Great Series on The History of The American Football League

[jacklamabe65]

Yes, it's been out for years, but after the Gino thread, I thought that more of you should at least take a peek at this (to paraphrase The Cooz). An NFL Films Production (oh, the irony), it is well worth the time (four hours-plus). As someone who attended every Patriot home game from 1964-69, the love we had for all of the AFL teams was real. I have always thought that as a fan, I've experienced eight Super Bowl wins (including the 1968 Jets and the 1969 Chiefs). Remember the AFL! You CAN see it if you search on YouTube for "Full-Color Football: The History of the American Football League."
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_x_frsLShk&t=65s

 

[jacklamabe65]

"The pastel-orange color scheme of the AFL referees so annoyed Al Davis that he changed the Raiders color scheme to black and silver...."

 

[jaytftwofive]

And as far back as I remember it was always NBC. ABC may have done it before 63 but I could be wrong. 1964 was my favorite Pats team of the 60's. 10-3-1. I think they used to have highlights on Friday night of the week before. "Parilli back to throw". They lost twice to the Bills that year, including a December game in the snow at Fenway. They were good. The 63 team went to the title game but got blown out by the Chargers and were only like 7-6-1 or 7-5-2. The Giants were my NFL team like a lot of New Englanders. The good thing the AFL did was open up the passing game vs. the running game. Teams like the Chargers and the Raiders being the best example.

 

[Humphrey]

ABC had the contract through 1963. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1963_American_Football_League_Championship_Game

I believe on the Full Color Football series you will see a segment on the 1962 game. Abner Haynes made an all time gaffe that ended up not hurting his team.

"The first overtime started with a potentially damaging gaffe by Dallas captain Abner Haynes, who won the toss and said, "We'll kick to the clock.", inadvertently leaving his team with neither the first possession nor favorable wind conditions.[11] What Haynes wanted was the strong wind behind his team, but, by saying "We'll kick..." first, he gave the Oilers the choice of having the wind at their backs. As it turned out, it didn't matter. The first overtime went scoreless, but Bill Hull intercepted a Blanda pass to end it with the Texans at the Oilers' 48. In the second overtime, Jack Spikes picked up ten yards on a pass reception and nineteen yards on a rush. After the Texans ran a couple of plays to position the ball, rookie Tommy Brooker came in on fourth-and-nine, and kicked a 25-yard field goal after 2:54 of the sixth quarter, or 17:54 of sudden-death overtime, to end the game.[10] "

 

[sheamonu]

A great series. It's hard to imagine, given the run of failures that we've seen out of alternative leagues (WFL, USFL, XFL), just how successful the AFL was - and how it sparked a movement for "rival leagues" through the 60's and early 70's that were actually, if not rousing successes, at least viable. There are still teams playing today, in both the NHL and NBA, that owe their origins to the WHA and ABA. The AFL made people willing to at least experiment with those rogue leagues. But by far the most bizarre fact (at least to me) is that it is possible to say that 60 plus years on "the most successful franchise to have its roots in the AFL is the Boston/Bay State/New England Patriots". Forty years on from the start of the league you probably would not have been challenged too strongly if you had said exactly the opposite (though I wouldn't have agreed - in my opinion two conference championships and trips to the Super Bowl put us marginally ahead of the Oilers/Titans and, while the Chargers had the Dan Fouts', era - they were nothing too special). Now I can't see an argument for any team other than the Raiders and that is easily dismissed. If, in the year 2000, you had said that to anyone sitting and (literally) freezing their asses off on the aluminum bleachers in Foxboro Stadium, they would have called for medical assistance.

 

[jacklamabe65]

A great series. It's hard to imagine, given the run of failures that we've seen out of alternative leagues (WFL, USFL, XFL), just how successful the AFL was - and how it sparked a movement for "rival leagues" through the 60's and early 70's that were actually, if not rousing successes, at least viable. There are still teams playing today, in both the NHL and NBA, that owe their origins to the WHA and ABA. The AFL made people willing to at least experiment with those rogue leagues. But by far the most bizarre fact (at least to me) is that it is possible to say that 60 plus years on "the most successful franchise to have its roots in the AFL is the Boston/Bay State/New England Patriots". Forty years on from the start of the league you probably would not have been challenged too strongly if you had said exactly the opposite (though I wouldn't have agreed - in my opinion two conference championships and trips to the Super Bowl put us marginally ahead of the Oilers/Titans and, while the Chargers had the Dan Fouts', era - they were nothing too special). Now I can't see an argument for any team other than the Raiders and that is easily dismissed. If, in the year 2000, you had said that to anyone sitting and (literally) freezing their asses off on the aluminum bleachers in Foxboro Stadium, they would have called for medical assistance.

Yup. The last twenty years made up for a LOT.

 

[patinorange]

I am about halfway through this. It's fantastic. II don't go back far enough to remember ABC. But it seems like yesterday that Joe Namath legitimized my Patriots and the AFL. To this day, I can't work up any animosity towards the Jets.
I also remember watching Patriots highlights on Saturday afternoon from either Friday night games or Sunday the previous week. I also loved the Chargers. They had that sunny west coast late time slot, and those uniforms. Lance Alworth, Keith Lincoln, John Hadl, and others. '
You would go from the dark, dank CBS coverage of the Giants game early and then a burst of sunshine with wide open football. And the wonderful voice of my Red Sox announcer, Curt Gowdy.

 

[budcrew08]

I’m glad I saw this thread, I have a 4 and a half hour doc to watch. I’m a huge football history dork, this should be awesome.

 

[jacklamabe65]

I’m glad I saw this thread, I have a 4 and a half hour doc to watch. I’m a huge football history dork, this should be awesome.

Trust me. It is. BB is awesome throughout, by the way. He LOVED the AFL and what it brought to the table.