Repost: The AFL: A Football Legacy
The Shadow
'The Foolish Club' organizes its own eight-team game
The American Football League kicked off Sept. 9, 1960, as Denver defeated
Boston 13-10. During the following decade, the AFL challenged the National
Football League for professional gridiron supremacy, eventually prompting a
merger that led to the current 31-team NFL.
In preparation for the 35th edition of the AFL's most notable achievement --
the Super Bowl -- join us in a fond look at the watershed moments in a
league born from one man's simple desire to own a football team.
By Rich Loup, CNNSI.com
Given how big professional football is today, harken back to 1959, a year
before the American Football League came along. The NFL had 12 teams, with
only two -- the Los Angeles Rams and the San Francisco 49ers -- west of the
Mississippi River. The Washington Redskins were the team farthest south.
The AFL expanded the game's presence and helped complete the foundation that
modern football rests on today. The league's brief life (1960-69) still
spurs intense loyalty from those who were close to it.
"To me, it was the most vital part in football history," says Jerry Magee, a
San Diego sportswriter whose 25-year tenure covering the Chargers began when
the franchise moved from Los Angeles before the 1961 season.
"If you were even just on the periphery, it was almost like you were on a
crusade against this giant, this monolith. Every time, there's something
that should be described AFL-NFL or NFL-AFL, I put the AFL first."
From a modest eight-team beginning in 1960 to the Kansas City Chiefs'
victory in Super Bowl IV to close the '69 season, the AFL had a colorful,
bizarre history that is a large part of the modern National Football League
that we know today.
Hunt's dream
Lamar Hunt was a successful Dallas businessman who had been unsuccessful in
joining the National Football League. He wanted a football team and decided
to do something about it.
So Hunt formed the AFL and persuaded other men with huge fortunes, such as
Bud Adams and Barron Hilton, to join his league, which consisted of eight
teams. Each potential owner had to put up only $100,000 in a performance
bond and contribute $25,000 of earnest money.
That turned out to be a lucrative investment for Hunt, Adams and Ralph
Wilson. Their teams (today Hunt has the Kansas City Chiefs, Adams the
Tennessee Titans, and Wilson the Buffalo Bills) are now worth more than $500
million apiece. But Hunt, Adams and Hilton (who owned the Chargers) and the
other owners were called "The Foolish Club" when the AFL began operations.
However, Magee thought the league would be anything but foolish. "They had
money," says Magee "You had guys who had enormous fortunes like Hunt, Adams
and Hilton going against the NFL's football families like the Maras and the
Rooneys."
On June 17, 1960, the AFL filed an antitrust lawsuit against the NFL, for,
among other things, putting a team in Dallas after the AFL had placed one
there and for interfering with the league's attempt to get TV contracts. The
AFL's first contract with ABC averaged only $2,125,000 million a year for
the entire league.
After a two-month trial in 1962 in Baltimore, a federal judge ruled against
the AFL, but time was starting to favor the AFL. The fledgling league
survived, the stronger it became as a viable option to the NFL.
From the start, the AFL served notice to the NFL that it would compete for
top college talent. That was evident in 1960, when Adams' Houston Oilers
signed reigning Heisman Trophy winner Billy Cannon out of LSU for $100,000
per year. The problem was that Cannon had agreed to a contract with the Los
Angeles Rams for $50,000 per year.
The Oilers won the ensuing court fight. With Cannon in tow, the Oilers
reached the AFL title game in each of their first three seasons and won the
first two. Both victories were against the Sid Gillman-led Chargers, who
were based in Los Angeles in 1960 before shifting to San Diego in 1961.
"Sid Gillman brought to the AFL professionalism," says Magee. "The AFL had
to learn to keep up with him, or he would have devoured them."
In 1962, eight-year Canadian Football League veteran Cookie Gilchrist became
the AFL's first 1,000-yard rusher for the Buffalo Bills.
The Oilers were dethroned as AFL champs in 1962 in what turned into the
longest game in professional football history. Houston and Dallas were
involved in an epic struggle that lasted two overtimes for a total of 77
minutes and 54 seconds. In the first OT, the Texans won the toss, but Abner
Haynes made a dubious declaration. Haynes announced that Dallas would "kick
to the clock", which meant that not only would the Texans kick off, but that
they would also be going against the wind.
However, much like Garo Yepremian's ill-fated pass that was returned for a
touchdown in Super Bowl VII, Haynes' gaffe was just a humorous sidelight as
the Texans beat the Oilers 20-17.
Moving forward in New York
Following the 1962 title, Hunt moved the Texans to Kansas City in '63, where
the franchise adopted "Chiefs" as its nickname. That offseason, New York
didn't move, but it made changes in a nickname and ownership. Before a
five-man group that included Sonny Werblin and Leon Hess purchased the team
in 1963, New York was a laughingstock.
Magee recalls Titans officials had laughable methods entering one draft
before the Werblin/Hess group took over. "Here were the Chargers and the
Chiefs showing up with their libraries of material," remembers Magee. "The
Titans drafted out of the Street & Smith annual."
But Werblin was instrumental in luring University of Alabama quarterback Joe
Namath to the Big Apple in 1965, a signing for a reported $427,000 that
turned around the fortunes of a franchise and probably an entire league.
"You've got to have a fairly strong franchise in New York," says Magee.
"When Werblin signed Namath to the AFL, that was quite a coup." Namath was
the AFL's Rookie of the Year in 1965 as he threw for 2,220 yards, 18
touchdowns and 15 interceptions. The Jets finished with the same 5-8-1
record they had attained in 1964, but New York gradually improved until it
won the Super Bowl following the '68 season.
Preview of things to come
Besides a name change, the Jets also made news in 1963 as one of two teams
to participate in a talent dispersal draft. Other AFL teams provided players
to New York and Oakland, which had been the two worst franchises in the
league's three-year history. The Raiders used the talent infusion and a
glimpse of its future to turn their franchise around.
Al Davis, 33, became Oakland's head coach/general manager and guided his
team to a 10-4 record and a second-place Western Division finish. Davis
coached another two seasons before becoming AFL commissioner in April 1966.
Once he took over the league for a brief two-month stint, the gloves were
off and he began a fight with the NFL that became personal in the 1970s and
continues until today.
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Off-the-field competition yields game-changing merger
By B. Duane Cross, CNNSI.com
The American Football League survived its 1960-64 incubation period with
high expectations. But not even trailblazers Lamar Hunt of Kansas City and
Bud Adams of Houston could fathom what lay on the horizon.
NBC began televising league games in 1965, the result of a five-year, $36
million deal. It was the beginning of the end of the AFL; the financial
muscle now wielded by the league ultimately led to the AFL-NFL merger.
Also in 1965, New York Jets owner Sonny Werblin signed University of Alabama
quarterback Joe Namath to a stunning $427,000 contract. It was the league's
most high-profile signing since Adams' Oilers signed Heisman Trophy winner
Billy Cannon ($100,000) in '60.
In his autobiography Butkus: Flesh and Blood, former Chicago Bears
linebacker Dick Butkus recalls the bidding war between the AFL and NFL.
Denver scout Red Miller, who would later become the Broncos' head coach,
approached Butkus after his final regular-season college game and said
Denver was interested in signing the Illinois star. Miller said the Broncos'
owners -- the Phipps brothers -- were intent on bringing defense with a
capital D to the free-wheeling, pass-happy AFL. After word leaked to the
media, Butkus remembers, "mere buckets" of money became "wheelbarrows."
Merger talks begin
Dallas president-general manager Tex Schramm says, "After the 1965 season, I
was convinced the structure of pro football was in trouble. Teams in both
leagues were no longer drafting the best players. The draft became
predicated on which players you could sign."
In fact, AFL teams were so certain Heisman Trophy winner Mike Garrett would
sign with the NFL's Los Angeles Rams that none bothered to draft him until
Kansas City in the 20th round. Garrett signed with the Chiefs.
Joe Foss, a former two-term governor of South Dakota, stepped down as AFL
commissioner in 1966. Al Davis, general manager and head coach of the
Oakland Raiders, replaced him April 8. "I guess they [AFL owners] thought
I'd be a catalyst," says Davis. "It was a situation that called for some
constant pressure to be put on the other side."
"Joe Foss was the perfect image guy for the AFL in the early years," says
Jerry Magee, a sportswriter for the San Diego Union-Tribune. "He was a
folksy kind of guy." However, by the mid-1960s, the AFL was primed to
challenge the NFL for gridiron supremacy. And the AFL's new maverick
commissioner fired the first volley. Davis immediately began stepping up the
bidding war, raiding the NFL for players.
"When Davis took over, clubs started signing up some of the NFL's talent,"
says Magee. "The rationale was the AFL signings were a way to get back at
the NFL for the Pete Gogolak signing. [Davis] was the master of guerilla
warfare."
Gogolak, professional football's first soccer-style kicker, jumped ship from
Buffalo in the AFL to the NFL's New York Giants.
In retaliation for the Gogolak signing, Adams offered San Francisco 49ers
quarterback John Brodie a 10-year, $750,000 contract. The Oilers also signed
tight end Mike Ditka, and Oakland signed Rams QB Roman Gabriel with a
reported $100,000 down payment. None of the players ever suited up for their
AFL suitors.
"Al Davis taking over as commissioner was the strongest thing the AFL ever
did," remembers Magee. "He thought the peace [AFL-NFL merger] was a
detriment to the AFL because they had to pay reparations to the 49ers and
Giants."
Two months after Davis took the league's reins, the AFL and NFL agreed to an
alliance that included a common draft, championship game and a complete
merger by 1970. On May 31, 1966, Schramm and Kansas City Chiefs owner Lamar
Hunt hammered out the framework for the merger, which was announced June 8.
Included in the merger was an $18 million indemnity to be paid by the AFL to
the NFL over 20 years. Under the merger agreement, NFL commissioner Pete
Rozelle would oversee both leagues.
"Davis was the man who would be king," says Magee. "It was a disappointment
to him that they merged."
Davis stepped down as AFL commissioner on July 25, 1966, rejoining the
Raiders as managing general partner. Milt Woodard was named president of the
league.
On Sept. 2, 1966, the Miami Dolphins, the first expansion franchise in AFL
history with Minneapolis attorney Joe Robbie and entertainer Danny Thomas as
partners, made a splash in their inaugural game. Joe Auer returned the
opening kickoff 95 yards for the team's first touchdown. Nonetheless, the
Dolphins were defeated 23-14 by Oakland.
Off to a Super start
Following the 1966 season, Kansas City and Green Bay played in the AFL-NFL
World Championship Game (Super Bowl I). Vince Lombardi's Packers downed the
Hank Stram-led Chiefs 35-10 at Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles.
"Super Bowl I was the true war of the world," says Magee. "This year will be
my 33rd Super Bowl, and a lot of them run together. But I remember
everything about Super Bowl I.
"My most vivid memory is of the morning of the game. It was very foggy and
players were standing around the bus, hugging their wives, like guys going
to war. In effect they were."
Stram, whose Chiefs would win Super Bowl IV against Minnesota -- the final
title game before the merger took effect in 1970 -- was a linchpin for the
AFL. "He was a good guy for the league," says Magee. "He was a very good PR
guy and a good coach.
"The AFL introduced a lot of new things to pro football. They played zone
football. Stram did a lot of things, such as the floating pocket."
The first AFL-NFL draft occurred in 1967. The Baltimore Colts traded with
New Orleans for the overall No. 1 choice and selected Michigan Sate
defensive end Bubba Smith.
The AFL's most impressive individual accomplishment in 1967 came from
Namath. He passed for a record 4,007 yards and 26 touchdowns. Green Bay also
won Super Bowl II, a 33-14 victory over Oakland at the Orange Bowl in Miami.
It was Lombardi's final game as head coach of the Packers.
The 1968 season may have brought the two most famous AFL games -- both
involving the Jets.
On Nov. 17, Oakland defeated New York 43-32 in the "Heidi Game." The Raiders
trailed 32-29 with 65 second remaining in the fourth quarter, and NBC
switched from the game (except areas west of Denver) to the children's
classic.
What fans -- including more than 10,000 callers to NBC's switchboard in New
York -- missed was a 43-yard touchdown pass from Raiders QB Daryle Lamonica
to Charlie Smith and a 2-yard fumble return by Preston Ridlehuber on the
ensuing kickoff.
On Jan. 12, 1969, the investment in Namath paid off for New York. The Jets
stunned the heavily favored Baltimore Colts 16-7 in Super Bowl III. Three
days before the game, Namath told an audience at a Miami Touchdown Club
dinner: "We're going to win Sunday, I'll guarantee you."
Ironically, it wasn't the strong-armed Namath who was most responsible for
the victory, though he was named MVP (17 of 28 passing for 206 yards). Jets
running back Matt Snell rushed for 121 yards and New York's only touchdown
and Jim Turner kicked three field goals.
"This was a victory not just by the Jets," recalls Magee, "but the whole
league. [The Jets] substantiated the league. I know everybody in the AFL
felt that way."
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On The Air
ABC and NBC were the two television networks that broadcast AFL games. ABC
televised the games the first five years with Curt Gowdy and Paul Christman
as the main announcing team.
Gowdy went to NBC in 1965, when the Peacock Network took over after paying
$36 million for broadcast rights.
Known in the Northeast for his work with the Boston Red Sox, Gowdy became
NBC's signature sports voice as he broadcast Major League Baseball and
college basketball in addition to his AFL/NFL duties. Gowdy called eight
Super Bowls, including the first and third, when Namath and the Jets upset
Baltimore for the AFL's first victory.
NBC stayed with the AFL when it became the American Football Conference in
1970 as part of the merger and carried AFC games through the 1997 season.
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The Original Eight
In 1960, there were eight AFL teams: Houston Oilers, New York Titans,
Buffalo Bills, Boston Patriots, Los Angeles Chargers, Dallas Texans, Oakland
Raiders and Denver Broncos.
The last team added was Boston, headed by local businessman Billy Sullivan.
Like Harry Wismer, the broadcaster who owned the Titans, Sullivan was
underfinanced, a condition that would plague him even after the merger with
the NFL and eventually cause his family to lose the team.
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Fallen Challengers
No professional league in American sports has had to contend with more
pretenders to the throne than the NFL.
Seven times in as many decades a rival league has risen up to challenge the
NFL and six of them went under in less than five seasons. Only the fourth
American Football League (1960-69) succeeded, forcing the older league to
sue for peace and a full partnership in 1966.
Of the six other leagues, only the All-America Football Conference (1946-49)
lives on -- the Cleveland Browns and San Francisco 49ers joined the NFL
after the AAFC folded in 1949.
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AFL 1960-1969
There are several Web sites devoted to the American Football League. The
most comprehensive is at aflfootball.tripod.com. It contains draft choices,
game results and more -- a real gem for AFL fanatics.