The Joliet Chargers was the final nickname of the 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 based in

Joliet, Illinois Joliet ( ) is a city in Will County, Illinois, Will and Kendall County, Illinois, Kendall counties in the U.S. state of Illinois, southwest of Chicago. It is the county seat of Will County. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the cit ...

from 1964 to 1967. The Joliet Explorers played the 1964 season as members of the United Football League. In 1965, Joliet became charter members of the

Professional Football League of America The Professional Football League of America (PFLA) was an American football minor league that operated in the Midwest region of the United States from 1965 through 1967. With franchises based in the Midwest, the league played three seasons befor ...

(PFLA) and played the next three seasons in the league. The 1967 Joliet Chargers were an affiliate of the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

History

In the 1964 season, the Joliet Explorers played the final season of the eight–team United Football League and had a winless season. Joliet finished the 1964 season with a record of 0–14. The head coaches were Joe Petruzzi (0–4), Rocco Tarsitano (0–6) and Jack Morton (0–3). The Explorers placed fourth in the Eastern Division, won by Indianapolis Warriors with a 10–4 record. The PFLA began play in 1965, with the Joliet Explorers becoming a charter franchise in the six–team league. The Des Moines Warriors, Grand Rapids Blazers, Lincoln Comets and

Omaha Mustangs The Omaha Mustangs were a professional American football team based in Omaha, Nebraska. They began as an independent, semi-pro team in the early 1960s before joining the Professional Football League of America, a newly formed league based on remna ...

and Rock Island Raiders franchises joined the Joliet Explorers as charter members of the league. The PFLA evolved from the disbanded United Football League and began play in the fall of 1965. In their first season of play, the Joliet Explorers won the 1965 Pro Football League of America championship. The Explorers ended the regular season with a record of 8–1–1 record, playing under head coach

Jesse Vail Jesse Aaron Vail II (February 21, 1928 – August 7, 2003) was an American football coach. He served as the head football coach at North Central College in Naperville, Illinois from 1956 to 1963 and at Culver–Stockton College in Canton, Missou ...

. The Explorers tied for 1st place with the Grand Rapids Blazers, who also had an 8–1–1 record. During the season, Joliet had defeated Grand Rapids 34–16 in their season opener at home and tied the teams 10–10 playing at Grand Rapids on October 7, 1965. Following the regular season, two teams played a two game playoff for the championship. On November 7, 1965, at

Joliet Memorial Stadium Joliet Memorial Stadium is a 10,000-seat multipurpose stadium located in Joliet, Illinois. It is used mostly for American football and soccer matches, and also sometimes for athletics. It was built in the early 1950s, opened in 1951 and is dedicate ...

, Joliet won the first game 7–3 in front of 4,600 fans. On November 14, 1965, Joliet captured the championship with a 12–6 victory at Grand Rapids. LeRoy Adams, Chuck Billings, Art Dillard, Ed Francois, Ken McGhie, Bill Mundee, Walt Nichols, Ron Parr and Togo Silvani of Joliet were named to the 1965 All–PFLA team The 1966, Joliet Explorers continued PFLA play and finished in third place in the five–team league. For the 1966 league season, the Rock Island Raiders franchise became the Quad City Raiders and the Lincoln Comets franchise did not return to league of America play and were not replaced, with the league playing with five teams in 1966. The Joliet Explorers placed third in the standings with a record of 6–4, playing under head coach Bob Webb. Also serving as the Joliet quarterback, Bob Webb threw for 840 yards with 9 touchdown passes on the season. The Omaha Mustangs won the PFLA championship game, defeating the Des Moines Warriors. LeRoy Adams, Ollie Cromwell, Ralph Fahey, Ed Francois, Dave Mulderink, Bill Mundee and Togo Silvani of Joliet were awarded positions on the 1966 All–PFLA team. In their final season of play, the Joliet Chargers captured the Pro Football League of America championship and fullback Paul Hudson of Joliet was named the PFLA's Most Valuable Player. To begin the 1967 season, the PFLA expanded, adding the

Alabama Hawks The Alabama Hawks were a professional American football team based in Huntsville, Alabama. They were members of various minor league football circuits in the 1960s: the Southern Football League (1963–64); the North American Football League ...

Chicago Owls The Chicago Owls were a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They were members of the Professional Football League of America (PFLA) in 1967 and, after the leagues merged, the Continental Football League (COFL) during t ...

and Oklahoma City Plainsmen franchises as expansion members. The 1967 league played in two divisions and

returned to coach Joliet. In May 1967, the Joliet franchise became an affiliate of the

of 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. ...

and changed their moniker to become the Joliet "Chargers" for the 1967 season. In 1967, the Alabama Hawks won the Western Division with a 9–3 record and hosted the league's championship game at Milton Frank Stadium, losing 31–20 to the Joliet Chargers, who had won the Eastern Division with a 10–2 record. LeRoy Adams, Paul Hudson, Walt Nichols and Sam Parham of the Chargers were named to the 1967 All–PFLA team. The Pro Football League of America permanently folded following the 1967 season. In February 1968, the Continental Football League expanded to include some PFLA teams, but the Joliet franchise did not continue play in the Continental Football League.

The stadium

In the 1964, 1965 and 1966 seasons the Joliet Explorers played football home games at

. Opened in 1951, Joliet Memorial Stadium is still in use as a multi-purpose stadium. It is located at 3000 West Jefferson Street, Joliet, Illinois. The 1967 Joliet Chargers were noted to have played home football games at "West Jefferson Stadium." This identification corresponds to the street location of Joliet Memorial Stadium.

Season-by-season

Notable alumni

* Bob Briggs (1967) *

Levert Carr Levert F. Carr (born June 30, 1944) is a former American football player who played four seasons in the National Football League with the Buffalo Bills and Houston Oilers. He first enrolled at Independence Community College before transferring to ...

(1967) *

Roy Curry Roy Curry (born November 9, 1939) is a former American football player who played in six games for the 1963 Events January * January 1 – Bogle–Chandler case: Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation scientist ...

(1964) *

Alvin Hall Alvin D. Hall (born June 27, 1952) is an American financial adviser, author, and media personality. Early life Hall was born June 27, 1952, in Crawfordville, Florida, one of seven children to a family of farmers, day workers and fishermen. Inte ...

(1964) * Gary Lewis (1964) * Jack Morton (1964, Head Coach) *

John Seedborg John Sherwood Seedborg (January 23, 1943 – December 14, 2018) was an American football guard and kicker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Washington Redskins. He played college football at Arizona State University and was drafte ...

(1964) * Pat Shea (1967) *

(1966, Head Coach) * Jeff Williams (1967) *

Bob Zeman Edward Robert Zeman (February 22, 1937 – May 3, 2019) was an American football defensive back who played six seasons in the American Football League from 1960 to 1966. Playing career Early years Zeman attended Wheaton Warrenville South Hi ...

(1967, Asst. Coach)

References

{{Reflist American football teams established in 1967 American football teams disestablished in 1967 1967 establishments in Illinois 1967 disestablishments in Illinois Professional Football League of America teams Sports teams in Joliet, Illinois