The 1960 Houston Oilers season was the first season for the

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

as a professional

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

franchise Franchise may refer to: Business and law * Franchising, a business method that involves licensing of trademarks and methods of doing business to franchisees * Franchise, a privilege to operate a type of business such as a cable television p ...

; Head Coach

Lou Rymkus Louis Joseph "the Battler" Rymkus (November 6, 1919 – October 31, 1998) was an American football player and coach in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL). Playing as ...

led the Oilers to the AFL Eastern Division title, with a 10–4 record. It was also the first

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

season. It ended with a 24–16 victory in the

AFL championship game For its first nine seasons, 1960 through 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions (although ties in the standings in 1963 (Eastern) and 1968 (Western) necessitat ...

at home over the

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

(10–4).

Offseason

AFL draft

In the

1960 AFL draft The 1960 American Football League draft was held on November 23–24, 1959, in Minneapolis, shortly after the organization of the league, and lasted 33 rounds. An additional draft of 20 rounds was held by the AFL on December 2. Teams were requ ...

, the Houston Oilers selected the following players. * Peter Arena, G, Northwestern *

Dick Bass Richard Lee Bass (March 15, 1937 – February 1, 2006) was an American football running back from who played for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL) from 1960 to 1969. Early life and education Born in Georgetown, Mississ ...

, HB, College of Pacific * William Bohler, E/T, St. Ambrose * Larry Cadwell, T, Louisville *

Billy Cannon William Abb Cannon (August 2, 1937 – May 20, 2018) was an American football Halfback (American football), halfback, Fullback (American football), fullback and tight end who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and Nati ...

, HB, Louisiana State * Doug Cline, LB, Clemson * DeJustice Coleman, HB, Illinois * Bob Crandall, HB, New Mexico * Cleatus Drinnon, C, Hardin–Simmons * John Gremer, G, Illinois * George Herring, G/T, North Texas State * Steve Johnson, QB, Pepperdine * John Lands, E, Montana *

Jacky Lee Jack Ross "Jacky" Lee (July 11, 1938 – May 2, 2016) was an American quarterback who played professional football in the American Football League for all ten of its seasons (1960–1969). After playing football, baseball, and basketball at Elle ...

, QB, Cincinnati * Bruce Maher, HB, Detroit * Don Mattson, T, Southern California * Mike McGee G, Duke * Hugh McInnis, E, Mississippi State * Max Messner, T, Cincinnati * George Mulholland, E, New Mexico State * Gary O'Steen, HB, Alabama *

Gene Prebola Eugene Nicholas Prebola (June 30, 1938 – December 10, 2021) was an American football tight end who played four seasons in the American Football League (AFL) with the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos. He was drafted by the Detroit Lions in ...

, E, Boston University * Palmer Pyle T, Michigan State * William Roach, T, Texas Christian * Robert Simms, E, Rutgers * Phillip Snowden, QB, Missouri * Don Underwood, G/T, McNeese State * Duane Whetstone, FB, George Washington * Bob White FB, Ohio State * Maury Youmans, T, Syracuse

Regular season

* The Oilers scored an important victory over the NFL when they signed the

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

winner,

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

running back

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

. Cannon joined other Oiler offensive stars such as veteran quarterback

George Blanda George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American football placekicker and quarterback who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda played 26 seaso ...

Standings

Schedule

Week 1: at Oakland Raiders

Week 2: vs. Los Angeles Chargers

Week 3: vs. Oakland Raiders

Notable stats

Roster

Postseason

AFL Championship Game

Houston Oilers 24, Los Angeles Chargers 16 :''January 1, 1961, at

Jeppesen Stadium John O'Quinn Field at Corbin J. Robertson Stadium (often referred to as simply Robertson Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, located on the campus of the University of Houston. It was the home of the Houston Cougars football and wome ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

''
Attendance: 32,183 Scoring * LA – Field goal

Ben Agajanian Benjamin James "The Toeless Wonder" Agajanian (August 28, 1919 – February 8, 2018) was an American American football player, primarily a placekicker in the National Football League, the All-America Football Conference and American Football Leag ...

38 LA 3–0 * LA – Field goal Agajanian 22 LA 6–0 * HOU – Smith 17 pass from

(Blanda kick) HOU 7–6 * HOU – Field goal Blanda 18 HOU 10–6 * LA – Field goal Agajanian 27 HOU 10–9 * HOU –

Bill Groman William Frederick Groman (July 17, 1936 – June 17, 2020) was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver in the American Football League (AFL). He played college football at Heidelberg College, and played professionally ...

7 pass from Blanda (Blanda kick) HOU 17–9 * LA –

Paul Lowe Paul may refer to: *Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name) * Paul (surname), a list of people People Christianity *Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...

2 run (Agajanian kick) HOU 17–16 * HOU –

88 pass from Blanda (Blanda kick) HOU 24–16

Awards

'' Sporting News''
American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...
All-League Team – 1960

The

did not have an All-Star game after its first season in 1960, but an All-League team, selected by vote of the AFL players themselves, was published by the '' Sporting News''. In later years, the All-League players were augmented by

References

Oilers on Pro Football Reference

Oilers on jt-sw.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:1960 Houston Oilers Season

American Football League championship seasons Houston Oilers seasons