Meet the Broncos T he Denver Broncos know all about patience They played 17 seasons before making it to the playoffs for the first time Denver fans then had to wait another two decades before the Broncos won their first championship It felt so good that the team went out and captured another title a season later Broncos fans demand the best from their team That doesn’t mean that they expect Denver to win the Super Bowl every year but they always want to see a championship effort That is what makes the Broncos a fun team to watch They play exciting football This book tells the story of the Broncos Through more than 50 years of ups and downs two things have never changed First the Broncos find amazing players who can score at any time on any play from anywhere on the field And second Denver fans never stop believing that their team is ready to have another super season Von Miller and Ryan McBean celebrate a Denver victory This kind of team spirit makes the Broncos fun to watch 5
Glory Days B efore traveling by jet became possible in the 1950s Denver Colorado was considered too far away from other big cities in the United States to host a major sports team Things began to change in 1960 That year the American Football League AFL played its first season and the Broncos took the field as one of the league’s eight teams Over the next decade the popularity of professional football skyrocketed That helped the AFL attract lots of new fans Eventually the older National Football League NFL decided to merge with the AFL and form one league Denver fans were happy that the Broncos were part of a big success story Denver had many good players in the team’s early years including Lionel Taylor Eldon Danenhauer Gene Mingo Frank Tripucka Floyd Little Bud McFadin Al Denson and Rich Jackson But it 6
the turn was not until the 1970s that the Broncos began winning on a consistent basis Coach John Ralston helped team around after he became the coach Ralston built a strong defense called the Orange Crush Its leaders were Tom Jackson Louis Wright Lyle Alzado and Randy Gradishar The team’s offense featured fast and exciting players including Haven Moses Riley Odoms Otis Armstrong and Rick Upchurch Red Miller took over for Ralston in 1977 and Denver fans sensed that something special could happen That season Miller made Craig Morton the starting quarterback and turned the defense loose on opponents The Broncos went 12 2 and reached the Super Bowl for the first time They lost to the Dallas Cowboys LEFT Floyd Little signed this trading card He was the team’s best player in the 1960s ABOVE Linebacker Randy Gradishar faces the Cincinnati Bengals during the 1970s 7
