It was third down with the ball inside the Dallas one-yard line. The Packers had called their final time-out with 16 seconds to play. The logical call: an end-zone pass. If it was incomplete the Packers would have time to kick a game-tying field goal. An unsuccessful run and they wouldn't have time for a fourth-down play.

The decision: run the "31 wedge," a fullback dive between the guard and center.

"The ground was slick and hard," Starr said, and the running backs could not get traction on the icy field. He told Lombardi he'd carry the ball instead of handing it off, saying, "I'm upright. I can shuffle my feet and lunge in."

Lombardi replied, "Well, then run it in and let's get the hell out of here," Starr said. He was laughing as he returned to the huddle. He ran it. It worked.

Bruce Lowitt, a freelance writer living in the Tampa Bay area, is a former sports features writer for the Associated Press and the St. Petersburg Times.