SWC75
Bored Historian
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- Aug 26, 2011
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I came across a history of the AFL on You-Tube and decided to watch it:
Full History of the AFL - YouTube
It got me to thinking what it was like to be an AFL player. What if you came out of college in the late 50’s and were rejected by the NFL, crushing your dreams. Then you heard about a new league that was being formed. So you gave it a shot. It was better than working in a factory next to Dad. You wound up auditioning at a high school field. They took you- maybe the last guy. But all you wanted was a chance. You worked hard and played hard and won a spot. Sometimes the checks bounced. Sometimes they didn’t. You got traded and traded again. You wound up on a team that won the championship. But it was the AFL championship, not the NFL championship, so it didn’t count- to some people. But it counted to you. You’ve got the cuts, bruises and maybe the broken bones to prove you earned it. Finally the AFL champs get to play the NFL champs – and they get crushed and then crushed again. But now with a combined draft, the AFL teams get a shot at the top talent and the rosters start to change. But you manage to keep your spot on one. Maybe you are a New York Jet or a Kansas City Chief. Maybe you aren’t but you root like heck for them, watching Super Bowl III and IV as the AFL champs beat the NFL champs. Now comes the merger and maybe your career lasts another year or two- and you are an NFL player at last. But you will always think of yourself as an AFLer.
I wondered how many players I had just described. I looked at the 1960 AFL rosters and checked to see how many of those players were on AFL rosters in 1969. I then limited it to players who had been on AFL rosters for every year of the 60’s. There were 20 of them. Here’s a brief summary of their careers with links to images of them, preferably from the old football cards I used to collect and a highlight video if I can find one. My reference sources are Pro Football reference.com: Pro Football Statistics and History | Pro-Football-Reference.com and Wikipedia. I’ll post one per day so we can appreciate each player.
GEORGE BLANDA (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) 6-2 215 quarterback and placekicker
He was an early star for Bear Bryant when he was the coach at Kentucky. He then spent the 1950’s playing for George Halas with the Chicago Bears, with whom he didn’t get along. He was released after the 1958 season and out of football in 1959.
He became a Houston Oiler in 1960 and became the AFL’s best passer and star of the team that won their first two championships, throwing for 36 touchdowns, then a pro record for the 1961 team. The Oilers lost the third AFL title game in overtime to the Dallas Texans, (who then became the Kansas City Chiefs). The Oilers faded after that but Blanda kept chucking ‘em, setting more records with 262 completions in 505 attempts but also with 42 interceptions in one year. I remember a Sporting News headline with a picture of big George throwing the ball saying “Blanda throws a bomb – or a dud”.
The Oilers let him go after the 1966 season when George was 39 years old but he could still kick the ball and was signed by the Raiders as a place-kicker and emergency quarterback. He spent the next nine years kicking for the highest scoring team in pro football, booting 156 field goals and 395 extra points. At age 43 he was called upon to replace the injured Daryle Lamonica at quarterback and led the team to 4 wins and tie, throwing for five TDs, kicking a field goal for a tie and two more for victories. Then he replaced Lamonica again in the AFC title game, dueling with Johnny Unitas and the Colts. He threw for 271 yards and 2 TDs while Johnny had 245 and 1. But two fourth quarter interceptions sealed the Raiders fate and George went back to placekicking. He finally retired after the 1975 season, having played the game since 1949. He retired as the game’s all-time leading scorer with 2,002 points. That’s since been passed by other placekickers but none of them passed for 236 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981.
Full History of the AFL - YouTube
It got me to thinking what it was like to be an AFL player. What if you came out of college in the late 50’s and were rejected by the NFL, crushing your dreams. Then you heard about a new league that was being formed. So you gave it a shot. It was better than working in a factory next to Dad. You wound up auditioning at a high school field. They took you- maybe the last guy. But all you wanted was a chance. You worked hard and played hard and won a spot. Sometimes the checks bounced. Sometimes they didn’t. You got traded and traded again. You wound up on a team that won the championship. But it was the AFL championship, not the NFL championship, so it didn’t count- to some people. But it counted to you. You’ve got the cuts, bruises and maybe the broken bones to prove you earned it. Finally the AFL champs get to play the NFL champs – and they get crushed and then crushed again. But now with a combined draft, the AFL teams get a shot at the top talent and the rosters start to change. But you manage to keep your spot on one. Maybe you are a New York Jet or a Kansas City Chief. Maybe you aren’t but you root like heck for them, watching Super Bowl III and IV as the AFL champs beat the NFL champs. Now comes the merger and maybe your career lasts another year or two- and you are an NFL player at last. But you will always think of yourself as an AFLer.
I wondered how many players I had just described. I looked at the 1960 AFL rosters and checked to see how many of those players were on AFL rosters in 1969. I then limited it to players who had been on AFL rosters for every year of the 60’s. There were 20 of them. Here’s a brief summary of their careers with links to images of them, preferably from the old football cards I used to collect and a highlight video if I can find one. My reference sources are Pro Football reference.com: Pro Football Statistics and History | Pro-Football-Reference.com and Wikipedia. I’ll post one per day so we can appreciate each player.
GEORGE BLANDA (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) 6-2 215 quarterback and placekicker
He was an early star for Bear Bryant when he was the coach at Kentucky. He then spent the 1950’s playing for George Halas with the Chicago Bears, with whom he didn’t get along. He was released after the 1958 season and out of football in 1959.
He became a Houston Oiler in 1960 and became the AFL’s best passer and star of the team that won their first two championships, throwing for 36 touchdowns, then a pro record for the 1961 team. The Oilers lost the third AFL title game in overtime to the Dallas Texans, (who then became the Kansas City Chiefs). The Oilers faded after that but Blanda kept chucking ‘em, setting more records with 262 completions in 505 attempts but also with 42 interceptions in one year. I remember a Sporting News headline with a picture of big George throwing the ball saying “Blanda throws a bomb – or a dud”.
The Oilers let him go after the 1966 season when George was 39 years old but he could still kick the ball and was signed by the Raiders as a place-kicker and emergency quarterback. He spent the next nine years kicking for the highest scoring team in pro football, booting 156 field goals and 395 extra points. At age 43 he was called upon to replace the injured Daryle Lamonica at quarterback and led the team to 4 wins and tie, throwing for five TDs, kicking a field goal for a tie and two more for victories. Then he replaced Lamonica again in the AFC title game, dueling with Johnny Unitas and the Colts. He threw for 271 yards and 2 TDs while Johnny had 245 and 1. But two fourth quarter interceptions sealed the Raiders fate and George went back to placekicking. He finally retired after the 1975 season, having played the game since 1949. He retired as the game’s all-time leading scorer with 2,002 points. That’s since been passed by other placekickers but none of them passed for 236 touchdowns. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1981.
