<P> During the early 1960s , NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle envisioned the possibility of playing at least one game weekly during prime time that could be viewed by a greater television audience ( while the NFL had scheduled Saturday night games on the DuMont Television Network in 1953 and 1954 , poor ratings and the dissolution of DuMont led to those games being eliminated by the time CBS took over the rights in 1956 ) . An early bid by the league in 1964 to play on Friday nights was soundly defeated , with critics charging that such telecasts would damage the attendance at high school football games . Undaunted , Rozelle decided to experiment with the concept of playing on Monday night , scheduling the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions for a game on September 28 , 1964 . While the game was not televised , it drew a sellout crowd of 59,203 spectators to Tiger Stadium , the largest crowd ever to watch a professional football game in Detroit up to that point . </P>
<P> During the early 1960s , NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle envisioned the possibility of playing at least one game weekly during prime time that could be viewed by a greater television audience ( while the NFL had scheduled Saturday night games on the DuMont Television Network in 1953 and 1954 , poor ratings and the dissolution of DuMont led to those games being eliminated by the time CBS took over the rights in 1956 ) . An early bid by the league in 1964 to play on Friday nights was soundly defeated , with critics charging that such telecasts would damage the attendance at high school football games . Undaunted , Rozelle decided to experiment with the concept of playing on Monday night , scheduling the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions for a game on September 28 , 1964 . While the game was not televised , it drew a sellout crowd of 59,203 spectators to Tiger Stadium , the largest crowd ever to watch a professional football game in Detroit up to that point . </P>
who played in the first monday night nfl game
who played in the first monday night nfl game
Green Bay Packers Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers Detroit Lions