Finally! John Madden had established himself as the leader of a talented and feared cast of characters in Oakland. But in his first seven seasons, he had nothing to show for his sparkling regular season record. The Raiders lost five AFL or AFC championship games from 1969-75 before Madden got his first and only Lombardi Trophy with a win over the Vikings in Super Bowl XI.

John Madden captured the Lombardi after several years of coming close.