Tales from the American Football League
Preserving the legacy of the AFL
In 1969, football fans in the Cincinnati area could receive a set of free football cards featuring the hometown Bengals that were being given away at Tresler Comet gas stations. This 20-card set had an orange and brown sepia appearance, with a facsimile autograph, and was printed on a thin card stock. The cards measured the standard 2.5″ [...]
After spending a couple of days working in Lance Alworth’s football archive a few weeks back, I posted an article featuring Lance’s 1964 AFL All-Star Game jersey, which he still owns. It is a beautiful jersey, and the photos that I took of the jersey gave many AFL fans their first look at a jersey from [...]
I have written before about growing up as a Chargers fan, and as such, developing a healthy dislike for the Raiders. I have also written about how much I enjoy the AFL’s badboy, Ben Davidson. The two might seem like mutually exclusive interests, but I would challenge anyone who has ever met Davidson (and not [...]
The fall of 1961 was the time when big-time football came to San Diego. The Chargers left their Los Angeles home after one struggling season, and moved south to the friendly confines of San Diego’s Balboa Stadium. Additionally, up on Montezuma Mesa, a man named Don Coryell left his spot as an assistant at USC, [...]
Paul Guidry was drafted out of McNeese State University by the Buffalo Bills, in the eighth round of the 1966 AFL Draft. Guidry was aa solid performer for the Bills, playing from 1966-1972. He played one more season for the Houston Oilers in 1973, before retiring from the game. AFL – Please describe your first [...]
One of the great names and early stars of the American Football League was Denver Broncos defensive back, Austin “Goose” Gonsoulin. The Goose began his professional career with a bang, leading the AFL with 11 interceptions in 1960. He was a three-time AFL All-Star, and left the league in 1966 as the AFL’s all-time [...]
The Miami Dolphins joined the American Football League in 1966, in the league’s first expansion. The team was cobbled together with college draft picks, free agent signings, and AFL veterans whose teams had made them available in the expansion draft. Led by head coach George Wilson and sometimes by quarterback George Wilson, Jr. (yes, that [...]
I recently emailed a single question to some former AFL players. What was the single most exciting moment during your years in the AFL, and what made it so? Two of the responses, I thought, were particularly moving, and mentioned the players parents. So in honor of Father’s Day (a day late), here is the [...]
