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Super Bowl 50: Why is it called the Vince Lombardi trophy?

By Matt Verderame

Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; A member of the New England Patriots hoists the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 1, 2015; Glendale, AZ, USA; A member of the New England Patriots hoists the Vince Lombardi Trophy after defeating the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports /
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Why does the Super Bowl champion get the Vince Lombardi trophy?

Super Bowl 50 gives us the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos, and the winner will get the Vince Lombardi trophy. But let’s learn something here, on a day when most people are not going to focus on anything more than nachos and adult beverages. So why is the trophy named after a man named Vince Lombardi?

Lombardi was an assistant coach in the 1950s with the New York Giants before becoming the head coach of the Green Bay Packers in 1959. Taking over a one-win franchise, Lombardi immediately turned the team into a winner. By 1960, the Packers were in the National Football League championship game against the Philadelphia Eagles, where Green Bay narrowly defeated.

From that point on, the Packers would usher in one of the greatest dynasties in professional football history. Green Bay would win both the 1961 and 1962 NFL titles over the New York Giants, before putting forth the first and only three-peat in NFL history. The Packers won the NFL title in 1965 before winning the first two Super Bowls in 1966 and 1967. After the American Football League merged with the NFL in 1970, the trophy was named after Lombardi, who died from colon cancer that same year.

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