the owners. The Miami Orange Bowl was selected for the game, based on weather, hotel accommodations, capacity, and the stadium's previous experience in hosting the Playoff Bowl. The local Orange Bowl committee had even once (unsuccessfully) lobbied to host the NFL Championship Game, which was not normally a neutral field contest. Furthermore, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle opined that it was "helpful to move the game around a little", and not play it in the same city every year. Playing the game in an AFL town also established a precedent for maintaining competitive balance between the two leagues. The city's contingent, led by mayor Robert King High, Joe Robbie, and others, would have just under eight months to prepare for the event. Green Bay Packers The Packers advanced to their second straight AFL-NFL World Championship Game, but had a much more difficult time than in the previous season. Both of their starting running backs from the previous year, future Pro Football Hall of Famers Paul Hornung and Jim Taylor, had left the team. Their replacements, Elijah Pitts and Jim Grabowski, both went down with season-ending injuries, forcing Green Bay coach Vince Lombardi to use second-year reserve running back Donny Anderson and rookie Travis Williams. Fullbacks Chuck Mercein and Ben Wilson, who were signed as free agents after being discarded by many other teams, were also used to help compensate for the loss of Hornung and Taylor. Meanwhile, the team's 33-year-old veteran quarterback Bart Starr had missed 4 games during the season with injuries, and finished the season with nearly twice as many interceptions (17) as touchdown passes (9). The team's deep threat was provided by veteran receivers Carroll Dale, who recorded 35 receptions for 738 yards (a 21.1 average), and 5 touchdowns; and Pro Bowler Boyd Dowler, who had 54 catches for 846 yards and 4 touchdowns. The Packers still had the superb blocking of guard Jerry Kramer, Fred Thurston and Forrest Gregg. Grabowski was the team's leading rusher with 466 yards, while Wilson had 453. Anderson had 733 yards from scrimmage and 9 total touchdowns, while also gaining another 324 yards returning kicks. On special teams, Williams returned 18 kickoffs for 749 yards and an NFL record 4 touchdowns, giving him a whopping 41.1 yards per return average. But overall the team ranked just 9th out of 16 NFL teams in scoring with 332 points. The Packers defense, however, allowed