> Though known primarily for his offensive genius, Sid Gillman used the Chargers’ first pick in the 1961 AFL Draft on a strapping defensive end from the University of Indiana, named Earl Faison. Faison grew up during the Jim Crow era in Newport News, Virginia in the 1940s and 1950s. While discussing his what he [...]
>1960 AFL Rookie of the Year & Most Valuable Player – Abner Haynes
March 29, 2012 By 7 Comments
> People remember the Boston Red Sox outfielder, Fred Lynn, as the winner of major league baseball’s Rookie of the Year and Most Valuable Player awards in the season of 1975. The Seattle Mariners’ Ichiro Suzuki duplicated the feat in 2001. But few sports fans recall that Dallas Texans’ running back, Abner Haynes, won the American Football League’s [...]
>1961 Golden Tulip Chargers
March 28, 2012 By Leave a Comment
> 1961 Golden Tulips Chargers Ron Mix card In the early 1960s, AFL teams were attempting spread the word about “The Other League,” and were holding promotions of all sorts. One method that was nearly always popular, especially with younger fans, was player trading cards. Back of a standard Golden Tulips card While Topps and [...]
>1969 AFL Rookies of the Year – Greg Cook & Carl Garrett
March 27, 2012 By 1 Comment
> The American Football League had two rookies of the year in 1969, the Cincinnati Bengals quarterback, Greg Cook, and the Boston Patriots running back, Carl Garrett. Greg Cook, a strapping 6’4″, 220-lb quarterback with the University of Cincinnati, was the fifth players selected overall in the 1969 draft, taken by the Cincinnati Bengals. Cook [...]
>1968 AFL Rookie of the Year – Paul Robinson
March 26, 2012 By 2 Comments
> Paul Robinson grew up in the small town of Marana, Arizona, where he was a talented track athlete in addition to playing basketball and football. He graduated from high school in 1963, and after time spent at a junior college, earned a track scholarship to the University of Arizona. Robinson ran track for two [...]
>1967 AFL Rookies of the Year – Dickie Post & George Webster
March 23, 2012 By 1 Comment
> The American Football League had two rookies of the year selected in 1967; San Diego Chargers running back, Dickie Post, and Houston Oilers linebacker, George Webster. Dickie Post came to the Chargers after spending his collegiate years at the University of Houston. A 5’9″, 190-lb scatback, Post had a fast and furious running style, [...]
>1966 AFL Rookie of the Year – Bobby Burnett
March 22, 2012 By 5 Comments
> Bobby Burnett (#21) shown running behing Bills blockers. In 1966, the Buffalo Bills used their fourth-round draft pick on a 6’3″, 210-lb running back from the University of Arkansas, named Bobby Burnett. Burnett made an immediate impact on the Bills offense. In 14 games his rookie season, Burnett rushed 187 times for 766 yards and four [...]
>1965 AFL Rookie of the Year – Joe Namath
March 21, 2012 By Leave a Comment
> Joe Namath made a huge splash in the American Football League long before he ever played in his first professional football game. After a fantastic college career at the University of Alabama, Namath signed a then-unheard of $427,000 contract with the New York Jets, instantly making himself a topic of conversation in football circles [...]
>Channel 10 News in San Diego
March 20, 2012 By Leave a Comment
>Steve Smith of Channel 10 News came over to the house yesterday and we talked about the AFL, and this blog, Tales from the American Football League. Barring any major breaking sports news, those of you in the San Diego area will be able to see the interview on the news tonight, Channel 10 at 6:00. [...]
>The AFL’s First All-Star Game
March 6, 2012 By 3 Comments
> Two weeks after the Houston Oilers defeated the San Diego Chargers by a score of 10-3 in the 1961 AFL Championship Game, the league’s best and brightest gathered in San Diego to participate in the AFL’s first all-star game. The all-star squads represented either the AFL’s Eastern or Western Divisions, consisted of 29 players, and [...]
