For its first nine seasons,
1960 through
1968, the
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. ...
determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions (although ties in the standings in
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
(Eastern) and
1968 (Western) necessitated a tiebreaker divisional playoff game the week before).
In
1969, the tenth and final year of the independent ten-team AFL, a four-team playoff was held, with the second-place teams in each division traveling to play the winner of the other division in what were called the "Interdivisional" playoffs. These playoffs were not, and are not considered to have been, "
wildcard
Wild card most commonly refers to:
* Wild card (cards), a playing card that substitutes for any other card in card games
* Wild card (sports), a tournament or playoff place awarded to an individual or team that has not qualified through normal pla ...
" playoffs since the runners-up in both divisions qualified, rather than the two best non-division winners. (Had the 1969 playoffs been true wildcard playoffs, the Western's third-place team,
San Diego
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...
(8–6–0), would have qualified while the Eastern's runner-up,
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 ...
(6–6–2), would not have.) The 1969 AFL playoffs were only the second time a U.S. major professional football league allowed teams other than the first place teams (including ties) to compete in post-season playoffs (the first was the seven-team
All-America Football Conference
The All-America Football Conference (AAFC) was a professional American football league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) from 1946 to 1949. One of the NFL's most formidable challengers, the AAFC attracted many of the ...
's 1949 four-team playoff).
Prior to the advent of the
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
for the
1966 season, the AFL went to great lengths to avoid scheduling its playoffs head-to-head with the NFL. In 1960, the
NFL's game was held on Monday, December 26; the AFL had that week off, and played its
title contest on Sunday, January 1, as the college bowl games were played on Monday. In 1961 and 1962, the AFL played its game during the off-week between the end of the NFL's regular season and its title game (thus resulting in the AFL holding championship games on December 24, 1961, and December 23, 1962, a week before the NFL's games of December 31, 1961, and December 30, 1962). In 1963, the AFL held its Eastern Division tiebreaker playoff on Saturday, December 28, 1963, thereby avoiding the
NFL championship game
Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...
that Sunday (the AFL championship game was held on January 5). In 1964, pro football had a championship weekend, with the AFL's title game held on Saturday, December 26, and the
NFL championship
Throughout its history, the National Football League (NFL) and other rival American football leagues have used several different formats to determine their league champions, including a period of inter-league matchups to determine a true national c ...
on Sunday. For 1965, the AFL tried to return to the practice of playing its game on a Sunday during the off-week between the NFL playoff, slating its championship contest for December 26, while the NFL's game was not held until January 2, 1966; the
Colts and
Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the thi ...
required a Western Conference tiebreaker on the December 26, date --- and since that game went to overtime, the TV audience for the
Bills–
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 ...
title game in San Diego was diminished considerably. Even in 1966, the AFL originally scheduled its championship game for the off-week, planning to hold its playoff on Monday, December 26, six days before the
NFL title game on January 1.
Negotiations prior to the first Super Bowl, in early December 1966, resulted in the two leagues agreeing to have championship doubleheaders for the next four years, with each holding its title game on the same day but staggered, so that television audiences could view both. Thus the final four AFL championship games were held on the same day as the NFL championship game: January 1, 1967; December 31, 1967; December 29, 1968; and January 4, 1970.
The
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
and the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
include AFL playoffs in their statistics for the
NFL playoffs
The National Football League (NFL) playoffs are a single-elimination tournament held after the regular season to determine the NFL champion. Currently, seven teams from each of the league's two conferences qualify for the playoffs. A tie-breaki ...
.
Championship summary
* Eastern Division hosted in even-numbered seasons, Western in odd.
1960 Championship
1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 ...
Championship
1962 Championship
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
Playoffs
:''A tie in the Eastern Division standings necessitated an Eastern Division playoff game''
Eastern Division Playoff
1963
Events January
* January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist Dr. Gilbert Bogle and Mrs. Margaret Chandler are found dead (presumed poisoned), in bushland near the Lane Cov ...
Championship
The Chargers championship win is noted for being the only and most recent major sports championship won for the city of San Diego. No other city with at least two professional sports teams has a championship drought as long, as of 2020 (57 years). This is also the only time that the Chargers have beaten the Patriots in a postseason game.
1964 Championship
Mike Stratton's hit on San Diego Chargers running back Keith Lincoln set the stage for the Buffalo Bills and their first AFL championship.
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
Championship
This was the last AFL Championship Game before the
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
era began the following season and the last time a final pro football championship game was played in December. It was also the most recent championship won by a Buffalo-based professional sports team.
1966 Championship
The Bills went into the 1966 AFL Championship having already won the game the previous two years. Though the game was to be played in Buffalo, the visiting Kansas City Chiefs were three-point favorites, mainly because of their explosive and innovative offense led by Head Coach
Hank Stram
Henry Louis Stram (; January 3, 1923 – July 4, 2005) was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the Dallas Texans / Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NF ...
. The Bills were a more conventional team with a solid defensive line and a running mindset on offense.
Kansas City dominated the game from start to finish, forcing four turnovers (without losing any themselves) and outscoring Buffalo 24–0 over the last three quarters.
On the opening kickoff,
Fletcher Smith's short kick was fielded by defensive end
Dudley Meredith
Cecil Dudley Meredith (January 16, 1935December 22, 1987) was a professional American football defensive end in the American Football League. He played six seasons for the Houston Oilers and the Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a prof ...
, who promptly fumbled the ball, and KC punter
Jerrel Wilson
Jerrel Douglas Wilson (October 4, 1941 – April 9, 2005) was an American professional football player who was a punter for 16 seasons, 15 of them with the Kansas City Chiefs, in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football L ...
, who also played on the kick coverage team, recovered it for the Chiefs on the Bills 31-yard line. This led to the first score of the game, a 29-yard touchdown pass from
Len Dawson
Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Aft ...
to tight end
Fred Arbanas
Frederick Vincent Arbanas (January 14, 1939 – April 16, 2021) was an American football tight end. He played college football for the Michigan State Spartans. Arbanas was drafted in the second round (22nd overall) in the 1961 NFL Draft by the ...
. After an exchange of punts, Buffalo tied the game when receiver
Elbert Dubenion
Elbert Dubenion (February 16, 1933 – December 26, 2019) was an American football wide receiver and running back who spent his entire nine-season professional career with the Buffalo Bills of the American Football League. He played college foo ...
raced ahead of defensive back
Fred Williamson
Frederick Robert Williamson (born March 5, 1938), also known as The Hammer, is an American actor and former professional American football defensive back who played mainly in the American Football League during the 1960s. Williamson is perhaps ...
, caught a pass from
Jack Kemp at the Chiefs 45, and raced all the way to the end zone for a 69-yard touchdown reception.
Later on,
Mike Garrett
Michael Lockett Garrett (born April 12, 1944) is a former American football player who won the Heisman Trophy in 1965 as a halfback for the USC Trojans. Garrett played professional football for eight seasons with the Kansas City Chiefs and Sa ...
's 27-yard punt return gave the Chiefs a first down on the Bills 45-yard line. After a few plays, Dawson made a key 15-yard completion to Arbanas on the Buffalo 29. It was the last catch of the day for Arbanas, who ended up leaving the game with a separated shoulder, but it paid off big time as Dawson threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to
Otis Taylor on the next play, giving the Chiefs a 14-7 second quarter lead. Buffalo responded with a drive deep into Chiefs territory, featuring Kemp's 30-yard completion to rookie receiver
Rob Burnett on the Kansas City 12-yard line. But in what turned out to be one of the most crucial plays of the game, Kemp's next pass was intercepted in the end zone by safety
Johnny Robinson, who returned it 72 yards to the Bills 28.
Mike Mercer eventually cashed in the turnover with a 32-yard field goal that gave the Chiefs a 17-7 halftime lead.
The third quarter was a defensive struggle with each team punting twice. Near the end, Kansas City got the ball on the Bills 42-yard line, but failed to score when Mercer missed a 49-yard field goal attempt.
In the fourth quarter, the Chiefs put the game away with consecutive touchdown drives. First, Dawson's 45-yard completion to
Chris Burford
Christopher William Burford III (born January 31, 1938) is a former American football wide receiver.
Burford was a football captain at Stanford, leading the NCAA in receptions with 61 in 1959. The following year, he was a first round draft pick ...
gave the team a first down on the Buffalo 4-yard line. Garrett then ran the ball on the next four plays, his last carry a 1-yard touchdown run. Then on the first play of Buffalo's next drive, receiver
Glenn Bass
Glenn Alden Bass (born April 12, 1939) is a former collegiate and professional American football player. He played college football at East Carolina University. A flanker, he played professionally in the American Football League for the Buffalo ...
lost a fumble that was recovered by
Bobby Hunt and returned 21 yards to the Bills 20-yard line, leading to the final score of the game on Garrett's 18-yard touchdown burst. Buffalo could do nothing with their next drive, and on their final one of the day, Kemp was intercepted by
Emmitt Thomas
Emmitt Earl Thomas (born June 3, 1943) is a former American football coach and cornerback. He most recently served as the defensive backs coach for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played in college at the now def ...
.
Dawson was near perfect, completing 16/24 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns, while also rushing for 28 yards. Garrett rushed for 39 yards and two touchdowns, caught 4 passes for 16 yards, returned a kickoff for 3 yards, and added another 37 yards on 3 punt returns. Kempt completed just 12/25 passes for 253 yards and a touchdown, with two interceptions. Burnett caught 6 passes for 127 yards.
1967 Championship
The Oakland Raiders were ten and a half point favorites over the Houston Oilers in the 1967 AFL Championship Game. Quarterback
Daryle Lamonica
Daryle Pasquale Lamonica (July 17, 1941 – April 21, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL) for 12 seasons, primarily with the Oakland Raiders. He spent ...
, acquired in a trade from the
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...
in the offseason, led the Raiders to a 13–1 record, throwing 30 touchdown passes in the process. The Oilers went from last place in the Eastern Conference in 1966 to first in '67, beating out the
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...
by a game. Most of the Oilers' offense centered on big fullback
Hoyle Granger
Hoyle John Granger ( ;
Retrieved July 29, 2020 born March 7, 1944) is a former collegiate a ...
, and a midseason quarterback trade for the shifty
(sending their own starter, Jacky Lee, to 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 ...
) proved to be the spark that turned Houston's season around.
The previous meeting between the two teams had been a close game won 19-7 by the Raiders, with Lamonica struggling offensively. This was not the case in the rematch. Oakland took a 10–0 lead in the second quarter on a 69-yard run down the left sidelines by
Hewritt Dixon
Hewritt Frederick Dixon, Jr. (January 8, 1940 – November 24, 1992) was an American professional football player who was a running back for seven seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played for ...
, and on a fake field goal attempt Lamonica passed to
Dave Kocourek
David Allen Kocourek (August 20, 1937 – April 24, 2013) was an American gridiron football player. He played college football at Wisconsin.
Career
As a professional, he played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL ...
for the 17-0 halftime margin. Former Oilers 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 ...
, who had led Houston to the AFL's first two championships, kicked four field goals for the Raiders. Houston did not score until the fourth quarter, when they already trailed 30–0.
Oakland lost
Super Bowl II
The second AFL-NFL World Championship Game (known retroactively as Super Bowl II) was an American football game played on January 14, 1968, at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. The National Football League (NFL)'s defending champion Green Bay P ...
to the
NFL champion
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
.
1968 Playoffs
:''A tie in the Western Division standings necessitated a Western Division playoff game''
Western Division Playoff
1968 Championship
The Jets went on to win
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was an American football game played on January 12, 1969 at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida. It was the third AFL–NFL Championship Game in professional American football, and the first to officially bear the trademark name "Su ...
to become the first AFL
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...
champion.
1969 Playoffs
Bracket
Interdivisional Playoffs
1969 Championship
This was the final AFL Championship Game, as well as the final game played between two AFL teams before the
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 ...
with the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
. The Chiefs won
Super Bowl IV as the last AFL champion.
AFL Championship Game appearances 1960–1969
See also
*
AFC Championship Game
References
*''NFL Record and Fact Book'' ()
*''Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League'' ()
External links
'64 Title Game article from Billzone.comImages from '62 Title Game at Wireimage.com
{{NFL