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NFL History 1960
- 1969
1960
Pete
Rozelle was elected NFL Commissioner as a
compromise choice on the twenty-third ballot,
January 26. Rozelle moved the league offices
to New York City.
Hunt
was elected AFL president for 1960, January 26. Minneapolis
withdrew from the AFL, January 27, and the same ownership
was given an NFL franchise for Minnesota (to start in
1961), January 28. Dallas received an NFL franchise
for 1960, January 28. Oakland received an AFL franchise,
January 30.
The
AFL adopted the two-point option on points after touchdown,
January 28. A no-tampering verbal pact, relative to
players' contracts, was agreed to between the NFL and
AFL, February 9.
The
NFL owners voted to allow the transfer of the Chicago
Cardinals to St. Louis, March 13.
The
AFL signed a five-year television contract with ABC,
June 9.
The
Boston Patriots defeated the Buffalo Bills 28-7 before
16,000 at Buffalo in the first AFL preseason game, July
30. The Denver Broncos defeated the Patriots 13-10 before
21,597 at Boston in the first AFL regular-season game,
September 9.
Philadelphia
defeated Green Bay 17-13 in the NFL Championship Game,
December 26.
1961
The Houston Oilers defeated the Los Angeles Chargers
24-16 before 32,183 in the first AFL Championship Game,
January 1.
Detroit
defeated Cleveland 17-16 in the first Playoff Bowl,
or Bert Bell Benefit Bowl, between second-place teams
in each conference in Miami, January 7.
End
Willard Dewveall of the Bears played out his option
and joined the Oilers, becoming the first player to
move deliberately from one league to the other, January
14.
Ed
McGah, Wayne Valley, and Robert Osborne bought out their
partners in the ownership of the Raiders, January 17.
The Chargers were transferred to San Diego, February
10. Dave R. Jones sold the Browns to a group headed
by Arthur B. Modell, March 22. The Howsam brothers sold
the Broncos to a group headed by Calvin Kunz and Gerry
Phipps, May 26.
NBC
was awarded a two-year contract for radio and television
rights to the NFL Championship Game for $615,000 annually,
$300,000 of which was to go directly into the NFL Player
Benefit Plan, April 5.
Canton,
Ohio, where the league that became the NFL was formed
in 1920, was chosen as the site of the Pro Football
Hall of Fame, April 27. Dick McCann, a former Redskins
executive, was named executive director.
A
bill legalizing single-network television contracts
by professional sports leagues was introduced in Congress
by Representative Emanuel Celler. It passed the House
and Senate and was signed into law by President John
F. Kennedy, September 30.
Houston
defeated San Diego 10-3 for the AFL championship, December
24. Green Bay won its first NFL championship since 1944,
defeating the New York Giants 37-0, December 31.
1962
The Western Division defeated the Eastern Division
47-27 in the first AFL All-Star Game, played before
20,973 in San Diego, January 7.
Both
leagues prohibited grabbing any player's facemask. The
AFL voted to make the scoreboard clock the official
timer of the game.
The
NFL entered into a single-network agreement with CBS
for telecasting all regular-season games for $4.65 million
annually, January 10.
Judge
Roszel Thompson of the U.S. District Court in Baltimore
ruled against the AFL in its antitrust suit against
the NFL, May 21. The AFL had charged the NFL with monopoly
and conspiracy in areas of expansion, television, and
player signings. The case lasted two and a half years,
the trial two months.
McGah
and Valley acquired controlling interest in the Raiders,
May 24. The AFL assumed financial responsibility for
the New York Titans, November 8. With Commissioner Rozelle
as referee, Daniel F. Reeves regained the ownership
of the Rams, outbidding his partners in sealed-envelope
bidding for the team, November 27.
The
Dallas Texans defeated the Oilers 20-17 for the AFL
championship at Houston after 17 minutes, 54 seconds
of overtime on a 25-yard field goal by Tommy Brooker,
December 23. The game lasted a record 77 minutes, 54
seconds.
Judge
Edward Weinfeld of the U.S. District Court in New York
City upheld the legality of the NFL's television blackout
within a 75-mile radius of home games and denied an
injunction that would have forced the championship game
between the Giants and the Packers to be televised in
the New York City area, December 28. The Packers beat
the Giants 16-7 for the NFL title, December 30.
1963
The Dallas Texans transferred to Kansas City, becoming
the Chiefs, February 8. The New York Titans were sold
to a five-man syndicate headed by David (Sonny) Werblin,
March 28. Weeb Ewbank became the Titans' new head coach
and the team's name was changed to the Jets, April 15.
They began play in Shea Stadium.
NFL
Properties, Inc., was founded to serve as the licensing
arm of the NFL.
Rozelle
indefinitely suspended Green Bay halfback Paul Hornung
and Detroit defensive tackle Alex Karras for placing
bets on their own teams and on other NFL games; he also
fined five other Detroit players $2,000 each for betting
on one game in which they did not participate, and the
Detroit Lions Football Company $2,000 on each of two
counts for failure to report information promptly and
for lack of sideline supervision.
Paul
Brown, head coach of the Browns since their inception,
was fired and replaced by Blanton Collier. Don Shula
replaced Weeb Ewbank as head coach of the Colts.
The
AFL allowed the Jets and Raiders to select players from
other franchises in hopes of giving the league more
competitive balance, May 11.
NBC
was awarded exclusive network broadcasting rights for
the 1963 AFL Championship Game for $926,000, May 23.
The
Pro Football Hall of Fame was dedicated at Canton, Ohio,
September 7.
The
U.S. Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals reaffirmed the
lower court's finding for the NFL in the $10-million
suit brought by the AFL, ending three and a half years
of litigation, November 21.
Jim
Brown of Cleveland rushed for an NFL single-season record
1,863 yards.
Boston
defeated Buffalo 26-8 in the first divisional playoff
game in AFL history, December 28.
The
Bears defeated the Giants 14-10 in the NFL Championship
Game, a record sixth and last title for Halas in his
thirty-sixth season as the Bears' coach, December 29.
1964
The Chargers defeated the Patriots 51-10 in the
AFL Championship Game, January 5.
William
Clay Ford, the Lions' president since 1961, purchased
the team, January 10. A group representing the late
James P. Clark sold the Eagles to a group headed by
Jerry Wolman, January 21. Carroll Rosenbloom, the majority
owner of the Colts since 1953, acquired complete ownership
of the team, January 23.
The
AFL signed a five-year, $36-million television contract
with NBC to begin with the 1965 season, January 29.
Commissioner
Rozelle negotiated an agreement on behalf of the NFL
clubs to purchase Ed Sabol's Blair Motion Pictures,
which was renamed NFL Films, March 5.
Hornung
and Karras were reinstated by Rozelle, March 16.
CBS
submitted the winning bid of $14.1 million per year
for the NFL regular-season television rights for 1964
and 1965, January 24. CBS acquired the rights to the
champion-ship games for 1964 and 1965 for $1.8 million
per game, April 17.
Pete
Gogolak of Cornell signed a contract with Buffalo, becoming
the first soccer-style kicker in pro football.
Buffalo
defeated San Diego 20-7 in the AFL Championship Game,
December 26. Cleveland defeated Baltimore 27-0 in the
NFL Championship Game, December 27.
1965
The NFL teams pledged not to sign college seniors
until completion of all their games, including bowl
games, and empowered the Commissioner to discipline
the clubs up to as much as the loss of an entire draft
list for a violation of the pledge, February 15.
The
NFL added a sixth official, the line judge, February
19. The color of the officials' penalty flags was changed
from white to bright gold, April 5.
Atlanta
was awarded an NFL franchise for 1966, with Rankin Smith,
Sr., as owner, June 30. Miami was awarded an AFL franchise
for 1966, with Joe Robbie and Danny Thomas as owners,
August 16.
Field
Judge Burl Toler became the first black official in
NFL history, September 19.
According
to a Harris survey, sports fans chose professional football
(41 percent) as their favorite sport, overtaking baseball
(38 percent) for the first time, October.
Green
Bay defeated Baltimore 13-10 in sudden-death overtime
in a Western Conference playoff game. Don Chandler kicked
a 25-yard field goal for the Packers after 13 minutes,
39 seconds of overtime, December 26. The Packers then
defeated the Browns 23-12 in the NFL Championship Game,
January 2.
In
the AFL Championship Game, the Bills again defeated
the Chargers, 23-0, December 26.
CBS
acquired the rights to the NFL regular-season games
in 1966 and 1967, with an option for 1968, for $18.8
million per year, December 29.
1966
The AFL-NFL war reached its peak, as the leagues
spent a combined $7 million to sign their 1966 draft
choices. The NFL signed 75 percent of its 232 draftees,
the AFL 46 percent of its 181. Of the 111 common draft
choices, 79 signed with the NFL, 28 with the AFL, and
4 went unsigned.
Buddy
Young became the first African-American to work in the
league office when Commissioner Rozelle named him director
of player relations, February 1.
The
rights to the 1966 and 1967 NFL Championship Games were
sold to CBS for $2 million per game, February 14.
Foss
resigned as AFL Commissioner, April 7. Al Davis, the
head coach and general manager of the Raiders, was named
to replace him, April 8.
Goal
posts offset from the goal line, painted bright yellow,
and with uprights 20 feet above the cross-bar were made
standard in the NFL, May 16.
A
series of secret meetings regarding a possible AFL-NFL
merger were held in the spring between Hunt of Kansas
City and Tex Schramm of Dallas. Rozelle announced the
merger, June 8. Under the agreement, the two leagues
would combine to form an expanded league with 24 teams,
to be increased to 26 in 1968 and to 28 by 1970 or soon
thereafter. All existing franchises would be retained,
and no franchises would be transferred outside their
metropolitan areas. While maintaining separate schedules
through 1969, the leagues agreed to play an annual AFL-NFL
World Championship Game beginning in January, 1967,
and to hold a combined draft, also beginning in 1967.
Preseason games would be held between teams of each
league starting in 1967. Official regular-season play
would start in 1970 when the two leagues would officially
merge to form one league with two conferences. Rozelle
was named Commissioner of the expanded league setup.
Davis
rejoined the Raiders, and Milt Woodard was named president
of the AFL, July 25.
The
St. Louis Cardinals moved into newly constructed Busch
Memorial Stadium.
Barron
Hilton sold the Chargers to a group headed by Eugene
Klein and Sam Schulman, August 25.
Congress
approved the AFL-NFL merger, passing legislation exempting
the agreement itself from antitrust action, October
21.
New
Orleans was awarded an NFL franchise to begin play in
1967, November 1. John Mecom, Jr., of Houston was designated
majority stockholder and president of the franchise,
December 15.
The
NFL was realigned for the 1967-69 seasons into the Capitol
and Century Divisions in the Eastern Conference and
the Central and Coastal Divisions in the Western Conference,
December 2. New Orleans and the New York Giants agreed
to switch divisions in 1968 and return to the 1967 alignment
in 1969.
The
rights to the Super Bowl for four years were sold to
CBS and NBC for $9.5 million, December 13.
1967
Green Bay earned the right to represent the NFL
in the first AFL-NFL World Championship Game by defeating
Dallas 34-27, January 1. The same day, Kansas City defeated
Buffalo 31-7 to represent the AFL. The Packers defeated
the Chiefs 35-10 before 61,946 fans at the Los Angeles
Memorial Coliseum in the first game between AFL and
NFL teams, January 15. The winning players' share for
the Packers was $15,000 each, and the losing players'
share for the Chiefs was $7,500 each. The game was televised
by both CBS and NBC.
The
"sling-shot" goal post and a six-foot-wide border around
the field were made standard in the NFL, February 22.
Baltimore
made Bubba Smith, a Michigan State defensive lineman,
the first choice in the first combined AFL-NFL draft,
March 14.
The
AFL awarded a franchise to begin play in 1968 to Cincinnati,
May 24. A group with Paul Brown as part owner, general
manager, and head coach, was awarded the Cincinnati
franchise, September 27.
Arthur
B. Modell, the president of the Cleveland Browns, was
elected president of the NFL, May 28.
Defensive
back Emlen Tunnell of the New York Giants became the
first black player to enter the Pro Football Hall of
Fame, August 5.
An
AFL team defeated an NFL team for the first time, when
Denver beat Detroit 13-7 in a preseason game, August
5.
Green
Bay defeated Dallas 21-17 for the NFL championship on
a last-minute 1-yard quarterback sneak by Bart Starr
in 13-below-zero temperature at Green Bay, December
31. The same day, Oakland defeated Houston 40-7 for
the AFL championship.
1968
Green Bay defeated Oakland 33-14 in Super Bowl II
at Miami, January 14. The game had the first $3-million
gate in pro football history.
Vince
Lombardi resigned as head coach of the Packers, but
remained as general manager, January 28.
Werblin
sold his shares in the Jets to his partners Don Lillis,
Leon Hess, Townsend Martin, and Phil Iselin, May 21.
Lillis assumed the presidency of the club, but then
died July 23. Iselin was appointed president, August
6.
Halas
retired for the fourth and last time as head coach of
the Bears, May 27.
The
Oilers left Rice Stadium for the Astrodome and became
the first NFL team to play its home games in a domed
stadium.
The
movie Heidi became a footnote in sports history when
NBC didn't show the last 1:05 of the Jets-Raiders game
in order to permit the children's special to begin on
time. The Raiders scored two touchdowns in the last
42 seconds to win 43-32, November 17.
Ewbank
became the first coach to win titles in both the NFL
and AFL when his Jets defeated the Raiders 27-23 for
the AFL championship, December 29. The same day, Baltimore
defeated Cleveland 34-0.
1969
The AFL established a playoff format for the 1969
season, with the winner in one division playing the
runner-up in the other, January 11.
An
AFL team won the Super Bowl for the first time, as the
Jets defeated the Colts 16-7 at Miami, January 12 in
Super Bowl III. The title Super Bowl was recognized
by the NFL for the first time.
Vince
Lombardi became part owner, executive vice-president,
and head coach of the Washington Redskins, February
7.
Wolman
sold the Eagles to Leonard Tose, May 1.
Baltimore,
Cleveland, and Pittsburgh agreed to join the AFL teams
to form the 13-team American Football Conference of
the NFL in 1970, May 17. The NFL also agreed on a playoff
format that would include one "wild-card" team per conference-the
second-place team with the best record.
Monday
Night Football was signed for 1970. ABC acquired the
rights to televise 13 NFL regular-season Monday night
games in 1970, 1971, and 1972.
George
Preston Marshall, president emeritus of the Redskins,
died at 72, August 9.
The
NFL marked its fiftieth year by the wearing of a special
patch by each of the 16 teams.
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