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The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/kknight64 on 2023-10-23 00:09:37.

Both the Oklahoma Sooners and Oklahoma State Cowboys kickers had field goals yesterday they thought they made, but the refs called no-good. Both kicks resulted in balls that sailed just over the right upright. Iowa State also had a field goal earlier this season that did the same thing. I don’t have video of these kicks, so if someone wants to add in the comments that would be great.

Everyone remembers the infamous Oklahoma State vs Iowa State kick in 2011, that kept the Cowboys out of the BCS Championship that year.

This odd scenario goes back even further than you think and is oddly tied to both states, the NFL, and modern football rules.

You have to go back to December 26, 1965. The Green Bay Packers are hosting a Western Conference playoff game against the Baltimore Colts at Lambeau Stadium to decide who goes to the NFL Championship to play the Cleveland Browns. This was the pre-Super Bowl era.

The Colts were without Jonny Unitas, and the Packer’s Bart Starr was knocked out the of the game early. The game now looked very different from the 42-27 win the Packers had over the Colts just two weeks earlier. The Packers now relied on a very capable backup in Zeke Bratkowski, and the Colts leaned on emergency quarterback, Tom Matte. Colts’ head coach Don Shula put a list of plays on Matte’s wristband for the game that is on display in the NFL Hall of Fame.

Both teams did not play well and the offenses struggled. The Packers never led in 4 quarters of play, were held scoreless at halftime, and trailed 7-10 later in the 4th quarter.

In the 4th, Bratkowski drove Green Bay from their own 28, to the Colts’ 15 to set up a game-tying field goal attempt that would send the game to overtime.

Out trots Don Chandler, the Packers kicking and punting specialist. It’s his first year on the team. He had spent 9 years with the New York Giants where he met Vince Lombardi, who was then the OC for the Giants prior to taking the head coaching gig at Green Bay. In 1965, Lombardi traded for him that year as he felt field goal kicking had kept them out of the championship the prior years. RB Paul Hornung had infamously lost his touch kicking, and Lombardi did not want to rely on offensive guard Jerry Kramer’s kicking talents as he was vital to the offense.

Chandler attempts a 22 yard field goal and the result doesn’t look much different than the kicks we saw this past Saturday. However, in 1965, the goal posts weren’t the height they are today. The result of the kick is still controversial to this day. Shula argued until the day he died that kick was missed. Chandler reacted as if he missed it. While most Packers on the field swore the kick was good.

If you asked Chandler, his response was, “Bart Starr said it was good, and Bart never told a lie.”

Chandler was scolded by Lombardi for his reaction.

Jim Tunney, the referee under the goal posts, swore he made the right call.

In overtime, Chandler would attempt an almost identical kick. This time, the result was right down the middle, and the Packers moved on to the NFL Championship.

Chandler’s game-tying kick made the NFL raise the goal posts the following year to the height they are today. The rule lovingly called the “Don Chandler” rule. The NFL also added an extra referee under the goal posts the following season.

Where was Chandler from? Tulsa, Oklahoma where he grew up, retired, and raised his family. A poor okie who went to an Indian college in Muskogee and later attended the University of Florida on a football and baseball scholarship. However, he was a massive Sooner fan and three of his four children graduated from OU.

His birthplace? Council Bluffs, Iowa.

He was one of the first specialists in the NFL and paved the way for other teams to push for specialists on the roster. Lombardi thought it won ball games. If you look back at those three championship years, those field goals were very useful. He is a player from that time most people have never heard of, but had a very storied career.

In 1965, the Packers would go on to defeat the Cleveland Browns for the NFL championship, with Chandler playing a big role in the win. The Packers would go on to win the first two Super Bowls in 66 and 67. Chandler kicked 15 points in SBII, still a SB kicking record. Chandler retired with Lombardi after their last Super Bowl and played in his only Pro Bowl.

Some people called him “Babe.” I called him grandpa. I also graduated from Oklahoma State.