1963: Transitional Season In The AFL

1963 was a year of transition for the AFL. Before the season even began there were team makeovers, name changes, and an unexpected relocation. There were name worthy personnel changes and noticeable power shifts. And the season ended with an unanswered challenge which could have potentially featured the first ever Super Bowl. In 1963:

The Texans became the Chiefs.

The Titans became the Jets.

The Raiders became the Raiders. (The redundancy will be explained)

And the Chargers became the Champs.

When the 1962 AFL Champion Dallas Texans departed from Dallas a mere few months after they had defeated the two time defending AFL champion Houston Oilers on December 23, 1962 in that season’s AFL Championship Game, the trend was set for the variety of changes that the league was to experience throughout the 1963 season. By abandoning the city of Dallas to the Cowboys, Big D from that time forward became an NFL town. But the departing organization was welcomed by a city that was enthusiastic for a professional football franchise, and so began the era of the Kansas City Chiefs. The relocation of the defending AFL Champions was but one of many changes to come within the league.

Two teams experienced makeovers intended to distance each respective organization from their early years of ineptness both on the field and at the highest level of team management. The Titans of New York; aka the New York Titans, initially enjoyed moderate success on the field of play, posting a 7-7 record in each of the league’s first two seasons of play in 1960 and again in 1961. But in 1962, as their record slipped to 5-9, the Titans’ lack of gridiron success was further surpassed by the financial woes of the ownership. Struggling to even cover payroll, responsibility for the team was assumed by the league itself before the completion of the 1962 season. When a new ownership took over after that fiasco, the primary owner Sonny Werblin changed the name of the team and the color of the uniforms. And so beginning in 1963 the Titans of New York became the Kelly green clad New York Jets. Although the new look did not net immediate results on the field, the hiring of NFL Champion Weeb Ewbank as the new Head Coach laid the groundwork for the historic success that the revamped AFL New York franchise would experience in the years to come.

The origin of the Oakland Raiders was a haphazard affair through no fault of their own. The Oakland franchise had replaced the Minneapolis organization which sold out to the NFL shortly after the initial AFL Draft, and so the Raiders originated as a group of players who were still available after the league Draft secured the best talent that had been available in the Autumn of 1959. The effects of their humble beginnings bottomed out when they were 1-13 in 1962. But in early 1963, the Raiders hired a young Chargers Assistant, Al Davis to be their new Head Coach. Davis immediately changed the atmosphere of the Raiders organization, and the positive results were instant. In their new silver and black clad uniforms, and with the addition of Titans receiver Art Powell, the remade Oakland Raiders utilized Sid Gillman’s vertical game that Davis had learned while on the Chargers coaching staff. Subsequently, the revamped Raiders immediately became one of the most lethal and productive Offenses in the AFL, and actually finished second in the West, with a record of 10-4. The entire attitude of the team was recreated in the image of their new brash Head Coach, who was recognized as the Coach of the Year due to the team’s turnaround. In essence, the Oakland Raiders “commitment to excellence” and “just win baby” attitude originated in 1963, the year the Raiders as they have been known ever since initially came to be.

In 1963, there was a notable power shift within the AFL. Whereas all three of the league champions to date had been from Texas, the 1963 AFL Championship Game was the first ever without a representative of the Lone Star State. The Texans had relocated to Kansas City, and finished third in the West to the revamped Oakland Raiders and the three time West Champion San Diego Chargers. Meanwhile the aging Houston Oilers relinquished their three peat East Title as they likewise descended to a third place finish. In fact, the two best teams of 1963 were the Chargers and the Raiders, as the power within the league shifted from the Lone Star State to the West Coast.

The 1963 AFL Championship Game pitted the West Division Champion San Diego Chargers against the Boston Patriots, who won the East Title in spite of posting their worst record since 1960. The Patriots were only 7-6-1 for the season, but they did boast an aggressive and stingy defense that specialized in brutalizing opponents with Red Dog blitzes. The game turned out to be a mismatch as Gillman’s game plan to confuse the blitzing Boston Defense with pre snap backfield in motion maneuvers was executed flawlessly and to perfection. From the outset, the Chargers seemingly scored at will. Keith Lincoln’s 329 all purpose yards performance is the most ever accumulated in a regulation professional football game. The versatile Lincoln in fact had over 100 yards receiving to complement his 206 yards rushing. In addition, Chargers tail back Paul Lowe gained 94 yards on the ground, including a 58 yard touchdown run in the first quarter. The Sid Gillman game plan to stretch the field and utilize every available space in order to advance the football was realized in its most effective manner that day as the Chargers crushed the Patriots by the score of 51-10 and claimed the AFL Title.

But for the innovative and competitive Gillman, the claim to the AFL Title was only a step to the ultimate quest. For the day after his Chargers had conquered the Patriots, Gillman sent a telegram to Pete Rozelle, challenging the NFL Commissioner to authorize a game between the NFL Champion Chicago Bears and his AFL Champion San Diego Chargers. In essence, Gillman was suggesting an AFL-NFL Championship Game before the fact. With minimal explanation, Rozelle declined the challenge. Not to be outdone, the irrepressible Gillman had the AFL championship ring of each member of the Chargers team inscribed “1963 AFL and World Champions.” Gillman went on to explain “If anyone wants to dispute that claim, just let them play us.”

1963 was indeed a transitional season for the AFL, with notable implications that directly affected the duration of the history of the league itself. The decision to relocate the AFL’s charter team, the Dallas Texans, to Kansas City may very well have salvaged the very existence of the franchise itself. The Chiefs would subsequently represent the AFL in two Super Bowls, including a victory over the Minnesota Vikings in the last game ever played by an AFL team. Likewise the purchase of the New York Titans by Sonny Werblin probably salvaged the existence of the renamed Jets franchise, and the subsequent hiring of Head Coach Weeb Ewbank paved the way for their historic victory over the NFL’s Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III after the 1968 season. The hiring of Head Coach Al Davis by the Oakland Raiders not only led to instant respectability for the AFL’s Bay Area team, but also to his selection as AFL Commissioner in 1966, which indirectly resulted in the AFL-NFL merger in 1970. And Sid Gillman’s unanswered challenge to NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle to play a postseason inter league Championship Game put the NFL on notice that the AFL would no longer accept the role of inferior league.

Ironically enough, Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are a-Changin’” was recorded in 1963, and then released a week after Sid Gillman’s unanswered challenge to the NFL to put up or shut up. For the AFL, 1963 was a transitional season, and in the world of professional football, the times were indeed a-Changin’.

Long live the memory of the AFL

Lenny The Cool Dawson

Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame quarterback Len Dawson is known to teammates and fans alike as “Lenny the Cool”. The nickname was earned by way of circumstance and demeanor. From the very beginning of and throughout his entire professional football career, Dawson experienced a series of personal, professional and even legal challenges which threatened his career, his health, and potentially his liberty. Each such challenge was met with the cool and calm efficiency that characterized the life of “Lenny the Cool” Dawson.

Dawson was a highly recognized and heavily recruited student athlete from Alliance, Ohio when he graduated High School in 1953. Though he had the opportunity to play football for Ohio State University, he chose to leave his home state and attend Purdue instead. There were two factors that influenced his decision. Firstly, Ohio State was adopting the T Formation Offense which would be more run oriented and would rely less on Dawson’s passing skills. Secondly, he had formed a close relationship with the young Assistant from Purdue who had recruited him.

When Len Dawson chose to play for Purdue, both a great Collegiate career ensued, as well as the beginning of a great relationship between the young quarterback and the Assistant Coach who lured him from his home state to become the Boilermakers signal caller. For in time; and especially in the 1960’s to mid ‘70s; Len Dawson and Hank Stram would be associated as close personal friends and as a highly successful coach and quarterback duo.

Yet the pathway to a successful and productive professional football career was no means a conventional route for Dawson in spite of a stellar record setting career at Purdue. For though Dawson was selected fifth overall in the 1957 NFL Draft when the Pittsburgh Steelers selected him as their Number One Draft Pick, he actually spent the next five years sitting on the bench for the Steelers and eventually for the Cleveland Browns. Ironically enough, Dawson had been chosen one selection ahead of the legendary Jim Brown in the ‘57 Draft, who had already established himself as one of the greatest running backs ever by the time Dawson was warming the bench for the Browns in the early ‘60s.

Then, one day in 1962 he had lunch with Hank Stram, his friend and former Coach from his happier days at Purdue. As Dawson poured his heart out to Stram about his frustration over his gridiron inactivity, his former coach offered a proposal. Stram, who was by now the Head Coach of the Dallas Texans of the AFL, told the frustrated young Brown’s quarterback that if he was ever unemployed, that he might consider signing with the Texans. That meal and topic of their discussion basically amounted to another recruiting effort by the crafty Stram. And just as had been the case nine years earlier when Dawson was a teenage star athlete straight out of High School, the now exasperated bench warmer took Stram’s pitch to heart.

So much so in fact that shortly after the visit with his former college coach, Dawson made the proactive request to be released by the Browns. The fact that Paul Brown so readily acquiesced to his reserve quarterback’s request by immediately granting his release is quite revealing as to how far the former collegiate star had fallen in terms of expectations within the Browns’ organization. And then the fact that the former collegiate star did not receive a call from a single other NFL team in the weeks following his release from the Browns reveals that at that point in his career Len Dawson was an unofficial bust in the view of the league itself. It being obvious that he would not be receiving any better offers, Dawson signed with the Dallas Texans on June 30, 1962.

When he arrived in Dallas, Len Dawson was received with high expectations from Stram and the Texans organization. Almost immediately Len Dawson disappointed those expectations. By all accounts, including his own, Dawson was horrible in the early days of training camp. Stram was simply aghast at how five years of inactivity had diminished the skills and the mechanics of the once great quarterback. The play of Dawson was so bad in the early days of camp that Stram was advised to release him and cut his losses. But his former coach believed in his skills, and he worked personally with Dawson on his mechanics and timing. Dawson himself would admit years later that his performance in the early days of camp was so bad that he honestly believed that any coach other than his old friend Hank Stram would have cut him. But under the personal eye of Stram’s on field instruction, he restored his timing and regained his mechanics. By the end of training camp Dawson had won the job as the starting quarterback for the Dallas Texans. And less than six months after he signed with the team, the Dallas Texans were AFL Western Division champions. Subsequently, on December 23, 1962 they squared off against the two time defending league champion Houston Oilers in the AFL Championship Game.

As Len Dawson had seemingly been operating against the wind his entire professional career, it seemed only fitting that he and the Texans had to operate against the fierce winds of a blue norther during the 5th quarter of the AFL’s first sudden death overtime playoff game that late December afternoon in Houston’s Jeppeson Stadium. It must have seemed inconceivable to everyone on the Dallas sideline that they were in such dire straits after blowing a 17-0 halftime lead. As it was now, whichever team took the lead and broke the 17-17 tie entering overtime would instantly win the game and thereby earn the 1962 AFL Title. The odds of dethroning the George Blanda led two time defending AFL champion Houston Oilers seemed slim to none, when due to confused communication at the overtime coin toss, the Texans had to kick into the wind to open the 5th quarter of play. But the Texans defense held strong throughout the first quarter of overtime, and the momentum shifted in direct proportion to the changing of the field positions as the Texans opened up the 6th quarter with possession of the ball in Houston territory and the strong winds at their backs. 2:54 later when the football sailed through the uprights off the toe of Tommy Brooker’s successful 25 yard field goal conversion, the longest championship game in professional football history came to an end, and the Dallas Texans were the 1962 AFL Champions.

The Texans were proud to return to Dallas as Big D’s first professional sports championship team. Six months after Len Dawson had been an unemployed NFL bust, he was now the league’s Most Valuable Player and an AFL champion quarterback. The turnaround was a whirlwind experience. Dawson had only a few weeks to enjoy his personal and team achievements when he and his teammates were shocked with the news that the Texans were to be relocated to Kansas City. Team Owner Lamar Hunt was no longer able to compete financially with the NFL backed Cowboys, and in spite of having delivered Dallas their first ever professional sports championship, he had to abandon his home town to the NFL in order to seek a more readily accepting fan base in a more reasonable financial arrangement. And so in the summer of 1963 the Dallas Texans became the Kansas City Chiefs.

Although Dawson was productive from the outset, the first three seasons in Kansas City were difficult years for the team itself. Aside from the failure of the team during their early years in Kansas City to return to their championship status, the players themselves were overwhelmed by tragedy in 1963 and again in 1965. Two young Chiefs players; Stone Johnson and Mack Lee Hill, each passed away in tragic and unexpected circumstances. Johnson sustained a broken neck in one of the first preseason games ever for Kansas City, and passed away about a week later. Hill died quite unexpectedly in 1965 on the operating table while having an injured knee repaired. And so before the Chiefs played their first regular season game in 1963, they were dealing with the emotional trauma of the death of a teammate and a friend in Stone Johnson; and then a mere two years later they were once again in mourning over the loss of another friend and teammate when Hill passed away. Clearly, the first three seasons In Kansas City were difficult years for each and every member of the team as they endured emotional hardships while in the process of adjusting to new surroundings as their venue for their gridiron endeavors.

1966 ushered in changes league wide when the announcement was made that a merger of the AFL and the NFL would be effective in 1970. Relative to the merger agreement, effective at the conclusion of the 1966 season there would be an annual championship game between the champions of each respective league. Although initially referred to as the NFL-AFL Championship Game, the merger agreement of the AFL and the NFL entailed the origin of the Super Bowl.

Dawson had by this time already established himself as one of the league’s most accurate passers, and 1966 proved to be one of his best seasons since the relocation to Kansas City. As had been the case the previous season, Dawson led the league in passing efficiency, but he was also the league leader in touchdown passes for the first time since 1963. Most significantly, he guided the Chiefs to a 31-7 victory over the Buffalo Bills in the league championship game, thus delivering a second city their first professional football championship in a matter of four years. And in the most unlikely of scenarios, the NFL bust just five years earlier, had the opportunity to be the first quarterback to ever face the NFL in a league versus league championship game.

The opportunity to square off against the best of the NFL produced a competitive first half. In fact, going into the locker room at halftime Dawson and the Chiefs trailed the NFL Champion Green Bay Packers by the close score of 14-10. But early in the second half the usually dependable and accurate Dawson tossed an ill-advised pass that was intercepted and returned 50 yards to the Chiefs 5 yard line. The game was never the same after that turnover, as the Packers scored 21 unanswered points from that play until the end of their 35-10 victory in the first ever NFL-AFL Championship Game. Although the Packers were more than likely truly the better team of the two, Dawson has historically taken responsibility for the loss based upon his inerrant throw that proved to be the turning point in the game.

Consistent to his nature, Dawson rebounded from the Chiefs disappointing loss in the 1966 NFL-AFL Championship Game (later referred to as Super Bowl I), and proceeded to continue his run of six consecutive seasons of league leading efficiency through 1969. Despite his steady productivity though, the Chiefs themselves were unable to return to the AFL Championship Game in either of the two seasons following their disheartening loss to the Packers. Going into the 1969 season however; hopes were high that this would be the year that the Chiefs might once again win the AFL Title and have another shot at playing the best of the NFL in the fourth Super Bowl. In spite of having to open the season with four consecutive road games due to scheduling conflicts with the KC Royals over the utility of Municipal Stadium, the Chiefs won their first two games, including a shutout over Boston in Week 2. Dawson however went down in the Boston shutout with a potentially season ending knee injury. When backup quarterback Jacky Lee broke his ankle in the third game, the prospects of post season triumphs seemed bleak as Kansas City entered Week 4 with a 2-1 record and a third string signal caller at the helm.

After consulting several physicians, Dawson decided to forego surgery on his knee in lieu of alternative treatment, and was prepared to return to action five games later. Meanwhile, 3rd String quarterback Mike Livingston led the Chiefs to a five game winning streak. Dawson returned to action briefly in Week 8 in a 29-7 victory over Buffalo, and his initial post recovery start was the following week, when KC defeated the Chargers 27-3. Having played a full game after his recovery, Dawson was prepared to lead the Chiefs against the defending Super Bowl champion New York Jets when personal tragedy struck the physically recovering quarterback.

On Friday November 14th, two days before the game with the Jets, Len Dawson learned that his Father had passed away in his home town of Alliance, Ohio. After consulting with his family, Dawson opted to play the game on Sunday. After leading the Chiefs to a 34-16 victory over the Jets with a masterful 23 for 38, including three touchdown passes performance, the grieving Dawson returned home to Ohio to mourn with his family. The next week he was back in the lineup.

Dawson nursed his ailing knee throughout the remainder of the regular season, sitting out only one game in Week 13 versus Buffalo. When the season concluded with a disappointing 10-6 loss at Oakland to the Western Division Champion Raiders, the Chiefs were relegated to a Wild Card entry into the 1969 playoffs. The odds of winning the League title with consecutive road victories against each respective Division winner was an unlikely scenario, yet backed by one of the greatest single season Defensive units ever, Lenny the Cool and the Kansas City Chiefs were up to the task. After a 13-6 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New York Jets at Shea Stadium in the Divisional Round on December 20th, the Chiefs celebrated the new decade by defeating their rival Raiders in Oakland on January 4th by the score of 17-7 to claim the 1969 AFL Title. The Kansas City Chiefs would thus be the last team to play in the AFL, and the only team ever to represent the league twice in the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl IV featured the Kansas City Chiefs versus the Minnesota Vikings in the final Championship Game between the AFL and the NFL. As per the mutual merger agreement of 1966, the two leagues would merge beginning with the 1970 season. There was a sense of league pride associated with this game which put pressure on both teams to prevail. NFL apologists were hopeful that the Vikings would win big in order to alleviate the painful effects of the outcome of the previous season’s Super Bowl when the AFL New York Jets had upset the highly favored Baltimore Colts 16-7. As the Vikings were an 18 point favorite by kickoff, those NFL apologists were counting on Minnesota to prove the Jets victory a fluke, and thereby resume a presumed stature of league superiority entering the merger. AFL fans meanwhile were equally as anxious for the Chiefs to prevail in order to affirm the credibility that the outcome of the previous Super Bowl had already established. Additionally, there was a sense of urgency to defeat the Vikings specifically, since the Minneapolis franchise was originally an AFL team whose ownership had sold out to the NFL after the original AFL Draft in November of 1959, thereby creating havoc which could have potentially ended the efforts of the new league to successfully originate. The pressure each team experienced in preparation for the fourth Super Bowl notwithstanding; there was no individual on either side more under the gun than Lenny the Cool.

About a week before the Super Bowl, the story circulated through the Press that Len Dawson had ties to an illegal gambling ring. The accusations related to the arrest of a known gambler whose last name by coincidence was Dawson. Though no relation to Lenny the Cool, the Chiefs’ quarterback acknowledged being acquaintanced with the gambler. He also admitted that the two had spoken recently when the gambler Dawson called the quarterback Dawson to offer personal condolences regarding the recent passing of his father. But Lenny the Cool denied any involvement with the gambling affairs, nor was there any evidence of any such illicit activity. Other professional quarterbacks were likewise implicated and in turn cleared of any wrongdoing, but Dawson was the only quarterback who had to play that Sunday’s Super Bowl under the duress of a cloud of suspicion. The stress on Dawson was noted by teammates and Coach Stram, who acknowledged that their signal caller was even more quiet than usual.

A story in the New York Times the day prior to the game graphically related the grim reality of Dawson’s dilemma. Despite the fact that the Chiefs were 18 point underdogs to “the unbeatable” Vikings, a loss in the context of the allegations of illegal gambling would forever lead to suspicions that Dawson threw the game. Furthermore, the Times story accurately assessed that the least inefficiency by Dawson would raise questions as to his personal integrity. In essence, the least inerrant throw, and especially any untimely interceptions that might lead to a victory by the Vikings could potentially do irreparable damage to his reputation

and even derail what had become by now a highly successful professional football career. In the context of the allegations that loomed over the entire week leading into the game itself, it no longer mattered that he was ailing from an injured knee or even that he was mourning the recent death of his father. As the Times article accurately asserted on the eve of the Super Bowl, the next day Len Dawson would be playing for his personal reputation and possibly for his very career. His performance the next day was the essence of the legacy of Lenny the Cool.

On January 11, 1970 Len Dawson executed his game plan nearly flawlessly and thereby engineered a decisive victory over the heavily favored Vikings. Dawson was 12 for 17 with only one interception, and the outcome of the game was never in any serious doubt. Kansas City’s 23-7 victory over the 18 point favored Minnesota Vikings sustained the credibility of both the AFL as a league and Len Dawson as a person.

Super Bowl IV was the apex of Dawson’s career. From 1962-1969 he threw more touchdowns than any other quarterback in either league, led the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs to an unprecedented three AFL Titles, and engineered a Super Bowl victory in the final game between teams from the AFL and the NFL. After the merger, Dawson went on to play six additional seasons in the dual conference NFL. He retired following the 1975 season after a 19 year professional football career, and was inducted into the Professional Football Hall of Fame in 1987.

Long live the memory of Lenny the Cool Dawson.

Long live the memory of the AFL.

George Blanda: The Godfather of Great AFL Quarterbacks

Well known as an aggressive passing league, the AFL boasted some of professional football’s finest quarterbacks of the 1960’s. Dallas Texan star Len Dawson won three AFL Titles in two different cities including Kansas City’s upset of the Minnesota Vikings in the 1969 Super Bowl. Jack Kemp started five of the league’s 10 Championship Games, and guided the Buffalo Bills to back to back AFL Titles in 1964 and 1965. Broadway Joe Namath established himself as pro football’s original 4,000 yard passer in 1967, and then as an epic encore led the New York Jets in an upset victory over “the unbeatable” Baltimore Colts in the 1968 Super Bowl. San Diego’s John Hadl and Oakland’s Mad Bomber Daryle Lamonica thrilled West Coast fans with Sid Gillman style vertical field aerial attacks which stretched overtaxed Defenses and utilized every inch of available field to advance the football and convert long distance first downs if not touchdowns.

Indeed the AFL of the 1960’s was a cradle of quality quarterbacks. Yet I would suggest that the cradle itself was rocked by a gritty veteran signal caller whose deeds and achievements in the league’s first two seasons merit his recognition as the Godfather of AFL quarterback greatness. For before Dawson and Kemp won League Titles; before Namath set records and won a Super Bowl; and before Hadl and Lamonica thrilled California fans with their vertical field aerial assault style of Offensive football, NFL veteran George Blanda came out of retirement to win the first two AFL Championships and set unprecedented professional football passing records. It actually required over five quarters of Championship Game football in the third year of the league’s existence to dethrone Blanda and the Houston Oilers as the only AFL Champions in the brief history of the league’s existence.

Blanda’s early NFL career; 1949-1958 was primarily with the Chicago Bears, though he did have a one game stint with the Baltimore Colts in 1950 between transactions that dealt him from each team to the other. Although a Linebacker early in his career, Blanda was the Bears’ starting quarterback from 1953 into the 1954 season when an injury eventually cost him his starting position. The multitalented Blanda was the team’s primary placekicker for the duration of his time with the Bears, until he retired from the NFL after the 1958 season. His decision to retire was a protest against Coach George Halas’ insistence that Blanda lacked the skills to be a starting quarterback in the NFL.

After a year in retirement, Blanda signed with the Houston Oilers, and made an immediate impact as their starting quarterback. In fact he guided the Oilers to the first three AFL Championship Games, winning the first two titles in 1960 and 1961, before losing to the Dallas Texans in double overtime in the championship game of 1962.

In the AFL’s inaugural season of 1960, Blanda tossed 12 touchdowns to receiver Bill Groman, whose over 1400 receiving yards still stands as a professional football record for rookies. Even then, Blanda distributed the passes such that receivers Johnny Carson and Charley Hennigan combined for in excess of another 1300 yards and 10 additional touchdowns. At season’s end, the Oilers were AFL Eastern Division Champions, and they squared off against the Western Division Champions Los Angeles Chargers on January 1, 1961 for the first ever AFL Championship Game.

It was in this contest that Blanda and star running back Billy Cannon connected on “the play” of the 1960 AFL season. The entire game throughout the first three quarters had been as tight as each team’s identical record of 10-4. In the 4th quarter, clinging to a 17-16 lead, Houston found themselves facing a 3rd and 9 situation while boxed deep in their own territory. The savvy veteran Blanda called for a “down and out” to Cannon, knowing that this would leave the sure handed back in one on one coverage by a Chargers linebacker. The play was designed to net a first down and keep the chains moving. But the outcome was much more. Cannon completely beat the coverage and then he converted the catch and run into an 88 yard touchdown that gave the Oilers the biggest lead in the game up to that point. The Oilers defense held against a late drive by the Chargers and quarterback Jack Kemp; and Houston prevailed as the inaugural AFL Champions by the final score of 24-16.

The best season of Blanda’s career though was in 1961. The 1961 Houston Oilers were the only team in AFL history to score more than 500 points in a single season, and their offense was so potent and overpowering, that they scored at least 100 more points than any other team in the league. As a favorable contrast, the stingy Houston defense gave up more points than only one other team in the entire league. Blanda earned the league MVP by tossing in excess of 3300 yards, establishing a professional football record with 36 touchdown passes, and he even tied an NFL record when he threw seven touchdowns in one game. Although tied a couple of years later, Blanda’s single season TD record would stand unbroken for 23 years. The single game record remains matched but never bested by several players.

There are two factors that make Blanda’s record setting 36 touchdown passes in 1961 even more impressive. Firstly, he established that record in a 14 game season. Secondly, Blanda’s backup quarterback that season was the highly skilled Jacky Lee. Lee played a substantial amount of time that season, and he himself threw 12 touchdowns to complement Blanda’s 36. It seems evident that had he played in a 16 game schedule; even platooning the time with Lee, Blanda would have likely been the first professional football quarterback to toss 40 touchdowns in a single season.

Hennigan was Blanda’s favorite target that season with 82 receptions and over 1700 yards, and he and Groman also combined to catch 29 touchdowns. Cannon even caught nine TD receptions out of the backfield. Behind Blanda’s record setting aerial performance and Cannon’s all purpose yards in excess of 2,000 yards; Houston claimed yet another AFL East Division Title, and a repeat appearance in the 1961 AFL Championship Game against the Western Division Title winning San Diego Chargers.

When the Oilers and the Chargers met on December 24th at San Diego’s Balboa Stadium in the 1961 AFL Championship Game, their gridiron contest marked the fourth time the two teams had played each other that calendar year, dating back to the 1960 AFL Championship Game on New Year’s Day. Having split the regular season performances, the host Chargers were hoping to even the contests at two apiece and thereby claim the league championship. But the duo of Blanda and Cannon once again connected for a game deciding catch and run score that proved to be the sole touchdown in a surprisingly low scoring defensive battle. In fact, Cannon’s 3rd quarter 35 yard touchdown reception from Blanda secured the 10-3 victory, giving the Oilers their second consecutive AFL Title.

Although Blanda’s overall productivity dropped somewhat in 1962; nonetheless Houston repeated as AFL East Champions for a third consecutive year. So in spite of his diminishing skills, the aging quarterback once again led the Oilers into a third consecutive AFL Title Game. This time however; the league championship would be a matchup of teams from the Lone Star State, as Houston hosted their North Texas rival Dallas Texans on December 23, 1962 in the third annual AFL Championship Game.

The 1962 AFL Championship Game at Jeppeson Stadium was marred by inclimate weather that produced a half time winter norther with high winds, plummeting temperatures and a tornado warning throughout the afternoon. For the fans who braved the elements and remained for the duration, they were witness to history in the making in the midst of the gusty winds and harsh conditions.

The game itself was a tale of two halves and a historic double overtime. In fact, the marathon gridiron contest remains the longest championship game in professional football history. The first half was Abner Haynes and the Dallas Texans. Haynes, who primarily played flanker in the game to fill in for the injured Chris Burford, scored touchdowns from the receiver position and out of the backfield to lead the Texans to a 17-0 halftime lead. The second half was Blanda and the Oilers as the gritty veteran led a patient rally that culminated in a 17-17 regulation tie, which subsequently resulted in the AFL’s first and only Championship game overtime. In spite of having possession of the ball with the wind at their backs, Houston was unable to convert any points in the 5th period of play. When the wind advantage reverted to the Texans for the 6th quarter of play, Dallas was able to convert on a game winning 25 yard field goal 2:54 later. The moment Tommy Brooker’s field goal sailed through the uprights, the era of the Houston Oilers as the sole and dominant AFL champions came to an abrupt end.

In a sense, the outcome of the 1962 AFL Championship Game represented a transition period as the torch of quarterback greatness within the AFL passed from Blanda to Dallas Texans quarterback Len Dawson, who would go on to win more AFL Titles than any other quarterback in the league’s existence. After 1962, Blanda somewhat faded into the background as Dawson and the other aforementioned cradle of quality quarterbacks matured and developed into the championship caliber record setting gridiron signal callers whose performances and notable achievements gave credibility to and accumulated a faithful fan base for the AFL itself.

Although his productivity decreased after 1962, Blanda was the original Houston Oilers starting quarterback for seven years until he was released after the 1966 season. Blanda then extended his record 26 year career another nine seasons as the Placekicker and backup quarterback for the Oakland Raiders. He retired in 1976 as the NFL all time scoring leader.

Long live the memory of George Blanda, The Godfather of the great quarterbacks of the AFL

Long live the memory of the AFL.

Tobin Rote: Three League Texan Star

When San Antonio native Tobin Rote completed his collegiate gridiron career at Rice University in 1949, the multitalented quarterback had led the Owls football team through an undefeated Conference schedule, ultimately securing the Southwest Conference Championship. The tall Texan then embarked on a remarkable professional career that spanned 15 years, during which he won championships and set passing and rushing records in three different leagues in two different countries.

Tobin Rote’s career in the NFL spanned 1950-1959 with two ball clubs. Rote had a highly successful career as a quarterback with both the Green Bay Packers (1950-1956) and the Detroit Lions (1957-1959). He led the league in touchdowns passes in 1955, and again in touchdown passes and yardage in 1956. He was also an accomplished runner, so much so that he led the Packers in rushing yardage three times and ran for the most team touchdowns five times. In 1956; his best season in the NFL, Rote threw and ran for a then unprecedented combined total of 29 touchdowns. In spite of his statistical accomplishments, Rote was never able to win an NFL Championship in Titletown, and subsequently he was dealt in a blockbuster trade to the Detroit Lions after his historic 1956 season. He responded by leading the Lions to the 1957 NFL Championship game, where Detroit crushed the Cleveland Browns 59-14 to secure Rote’s first and only NFL Title. After a substandard season two years later, Rote was released by Detroit after the 1959 season, effectively ending his NFL career. Until Fran Tarkenton surpassed his mark in the 1970’s, Rote had more rushing yards than any quarterback in the history of the NFL. Only Norm Van Brocklin and Bobby Layne threw more touchdowns than Rote during the decade of the 1950’s

After he was released by the Lions, Rote signed with the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, and established himself immediately as one of the league’s best quarterbacks. Over the course of his three years as the Argos starter, Rote threw for almost 10,000 yards and over 60 touchdowns. His first year with the Argos was at the time one of the finest single season performances by any quarterback in the history of the CFL. In 1960 Rote became only the second 4,000 yard passer in CFL history when he tossed for 4,247 yards, while also setting a since then surpassed league record by throwing 38 touchdowns. Rote even threw seven touchdowns in two separate games during the month of October of that season alone. To date, no other Argonaut quarterback has ever thrown seven touchdowns in a game more than once during their entire career. It was in fact 30 years later before any quarterback in Toronto’s history even matched the feat that Rote had performed twice in that one record setting month alone. 60 years later, Rote still holds the Argonaut record for the longest completion (108 yards) and the most passing yards in a game (524). Although he did guide the Argos to a first place finish in 1960, Rote was never able to secure the highly coveted Grey Cup during his three seasons north of the border. When the Argos traded for three time Grey Cup champion quarterback Jackie Parker after the 1962 season, Rote returned to the US in order to extend his career.

Having won an NFL Title, and then having reestablished his skills in Canada, Rote might have seemed primed for a return to the NFL. But such was not to be his destiny. The 34 year old Texan opted to sign with the San Diego Chargers of the AFL. Though his career with the Chargers was brief, Rote added to his legacy from the outset of his time in thunderbolt blue.

In San Diego, Rote continued a pattern that he had begun in Detroit and resumed in Toronto by leading the Chargers to a First Place finish in his initial season. Additionally, 1963 was one of the most efficient seasons of his career. During his first year in San Diego he completed a run of four consecutive seasons with 2,500 yards passing and a completion rate in excess of 50%. In fact, in 1963 alone he completed almost 60% of his passes, which was a career best. His 20 touchdown passes during his inaugural season as a Charger were more than Rote had ever tossed in any given season during his productive career in the NFL.

Rote completed his return to the States by leading the Chargers to a 51-10 victory over the Boston Patriots in the 1963 AFL Championship Game on January 5, 1964. As was the case when he guided Detroit to their 59-14 victory over Cleveland in the 1957 NFL Championship, Rote scored a rushing touchdown and threw for multiple touchdowns in each game. Rote remains the only quarterback to win an NFL and an AFL Championship, and is likewise the only quarterback in either league to lead Offensive units that scored over 50 points in more than one Championship Game.

The remarkable career of Tobin Rote entailed an exciting decade and a half of personal accomplishments and team titles, and his legacy is recorded in the history of three different leagues in two different countries. Legendary Sid Gillman, the Head Coach of the 1963 San Diego Chargers may have summarized the tall Texan’s career best in his post AFL Championship game comments:

“Tobin Rote is about as great a quarterback as ever took the ball from center. He has a great mind, has all the ability in the world, and is a great leader. As a balanced runner, passer, blocker, leader, field general, he has no superior”

Long live the memory of Tobin Rote.

Long live the memory of the AFL.

AFL History: The Productive and Principled Art Powell

Art Powell was one of the most productive receivers in the history of the AFL. Playing during the era of 14 game schedule; Powell netted career numbers that would be regarded as worthy of the Hall of Fame had he played in the NFL. In fact, Powell is the only receiver from the 14 game era with over 80 touchdown receptions who is not in the HOF. Furthermore, Powell has almost equally as many career receptions as recent NFL Hall of Fame inductee Drew Pearson, yet he had more career yards and substantially more career touchdowns than the Dallas Cowboys great. Powell also had over a hundred more receptions in addition to more yardage and touchdown receptions than Bob Hayes, another Dallas Cowboy star who has been enshrined in pro football’s Hall of Fame. The fact that he played his entire career in the 14 games per season era, and has better statistical achievements than NFL Hall of Fame greats like Pearson and Hayes sustains the case that Art Powell should have been inducted into the HOF decades ago. The truth be told though, he will likely never be honored on the scale of Pearson, Hayes, and others.

Art Powell would qualify to some as an NFL reject. Granted he signed with the New York Titans (later Jets) after only one season with the Philadelphia Eagles. Yet Powell’s departure from the NFL was by no means based upon any lack of productivity. In fact, as a Defensive Back/Kick Returner, Powell intercepted 3 passes while averaging over 27 yards per kick return including a 95 yards touchdown during his rookie season of 1959. His release by the Eagles was due to applied principles rather than a lack of productivity. Powell had refused to participate in a 1960 preseason game against Washington in Virginia because he and the other black players were not allowed to stay in the same hotel as their teammates. Subsequently, he was released.

Shortly thereafter Powell signed with the Titans in time for their inaugural 1960 season. When Head Coach Sammy Baugh converted him to a receiver, the results were historic. Powell teamed up opposite Don Maynard to become the first pair of 1,000 yards receivers in the same season, then for good measure the duo repeated the feat again two years later in 1962. Powell led the AFL in touchdown receptions in 1960, as well as 1963, which was his first season with the Oakland Raiders. The fact is that his acquisition by the Raiders gave rookie coach Al Davis the key component to implement the vertical aerial assault Offensive plan that he had learned while on Sid Gillman’s Chargers coaching staff from 1960-1962. The newly acquired Powell had his best season in 1963; leading the league in both receiving yardage and touchdowns. It was the second time in his career that he led the AFL in each category, and the second year in a row that the former Titan led the league in receiving yardage.

Even after he signed with the AFL, Powell had continued to take a stand against systemic racism. While with the Titans he withheld his services from a preseason game that was played in South Carolina due to the segregated and deplorable lodging conditions of the black players. Later with the Raiders, Powell led a four player strike that actually resulted in a change of venue for a game that was originally scheduled to be played in Mobile, Alabama. Credit Raiders Coach and General Manager Al Davis for moving the game to Oakland after listening to the concerns expressed by Powell and three other principled players who all four refused to play in the game due to segregated seating. Powell had even more peer support when he and 20 other black players united in solidarity and refused to participate in the 1964 AFL All Star Game after being subjected to undue racist treatment by the locals upon arrival in New Orleans. The winds of social change were evident as the league reluctantly moved the entire venue to Houston.

Art Powell was an accomplished professional football star whose 8,046 career receiving yards and 81 touchdown receptions constitute a Hall of Fame worthy career. He was likewise a principled individual who lived in accord with the courage of his convictions. In an era when the black male was expected to comply with the standards of systemic racism, Powell refused to acquiesce to the social prejudices to which he and others were subjected.

Long live the memory of the productive and principled Art Powell.

Long live the memory of the AFL.

AFL History: The Dutchman’s Folly and Broadway Joe’s Bold Prediction

“Hey I’ve got news for you. We’re gonna win Sunday. I’ll guarantee you”
Joe Namath; “Broadway Joe”
January 9, 1969

“I’ll tell you what I think of Namath after he plays his first pro game”
Norm Van Brocklin; “The Dutchman”
January 11, 1969

“It ain’t bragging if you can do it”
Dizzy Dean; St Louis Cardinals Pitcher 1930’s

On the evening of January 9, 1969; a few days prior to Super Bowl III between the AFL Champion New York Jets and the NFL Champion Baltimore Colts, the Miami Touchdown Club hosted a dinner at the Miami Villas honoring Joe Namath as professional football’s outstanding player of 1968. Namath had guided the New York Jets to an 11-3 record and the organization’s first ever AFL Championship, a mere one year removed from being the first person in the history of professional football to pass for more than 4,000 yards in a single season. The recognition that Namath received that evening was based on the merits of his gridiron accomplishments.

While Namath was at the podium to speak, a heckler from the audience yelled:

“the Colts are going to kick your ass”

Namath instantly responded to the heckler, “Whoa, wait a minute. You guys have been talking for two weeks now. And I’m tired of hearing it. Hey I’ve got news for you. We’ll win on Sunday. I’ll guarantee you”

The local media response to Namath’s reply to a loud mouthed heckler was instantaneous. The next morning Namath’s guarantee that the 18 point underdog New York Jets would defeat the 13-1 Baltimore Colts in the upcoming Super Bowl was a headline in the Miami Herald, and local reporters hounded the young superstar for a clarification. Namath clarified his perspective by doubling down on his prediction.

Two days after Namath’s verbal exchange with the heckler at the Miami Villas, and on the very eve of Super Bowl III, Atlanta Falcons Head Coach Norm Van Brocklin was asked his thoughts on the Jets quarterback. Van Brocklin, a legendary quarterback himself, spoke with the predictable arrogance of the NFL traditionalists of his day when he replied:

“I’ll tell you what I think of Namath after he plays his first pro game”

To my knowledge, Van Brocklin’s derision of the entire AFL hardly merited a media response. The Dutchman as he was known, merely stated with typical disdain and disregard for the American Football League what most NFL people actually thought. For in the eyes of NFL establishment folk, the AFL was as they had been labeled with snide derision, “The Mickey Mouse League”.

But unlike Van Brocklin, Namath was not trash talking when he made his bold prediction. Rather, Broadway Joe was asserting an informed prediction. Namath was not the only Jet player that believed that they were going to win against the Colts. He was merely the only one to publicly say so. The fact is that the Jets team had carefully studied tape on the Colts, and they noted flaws in the Colts defensive and offensive tactics that they felt could be exploited and overcome. The New York Jets coaching staff designed a game plan that the Jets players themselves were prepared to implement and execute on the field of play, where all pregame talk is settled once and for all.

The next day, January 12, 1969; the New York Jets made professional football history by soundly defeating the NFL Champion Baltimore Colts, 16-7. Namath engineered a mere flawless offensive game, behind Matt Snell’s 121 yard rushing and George Sauer’s eight receptions; and the underrated Jets defense dominated the hyped Colt’s offense. In fact, the Colts did not even score until the game was comfortably out of reach late in the 4th quarter.

As Namath jogged off the field after the one sided contest, he pointed one finger to the sky to confirm that for the first time ever, his New York Jets and the entire AFL were Number One. The photo of that moment captures the iconic nature of what had just transpired in the Orange Bowl. For when the New York Jets became the first AFL team to ever defeat an NFL team in a Championship Game, they won not only on behalf of their faithful fans of the Big Apple but they also won on behalf of each and every AFL fan, player, and league personnel who like Namath, were tired of hearing the arrogant talk of NFL superiority. After January 12, 1969; there was no more NFL superiority.

Long live the memory of Super Bowl III.

Long live the memory of the AFL.

AFL History: The Sid Gillman Offensive Game Plan

The Sid Gillman Offensive game plan was basic and straightforward. Utilize every inch of the field from sideline to sideline to advance the football from the line of scrimmage to the end zone. Advancing the ball across the goal line being the ultimate objective of the sport of football; Gillman maintained that the quickest and most effective means to that end was by the properly executed forward pass. He further realized that the most effective way to execute the passing game was to stretch the defense and force them to cover every inch of ground available. And so Gillman split receivers as wide as possible on each side of the field; utilized backs as downfield receivers, confused the defense by putting players in motion prior to the snap, divided the field into zones for the purpose of running precise routes, and attacked the opposition vertically with dump passes which were designed for “catch and run” advancement, along with deep passes downfield from sideline to sideline. This is not to imply that he did not recognize the value of the running game as a necessary element of the strategy of advancing the football, but Gillman’s theory was that the passing game creates space for the running game rather than the other way around.

For today’s football fan, these strategies are fundamental at most every level of the game. The modern game in fact validates Gillman’s theory of football, for the sport itself is now played in accord with Gillman’s game plan. But such was not always the case.

In 1959, Sid Gillman was seriously pondering leaving the profession of football after a disappointing conclusion of his five year tenure as the head coach of the Los Angeles Rams. Granted,Gillman had led the Rams to the NFL Championship Game in his first season of 1955, but his final two seasons in particular had been dismal disappointments. When he left the Rams, Gillman is believed to have seriously considered entering the business world after more than 20 years as an assistant and head coach on the collegiate and professional levels. The implications of the state of professional football after 1959 without the influence of Sid Gillman are simply unimaginable. For beginning in 1960, Sid Gillman stamped the image of his game plan indelibly on the sport, and fortunately football has never been the same since.

In January, 1960 Sid Gillman accepted an offer to become the head coach for the AFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. Both the AFL and the Chargers themselves were teams without a history, which allowed the innovator Gillman to create a team in his image. The result was an entertaining and effective style of football that functioned in accord with Gillman’s game plan.

The 1960’s was a time for change. The entire decade was an era of social change, rebellion, rejection and adaptation of conventional ideology. There may have been no time more naturally prepared for the changes in the sport of football that were entailed in Gillman’s game plan. The fact is that the sport of professional football came into its own during the era of the American Football League, and no person was more responsible for the adaptations to its style of play from that decade onward than Sid Gillman himself.

Gillman had already established himself as an innovator in the realm of coaching. He was the first coach to study film as a means to better understand the sport and in preparation for a gridiron contest. His background in the movie theater business inspired Gillman to utilize film in his efforts to be a more informed and prepared football coach. The utility of studying film was but a single area of the game of football wherein he proved to be an effective innovator. There are several routine norms in the world of coaching that originated from the mind of Sid Gillman. He was the first to maintain a taxi squad; that is a reserve of players who could be called into action in case of injury or lack of adequate performance by active roster players. Gillman was the first to hire a strength coach. He was even the first to seriously suggest an AFL-NFL Championship Game. But there is no doubt that Gillman’s primary contribution was the aerial assault game plan that he successfully implemented in full force during the 1960’s as the Head Coach and General Manager of the AFL Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers.

Al Davis, who was an assistant under Gillman in the early ‘60s, once compared the experience of being on the mastermind’s coaching staff to being in a laboratory studying the science of football. When Davis took over as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 1963, he implemented Gillman’s game plan there and turned the worst team in the AFL into an exciting competitive team in his first season. Utilizing what he termed “the vertical game” to strike deep and early in an effort to gain an immediate advantage, Davis was simply implementing the Gillman game plan. In explaining the vertical game, he emphasized that a team had to have the players with the speed and skills to make plays downfield in order to effectively execute the vertical game. Davis was speaking from personal experience, for while he was a Chargers assistant he himself had recruited and signed the player whose speed and skills would so effectively execute the Gillman game plan that by the end of the decade the game of football was never the same again.

When Al Davis signed Arkansas Razorback star Lance Alworth to a professional contract with the San Diego Chargers in 1962, the speedy running back was best known for his effective kick return skills. However; in what would have to be considered one of the most historic personnel decisions of all time, Gillman decided to move Alworth out of the backfield in order to add him to the Chargers receiving corps. The result was history in the making. Lance Alworth was perhaps the greatest receiver in all professional football throughout the decade of the 1960’s. In fact, he is arguably one of the greatest receivers of all time. Alworth gained over 1,000 yards annually for seven consecutive seasons (1963-1969). Keep in mind that those were 14 game schedules. He had an unprecedented five career 200 reception yard games. On the receiving end of passes from Tobin Rote early on, and from John Hadl for the majority of his illustrious career, Lance Alworth’s accomplishments legitimized the Gillman game plan. And in the process ushered in the modern era of offensive football strategy.

Although the Gillman game plan emphasized the forward pass as the primary means for advancement of the football; consistent to his theory that the passing game clears space for the running game, Chargers backs Paul Lowe, Keith Lincoln, and Dickey Post boasted a ground attack that produced rushing titles, 1,000 yard seasons, and even 200 yard games. Lincoln’s 329 all purpose yards performance in the 1963 AFL Championship game, which is the most ever accumulated in a regulation professional football game, showcased the benefits of clearing space for the running game by the utility of the passing game. Lincoln in fact had over 100 yards receiving to complement his 206 yards rushing. The Gillman game plan was realized in its most effective manner as the Chargers claimed the AFL Title over the Patriots that afternoon.

The Gillman game plan was utilized and successfully executed by both the San Diego Chargers and the Oakland Raiders throughout the ‘60s. The Al Davis vertical game that was demonstrated by bombs and outs from Raiders quarterbacks Flores and Lamonica to receivers Powell and Biletnikoff, was admittedly a variant of the Gillman game plan. In fact the Houston Oilers aerial assault style of play that led to the first two AFL Titles, as well as which produced George Blanda’s season and single game records for TD passes, utilized the field for vertical advancement in accord with the theory of Gillman’s game plan. As did Joe Namath a few years later when the New York Jets young star became the first ever 4,000 yard passer. Again, a feat accomplished in a 14 game schedule.

In essence, the aerial attack style of the AFL revolutionized the game of football and at the same time legitimized the fundamentals of the Gillman game plan. Over the course of time the sport itself has adopted the principle that the field should be used from sideline to sideline in order to advance the ball from the line of scrimmage to the end zone, and that the forward pass is the quickest and most effective means to achieve that goal. The traditionally rushing game oriented NFL initially seemed skeptical to adopt an offensive strategy based upon opening up the running game with the passing attack, yet in time even NFL Super Bowl head coaches Tom Landry and Dick Vermeil hired the aging Gillman as a consultant for their Offensive coaching staff. The value of the passing attack as a means to open up the field for the running game and for the vertical advancement of the ball is now routine and regarded as rudimentary at all levels of modern football. In essence, the sport of football now follows the once radical concepts of the Sid Gillman Offensive game plan.

Long the memory of Sid Gillman, the father of the modern passing game.

Long live the memory of the AFL.

1960 Houston Oilers: The Nemesis of the NFL

The 1960 Houston Oilers would prevail in the inaugural AFL Championship Game as the original champions of the newly formed professional football league. A feat that they would repeat and a status they would retain at the conclusion of the 1961 season. Each Championship Game was a tough fought gridiron battle against the Chargers, who represented Los Angeles in the first contest, and their newfound home city of San Diego in 1961.

Yet even before they took the field for their initial regular season game in the Autumn of 1960, the Oilers organization had already engaged in a year long battle against the leadership of the National Football League, which had started as backroom debate and negotiations, but which eventually escalated into a full scale courtroom Cannon battle.

The struggle between the Oilers and the NFL was initially due to their very existence within an upstart league that threatened the financial stability of the handful of owners of the 12 NFL franchises. More specifically; the leadership role of Oilers’ founder and owner Bud Adams within the embryonic effort to transform the concept of the American Football League into a functioning gridiron reality was recognized as a clear and present danger to the unfettered operation of the established league.

Adams and Lamar Hunt; each son of wealthy Texas oilmen, were the nucleus and hub of the origin and development into being of the American Football League. Granted the concept of an alternative professional football league was Hunt’s idea, but his vision lacked any sense of potential until he approached Adams and they began working together to solicit compatriots towards the formation of a functioning league.

George Halas; the Owner and Head Coach of the Chicago Bears, was the patriarch and primary agent of the NFL. His influence as to the basic operation of the league itself was unmatched and uncontested. Whatever Halas planned and strategized for the NFL almost always transformed into league policy and practice. And it was in this capacity that Halas exerted his influence time and again throughout the year of 1959 in an effort to prevent the AFL from becoming a functioning reality.

Unfortunately for Halas; he did not take the developing new league seriously before a half dozen teams were already in the process of being funded and formed. But when he did move to counter the ongoing efforts to field the AFL as early as 1960; he realized that Hunt and Adams were the primary agents with which to contend. And so the crafty elder statesman of the NFL moved in to stop the development of the AFL by a variety of means.

Initially Halas attempted a conventional business approach. He offered Hunt and Adams each an NFL franchise in Dallas and Houston respectively in an effort to dissuade their efforts towards founding a new professional football league. The irony to that offer is that the only reason the two Texas oilmen were attempting to establish the AFL in the first place is that each had recently been denied potential expansion franchises by the NFL itself! The offer was enticing though; in that entry into the NFL had clearly been their initial agenda. Yet the pair declined Halas’ offer based upon the financial commitment of the other owners of the prospective AFL.

As the development of the rival league progressed, Halas then turned to a more aggressive tactic. During the 1959 NFL preseason, he publicly announced the intentions of the NFL to expand into two uncharted markets as early as 1960, and even went so far as to name Dallas and Houston as potential cities for the new franchises. The intent clearly was to encroach upon the recently established AFL territory of the two primary owners so as to weaken or even prevent the league from being formed at all.

To a certain extent, Halas’ scheme succeeded. Initially though the AFL was able to field teams in both Dallas and Houston, in spite of the NFL’s plan to expand into those markets. In the case of Dallas however, the afterthought expansion tactic did eventually drive Hunt’s team out of his home city, but not before the Dallas Texans claimed the 1962 AFL Championship. Even so, after the Texans departed for Kansas City in 1963; Dallas became strictly an NFL city and sole territory of the Dallas Cowboys.

Halas’ plans to establish an NFL team in Houston however failed to come to fruition due to an inability to secure a stadium suitable for utility. Although his double barreled territorial expansion plans were frustrated for the moment, the resilient NFL Patriarch was not to be outdone.

Determined to undermine the American Football League once and for all, Halas’ next strategic maneuver admittedly created havoc and an uproar throughout the AFL ownership on the very eve of the league’s inaugural players draft, which effectually had the potential to completely derail and destroy the year long effort to fulfill Hunt’s vision of an alternative professional football league. For even as the AFL owners were gathered in Minneapolis to conduct the league’s initial draft, rumors circulated that one of the owners themselves was planning to defect to the NFL. Ironically enough, the alleged defector was none other than Max Winter, owner of the AFL Minnesota franchise, as well as the league’s draft committee chairman, and who had arranged for the draft to take place in Minneapolis.

The ensuing drama notwithstanding; the draft was nonetheless carried out, even with the participation of the Minnesota franchise. Later, Minnesota returned their draft selections to the AFL when they did actually defect to the NFL, where they started play in 1961 as the Vikings.

Now although the AFL owners were able to regroup and maintain composure so as to conduct their initial draft even while under duress and potential uncertainty; there was still the matter of replacing the outgoing Minnesota franchise in order to function as an eight team league. The temporary setback was resolved when Oakland was secured as the once and for all eighth and final AFL franchise. A special draft was later implemented in order to fill the roster of the Oakland Raiders, who only received a few of the draft picks that had been allotted to Minnesota.

The players draft having been conducted, and Minnesota’s sudden and unexpected departure having been resolved, the primary focus became signing players. Regulations required that a player could not be signed by a professional club unless his college schedule was complete. Yet the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams, concerned that their Number One draft choice Billy Cannon might sign with the AFL Houston Oilers; who had likewise drafted the star back out of LSU, secretly signed him in the weeks prior to his final game, which was the Sugar Bowl. When the Oilers learned that Cannon had illegally signed with the Rams, they beat the NFL club’s offer, and then signed him under the goal posts on national TV as soon as the Sugar Bowl ended. This brazen act was brilliant in that the TV coverage confirmed that the Oilers were the first team to legally sign the Heisman Trophy winner to a professional contract.

Yet the NFL sued; which means that the first inter league contest was in a courtroom rather than on the gridiron. Although the case was legally Rams v Cannon; in actuality the Billy Cannon court case was NFL v AFL. More specifically; Los Angeles Rams v Houston Oilers. Unsurprisingly, the judgment was in favor of the AFL and the Oilers. The public signing at the immediate conclusion of Cannon’s college career clearly validated the Oilers’ contract, and so the nation’s top collegiate star would play in the AFL.

The fact that Cannon did in fact play for the Oilers was a major blow to Halas’ efforts to undermine the up and coming AFL. Billy Cannon was not just any routine college star. He was a multitalented back whose versatility had helped him lead LSU to the National Title in 1958, and then earned him the Heisman Trophy in 1959. He was without reservation the biggest name entering the Pros out of the college class of 1959.The very fact then that Billy Cannon took the field in 1960 as a member of the AFL gave instant credibility to the new league. In essence, by signing the incredibly talented Billy Cannon, the AFL established that they could and would sign the same caliber of players with the equal quality of talent as that of the NFL.

George Halas’ worst fears were now confirmed. The AFL would not settle for being second best and they would compete directly with the NFL to sign the best talent that was available.

The signing of Billy Cannon not only gave instant credibility to the AFL as a league, but his production on the field of play was such that he proved to be an integral part of each of the Oilers’ back to back AFL Titles in 1960 and again in 1961. He scored key touchdowns in, and was the MVP of each of the initial AFL Title games. Additionally, he netted over 1,500 yards combined rushing and receiving in 1961, and thereby earned a spot on the 1961 All Star squad.

The Houston Oilers were indeed not only the initial back to back AFL Champions in 1960 and 1961, but they were likewise the earliest nemesis to the NFL in the ongoing battle between the two leagues which would eventually lead to the merger of the two leagues.

Neither the Houston Oilers or the American Football League as such have existed for decades, yet the influence of each is experienced every Sunday during the football season of the dual conference NFL and every February when the annual event known as the Super Bowl takes place.

Long live the memory of the AFL.

Sources:

“Billy Cannon: Everybody’s All-American, At Least For A While”; Sal Maiorana, medium.com. 2020

“Demystifying The Inaugural American Football League Draft”, David Griffin. 2018 raiders.exposure.com

remembertheafl.com; Ange Coniglio

“Remember The AFL: The Ultimate Fan Guide To The American Football League”; Dave Steidel. 2008

“Ten-Gallon War”; John Eisenberg. 2012

AFL History: The George Blanda and Billy Cannon Connection

Undoubtedly, the two most well known players to sign with the Houston Oilers for their inaugural season of 1960 were George Blanda and Billy Cannon. Blanda had retired following the 1958 season after a 10 year career in the NFL; primarily as a Quarterback/Placekicker with the Chicago Bears. His decision to retire was a protest against Coach George Halas’ insistence that Blanda be utilized strictly as a placekicker based on Papa Bear’s opinion that the veteran no longer had the skills to be a quarterback in the NFL. Cannon on the other hand had just completed one of the most successful collegiate football careers ever, leading the LSU Tigers to the 1958 National Title, and then having earned the Heisman Trophy in 1959. The Oilers won a lawsuit against the NFL Los Angeles Rams over the legal rights to Cannon since he initially signed an illegal contract with the Rams before Houston signed him to a valid post collegiate career professional contract following his final game for LSU. The senior Blanda then was regarded as a has been NFL reject; while young Cannon was a Heisman Trophy winner who rejected the NFL in order to play for the newly formed American Football League. Together these two skilled players from contrasting circumstances would prove to be the collective cornerstone of a powerhouse offense that would lead the Oilers to the first two AFL Championships in 1960 and again in 1961.

Neither the allegedly falling star Blanda nor the affirmed rising star Cannon posted overwhelming personal statistics throughout the 1960 regular season. Blanda completed less than half of his passes, and Cannon only rushed for a single touchdown throughout the entire regular season. Blanda’s completions however netted 24 touchdowns, including five to Cannon, who proved himself early on as a quite capable receiver. Cannon did lead the team with over 600 yards rushing, alongside fullback Dave Smith, whose rushing totals were almost identical. Blanda also tossed 12 touchdowns to receiver Bill Groman, whose over 1400 receiving yards still stands as a professional football record for rookies. Even then, Blanda distributed the passes such that receivers Johnny Carson and Charley Hennigan combined for in excess of another 1300 yards and 10 additional touchdowns. At season’s end, the Oilers were AFL Eastern Division Champions, and they squared off against the Western Division Champions Los Angeles Chargers on January 1, 1961 for the first ever AFL Championship contest.

It was in this very contest that Blanda and Cannon connected on the play of the 1960 AFL season. The entire game throughout the first three quarters had been as tight as each team’s identical record of 10–4. In the 4th quarter, clinging to a 17–16 lead, Houston found themselves facing a 3rd and 9 situation while boxed deep in their own territory. The savvy veteran Blanda called for a “down and out” to Cannon, knowing that this would leave the sure handed back in one on one coverage by a Chargers linebacker. The play was designed to net a first down and keep the chains moving. But the outcome was much more. Cannon completely beat the coverage and then he converted the catch and run into an 88 yard touchdown that gave the Oilers the biggest lead in the game up to that point. The Oilers defense held against a late drive by the Chargers and quarterback Jack Kemp; and Houston prevailed as the inaugural AFL Champions by the final score of 24–16.

Having connected on the 88 yard catch and run touchdown that had clinched the 1960 AFL Championship the prior season, Blanda and Cannon each had career seasons in 1961, while leading the Houston offense to historic accomplishments. The 1961 Houston Oilers were the only team in AFL history to score more than 500 points in a single season, and their offense was so potent and overpowering, that they scored at least 100 more points than any other team in the league. As a favorable contrast, the stingy Houston defense gave up more points than only one other team in the entire league. Blanda earned the league MVP by tossing in excess of 3300 yards, while at the same time setting a professional football record with 36 touchdown passes. Although tied a couple of years later, Blanda’s single season TD record would stand unbroken for 23 years. Hennigan was Blanda’s favorite target with 82 receptions and over 1700 yards, and he and Groman combined to catch 29 touchdowns. Cannon himself caught nine TD receptions out of the backfield, and the versatile back likewise won the rushing title with 948 yards on the ground. Between Blanda’s record setting aerial performance and Cannon’s all purpose yards in excess of 2,000 yards; the has been NFL reject and the Heisman Trophy winner who had rejected the NFL led Houston to yet another AFL East Division Title, and a repeat appearance in the 1961 AFL Championship Game against the Western Division Title winning San Diego Chargers.

When the Oilers and the Chargers met on December 24th at San Diego’s Balboa Stadium in the 1961 AFL Championship Game, their gridiron contest marked the fourth time the two teams had played each other that calendar year, dating back to the 1960 AFL Championship Game on New Year’s Day. Having split the regular season performances, the host Chargers were hoping to even the contests at two apiece and thereby claim the league championship. But the duo of Blanda and Cannon once again connected for a game deciding catch and run score that proved to be the sole touchdown in a surprisingly low scoring defensive battle. In fact, Cannon’s 3rd quarter 35 yard touchdown reception from Blanda secured the 10–3 victory, giving the Oilers their second consecutive AFL Title. Once again Cannon was named the MVP of the league championship contest.

Although Houston repeated as AFL East Champions for a third consecutive year, the 1962 season was clouded with mishaps and miscues which resulted in a drop off of productivity of both Blanda and Cannon. Cannon was hampered by a back injury throughout the season, and his all purpose yards were dramatically reduced after his record setting performance the previous season. As for Blanda, his overall productivity dropped dramatically, in particular his accuracy. In fact, just one year removed from setting the single season TD passes record, Blanda tossed an unprecedented 42 Interceptions in the 1962 campaign, a single season mark that remains unmatched almost 60 years later. Although he would continue to produce noteworthy passing yardage and aerial touchdowns for the next few years; from that season on Blanda consistently threw more Interceptions than Touchdowns. Yet in spite of the diminishing skills of the aging quarterback and the notable reduction of productivity of the star running back; nonetheless Blanda and Cannon once again lead the Oilers into a third consecutive AFL Title Game. This time however; the league championship would be a matchup of teams from the Lone Star State, as Houston hosted their North Texas rival Dallas Texans on December 23, 1962 in the third annual AFL Championship Game.

The game itself was a tale of two halves and a historic double overtime. In fact, the marathon gridiron contest remains the longest championship game in professional football history. The first half was Abner Haynes and the Dallas Texans. Haynes, who primarily played flanker in the game to fill in for the injured Chris Burford, scored touchdowns from the receiver position and out of the backfield to lead the Texans to a 17–0 halftime lead. The second half was Blanda and the Oilers as the gritty veteran led a patient rally that culminated in a 17–17 regulation tie, which subsequently resulted in the AFL’s first and only Championship game overtime. In spite of having possession of the ball with the wind at their backs to open the overtime period, Houston was unable to convert any points in the 5th period of play. When the wind advantage reverted to the Texans for the 6th quarter of play, Dallas was able to convert on a game winning 25 yard field goal 2:54 later.

When Brooker’s field goal sailed through the uprights, the era of the Houston Oilers as the sole and dominant AFL champions came to an abrupt end. The passing of the league’s pinnacle position to the Texans likewise entailed a transition in the respective careers of both Blanda and Cannon. For just as the Oilers were never able to reclaim the degree of success that they experienced in ’60 and ’61; likewise the careers of both Blanda and Cannon went into steady decline from that point forward. Blanda continued at the helm of the Houston offense throughout 1966, but he was never able to lead the Oilers to another winning season before he was eventually released in March of 1967. As for Cannon, who was hampered by injuries in 1963, he hardly played another game in an Oilers uniform before being traded to Oakland before the 1964 season. The effects of aging on Blanda and those of ailments on Cannon was such that by 1967 the veteran quarterback was unemployed and the once speedy back was now primarily a blocking tight end for the Raiders who had not carried the football out of the backfield for three years. Yet it was in this unlikely context that the Blanda and Cannon connection was once again rekindled; though with significant changes in the role of each former superstar.

1967 was Cannon’s fourth season with the Oakland Raiders, after four seasons as a star running back for the Houston Oilers. No longer mobile after his injuries that led to an early decline in his productivity as a running back, at Oakland the former Heisman Trophy winner and the original AFL superstar was converted to a tight end who primarily blocked and ran decoy routes. In fact in the previous two seasons Cannon had only caught a total of 21 passes and had been limited to a mere two touchdowns. He had actually been more productive as a receiver when he was a running back in Houston than as a receiver for the Raiders. There were no indications at this point other than an inevitable end to the once promising and briefly productive career of Billy Cannon.

Meanwhile, on March 18, 1967 George Blanda was unceremoniously released by the Houston Oilers. Albeit Blanda had rewritten several major professional football statistics in passing the Oilers to the original back to back AFL Titles in 1960 and again in 1961; his diminishing skills were nonetheless evident. The fact is that during the previous five seasons he had consistently thrown more interceptions than touchdowns, and for four consecutive years the once dominant Oilers lost significantly more games than they won. The once proud performer and organization were each in decline.

And so it was that in the off season of 1967 Billy Cannon and George Blanda each seemed at the end of their formerly productive careers. Ailments had diminished the skills of the once productive running back, and the effects of aging had finally resulted in the decline of the gritty gridiron veteran quarterback. And yet 1967 would prove to be a turn around season for both George Blanda and Billy Cannon; though each embraced new primary roles while once again wearing the same uniforms.

In spite of the limited role that Cannon played in previous seasons, he was reported to have been enthusiastically optimistic about the playoff possibilities of the 1967 Raiders. So much so that he allegedly encouraged Al Davis to sign his former teammate George Blanda to both serve as a mentor to the Raiders recently acquired young quarterback Daryle Lamonica, and to also fill the role of full time place kicker. Although the offer to Blanda entailed the very role that he had rejected nine years earlier as a Chicago Bear, the aged veteran evidently accepted his diminishing skills and indeed did sign with Oakland as a backup quarterback and full time placekicker. The result was a new chapter in the Blanda and Cannon connection.

The newly acquired Blanda led the league in scoring in his new capacity as full time placekicker. His field goal conversions would make the difference in more than one Raider victory during the season, including a four field goal performance in a hostile environment in Houston that proved to be the difference in Oakland’s 19–7 road victory against his former team. This role actually gave new life to his career, and Blanda would go on to be one of the most successful placekickers in the league over the course of the next few years, retiring in 1976 at the age of 48 as professional football’s all time leading scorer and unprecedented senior patriarch. Meanwhile Cannon likewise had a turnaround season as the Raiders tight end, with 32 receptions and 10 touchdowns; his most successful offensive productivity since his days as a running back with the Oilers. Like Blanda, Cannon renewed his productivity and seemingly extended his career as he would go on to catch more than 20 receptions in each of the following season, totals which exceeded his entire receiving tally for the previous two seasons combined. Both Blanda and Cannon were AFL All Stars in 1967; with Cannon earning 2nd team AFL status again in 1968 and 1969. The addition of the two playoff performance savvy veterans was timely as the 1967 Oakland Raiders; whose 13–1 record was the most successful season in AFL history, participated in the first playoff game in franchise history when they hosted Blanda and Cannon’s former team; the East Division Champion Houston Oilers, on December 31, 1967 in the 1967 AFL Championship Game.

The Raiders dominated the game from the outset. Blanda matched his earlier performance against his former club by booting four field goals, and added four successful PAT’s to account for 16 of the Raiders tally of 40 points. The Oilers did not even score until the 4th quarter in the 40–7 blowout. Cannon had two receptions in the game, one for 21 yards. Although neither former superstar contributed to the degree that they had in former years; nonetheless Blanda and Cannon were once again teammates and AFL Champions. Two weeks later, Blanda and Cannon played in the second AFL-NFL Championship game against the Green Bay Packers. The NFL Champions soundly defeated the Raiders, and Cannon was held to just another 2 receptions for 25 yards, while Blanda managed a mere 2 points off converted PAT’s.

For the next two seasons thereafter, Blanda and Cannon were productive teammates for consecutive AFL West Championship Oakland Raiders teams. Blanda kicked three field goals and converted on an additional two PAT’s in Oakland’s 27–23 loss to the Joe Namath lead New York Jets in the 1968 AFL Championship game. Cannon likewise contributed in spite of the loss, catching four passes for 69 yards, including one grab for 36 yards. The 1969 AFL West Championship Oakland team had the league’s best record as they hosted Blanda and Cannon’s former Houston Oilers in the Divisional Round of the final playoffs in the league’s history. The favored Raiders crushed their weaker opponent by the lopsided score of 56–7. Blanda nailed eight PAT’s; and though Cannon was limited to a single reception, his three yard TD reception was his third career playoff TD catch, and his first since his 35 yard game clincher in the 1961 AFL Championship Game as a Houston Oiler. A disappointing 17–7 loss to AFL West rival Kansas City in the following week’s Championship Game was the final contest between any two AFL teams, and likewise closed the curtain on the Blanda and Cannon connection.

The increasingly hobbled Cannon was released by the Raiders, and then he only saw limited action with the Kansas City Chiefs before retiring after a season ending injury in 1970. Blanda continued as the Raiders place kicker and back up quarterback until retiring in 1976 at 48 years of age.

George Blanda and Billy Cannon were teammates for a total of seven seasons during their respective careers. After four seasons together on the Houston Oilers from 1960–1963; they were reunited and played together for the Oakland Raiders from 1967–1969. Of significant note is the fact that during those seven seasons as teammates, they played together in six AFL Championship Games, winning two AFL Titles with the Oilers in 1960 and 1961; and a third with the Raiders in 1967. It is difficult to imagine the Oilers winning either of their two inaugural AFL Championships without either of the two offensive superstars. And though their respective roles in Oakland were limited and specialized; nonetheless Blanda and Cannon each contributed to the success of the Raiders in the latter ‘60s.

The Blanda and Cannon connection then involved the history of two highly successful AFL organizations; the early and the latter history of the league itself; and the tenacious determination of two aging gridiron stars to extend their respective careers by accepting specialized roles in order to adapt to their diminishing skills. Though both Blanda and Cannon have each passed on; nonetheless their legacy lives on in the history of the AFL.

Long live the memory of the Blanda and Cannon connection.

Long live the memory of the AFL.

The Dallas Roots of the American Football League

Having been raised in the Dallas area in the 60’s and 70’s, I naturally write from the perspective of my beloved hometown. That said, in my mind, the history of the AFL is rooted in the city of Dallas. For indeed, the very concept of an alternative league to the established NFL originated in the mind of Dallas native Lamar Hunt. The son of millionaire oil tycoon H.L. Hunt, Lamar was an avid sports fan who had been a reserve tight end for the SMU football team in the early 1950’s. After his college days, Hunt became determined to use his financial backing to establish an NFL franchise in Dallas. Unfortunately, his efforts to purchase the floundering Chicago Cardinals in the latter years of the decade were unsuccessful, and he was likewise unable to sell the idea of establishing an NFL expansion franchise in Dallas to George Halas, the Owner/Coach of the Chicago Bears. As the head of an Expansion Committee that never even was known to assemble, Halas was for all practical purposes the official NFL spokesperson regarding such matters. Other Dallas businessman; namely J. Curtis Sanford and Clint Murchison, Jr, had also approached the NFL during the late 1950’s about establishing an expansion team in Big D, but they likewise were turned away empty handed.

The NFL simply seemed disinterested in attempting to expand into a market that had failed so miserably just a few years prior. For Dallas had indeed been home to one of the worst single season teams in the league’s history; the 1952 Dallas Texans. The Texans had been unable to win a single game before the League felt compelled to transform them into a sort of traveling squad, in order to simply complete its one single season of existence. Ironically, that ill fated team did finally net a single victory late that season as a traveling squad based out of Hershey, PA; all the while still retaining their identity as the Dallas Texans. Nonetheless; the NFL disbanded the Dallas Texans team immediately following that season, and seemingly abandoned Big D as a viable professional football city.

It being evident then that he could neither purchase or establish an NFL team to represent his beloved hometown, the wealthy and persistent Hunt pursued the idea of forming a new professional football league which would include a team based out of Dallas. In February of 1959; Hunt learned that Bud Adams of Houston had likewise been turned away by the NFL when he had expressed an interest in establishing an NFL franchise in Houston. Subsequently, Hunt contacted Adams regarding the notion of forming a new league, which would feature teams in Dallas and Houston. Adams, himself the son of a wealthy Houston oil man, enthusiastically teamed up with Hunt to pursue the possibility of establishing an alternate professional league. Within months, Hunt had commitments from Bob Howsom in Denver, and Max Winter and his business partner Bill Boyer in Minneapolis. Shortly thereafter; Harry Wismer in New York City and Barron Hilton in LA joined the effort.

On August 14, 1959; at its initial League Meeting in Chicago, the franchises from each of these six respective cities formally joined Hunt’s as yet unnamed professional football league, even as plans were in process to field two more teams in time to kick off an inaugural season in 1960. Then, just over a week later, the new league was officially named the American Football League at another League meeting in Dallas; which was the location of its Headquarters. The rapid progress towards the realization of the AFL was doubtlessly encouraging, but unforeseen challenges to the effort were underway. Unbeknownst to Hunt and his fellow AFL owners, Halas and the NFL were operating behind the scenes to undermine their efforts.

Even earlier, Halas had already attempted to entice Hunt and Adams to sell out the other potential league owners when it became increasingly evident that the ongoing labors towards establishing an alternative professional football league might actually succeed. At that time, the crafty NFL spokesman had promised both oil men that if they would abandon the effort to establish an alternative league, then each would subsequently be rewarded with partial ownership in NFL franchises in Dallas and Houston. The irony of the offer is evident. The only reason Hunt and Adams had even pursued the idea of forming an alternative league in the first place is because their respective efforts to establish NFL franchises in Dallas and Houston had been rejected, muchly due to the influence of Halas himself. Even that consideration notwithstanding; by the time Halas made this offer, money had already changed hands and the preparatory phase of the pending League was well underway. Hunt held firm in his commitment to his fellow investors and to the concept of an alternative league. Adams is said to have declined the offer because he regarded himself as a man of his word. Halas, himself a resourceful and persistent person, decided to pursue further avenues to uproot the AFL before the embryonic effort germinated into a gridiron reality. In fact, his next maneuver caught Hunt completely unawares.

On August 29, 1959; only two weeks after the announcement that the AFL would kick off in 1960, Halas made a public announcement to the Press which amounted to a declaration of war against the AFL. At the time, he was in Houston for an NFL exhibition game between his Chicago Bears and the Pittsburgh Steelers. This gridiron contest had ironically been arranged by Bud Adams before he had established the pending AFL Houston franchise. In a complete turnabout from his determined opposition to the notion just a few months earlier, Halas chose this occasion to break the news that the NFL now indeed did plan to expand, with the intent to establish and field two new teams in 1961. He further identified Dallas and Houston as the two most likely locations of the new NFL franchises, and even named Dallas oilman Clint Murchison Jr. as the likely owner of the prospective Dallas team. Ironically Murchison; like Hunt, had also been denied by Halas when he himself had inquired earlier that very year regarding the possibility of establishing an NFL team in Dallas.

When Hunt learned the news regarding Halas’ announcement, he was livid. The following day he issued a statement of his own to the local reporter who had initially informed him of this latest development. Within days both Dallas newspapers had printed articles which publicized Hunt’s frustration over the NFL’s sudden plans to expand into the two Texas cities which were clearly the hub of the early development of the AFL. Hunt contended that whereas he and his fellow AFL team owners had made all efforts to maintain amicable relations with the NFL throughout the process of establishing themselves as an alternative professional league; that Halas and the NFL were obviously not interested in operating in accord. He reviewed the recent history of the NFL’s consistent resistance against the notion of expansion, in spite of several opportunities to establish franchises in a number of viable cities, and noted that among the potential markets for professional football which had been rejected by the NFL were both the cities of Dallas and Houston. Hunt thus reasoned that the NFL’s inexplicable newfound interest in establishing franchises in Dallas and Houston was a transparent effort to hinder the operation of the AFL franchises in those two major Texas cities.

Having raised Hunt’s dander with the obvious ploy to undermine his efforts to establish a professional football team in Dallas, the NFL nonetheless continued over the next several weeks to entice him to sell out his fellow AFL owners. Both Murchison and Halas on separate occasions offered Hunt a financial stake in the hastily planned NFL Dallas team, which was still scheduled to commence play in 1961. Hunt continued to decline such offers, again noting that money had already changed hands, and that he himself had already invested an abundance of time, money, and effort to establish the AFL in order to bring professional football to Dallas. In essence the efforts by the NFL were a matter of “too little, too late”, for had the league accepted Hunt’s own offers to establish an NFL franchise in Big D a mere few months earlier, then they never would have had to contend with the perceived threat of a rival league.

When it became clear that Hunt simply would not sell out his fellow AFL owners, and as it became increasingly evident that the AFL was developing into an actual functioning professional football league, Halas the NFL expansion suppressor transformed into a zealot for immediate league expansion. No longer satisfied with fielding teams in Dallas and Houston as late as 1961, Halas now even used the occasion of Bert Bell’s funeral in October of 1959 to promote the notion of fielding NFL teams in both Texas cities in 1960. Bell, the longtime Commissioner of the NFL, had suffered a fatal heart attack on October 11, 1959, while attending a game between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles. During Bell’s funeral, Halas circulated among the other NFL team owners, soliciting support to move the time frame for fielding both newly proposed Texas teams forward to 1960. Later that month, Halas made the public announcement that the NFL definitely would field an expansion team in Dallas in 1960, with plans to likewise field a new team in Houston in 1961.

The haste with which the NFL Dallas team was assembled caused a strategic challenge, inasmuch as the organization was being formed too late to participate in the annual NFL Draft. The challenge to field even an expansion worthy team without participating in the Draft seemed highly unlikely. Halas himself would eventually intervene on behalf of the prospective Dallas team in order to supply a certain key player to their squad, but he also had to deal with unexpected problems in Houston which forced his attention towards securing the 1961 NFL expansion team. For within weeks of announcing the NFL’s planned 1961 Houston franchise, negotiations between the NFL and Rice University regarding the use of their stadium failed, and thus Houston was no longer a viable option for Halas’ proposed 1961 NFL franchise. That setback notwithstanding; Halas remained as determined as ever to secure a second expansion team in his relentless efforts to uproot the obviously developing rival AFL.

By late October of that year; Ralph Wilson had formed an AFL Buffalo franchise, after failing to work a deal to do so in Miami. With the establishment of a Boston AFL franchise a few weeks later by New Englander Billy Sullivan; the nucleus of the American Football League appeared to have finally completely developed. The addition of these two franchises in Boston and Buffalo to the already established teams in Dallas, Houston, Denver, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, and New York constituted the pending American Football League. The eight city league now fully established, the initial AFL Draft was scheduled to take place in Minneapolis on November 22–23, 1959. But then just when everything seemed to finally be coming together for Hunt and his fellow owners, Halas struck a blow that seemed to jeopardize the entire existence of the AFL.

For on the very eve of the Draft, news broke that Minneapolis had defected to the NFL. Although Winter initially denied the report, there was allegedly a heated discussion that evening among the AFL owners. Hunt however issued a statement that denied the validity of the report, and so the draft in Minneapolis took place as scheduled. The rumors that the Minneapolis franchise would nonetheless defect to the NFL continued over the next few weeks, and by January of 1960 those rumors were confirmed. Indeed, Winter and his group had come to an agreement with Halas to defect to the NFL, with plans underway to field a Minneapolis NFL team in 1961. The timing of Winter’s actions could not have been worse. The ever resilient Hunt however rebounded quickly, and so despite the awkward circumstances, he simply proceeded to secure an eighth AFL team to replace the departing Minneapolis group.

The eighth and final franchise which once and for all fulfilled the AFL “original eight” was established in Oakland by Chet Soda and his associates. Similar to the strategic issues facing the hastily established NFL Dallas team, the AFL Bay Area team was challenged with the monumental task of fielding a team without the benefit of participation in the AFL Draft the previous November. As it turned out, a portion of Minneapolis’ picks were eventually surrendered to Oakland, but most of Minneapolis’ picks had already been signed by the NFL, the Canadian Football League, and even by some of the other AFL teams by the time the Oakland franchise was established. Thus, in order to accommodate the AFL’s Bay Area latecomers, there was a supplemental “allocation” draft held on their behalf in January, 1961. And so although Halas successfully lured the Minneapolis franchise away from the AFL, the resilient efforts of the embryonic AFL nonetheless prevailed with the establishment of the Oakland franchise. But Halas was still not yet done in his efforts to undermine the AFL.

The issue of fielding even a remotely competitive team for the NFL Dallas Rangers (later Cowboys) actually provided Halas with yet another opportunity to undermine the AFL Dallas Texans. The Texans #1 selection in the AFL draft had been native Texan and local SMU hero Dandy Don Meredith. Since the Rangers could not participate in the NFL Draft, then there appeared to be no chance for them to make a play for Meredith, who had been one of the nation’s top quarterbacks during his collegiate career. But the ever proactive Halas intervened with a plan which would both secure Meredith’s services for the NFL Rangers, and at the same time undermine the AFL Texans.

Halas first talked all the other NFL owners into not drafting Meredith, so that Halas’ Chicago Bears could draft the SMU superstar in the 3rd Round. Then Halas traded Meredith to the Rangers for a future draft pick. The very fact that Halas was able to convince all the other NFL owners to agree to such an arrangement is indicative of the power and influence that the Bears Owner/Head Coach wielded within the entire league. This scheme went exactly to plan. Dandy Don Meredith; the AFL Dallas Texans #1 ever draft pick, signed with the NFL Dallas Rangers, in spite of the fact that the hastily established expansion team was not even able to participate in the 1960 NFL Draft.

By wooing Minneapolis from the AFL, and Meredith from the Dallas Texans; Halas indeed dealt blows to both Hunt’s league and team. Yet as had been the case throughout the entire experience of his attempts to bring professional football to his hometown, Hunt endured and proceeded. Clearly, Halas had employed a variety of efforts throughout most of 1959 to hinder Hunt’s initial quest to establish a professional football team in his hometown, and to undermine Hunt’s secondary plan to form a new league in order to fulfill his primary objective. Yet ultimately, both the Dallas Texans and the entire AFL not only endured and came to be, but each of the “original eight” AFL teams exists and operates to this day. And so in the Fall of 1960, the AFL officially kicked off; featuring the following teams:

Boston Patriots (now New England)

Buffalo Bills

Dallas Texans (now Kansas City)

Denver Broncos

Houston Oilers (now Tennessee Titans)

Los Angeles Chargers (long time San Diego Chargers; now again LA)

New York Titan (now Jets)

Oakland Raiders (now Las Vegas Raiders; for several years LA)

The NFL Dallas Rangers of course, changed their name to the Cowboys, and they likewise kicked off their inaugural season in the Fall of 1960. Dandy Don Meredith would eventually quarterback the Cowboys to several playoff appearances; including consecutive NFL Championship Games, before retiring after nine seasons before the 1969 season. Although a three time Pro Bowler and member of the Dallas Cowboy Ring of Honor; Dandy Don is best known as an Announcer for Monday Night Football, a career move which ironically coincided with the merger of the AFL and the NFL in 1970.

The fact that Halas was able to outmaneuver Hunt for the NFL services of Meredith most definitely had an adverse effect upon the AFL Dallas Texans. For indeed the Texans did struggle with somewhat mediocre performances at the quarterback position throughout the 1960–1961 seasons. The Houston Oilers having been led to the initial back to back AFL Championships by the savvy NFL reject quarterback George Blanda; the Texans followed suit and signed an NFL reject quarterback named Len Dawson.

“Lenny the Cool” would subsequently lead the Texans to victory in the 1962 AFL Championship Game against the defending two time AFL Champion Oilers. Surprisingly, the Texans victory over their cross state rival Oilers that day would be the last game in the history of the Dallas Texans. For shortly thereafter, the defending 1962 AFL Champions Dallas Texans shocked many by relocating to Kansas City. Three years of competing with the NFL for the Dallas professional football market was simply too expensive for Hunt to maintain. Hunt had done his best to overcome Halas, and he had even delivered the people of Dallas their first ever professional football championship, but ultimately he lost the battle for Big D. Dallas was from 1963 forward strictly an NFL town.

Although Dallas has been an NFL town since the departure of the Texans in 1963; nonetheless history confirms the Dallas roots of the entire AFL. The very concept of the AFL was the brainchild of Dallas native Lamar Hunt, whose primary objective was to bring professional football to his beloved hometown. The original headquarters of the AFL was in downtown Dallas. The city’s first professional football league Champions were the Dallas Texans. In fact, every time an AFC team kicks off an NFL game, the legacy of the league whose origins are rooted in Dallas, Texas lives on.

Long live the memory of the AFL; the league whose origins are rooted in Dallas, Texas.

Sources:

remembertheafl.com; Ange Coniglio

“Ten-Gallon War”; John Eisenberg 2012.