Glory Days T he 1960s were a lot of fun for football fans For the first time people tuned in by the millions to watch games on television Exciting new college stars graduated to the professional game in huge numbers each year There was actually enough talent for two leagues In 1960 the American Football League AFL began play alongside the older National Football League NFL The Chargers were one of two AFL teams in California the Oakland Raiders were the other The Chargers played their first year in Los Angeles In 1961 they moved south to San Diego The Chargers had the AFL’s best coaching staff Sid Gillman Al Davis and Chuck Noll were all football geniuses They turned a group of unknown players into winners From 1960 to 1965 the Chargers reached the AFL Championship Game five times Quarterbacks Jack Kemp 6
Tobin Rote and John Hadl were the team leaders They had two swift and powerful runners Paul Lowe and Keith Lincoln Their best receiver was Lance Alworth He joined the Chargers in 1962 and became the AFL’s most exciting player San Diego won its one and only league championship in 1963 The NFL and AFL joined forces in 1970 and pro football became more popular than ever Now part of the NFL’s American Football Conference AFC the Chargers spent many years trying to rebuild the team San Diego used the same recipe for success as it had in the 1960s a quick-striking offense and a good defense From 1978 to 1981 the Chargers were the most thrilling team in the NFL Their leader was a tough strong-armed quarterback named Dan Fouts He threw for more than 4,000 yards three seasons in a row His favorite targets were Charlie Joiner Kellen Winslow John Jefferson and Wes Chandler Pass-rushers Louie Kelcher and Fred Dean starred on defense LEFT Lance Alworth was the AFL’s top receiver ABOVE Dan Fouts keeps a close eye on the defense 7
reached The Chargers the Super Bowl for the first time in 1994 Defensive stars Junior Seau and Leslie O’Neal led the team Seau was a fierce tackler who played the entire year with a painful shoulder injury O’Neal loved to sack the quarterback San Diego’s quarterback was Stan Humphries He was not a superstar but he always seemed to make big plays to win the close games Humphries got plenty of help from Natrone Means who ran for 1,350 yards and 12 touchdowns Tony Martin was the team’s top receiver In the years that followed the Chargers struggled to find the right combination of stars again They went through many up-and down seasons In 2000 San Diego lost 15 of its 16 games The team rebuilt around LaDainian Tomlinson a talented halfback who ran with speed and power He burst through holes LEFT LaDainian Tomlinson gained over 1,000 yards eight seasons in a row ABOVE Junior Seau gets ready to make a defensive stop 9
