1962 AFL Championship
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The 1962 AFL Championship Game was played on December 23 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 ...
in
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 ...
. The host
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 as ...
(11–3) of the Eastern Division were trying for their third consecutive
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. ...
title, matched against the Western Division's
Dallas Texans Dallas Texans may refer to: American football *Dallas Texans (NFL), 1952 team in the National Football League *Dallas Texans (AFL), 1960–1962 team that is now the Kansas City Chiefs * Dallas Texans (arena), 1990–1993 Arena Football League team ...
, also at 11–3.


Background

The two teams were the class of the league that year, and they split their regular season series, with the visiting team winning each game. The Texans thumped the Oilers at Houston 31–7 on October 28, and the next week the Oilers returned the favor with a 14–6 win at the Cotton Bowl. Dallas was coached by the erudite Hank Stram, and featured players on offense included Abner Haynes, quarterback Len Dawson, and rookie running back Curtis McClinton, a powerful All-American from
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. The defense showcased Johnny Robinson and E. J. Holub. Houston, coached by Frank "Pop" Ivy, featured a host of offensive talent with 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 seasons ...
, Charlie Tolar, the fleet-footed Billy Cannon, Charlie Hennigan, and unheralded Willard Dewveall. Jeppesen Stadium ticket takers counted 37,981 fans in attendance. Astronaut Gus Grissom placed the ball on the kicking tee as the honorary referee.1 2 3 Houston entered the game as a 6-point favorite.


Game summary

At the time, it was the longest game in the history of 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 ...
, and remains the longest professional championship game (and third-longest professional game) in the history of the sport.


First quarter

Early in the game both teams relied on the run. Houston with Tolar and Cannon gained the advantage and advanced the ball to the Dallas 4-yard line. The Dallas defense rose to the occasion and hit Blanda as he attempted to pass causing the ball to wobble right into the eager arms of the Texans' EJ Holub for an interception. Holub scrambled upfield but Houston's Al Jamison saved a touchdown by knocking Holub out of bounds at midfield. Len Dawson then mixed running and passing to the Houston 8 where Tommy Brooker booted a 16-yard field goal. Houston started driving again with Tolar and Cannon running, often from a " double wing" backfield formation. The drive stalled and Blanda missed a 47-yard field goal to conclude the 1st quarter.


Second quarter

When Dallas took possession, Jack Spikes promptly darted around left end for 33 yards, augmented by a 15-yard face mask penalty against Houston. Dawson then hit Abner Haynes, who had lined up as a flanker, on a curl-out pattern and Haynes scooted down the right sideline for 28 yards and a touchdown. Brooker's extra-point made it 10–0, Dallas. Later, in the quarter, Houston had the ball at their 32, when Blanda lofted a pass deep, but Dave Grayson picked the ball off and returned it to the Houston 29. Dallas kept the ball on the ground, with Haynes scoring his 2nd TD, and Dallas led 17–0. George Blanda would not be deterred and continued to pass, but a 4th down incompletion at the Dallas 25 ended another drive, and any more scoring threats in the first half. At halftime, AFL Commissioner Joe Foss presented Rookie-Of-The-Year Curtis McClinton and Player-Of-The-Year Len Dawson with Mercury S-55 convertible automobiles.


Third quarter

The Oilers received the kickoff and Blanda again came out throwing. With Charlie Tolar (an oil-well fire fighter in the off-season)3 knocking defenders down and Blanda passing, Houston culminated the drive with a 15-yard pass to Willard Dewveall, closing the gap to 17–7, Dallas. Later in the third period Haynes fumbled and Houston recovered at the Dallas 20, but Johnny Robinson picked-off Blanda's pass at the goal line and returned in to the Dallas 37. Dallas kept the ball on the ground in the 2nd half, intending to use up the clock and keep Houston's potent offense off the field. Dallas consistently moved the ball, but could not get into scoring position.


Fourth quarter

George Blanda using the double wing backfield, had Houston driving again. On a third down pass from the Dallas 24, Johnny Robinson delivered a hard hit to Billy Cannon at the goal line, knocking the ball loose and preventing a touchdown. Blanda then kicked a 31-yard field goal to make it 17–10, Dallas. Dallas stayed conservative and Blanda continued the aerial assault connecting with Cannon and Hennigan to move to the Dallas 1-yard line. Fullback Charlie Tolar, the ''"human bowling ball"'', took the ball in on a 1-yard dive, again knocking defenders out of the way. Blanda's extra-point tied the game at 17–17. With the clock running down, Dave Grayson blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt by Blanda to end any more scoring threats.


Overtime

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. 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 Harry William Hull Jr. (August 4, 1940 – May 3, 2020) was an American football defensive end who played in the American Football League (AFL) for the Dallas Texans in 1962. Career Hull played college football at Wake Forest and was selected b ...
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 William Thomas Brooker (October 31, 1939 – September 21, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a placekicker and end. He played for the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) from 1962 t ...
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. The Houston Oilers had come within a hair's breadth of winning the first three AFL championships, but the Texans prevailed, 20–17, in their last game before moving north to
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to become the
Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...
. They would win the AFL title again in
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
and
1969 This year is notable for Apollo 11's first landing on the moon. Events January * January 4 – The Government of Spain hands over Ifni to Morocco. * January 5 **Ariana Afghan Airlines Flight 701 crashes into a house on its approach to ...
, gaining berths in the
first First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
and fourth Super Bowls.


Players' shares

The overflow attendance of nearly 38,000 brought a gate of about $170,000 ($ in dollars). The winning Texans players each made $2,261 ($ in dollars), while the Oilers received $1,471 each ($ in dollars) . These shares were less than half of those for the NFL title game in 1962, at $5,888 and $4,166 each.


Aftermath

At the end of the season, the Texans moved to
Kansas City, Missouri Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
and changed their name to the Chiefs. The Chiefs would return to the AFL Championship 4 years later in
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
to earn a trip to Super Bowl I. The Oilers would go on to have four straight losing seasons before making it the AFL Championship game again in
1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...
, where they would lose to the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
. As of 2021, this is the last title game to have been played in Houston, and also the last title game hosted by the Oilers/ Titans franchise, which moved to Tennessee after the 1996 season. The
Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...
, who commenced play in 2002, are currently the only NFL team which has never played in a post-
merger Mergers and acquisitions (M&A) are business transactions in which the ownership of companies, other business organizations, or their operating units are transferred to or consolidated with another company or business organization. As an aspect ...
conference championship game.


See also

*
1962 AFL season The 1962 American Football League season was the third regular season of the AFL. It consisted of 8 franchises split into two divisions: the East Division (Buffalo Bills, Houston Oilers, Titans of New York, Boston Patriots) and the West Divis ...
* AFL Championship Games *
1962 NFL Championship Game The 1962 NFL Championship Game was the 30th NFL title game, played on December 30 at Yankee Stadium in New York City. It matched the New York Giants (12–2) of the Eastern Conference and Green Bay Packers (13–1) of the Western Conference, ...


Notes


References

# ''The Football Encyclopedia'', St Martin's Press, New York, , p. 357
1962 AFL Weekly League Schedule
# Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman or Jack Buck during ABC's original game broadcast

retrieved April 20, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:1962 Afl Championship Game Dallas Texans (AFL) postseason Houston Oilers postseason American Football League Championship Game
Championship Game In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...
American football in Houston
American Football League 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 ...
American Football League 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 ...