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Los Angeles CHARGERS
American Football League
Charter Members
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San Diego
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       The Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers were one of the elements that helped make the American Football League the genesis of modern professional football.  Their only coach for the ten year life of the AFL was Sid Gillman, a Hall of Famer who forced his competition to try to field as professional a product as the Chargers.  With stars such as Lance Alworth, Paul Lowe, Keith Lincoln and John Hadl, the Chargers' offense struck fear into the hearts of AFL defenders.   The Chargers also played defense, as indicated by their professional football record 49 pass interceptions in 1961.  The term "Fearsome Foursome" was first applied to the Chargers' defensive front four of Ron Nery, Bill Hudson, Ernie Ladd, and Earl Faison.    The Chargers franchise appeared in the first two American Football League Championship games and five altogether, winning the AFL title in 1963 with a 51 - 10 thumping of the Boston Patriots.  AND the Chargers had the best uniforms in the history of pro football.
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The ORIGINAL Fearsome Foursome

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Chargers in the American Football League Hall of Fame

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     The Los Angeles Chargers' Dave Kocourek hurdles the New York Titans' Larry Grantham.

LANCE ALWORTH

       At the University of Arkansas, six-foot, 180-pound Lance Alworth was a running back who led all colleges in punt return yardage in 1960 and in 1961.  He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
       The Chargers moved Alworth to wide receiver after drafting him in the second round in 1962.   His slender build, speed, and grace earned him the nickname "Bambi".  He was an all-AFL selection 7 consecutive times, from 1963 (when he was the United Press' AFL MVP) through 1969.  Alworth gained over 1,000 yds receiving in each of those years.  He scored on a 48-yd td pass reception in the Chargers' 1963 AFL Championship game victory over the Boston Patriots.  Lance Alworth is a member of the AFL's All-Time Team. 

He held records for the most consecutive games with a reception, 96, and the most games with 200 or more yards on receptions, 5.   The only receiver to average more than 100 yards a game in 3 consecutive seasons, 1964 through 1966, he was without a doubt the best player at his position in all of professional football.  Alworth formed a formidable tandem with the Chargers' Hall of Fame quarterback John Hadl.

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EARL FAISON

       Drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers in 1961, 6-foot-5, 260-pound Earl Faison blew by opposing offensive lineman on his way to smashing American Football League quarterbacks.  Faison was an All-American at Indiana University and is a member of the school’s Hall of Fame.
       Faison was a member of the original "Fearsome Foursome" (the Chargers' defensive line) from 1961-66. The “Foursome” was made up of Faison and Hall of Fame linemate Ernie Ladd, with alternate members of the group including Bob Petrich, Ron Nery, George Gross, Bill Hudson and Henry Schmidt.
       Despite being double and triple-teamed, Faison was chosen as the American Football League Rookie of the Year in 1961. He was an American Football League All-Star five straight years, 1961 through 1965, and is a member of the Chargers Hall of Fame.

A member of the
American Football League
Hall of Fame

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JOHN HADL

       After playing halfback on both offense and defense at the University of Kansas as a sophomore, John Hadl played quarterback for his last two years at Kansas, and was selected as the school's Player of the Century.  He was an All-American at running back in 1960 and at quarterback in 1961, and is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
       The 6-foot-1, 210-pounder joined the American Football League's Chargers in 1962. He shared quarterbacking duties until 1966, when he became San Diego's starting quarterback, and averaged over 3,000 yards and 23 tds per (14-game) season for the next four years, as part of a virtually unstoppable combination with Lance Alworth.  He was the American Football League's leading passer in 1965 and 1968.  Hadl was an AFL All-Star in 1964, 1965, 1968 and in 1969, when he was the AFL All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player.  He is the third leading passer in league history, behind Hall of Famers Jack Kemp and George Blanda.

A member of the
American Football League
Hall of Fame

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ERNIE LADD

       The San Diego Chargers selected Grambling standout Ernie Ladd with their 15th pick in the 1961 draft.   At 6'9" and 315 pounds, Ladd was arguably the biggest and strongest man in professional football: 52-inch chest, 39-inch waist, 20-inch biceps, 19-inch neck, 20-inch calf, and size 18D shoes.  He played in three AFL championship games, helping the Chargers win the American Football League title in 1963 with fellow Hall of Famer Earl Faison, both members of the original “Fearsome Foursome”.
        Ladd spent the 1966 season playing for the Houston Oilers before moving, in 1967, to the Kansas City Chiefs. There, with Buck Buchanan, a former Grambling teammate, he filled out what was probably the biggest defensive tackle tandem in history, and won another AFL title. Both Buchanan and Ladd are in the Grambling Hall of Fame.
       The Patriots’ Hall of Fame center Jon Morris said Ladd was so big, he blocked out the sun: “It was dark. I couldn’t see the linebackers. I couldn’t see the goalposts. It was like being locked in a closet.”  Ladd was an American Football League All-Star from 1962 through 1965.  He was inducted into San Diego's Breitbart Hall of Fame in 2005.

A member of the
American Football League
Hall of Fame

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KEITH LINCOLN

       At Washington State University,  Keith Lincoln was an all-around player and the school's career rushing leader.  He maintained his versatility after being drafted by the San Diego Chargers in 1961.  In 1963 he led the team in rushing, punt return and kickoff return yards.  He carried 128 times for 826 yards, a 6.45 yards per attempt average and an all-time season record.  As MVP of the the 1963 American Football League Championship game, he accounted for 349 yards of total offense, with 206 yards on 13 carries, 123 yards on 7 receptions, 20 yards on kick returns, a 68-yard td run and a 25-yard td reception, as the Chargers defeated the Boston Patriots 51-10.
       A five-time American Football League All-Star selection (1962-'65 and 1967), Lincoln produced unforgettable plays virtually every season.  In 1961 he caught a record-setting 91 yard TD pass; in 1962, he ran a kickoff back for a Chargers' record 103 yards.  Lincoln had three games in which he gained 100 or more yards on 14 or fewer carries, and in 1963 was the  AFL All-Star Game's Most Valuable Player.

A member of the
American Football League
Hall of Fame

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PAUL LOWE

Paul Lowe of Oregon State University played for the Los Angeles and San Diego Chargers from 1960 through 1968.  His blazing speed helped him gain nearly 5,000 yards, the Chargers' all-time best, as is his 4.89 yards-per-carry average, which was also the AFL's all-time best.  He returned his first touch of the football in the American Football League for a 105 yard touchdown in the Chargers first-ever exhibition game, and had the Chargers' longest run from scrimmage with an 87-yard run in 1961.  He had 1,010 yards on just 136 carries for a 5.7 yard average in 1963 and was the American Football League MVP in 1965 with 1,121 yards rushing (14-game schedule),  a two-time all-American Football League selection, and a halfback on the AFL's All-Time Team.   Lowe had the American Football League's all-time highest rushing average, at 4.89 yds/carry, and set a pro football record with six games in which he gained 100 or more yards on 14 or fewer carries.  He is one of only twenty players who were in the American Football League for its entire ten-year existence.

A member of the
American Football League
Hall of Fame

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RON MIX

Ron Mix of the University of Southern California was an original Los Angeles Charger in 1960.  Because he had a law degree, Mix was nicknamed "The Intellectual Assassin" for his physical play. 
          Mix was called for a mere 2 holding penalties in 10 years.  He was a factor in the Chargers' early domination of the American Football League's Western Division, and helped them win an American Football League Championship in 1963, when they defeated the Boston Patriots.  
         Mix was elected to the All-AFL Team or the American Football League All-Star team for nine straight years, 1960 through 1968.  He was a unanimous choice to the American Football League's All-Time Team, and is one of only twenty men who played the entire ten years of the AFL.

A member of the
American Football League
Hall of Fame

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TOBIN ROTE

       Quarterback Tobin Rote led Rice University to two Southwest Conference titles in the late 1940s.   As a professional, he is a player who “fell between the cracks”. The American Football League Hall of Fame ordinarily honors players whose greatest contribution to professional football was in the AFL.  Some were in the AFL before they had more extensive post-merger careers that resulted in their induction to the “pro football” hall of fame.  These players have been included in the AFL Hall of Fame.   Rote, however, played ten years in the older league, then three years in the Canadian Football League, then only three years in the AFL before his career ended.         
          It is not our usual policy to present players’ NFL accomplishments, but we feel this is a special case.

          After making enough of an impression on the Packers to be in their team’s hall of fame, Tobin Rote went on to the Lions, where he led the team to an NFL championship in 1957, the last time they would win one.  He played there until 1959, then from 1960 through 1962 was with the CFL’s Toronto Argonauts, where he lifted a 4-10 team to within one game of the Grey Cup, and in 1960 had six 300+ yard games, three 5-td games, a game with 38 completions, and a league record 38 tds in the season.
          In 1963, he joined the San Diego Chargers of the AFL, and threw for 2,510 yards on 170 completions out of 286 attempts, for 17 touchdowns and rushed for two scores.  In the American Football League Championship game, he scored a rushing touchdown and passed for three more as he led the San Diego Chargers to a 51-10 defeat of the Boston Patriots.  He was selected by the Associated Press as the 1963 American Football League Most Valuable Player.
          Rote accumulated 15,144 yards passing in the NFL, 9,872 in the CFL, and 3,706 in the AFL for a total of 28,722:  more than Daryle Lamonica, Jack Kemp, Bob Griese or Joe Namath, and just 5 yards short of Len Dawson.  He had 115 td throws in the NFL, 66 in the CFL, and 33 in the AFL for a total of 214:  more than Flores, Kemp, Lamonica, Namath, Parilli, or Griese.   He was the only quarterback ever to lead his team to championships in both the NFL and the AFL.
          If the “pro football” hall of fame were truly representative of ALL of professional football, Tobin Rote would be in it.   It has demurred, so in spite of his serving only three years in the AFL, we accept him as our own and install him in the American Football League Hall of Fame.

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WALT SWEENEY

       From Syracuse University where he made the school's all-century team, Walt Sweeney played in the North-South Game and the College All-Star Game.  A first-round draft pick of the Chargers, in his rookie year in 1963, helped them win the American Football League championship.  A premier guard, he was versatile enough to fill in at virtually any offensive line position.  Sweeney was an American Football League All-Star at offensive guard in 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, and 1969.  In 1968, Pro Football Weekly selected him to its combined all-pro team.  Sweeney was selected to the All-Time All-AFL second team.

A member of the
American Football League
Hall of Fame

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SID GILLMAN

An Ohio State University alumnus,  Sid Gillman was recognized for his mastery of the passing game, which held a lifelong fascination for him.  Even after his separation from coaching in the early '80s, Gillman continued to study passers and passing offense.  His career took him from Ohio State to Denison University to Miami of Ohio, where he won his first head coaching position in 1944. In 1948, he was Army's line coach under Earl Blaik, then returned to Ohio to become head coach at Cincinnati University.  
           His greatest coaching success came after he was persuaded by Barron Hilton, then the Chargers' majority owner, to become the head coach of the American Football League franchise he planned to operate in Los Angeles. When the team's general manager, the late Frank Leahy, became ill during the Chargers' founding season, Gillman took on additional responsibilities as general manager.  

            As the first coach of the Chargers, Gillman gave the team a personality that matched his own.  He was mercurial.  Gillman's concepts formed the foundation of the so-called "West Coast offense" that pro football teams are still using.   He had much to do with the American Football League being able to establish itself. Gillman was a thorough professional. In order to compete with him, his peers had to learn pro ways. They learned, and the American Football League became the genesis of modern professional football."Sid Gillman brought class to the AFL," Oakland Raiders managing general partner Al Davis once said of the man he served under on that first Chargers team. "Being part of Sid's organization was like going to a laboratory for the highly developed science of professional football."    Through Gillman's tenure as head coach, the Chargers went 87-57-6 and won five AFL Western Division titles.   In 1963 they captured the only league championship the club ever won by outscoring the Boston Patriots, 51-10, in the American Football League championship game in Balboa Stadium.    That game was a measure of Gillman's genius. He crafted a game plan he entitled "Feast or Famine" that used motion, then seldom seen, to negate the Patriots' blitzes. His plan freed running back Keith Lincoln to rush for 206 yards.   In addition to Lincoln, on Gillman's teams through the '60s were these Hall of Famers: wide receiver Lance Alworth; offensive tackle Ron Mix; running back Paul Lowe; quarterback John Hadl; and defensive linemen Ernie Ladd and Earl Faison.  Gillman was one of only two head coaches to hold that position for the entire ten years of the American Football League.

A member of the
American Football League Hall of Fame

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 Glorify the Past