was surrounded by Packers defenders. Vince Lombardi later congratulated Robinson, but in the next breath criticized him for being out of his assigned position.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
Starr completed 19 of 28 passes for 304 yards and 4 touchdowns, with no interceptions, though he was sacked five times. His quarterback rating for the game was a stellar 143.5. Dale caught 5 passes for 128 yards and a score. Pitts led the Packers in rushing with 66 yards and caught a TD pass. Meredith finished the game 15/31 for 238 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, while also rushing for 22 yards. Perkins rushed for 108 yards and a score, while Reeves rushed for 47 yards, caught 4 passes for 77 yards, and scored a touchdown.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
"I don't know, we haven't played Alabama yet." – Vince Lombardi after being asked what it felt like to be the greatest football team in the world just after winning the 1966 NFL Championship Game. Coincidentally, Bear Bryant's Crimson Tide wrapped up an 11–0 season the next day by routing Nebraska 34–7 in the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
With the win, the Packers earned their tenth NFL championship; it was their second in a row and fourth in six seasons under Lombardi, in his eighth year as Green Bay's head coach.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Game summary
This was the Packers' only post-season win against the Cowboys in the Dallas area until the 2016 season, when they beat them in another tooth and nail game to advance to the NFC Championship Game.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Officials
The NFL had six game officials in 1966; the line judge was added a season earlier in 1965 and the side judge arrived twelve years later in 1978.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Players' shares
The Packer players each received $8,600 and the Cowboy players about $6,000 each, an increase over the previous year's ($7,500 and $4,600).


1966 NFL Championship Game, Players' shares
Over in the AFL, the winning Kansas City Chiefs split their players' shares for the title game 51 ways for $5,308 each, while the Buffalo Bills split theirs into 47 shares for about $3,800 each.


1966 NFL Championship Game, Players' shares
The upcoming Super Bowl awarded an additional $15,000 per player for the winners and $7,500 each for the losing team.


1966 NFL Draft
The 1966 National Football League draft was held at the Summit Hotel in New York City on Saturday, November 27, 1965.


1966 NFL Draft
The expansion Atlanta Falcons were awarded the first pick in each round as well as the final pick in each of the first five rounds. The first overall selection was Tommy Nobis, a linebacker from Texas. The league also provided the Falcons with an expansion draft six weeks later.


1966 NFL Draft
This was the last draft in which the NFL and the AFL selected their players separate of one another. As a result, most players drafted  by teams from both leagues chose to play for the more established NFL, but not all. Similar to 1965, the AFL draft was held on the same day. After the merger agreement in June 1966, a common draft was held in March 1967.


1966 NFL expansion draft
The 1966 NFL expansion draft was a National Football League (NFL) draft in which a new expansion team, named the Atlanta Falcons, selected its first players. On June 30, 1965, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle awarded the first NFL franchise in the Deep South to the city of Atlanta and granted ownership to Rankin Smith Sr.


1966 NFL expansion draft
So that the Falcons could become competitive with existing teams, the league awarded the Falcons the first pick in the 1966 NFL Draft, supplemented with the final pick in the first five rounds. The NFL also gave the new team the opportunity to select current players from existing teams. That selection was provided by the expansion draft, held on February 15, 1966. In this draft, held six weeks after the regular draft, the existing franchises listed players from which the Falcons could select to switch to the new team.


1966 NFL expansion draft
Each of the 14 established teams froze 29 players on their 40-man rosters that opened the 1965 season (That made 154 players available.). Atlanta picked one of the 11 and then each team froze two more. Atlanta was able to select two more for a total of 42 players chosen. The Falcons paid $8.5 million for the franchise. (Feb 17, 1966 St. Petersburg Times.)


1966 NFL season
The 1966 NFL season was the 47th regular season of the National Football League, and the first season in which the Super Bowl was played, though it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons, making a bye necessary each week for one team.


1966 NFL season
This was the last season that the NFL was divided only into two separate conferences, and only one postseason round was played between the two conference champions. The season concluded with the first Super Bowl; the NFL champion Green Bay Packers defeated the AFL's Kansas City Chiefs 35–10 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on January 15, 1967.


1966 NFL season
Pat Studstill for the Detroit Lions set a record for consecutive games with more than 125 receiving yards with five, a record which was not tied until Calvin 'Megatron' Johnson several decades later. He also became the 3rd ever player to complete a 99-yard pass play.


1966 NFL season
The highest scoring game in NFL history also took place during this season, with the then Washington Redskins defeating the New York Giants in a Week 12 showdown with a final score of 72–41.


1966 NFL season, The AFL-NFL merger agreement
As the competitive war between the NFL and the American Football League reached its peak, the two leagues agreed to merge on June 8, 1966. Under the agreement:


1966 NFL season, Expansion
On June 3, 1965, the NFL announced its plans to add two teams in 1967. Four days later on June 7, the eight franchises of the rival American Football League (AFL) voted unanimously to add two teams in 1966, an AFL franchise was awarded to Atlanta the next day.


1966 NFL season, Expansion
The NFL awarded the first of the two expansion franchises to the city of Atlanta on June 30, 1965. Commissioner Pete Rozelle granted ownership of the Atlanta Falcons to Rankin Smith, Sr. and they were awarded the first pick in the 1966 NFL Draft, as well as the final pick in each of the first five rounds. The league also provided the Falcons with an expansion draft six weeks later.


1966 NFL season, Expansion
The AFL had originally targeted Atlanta and Philadelphia, but its two expansion teams became the Miami Dolphins in 1966 and the Cincinnati Bengals in 1968.


1966 NFL season, Expansion
The competition with the AFL for Atlanta forced the first to be added a year early. The odd number of teams (15) in 1966 resulted in one idle team (bye) each week, with each team playing fourteen games over fifteen weeks (similar to 1960: twelve games over thirteen weeks). The second expansion team, the New Orleans Saints, joined the NFL as planned in 1967 as its sixteenth franchise. Scheduled byes in the NFL's regular season did not return until 1990.


1966 NFL season, Draft
The 1966 NFL Draft was held on November 27, 1965 at New York City's Summit Hotel. With the first pick, the Atlanta Falcons selected linebacker Tommy Nobis from The University of Texas.


1966 NFL season, Major rule changes
Goal posts were standardized in the NFL. They were to be 3–4 inches (7.6–10.2 cm) in diameter, painted bright yellow, with two non-curved supports offset from the goal line, and uprights 20 feet (6.1 m) above the crossbar. In 1967, the new "slingshot" goal post was made standard, with one curved support from the ground. In 1974, the goal posts were returned to the end line, and the uprights were extended to 30 feet (9.1 m) above the crossbar, and to 35 feet (10.7 m) in 2014.


1966 NFL season, Major rule changes
The new goal-post rule is often referred to as the "Don Chandler Rule", referring to the placekicker for the Green Bay Packers. Although widely denied, the height increase of the uprights was in reaction to the previous season's Western Conference playoff game at Lambeau Field in Green Bay. Chandler kicked a controversial field goal that tied the game with under two minutes remaining. The kick was high above the upright, and many spectators thought that the kick missed; however, the kick was ruled good by field judge Jim Tunney. Chandler later hit a field goal that defeated the Baltimore Colts in overtime. The following week, the Packers defeated the Cleveland Browns in the NFL Championship Game, their first of three consecutive league titles.


1966 NFL season, Major rule changes
Another rule change born from the 1965 Western Conference playoff was two officials (the back judge and field judge) were stationed under each upright for field goal and extra point attempts.


1966 NFL season, Conference races
In the Western Conference, Green Bay's first loss was in Week 5, falling 21–20 in San Francisco to tie them with the Rams. The Rams lost 35–7 to Minnesota the next week, and Green Bay stayed in front until Week 9, when Minnesota beat them 20–17. Baltimore's 19–7 win over Atlanta briefly tied it with the Packers at 7–2–0 in Week 10, but the Colts lost to Detroit the next week, 20–14. The Packers clinched the title in Week 13.


1966 NFL season, Conference races
In the Eastern Conference, the St. Louis Cardinals took the early lead, winning their first five games. (The Dallas Cowboys were also unbeaten, but due to a bye in Week One, they had played one fewer game and thus were a half-game behind the Cardinals in the standings.) The unbeaten teams met in Week 6, and both were still unbeaten after they played to a 10–10 tie. However, both teams suffered their first defeat the next week, with St. Louis losing at Washington, 26–20, and the Cowboys falling in Cleveland, 30–21.


1966 NFL season, Conference races
In Week 9 (November 6), St. Louis beat the Giants, 20–17, while Dallas came up short in a 24–23 loss to the Eagles. The next week, Dallas won at Washington 31–30 on a field goal with 0:15 left, while the Cards fell at Pittsburgh, 30–9, cutting their safety margin to a half-game again. St. Louis had a bye in Week 11, and a 20–7 Dallas victory over Pittsburgh gave the Cards and Cowboys records of 7–2–1. Both teams won the next week, setting up the stage for their December 4 meeting in Dallas during Week 13.


1966 NFL season, Conference races
The Cards took a 10–7 lead in the first quarter, but Dallas won 31–17 to take over the conference lead. In Week Fourteen, Dallas hosted Washington, and lost 34–31 on a field goal at 0:08. The Cardinals were in a must-win game against what should have been an easy opponent, the new (2–10–0) Atlanta Falcons. Instead, the Falcons notched their third win and virtually ended St. Louis's hopes to go to the title game. The St. Louis Cardinals, who lost again the next week, never got that close to the Super Bowl again before moving to Phoenix in 1988.


1966 NFL season, Final standings
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.


1966 NFL season, Postseason, Playoff Bowl
The Playoff Bowl was between the conference runners-up, for third place in the league. This was its seventh year and it was played a week after the title game.


1966 NFL season, Postseason, AFL–NFL World Championship Game
The Green Bay Packers defeated the Kansas City Chiefs, league champion of the 1966 American Football League season, 35–10, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, on January 15, 1967.


1966 NHL Amateur Draft
The 1966 NHL Amateur Draft was the fourth NHL Entry Draft. It held at the Mount Royal Hotel in Montreal, Quebec.


1966 NHL Amateur Draft, Selections by round
Listed below are the selections in the 1966 NHL amateur draft.


1966 NSWRFL season
The 1966 New South Wales Rugby Football League premiership was the 59th season of the rugby league competition based in Sydney. Ten clubs from across the city competed for the J.J. Giltinan Shield and the WD & HO Wills Cup during the season, which culminated in a replay of the 1964 grand final between St. George and Balmain.


1966 NSWRFL season, Season summary
1966 was the last season played under the unlimited tackle rule. Balmain, with their talented raw rookie recruit Arthur Beetson, appeared to be about to topple the Dragons from their long-held perch when the Tigers won eleven consecutive regular season games. However a late season slump saw them pegged back to the rest of the field and an eventual second place on the minor-premiership ladder behind the Dragons, who were being led by new captain-coach Ian Walsh.


1966 NSWRFL season, Season summary
Eastern Suburbs did not win a single match in 1966, continuing a losing streak that started in round 14, 1965 and which would run till round 2, 1967. This marked the second-most consecutive losses in NSWRFL premiership history at 25 behind University’s 42 in the middle 1930s. Their winless streak ran a total of 29 games between their 11–9 win over Canterbury in Round 12, 1965 and beating North Sydney 17–11 in Round 6 of 1967.


1966 NSWRFL season, Season summary
No team would finish a season on zero points again until the Melbourne Storm finished last in the 2010 season as punishment for gross salary cap breaches uncovered by the NRL in April that year.


1966 NSWRFL season, Season summary, Teams
59th seasonGround: Sydney Sports GroundCoach: Bert Holcroft Captains: Ron Saddler / Ken Ashcroft


1966 NSWRFL season, Season summary, Teams
20th seasonGround: Brookvale Oval Coach: Wally O'ConnellCaptains: Frank Stanton / Ken Day


1966 NSWRFL season, Season summary, Teams
59th seasonGround: Henson Park Coach: Dick Poole Captain: Paul Quinn


1966 NSWRFL season, Season summary, Teams
59th seasonGround: North Sydney OvalCoach: Fred Griffiths Captain: Billy Wilson


1966 NSWRFL season, Season summary, Teams
59th seasonGround: Redfern OvalCoach: Bernie Purcell Captain(s): Jim Lisle / Bob Moses


1966 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Balmain had beaten St. George twice in the regular season and in their coach Harry Bath, who had helped design the Dragons premiership winning formula, had a tactician well placed to counter it. They had a number of young players in Beetson, Kevin Yow Yeh and Denis Tutty who could trouble the Dragons, plus the experience of Dave Bolton, Peter Provan and the unrivalled goal-kicking brilliance of Keith Barnes.


1966 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
The opening skirmishes on the day of the decider were balanced. Balmain took an early lead when Barnes kicked a penalty goal. St. George's Billy Smith struck back when he set up a run around movement with Brian Clay, which led to a try to Bruce Pollard.


1966 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
The turning point of the match came soon after when the Dragons' English import Dick Huddart and Ian Walsh put on a set move as the Tigers' defence rushed up too early. Walsh bust through the line and with only the fullback to beat and passed the ball to Huddart who raced 30 yards to score.


1966 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
On the other side of half-time Billy Smith sliced through and found Johnny Raper who got to the Balmain 25-yard line before finding prop Kevin Ryan in support. It was a spectacular run from the evergreen forward who out-raced his pursuers and dived through the air to score and put the match beyond doubt.


1966 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Balmain had tried to slow down the Dragons with stifling tactics but this backfired and resulted in an unfavourable penalty count. Classy Dragons fullback Graeme Langlands capitalised on this, kicking seven goals.


1966 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
Huddart was dominant for the clinical Saints who did not concede a try for a staggering seventh time in eight grand final victories. He had been niggled early in the game by the Balmain forwards and responded by running freely all match and crashing the Tigers with fiery tackles.


1966 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
With the full-time siren St George had won their 11th successive Grand Final, setting a record that is unlikely to be ever broken in first grade rugby league or perhaps in any top-grade world team sport.


1966 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
It was the last game played for the club by Dragons enforcer Kevin Ryan after seven Grand Final wins and also the farewell match for winger Eddie Lumsden who had appeared in nine of the victories.


1966 NSWRFL season, Finals, Grand Final
St. George 23 (Tries: Pollard, Huddart, Ryan. Goals: Langlands 7.)


1966 Nashville 400
The 1966 Nashville 400 was a NASCAR Grand National Series event that was held on July 30, 1966, at Nashville Speedway in Nashville, Tennessee.


1966 Nashville 400
Out of Henley Gray's five career finishes in the top five and 60 finishes in the top ten, two of them came at Nashville Speedway.


1966 Nashville 400, Background
Nashville Speedway was converted to a half-mile paved oval in 1957, when it began to be a NASCAR series track.


1966 Nashville 400, Race report
It took two hours and forty-seven minutes to complete 400 laps on a paved track spanning 0.500 miles (0.805 km). Out of all of Richard Petty's 200 victories in Grand National/Winston Cup competition, arguably none were as dominant as this one. Richard Petty won the pole and led all 400 laps of the Nashville 400. While Petty had Jim Paschal to contend with right to the end during the 1964 NASCAR Grand National Series season, this event saw King Richard lap the field five times over. Buck Baker's finish in his Oldsmobile would be considered great since he qualified outside of the top ten. 15,161 spectators watched this race with four cautions being handed out by NASCAR for 41 laps.


1966 Nashville 400, Race report
Petty qualified for the pole position at a speed of 82.493 miles per hour (132.760 km/h) and also averaged 71.770 miles per hour (115.503 km/h) during the actual race.


1966 Nashville 400, Race report
The most notable crew chiefs that were involved in the event were Herman Beam, Bob Cooper, Clair Jackson, Frankie Scott, Dale Inman and Bud Hartje.


1966 Nashville 400, Race report
The racing grid was made up of 27 Americans and one Canadian (Don Biederman who finished the race in 19th place). Darel Dieringer received the last place finish for crashing his car at the beginning of the race. Jack Lawrence would crash his vehicle on lap 2 while Blackie Watt's vehicle suffered from a problematic radiator on lap 21. Doug Cooper fell out with engine failure on lap 49. J.D. McDuffie managed to overheat his vehicle on lap 54. Paul Lewis blew his vehicle's engine on lap 100 while Roy Tyner's vehicle had an oil leak on lap 141. J.T. Putney's engine would stop working altogether on lap 171. An oil leak would relegate Don Biederman to the sidelines on lap 214. Wayne Smith's engine stopped working on lap 220 while a loose frame took Elmo Langley out of the race on lap 250.


1966 Nashville 400, Race report
Driveshaft problems took Friday Hassler out of the race on lap 256. A problem with the vehicle's differential took Buddy Arrington out of the race on lap 262. An oil leak forced Joel Davis out of the race on lap 268 while a troublesome differential on G.C. Spencer's vehicle took him out of the race on lap 287. A faulty engine took Stick Elliott out of the race on lap 308. Meanwhile, the throttle on James Hylton's vehicle stopped working; causing Hylton to exit the race prematurely on lap 352.


1966 Nashville 400, Race report
Coo Coo Marlin was considered to be popular with the local racing supporters on the weekends when the NASCAR toured Nashville. He was considered the odds-on favorite to win the race even when he drove a one-year-old vehicle to the track. Unfortunately, he was only the 27th best driver to compete at Nashville Fairgrounds; with an average start of 11th place and an average finish of 13th place.


1966 Nashville 400, Race report
Marty Robbins participated in this race and was announced as "Columbia Records' recording star". He finished 25th due to an oil leak problem on lap 48. Marty Robbins' Cup debut marked the only time he ran in the series on a short track. The county singer fittingly hit the track here at Nashville but all the rest of his Cup starts would be on superspeedway ovals.


1966 National Challenge Cup
The 1966 National Challenge Cup was the 53rd edition of the USSFA's annual open soccer championship. The Philadelphia Ukrainians defeated the Orange County Soccer Club to win.


1966 National Invitation Tournament
The National Invitation Tournament was originated by the Metropolitan Basketball Writers Association in 1938. Responsibility for its administration was transferred two years later to local colleges, first known as the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Committee and in 1948, as the Metropolitan Intercollegiate Basketball Association (MIBA), which comprised representatives from five New York City schools: Fordham University, Manhattan College, New York University, St. John's University, and Wagner College. Originally all of the teams qualifying for the tournament were invited to New York City, and all games were played at Madison Square Garden.


1966 National Invitation Tournament
The tournament originally consisted of only 6 teams, which later expanded to 8 teams in 1941, 12 teams in 1949, 14 teams in 1965, 16 teams in 1968, 24 teams in 1979, 32 teams in 1980, and 40 teams from 2002 through 2006. In 2007, the tournament reverted to the current 32-team format.


1966 National Invitation Tournament, Selected teams
Below is a list of the 14 teams selected for the tournament.


1966 National Society of Film Critics Awards
The 1st National Society of Film Critics Awards, given by the National Society of Film Critics in January 1967, honored the best in film for 1966.


1966 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actor
1. Michael Caine – Alfie2. Richard Burton – Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? 2. Max von Sydow – Hawaii4. Laurence Olivier – Othello4. Paul Scofield – A Man for All Seasons


1966 National Society of Film Critics Awards, Winners, Best Actress
1. Sylvie – The Shameless Old Lady (La vieille dame indigne)2. Vanessa Redgrave – Morgan! 3 . Anouk Aimée – A Man and a Woman (Un homme et une femme)


1966 Nauruan parliamentary election
Elections for the Legislative Council for the Territory of Nauru were held for the first and only time on 22 January 1966.


1966 Nauruan parliamentary election, Background
Nauru had been under Australian administration since World War II. In 1962 the United Nations General Assembly voted by 80 –0 that the island should be granted independence. The United Nations Trusteeship Council subsequently requested that the Australian government set up a Legislative Council. The Parliament of Australia passed the Nauru Act 1965, which established the Legislative Council for the Territory of Nauru. The new body had fifteen members, comprising nine elected members, one ex officio member (the Administrator), and five "official members" (appointed by the Governor-General of Australia on the nomination of the Administrator).


1966 Nauruan parliamentary election, Electoral system
The electoral system remained the same as for the Local Government Council; the fourteen districts of Nauru were grouped into eight constituencies. Seven constituencies elected one member, whilst one elected two. A total of 24 candidates stood for the nine seats.


1966 Nauruan parliamentary election, Results
Hammer DeRoburt (Boe constituency) and Roy Degoregore (Anetan and Ewa) were both elected unopposed. All elected candidates had previously been members of the Local Government Council at some point.


1966 Nauruan parliamentary election, Aftermath
The new Legislative Council was opened by Australian Minister for the Territories Charles Barnes on 31 January 1966, which marked the twentieth anniversary of the return to Nauru of survivors of the World War II deportation of islanders during the Japanese occupation. Hammer DeRoburt was re-elected as Head Chief by the Council after the elections.


1966 Nauruan parliamentary election, Aftermath
Victor Eoaeo resigned from the Legislative Council on 30 November 1967.


1966 Navy Midshipmen football team
The 1966 Navy Midshipmen football team represented the United States Naval Academy (USNA) as an independent during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. The team was led by second-year head coach Bill Elias.


1966 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team
The 1966 Nebraska Cornhuskers football team represented the University of Nebraska–Lincoln as a member of the Big Eight Conference in the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. The team was coached by Bob Devaney and played their home games at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Nebraska.


1966 Nebraska gubernatorial election
The 1966 Nebraska gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1966, and featured former Wausa Mayor Norbert Tiemann, a Republican, defeating Democratic nominee, Lieutenant Governor Philip C. Sorensen. This was the first gubernatorial election in  Nebraska in which the term in office was extended from two to four years, with a limit of two consecutive terms.


1966 Neftyanik Baku season
The Neftyanik Baku 1966 season was Neftyanik Baku's 10th  Soviet Top League season.


1966 Nemzeti Bajnokság I, Overview
It was contested by 14 teams, and Vasas SC won the championship.


1966 Nemzeti Bajnokság I (women's handball)
The 1966 Nemzeti Bajnokság I is the 16th season of the Nemzeti Bajnokság I, Hungary's premier Handball league.


1966 Nemzeti Bajnokság I (women's handball), Final list
* M: Matches W: Win D: Drawn L: Lost G+: Goals earned G-: Goals got P: Point


1966 Nevada Wolf Pack football team
The 1966 Nevada Wolf Pack football team represented the University of Nevada during the 1966 NCAA College Division football season. Nevada competed as a member of the Far Western Conference (FWC). The Wolf Pack were led by eighth-year head coach Dick Trachok and played their home games at Mackay Stadium.


1966 Nevada Wolf Pack football team, Previous season
The Wolf Pack finished the 1965 season 6–4 and 4–1 in FWC play to finish in second place.


1966 Nevada gubernatorial election
The 1966 Nevada gubernatorial election occurred on November 8, 1966. Incumbent Democrat Grant Sawyer ran unsuccessfully for re-election to a third term as Governor of Nevada. He was defeated by Republican nominee Paul Laxalt.


1966 New Hampshire Wildcats football team
The 1966 New Hampshire Wildcats football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Hampshire as a member of the Yankee Conference during the 1966 NCAA College Division football season. In its first year under head coach Joe Yukica, the team compiled a 2–6 record (1–4 against conference opponents) and finished last out of six teams in the Yankee Conference.


1966 New Hampshire gubernatorial election
The 1966 New Hampshire gubernatorial election was held on November 8, 1966. Incumbent Democrat John W. King defeated Republican nominee Hugh Gregg with 53.88% of the vote.


1966 New Mexico Lobos football team
The 1966 New Mexico Lobos football team was an American football team that represented the University of New Mexico in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC) during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. In their seventh season under head coach Bill Weeks, the Lobos compiled a 2–8 record (0–5 against WAC opponents) and were outscored, 320 to 101.


1966 New Mexico Lobos football team
Wally Seis and Albert O'Neal were the team captains. The team's statistical leaders included Rick Beitler with 763 passing yards, Carl Jackson with 348 rushing yards, Emilio Vallez with 373 receiving yards, and Carl Bradford with 24 points scored.


1966 New Mexico State Aggies football team
The 1966 New Mexico State Aggies football team was an American football team that represented New Mexico State University as an independent during the 1966 NCAA University Division football season. In their ninth year under head coach Warren B. Woodson, the Aggies compiled a 7–3 record and outscored opponents by a total of 321 to 159. The team played its four home games at Memorial Stadium in Las Cruces, New Mexico.


1966 New Mexico State Aggies football team
The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Sal Olivas with 1,154 passing yards, running back Jim Bohl with 1,148 rushing yards, and Mike Carroll with 431 receiving yards.


1966 New Mexico gubernatorial election
The 1966 New Mexico gubernatorial election took place on November 8, 1966, in order to elect the Governor of New Mexico. Due to term limits, incumbent Democrat Jack M. Campbell could not run for reelection to a third term.


1966 New Mexico gubernatorial election, Democratic primary
The Democratic primary was won by former state senator Gene Lusk.


1966 New Mexico gubernatorial election, Republican primary
The Republican primary was won by state representative David Cargo.


1966 New Year Honours
The New Year Honours 1966 were appointments in many of the Commonwealth realms of Queen Elizabeth II to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by citizens of those countries. They were announced in supplements to the London Gazette of 31 December 1965 to celebrate the year passed and mark the beginning of 1966. At this time honours for Australians were awarded both in the United Kingdom honours, on the advice of the premiers of Australian states, and also in a separate Australia honours list.


1966 New Year Honours
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour, and arranged by honour, with classes (Knight, Knight Grand Cross, etc.) and then divisions (Military, Civil, etc.) as appropriate.


1966 New Year Honours, United Kingdom and Colonies, Royal Victorian Order, Member of the Royal Victorian Order, 4th class (MVO)
At this time the two lowest classes of the Royal Victorian Order were "Member (fourth class)" and "Member (fifth class)", both with post-nominal letters MVO. "Member (fourth class)" was renamed "Lieutenant" (LVO) from the 1985 New Year Honours onwards.


1966 New Year Honours (New Zealand)
The 1966 New Year Honours in New Zealand were appointments by Elizabeth II on the advice of the New Zealand government to various orders and honours to reward and highlight good works by New Zealanders. The awards celebrated the passing of 1965 and the beginning of 1966, and were announced on 1 January 1966.


1966 New Year Honours (New Zealand)
The recipients of honours are displayed here as they were styled before their new honour.


1966 New York City smog
The 1966 New York City smog was a major air-pollution episode and environmental disaster, coinciding with that year's Thanksgiving holiday weekend. Smog covered the city and its surrounding area from November 23 to 26, filling the city's air with damaging levels of several toxic pollutants. It was the third major smog in New York City, following events of similar scale in 1953 and 1963.


1966 New York City smog
On November 23, a large mass of stagnant air over the East Coast trapped pollutants in the city's air. For three days, New York City was engulfed in dangerously high levels of carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, smoke, and haze. Pockets of air pollution pervaded the greater New York metropolitan area, including parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. By November 25, the smog became severe enough that regional leaders announced a "first-stage alert". During the alert, leaders of local and state governments asked residents and industry to take voluntary steps to minimize emissions. Health officials advised people with respiratory or heart conditions to remain indoors. The city shut off garbage incinerators, requiring massive hauling of garbage to landfills. A cold front dispersed the smog on November 26, and the alert ended.


1966 New York City smog
In the months that followed, medical researchers studied the smog's impact on health. City officials initially maintained that the smog had not caused any deaths, but it soon became clear that the smog had significantly harmed public health. A study published in December 1966 estimated that 10% of the city's population had suffered adverse health effects, such as stinging eyes, coughing, and respiratory distress. A statistical analysis published in October 1967 found that 168 deaths had likely been caused by the smog.


1966 New York City smog
The smog catalyzed greater national awareness of air pollution as a serious health problem and a political issue. The government of New York City updated local laws on air-pollution control. Prompted by the smog, President Lyndon B. Johnson and members of Congress worked to pass federal legislation regulating air pollution in the United States, culminating in the 1967 Air Quality Act and the 1970 Clean Air Act. The extent of harms from subsequent pollution events, including the health effects of pollution from the September 11 attacks and incidents of pollution in China, have been judged by reference to the 1966 smog in New York.


1966 New York City smog, Background, Smog in general and types of smog
The word "smog" (a portmanteau of "smoke" and "fog") is used to describe several forms of air pollution commonly found in urban and industrialized areas. There are several ways to define and categorize types of smog, with some sources defining two main types of smog: smoky "London Pea soup"-style smog and hazy "Los Angeles"-style smog.


1966 New York City smog, Background, Smog in general and types of smog
London smog and Los Angeles smog are not exclusive to their namesake cities by any means. They are found in urban areas throughout the world, and both types of smog are commonly found intermingled together within the same region. At the time of the 1966 smog—and for two decades prior—air pollution in New York City combined the characteristics of London smog and Los Angeles smog. The city's smog in that period was caused by a combination of stationary sources, such as industrial coal-burning, and mobile sources, such as motor vehicles.


1966 New York City smog, Background, Smog in general and types of smog
Although smog is generally a chronic condition, unfavorable weather conditions and excessive pollutants can cause intense concentrations of smog that can cause acute illness and death. Because of their unusual visibility and lethality, these intense smog events have often been publicized in the media. In news reports, acute smogs have historically been characterized as disasters or, more specifically, environmental disasters. An acute "smog event" may also be called simply "a smog", a smog "episode", or a "killer smog" (if it caused, or had the potential to cause, deaths).


1966 New York City smog, Background, Smog in the United States and New York City before 1966
Even before the 1966 smog episode, scientists, city officials, and the general public recognized that New York City—and most other major American cities—had serious air-pollution problems. According to scientific studies from the period, more than 60 metropolitan areas in the US suffered from "extremely serious air pollution problems", and "probably no American city of more than [50,000] inhabitants enjoys clean air the year round." The air "over much of the eastern half of the country [was] chronically polluted", and the nation's most-polluted population centers were New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles, St. Louis, and Philadelphia.


1966 New York City smog, Background, Smog in the United States and New York City before 1966
New York City's pre-1966 air pollution was reportedly the worst of any American city. Although the "persistently glaring" photochemical smog of Los Angeles was more visible, more "infamous," and subject to a greater degree of public attention, New York City had more total emissions and many more emissions proportional to its land area. However, New York's surrounding landscape and climate were naturally conducive to atmospheric circulation, which ordinarily prevented high concentration of smog within the city. As such, the problem was mostly invisible most of the time.


1966 New York City smog, Background, Smog in the United States and New York City before 1966
While Los Angeles is surrounded by mountains that tend to trap airborne pollutants, New York City's open topography and favorable wind conditions usually disperse pollutants before they can form concentrated smog. If a city with the climate and landscape of Los Angeles had had the high emissions of mid-1960s New York, rapid accumulation of airborne pollutants would have quickly rendered it uninhabitable.


1966 New York City smog, Background, Smog in the United States and New York City before 1966
New York's smog event of 1966 was preceded by two other major episodes: the first in November 1953, the second in January–February 1963. Medical scientists led by Leonard Greenburg compared the number of deaths recorded during periods of acute smog with the number of deaths from the same time in other years. Based on their statistical analysis, Greenburg's team determined that the smogs coincided with excess deaths. Greenburg inferred that the smog caused or contributed to those deaths. An estimated 220–240 deaths were caused by the six-day 1953 smog; an estimated 300–405 deaths were caused by the two-week 1963 smog. Other minor episodes of smog occurred in the city prior to 1966, but they were not accompanied by statistically significant excess deaths.


1966 New York City smog, Background, City air monitoring
In 1953, the city opened a laboratory to monitor pollution that would become its Department of Air Pollution Control. At the time of the 1966 smog, air quality measurements were recorded from only a single station, the Harlem Courthouse building on East 121st Street, run by Braverman and his staff of 15. Taking measurements from a single station meant that the index reflected conditions in the immediately surrounding area, but served as a crude, unrepresentative gauge of overall air quality across the entire city. The Interstate Sanitation Commission, a regional agency run by New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut and headquartered at Columbus Circle, also relied on the Harlem Courthouse laboratory. Formed in 1936, the advisory agency was authorized in 1962 by New York and New Jersey to oversee air pollution issues.


1966 New York City smog, Background, City air monitoring
The department quantified pollution using an air quality index (AQI), a single number based on combined measurements of several pollutants. AQI measurements in the United States are now standardized and overseen by the EPA, but in the 1960s, local governments in different regions used "a confusing and scientifically inconsistent array of air quality reporting methods".


1966 New York City smog, Background, City air monitoring
By 1964, the Department of Air Pollution Control had developed an AQI called the SCS Air Pollution Index (SCS API), combining measurements of sulfur dioxide (SO2), carbon monoxide (CO), and coefficient of haze (also called smoke shade) into a single number. The city laboratory recorded the presence of those three pollutants measured in amount (by concentration in the air) and duration. SO2 and CO were measured by parts-per-million (ppm) and smoke shade was measured in millions of particles per cubic foot (mppcf). The department continuously monitored these pollutant levels and recorded the hourly averages. The data for those three pollutants were combined into a single number using a weighted formula developed by department co-founder Moe Mordecai Braverman. The SCS API formula was as follows:


1966 New York City smog, Background, City air monitoring
The index average was 12, with an "emergency" level if the index was higher than 50 for a 24-hour period. The average of 12 was determined from data collected between 1957 and 1964 showing average levels of 0.18 ppm SO2, 3 ppm CO, and 2.7 mppcf smoke levels. The "emergency" level of 50 was announced in 1964. The index system used by the city in 1966 is not in use anywhere today and was unique to the city even at the time; the 1966 smog itself prompted scientists to reexamine and improve the city's methodology for recording air-pollutant levels.


1966 New York City smog, Background, City air monitoring
Using the SCS API, the city adopted an air-pollution alert system with three stages of alert, matching increasingly severe levels of pollution with corresponding counteractions. The city announced its only first-stage alert in 1966; second- and third-stage alerts were never reached.


1966 New York City smog, Background, City air monitoring
Braverman later admitted that the "emergency" alert level of 50 SCS API had been chosen on an essentially arbitrary basis. After the department determined the average level of smog in the city was 12, Braverman said,


1966 New York City smog, Background, City air monitoring
No one knew what to do next ... so I just said, "If it's four times as high, that's an emergency."


1966 New York City smog, Background, City air monitoring
Another defect of the SCS API alert system was that it relied on a balance of multiple pollutants but would disregard fatal levels of any one pollutant under certain conditions. Critics pointed out that the index could have potentially allowed the city to reach lethal concentrations of carbon monoxide without triggering any alert at all, so long as the levels of other pollutants remained low. The department acknowledged the SCS API's flaws and later said it had been implemented for lack of a clearly superior alternative. When the system had been adopted, there were no generally accepted standards or best practices for recording air pollution.


1966 New York City smog, Background, Warnings
In 1963, Helmut F. Landsberg—a climate scientist with the federal Weather Bureau—predicted that the Northeastern and Great Lakes regions could anticipate a major smog event every three years due to the confluence of weather events and trends like growing population, industrialization, and increased emissions from cars and central heating. In early 1966, Dr. Walter Orr Roberts—director of the National Center for Atmospheric Research—warned of the imminent threat of a smog event with the potential to kill as many as 10,000 people.


1966 New York City smog, Background, Warnings
Roberts identified Los Angeles and New York City as the cities most potentially vulnerable to a large-scale lethal smog in the United States, and further named London, Hamburg, or Santiago as the other most vulnerable cities internationally. Asked if "many" American cities were vulnerable to a disaster smog event, Roberts replied: "Yes. I have been worried that we would wake up some morning to an unusual meteorological situation that prevented the air from circulating and that we might find thousands of people dead as the result of the air they were forced to breathe in that smog situation."


1966 New York City smog, Background, Warnings
The same year, the New York mayor's office established a 10-member task force headed by Norman Cousins (known as the editor of the weekly magazine Saturday Review) to study the problem of air pollution. The task force published a 102-page report in May 1963, finding that the city had the most polluted air of any major city in the United States, with a wider range and greater total tonnage of pollutants than Los Angeles.


1966 New York City smog, Background, Warnings
The task force criticized the city for lax enforcement of pollution laws, even naming the city itself the biggest violator, with municipal garbage incinerators "operat[ing] in almost constant violation" of its own laws. The report warned "all the ingredients now exist for an air-pollution disaster of major proportions" and that the city "could become a gas chamber" in the wrong weather conditions.


1966 New York City smog, Background, Warnings
A July 1966 report by the New York Academy of Medicine Committee on Public Health cautioned that New York City's air-pollution problem made it susceptible to acute, lethal episodes. The Academy recommended a reduction of air pollution. Further, their report cautioned that it was unlikely scientists had identified every harmful pollutant in the air or the full range of health effects that could be caused by air pollution.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, Air quality measurements, November 19–30
The following charts show the daily mean values of sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, and smoke measurements in New York City from November 19–30, 1966.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 19–23: stagnant air traps pollutants
In November 1966, New York City was experiencing an unseasonably warm "Indian summer". A cold front from Canada brought clean air to the city on November 19, but the cold front was held in place by pressure from the higher atmosphere. An anticyclonic temperature inversion—in other words, a warm, mostly stationary air mass located atop a cooler air mass—formed over the East Coast on November 20.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 19–23: stagnant air traps pollutants
Unlike atmospheric convection—the ordinary process of lower, warm air rising—inversions leave cooler air suspended below warm air, preventing the lower air from rising and trapping airborne pollutants that would ordinarily disperse in the atmosphere. Such weather events are common, but they are usually followed by a strong cold front that brings an influx of clean air and disperses pollutants before they have enough time to become highly concentrated; in this case, a cold front approaching west through southern Canada was delayed.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 19–23: stagnant air traps pollutants
When explained in less formal terms, the process of an inversion causing a smog event has been compared to a lid that holds in pollutants or a balloon that fills with pollutants. In general, smog events occur not because of a sudden increase in a region's output of pollution, but rather because weather conditions like stagnant air prevent the dispersal of pollutants that were already present.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 19–23: stagnant air traps pollutants
The inversion prevented air pollutants from rising, thereby trapping them within the city. The smog event itself started on Wednesday November 23, coinciding with the beginning of the long Thanksgiving weekend. The material sources of the smog were particulates and chemicals from factories, chimneys, and vehicles. Sulfur dioxide levels rose and smoke shade—a measure of visibility interference in the atmosphere—was two to three times higher than usual.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 24: Thanksgiving Day
We were flying at about two thousand feet, through a curiously greasy-looking and pervasive haze. The ground could just be made out below—cars, roads, houses, all dim but visible.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 24: Thanksgiving Day
Then we began to climb. In less than a minute the ground had vanished. Cars, roads, houses, the very earth itself had been blotted out. We were circling in bright sunlight, above an apparently limitless bank of opaque, polluted air. The smog extended to the horizon in every direction. At a distance, the slanting rays of the sun gave it a coppery, rather handsome appearance. Nearer at hand it merely looked yellow and ugly, like nothing so much as a vast and unappetizing sea of chicken soup.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 24: Thanksgiving Day
William Wise, describing his view from an airplane delayed in landing at John F. Kennedy International Airport. Wise was returning from London, where he had been researching the 1952 Great Smog of London.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 24: Thanksgiving Day
The city chose not to declare a smog alert on Thanksgiving Day, but The New York Times later reported that city officials had been "on the verge" of calling an alert. Austin Heller, the city's commissioner of air pollution control, said he nearly declared a first-stage alert between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. on November 24. Heller said the index had reached a high of 60.6–10 points higher than the "emergency" mark—between 8 and 9 p.m., and the 60.6 reading was possibly the highest in the city's history. After a nighttime lull, Heller cautioned, the smog would likely spike again in the morning.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 24: Thanksgiving Day
The unusually heavy smog was evident to the crowd of one million onlookers at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Tabloids and newspapers that ordinarily ran front-page stories about the parade instead carried stories about the smog. Health officials cautioned those with chronic lung diseases to stay indoors and advised patients that symptoms of pollution-related illness usually lagged 24 hours after exposure.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 24: Thanksgiving Day
That day, the city closed all 11 of its municipal garbage incinerators. Energy companies Consolidated Edison (called Con Ed for short) and Long Island Lighting Company were asked to burn natural gas rather than fuel oil to minimize the release of sulfur dioxide; both companies voluntarily cut back emissions, with Con Ed reducing its emissions by 50 percent. The city told 18 inspectors "to forget their turkey dinners and start looking for dirty air," and they issued an "unusually high" number of citations for emissions violations, including two for Con Ed plants. Representative William Fitts Ryan of Manhattan sent a telegram to Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare John W. Gardner to request an emergency meeting with New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller, New Jersey Governor Richard J. Hughes, and other regional leaders.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 25: first-stage alert declared
New Yorkers went to work [the morning of November 25] in acrid, sour-tasting air that was almost dead calm.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 25: first-stage alert declared
Many had headaches that were not the product, they thought, of holiday over-eating. Their throats scratched. But no deaths were attributed to the smog...


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 25: first-stage alert declared
Homer Bigart, "Smog Emergency Called for City," front-page article for the November 26, 1966 edition of The New York Times


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 25: first-stage alert declared
By Friday November 25, a first-stage alert for the New York metropolitan area, including parts of New Jersey and Connecticut, was declared through newspaper, radio, and television announcements. Governors Rockefeller and Heller attended a press conference with Deputy Mayor Robert Price standing in for Mayor Lindsay, who was on vacation in Bermuda. The announcement "was believed to be the first appeal ever made to New York's citizens in connection with a smog problem". Conrad Simon, who acted as a liaison between the scientific and political communities during the crisis, later said "We came close to closing the city down."


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 25: first-stage alert declared
Pollution was not as high in New Jersey or Connecticut as in New York, but it was still significant. New Jersey reported what was then its worst-ever smog. Elizabeth, New Jersey had smog at half the levels of New York City. A Connecticut health official reported air pollution four times higher than average, but the impact in Greenwich, Connecticut was considered minimal. The nearby New York counties of Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester reported very little smog. Although not part of the area covered by the alert, unusually high smog was reported as far as Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Boston, Massachusetts, whose mayor issued a similar health warning.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 25: first-stage alert declared
The alert was declared upon the advice of the Interstate Sanitation Commission. Members of the commission had been monitoring the smog situation in shifts for three days, nonstop. Thomas R. Glenn Jr., the commission's director and chief engineer, recommended the alert at 11:25 a.m. after seeing instruments in New York and New Jersey that showed carbon monoxide greater than 10 ppm (parts-per-million) and smoke greater than 7.5 ppm, both for more than four consecutive hours.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 25: first-stage alert declared
In New York, the city asked commuters to avoid driving unless necessary, and apartment buildings to stop incinerating their residents' garbage and turn heating down to 60 °F (15 °C). New Jersey and Connecticut asked their residents not to travel, and to use less power and heat. Although it was a workday, traffic was light in New York City. A check on 303 buildings of the New York City Housing Authority later found near-total cooperation with the city's requests. Private residences were believed to have had a high rate of voluntary cooperation with the city's plea to cut energy consumption.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 25: first-stage alert declared
The weather forecast called for the heat inversion to end that day, followed by a cold wind that would disperse the smog. Nevertheless, Heller said that if the wind did not come, a first-stage alert would likely remain in effect and it might become necessary to declare a second-stage alert if conditions worsened.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 26: cold front arrives
Rain came in the night. The cold front that would blow away the smog was forecasted to arrive between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. Shortly after 9 a.m. the wind arrived, moving mostly from the northeast between 6–10 miles per hour and bringing cooler temperatures in the 50s °F (10–15 °C). Glenn at the Interstate Sanitation Commission sent a message advising the alert to end at 9:40 a.m., based on weather and air readings. Shortly after noon, Governor Rockefeller declared the end of the alert; New Jersey and Connecticut also ended their alerts that day.


1966 New York City smog, Timeline of smog event, November 26: cold front arrives
Health effects from the smog were downplayed in most early reports. Some hospitals reported increased admissions of patients with asthma. An official at the city Department of Health noted that some hospitals were receiving fewer asthma patients, and attributed the reported increases to ordinary random fluctuations. The official told The New York Times that "[i]n not one [hospital] is a pattern emerging which would suggest we are dealing with an important health hazard as of this moment." By this time, the inability to incinerate garbage had generated a large amount of excess waste. Hundreds of sanitation workers worked overtime to transport garbage to landfills in the Bronx, Brooklyn, and Staten Island, with the bulk going to Fresh Kills in Staten Island.


1966 New York City smog, Impact
The atmosphere of New York was bombarded with more man-made contaminants than any other big city in the country—almost two pounds of soot and noxious gases for every man, woman, and child. So great is the burden of pollution that were it not for the prevailing wind, New York City might have gone the way of Sodom and Gomorrah.


1966 New York City smog, Impact, Initial estimates of health effects and casualties
It was not initially clear to the medical community how many casualties and illnesses had been caused by the smog—or indeed, whether the smog had caused any casualties at all. The population of the area affected by the smog has been estimated at 16 million. A November 26 story by Jane Brody in the New York Times cautioned that it would likely take "a month or more" before investigators had enough data to assess whether the smog had caused any deaths.


1966 New York City smog, Impact, Initial estimates of health effects and casualties
Three days later, after studying admissions to municipal hospitals for cardiac and respiratory complications, the city commissioner of hospitals Joseph V. Terenzio told the press "I can report almost with certainty that there was no detectable immediate effect on morbidity and mortality because of the smog. ... It now seems unlikely that final statistical analysis will reveal any significant impact on the health of New York City's population." Early reports of injuries focused not on respiratory damage, but on car or boating accidents caused by poor visibility.


1966 New York City smog, Impact, Initial estimates of health effects and casualties
Nonfatal health effects were difficult to measure in the smog's immediate aftermath. Some of the health effects were themselves delayed; for example, most of the serious effects on the elderly population would only manifest days after initial exposure. A study on the smog's nonfatal health effects was published in December 1966. The study, conducted by a nonprofit health research group, found that 10 percent of the city's population suffered some negative health effects from the smog, including symptoms like stinging eyes, coughing, wheezing, the coughing-up of phlegm, or difficulty breathing. The director of the research group said anything serious enough to adversely affect as much as 10 percent of the population, like the smog had, indicated the existence of a serious public health problem.


1966 New York City smog, Impact, Subsequent estimates of casualties
The earliest report of casualties came in a special message by President Lyndon B. Johnson sent to Congress on January 30, 1967. In the message, the president said 80 people had died in the smog. Johnson did not cite a source for that claimed estimate of deaths, and there is no known source concluding that 80 people died other than those citing Johnson.


1966 New York City smog, Impact, Subsequent estimates of casualties
Two major medical studies have analyzed the extent of casualties from the smog. Leonard Greenburg—the same medical researcher who had previously published findings on the death count of the 1953 and 1963 smogs—published a paper in October 1967 showing that the previous year's smog had likely killed 168 people. Greenburg showed that there were 24 deaths in excess of how many would normally be expected at that time of year every day, over a period of seven days—using a period four days longer than the smog itself had lasted because of the delay between smog exposure and resultant health effects. Greenburg said that his analysis could not account for damage during the smog that would remain latent and continue to cause disease and death for years. The results of Greenburg's paper were reported by The New York Times.


1966 New York City smog, Impact, Subsequent estimates of casualties
The smog was compared to the 1948 smog in Donora, Pennsylvania, and the 1952 Great Smog of London, both of which lasted five days. The London smog's death toll of 4,000 was far higher than Donora's, but the smog in Donora was far more severe; at the time of its smog, Donora was a small industrial town with a population of only 13,000 and its population was proportionally hit much harder than London's, with 20 deaths and smog-related illnesses among 43 percent of the population. Pollution experts estimated that if a smog event as powerful as Donora's had occurred in the much more populous New York City, the death toll could have been as high as 11,000 with four million ill.


1966 New York City smog, Impact, Urban life and smog
The smog brought into focus the interrelation of environmental problems and other, complex facets of urban life. By chance, several conditions happened to prevent the smog from reaching its fullest potential strength. Since the event began over the long Thanksgiving weekend, not the workweek, many factories were closed and far fewer commuters were in traffic than normally would be. The unseasonably warm weather reduced the need for central heating.


1966 New York City smog, Impact, Urban life and smog
On November 25, the high of 64 °F (18 °C) broke the previous record high for that date, leading the reporter Homer Bigart to describe the apartment-heating restrictions as "no problem" for residents. These mitigating factors meant that pollutant levels—as well as the ensuing death toll and other adverse health effects—were likely lower than they could have been in less favorable conditions.


1966 New York City smog, Impact, Urban life and smog
Attempts by city government to react to the smog had unintended negative side effects. As Mayor Lindsay reflected in his 1969 book The City, "[e]very time you shut down an incinerator, you increase the amount of garbage on city streets." Efforts to address a given environmental problem can cause undesired side effects, sometimes unforeseeable, and often related to a city's limited resources.


1966 New York City smog, Impact, Urban life and smog
Environmental harms in general are linked to urban decay and social inequality. After the 1966 smog, the task of reducing air pollution became an essential part of the municipal government's goal to make "the city attractive again to the middle class and acceptable to all its residents." Such harms—but especially those that generate obvious and unpleasant effects, as smog does—were among many factors that motivated and exacerbated white flight from American cities, including New York City, in the mid-20th century.


1966 New York City smog, Impact, Urban life and smog
The mass migration of affluent residents—motivated at least in part by environmental harms like chronic smog—drained the city's tax base and resulted in an economic loss of human capital. Residents who remained in the city often lacked the financial resources that would have enabled them to move somewhere else, even if they had wanted to flee the unpleasant environment and health hazards caused by pollution. The burdens of that pollution—including the direct effects of pollution itself, indirect effects (such as uncollected garbage in the streets), and other problems stemming from lack of municipal resources after white flight—became "emblems of larger governmental neglect and social inequality" to those residents.


1966 New York City smog, Political reaction, National attention
The smog is commonly cited as one of the most-visible and most-discussed environmental disasters of the 1960s in the United States, alongside the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill and the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire. National public awareness of the smog and its health effects spurred the nascent environmental movement in the United States and galvanized support for legislation to regulate air pollution. Vernon McKenzie, chief of the air pollution division of the federal Public Health Service, called the smog "a warning of what can happen—and will happen—with increasing frequency and in wider areas unless something is done to prevent it." In the 1968 book Killer Smog, William Wise warned that the 1966 smog and the 1952 London smog represented a vulnerability to air pollution disasters among American cities:


1966 New York City smog, Political reaction, National attention
Perhaps, as in Great Britain, change will begin to come only after a large-scale tragedy. The conditions are favorable for one in any of a dozen of the nation's most populous cities. A mass of still air drifting slowly eastward, an intense thermal inversion, and then five, six, seven days of increasingly poisonous smog. The air will look bronze, almost copper-colored, as it did during New York's 1966 Thanksgiving smog. ... From every appearance, a similar tragedy is now being prepared in America—and there is very little time left in which to prevent it.


1966 New York City smog, Political reaction, National attention
At the time of the smog event, only half of the urban population of the United States lived with local protections on air quality; the smog event catalyzed the call for federal regulation on the issue. Spencer R. Weart of the American Institute of Physics said the American public "did not take the problem [of air pollution] seriously" until the 1966 smog. According to Weart, an important factor driving awareness of the smog was its location, as events in New York "always had a disproportionate influence on the media headquartered there."


1966 New York City smog, Political reaction, Municipal response
Before the 1966 smog, the city government had been slow to act to regulate air pollution. Despite general awareness of the health and environmental impacts of smog, other problems took priority: as The New York Times reported, issues like "housing, crime, education and keeping the city 'cool' were at the forefront of city government concerns." But the 1966 smog impelled a swift response by the city government, who now felt pressure to respond "in the aftermath of disaster." Lindsay, then a liberal Rockefeller Republican, had run as a supporter of stronger air pollution control in his 1965 mayoral campaign, and the 1966 smog reinforced Lindsay's position on the issue.


1966 New York City smog, Political reaction, Municipal response
City Council member Robert A. Low, a Manhattan Democrat and chairman of the city subcommittee on air pollution, criticized Lindsay for failing to enforce an air-pollution bill that had been passed in May. The bill, authored by Low, would update city incinerators and require apartment buildings to replace their incinerators with other garbage disposal methods. Low accused Lindsay's administration of "dragging its feet" on the problem of air pollution, which Lindsay called a "political attack."