1963 American Football League season
Encyclopedia
The 1963 American Football League
season was the fourth regular season
of the American Football League.
The season ended when the San Diego Chargers
defeated the Boston Patriots
in the AFL Championship game.
The Eastern race changed in Week Seven, after the Jets lost to Oakland, 49-26, and the Patriots and Oilers tied at 4-3-0 for the lead. Houston pulled ahead the next week, and Boston beat them 45-3 the week after that; the next week, Boston lost 7-6 to San Diego, while Houston beat the Jets 31-27 to pull ahead again. Two weeks later (Week Twelve), San Diego beat Houston 27-0, while Boston led again after a 17-7 win over Buffalo. In Week Thirteen, Boston was at 7-5-1, and Buffalo and Houston right behind. In the final week, spoiler San Diego took out Houston, 20-14. Buffalo won 19-10 over the Jets, while Boston lost 35-3 to Kansas City, giving the Bills and Pats records of 7-6-1 and forcing a playoff.
The season schedule itself was pushed back a week from what was originally planned, owing to President Kennedy's assassination, which resulted in the AFL moving games from that weekend (i.e., the weekend of November 23-24) to the weekend of December 21-22, 1963. Since only three games had been scheduled for the November 23-24 weekend, with Boston and Buffalo both having a bye, moving the November 23-24 games to December 21-22 meant that the Patriots and Bills finished their regular schedule a week before the league's other six teams did. Consequently, the Patriots and Bills could have played their tiebreaker playoff on December 22nd, leaving the AFL Championship Game for the next weekend (the originally scheduled date), since they knew after games of December 15th that they and they alone had tied for the division title. But the Bills-Patriots Eastern Division playoff wasn't played until after the regular season ended, being played on Saturday, December 28th (the day before the Chicago-New York NFL Championship Game). This meant that the Boston-San Diego championship game wasn't played until January 5, 1964. Thus was held the second professional playoff game ever held in January (with the AFL's first ever title playoff on January 1, 1961 being the only time before then that that had occurred). As it happened, the Patriots-Chargers playoff was also latest date on which a non-Super Bowl playoff game was ever held, and it retained that record until the AFC and NFC Championship Games of January 7, 1979. No 14-game season ever ended later.
and changed the team's name to the Kansas City Chiefs
. Meanwhile, the New York Titans went under new ownership and changed their name the New York Jets
as they prepared to move from the Polo Grounds
in upper Manhattan
to Shea Stadium
in Queens
near LaGuardia Airport
, and their colors went from navy blue and gold to green and white.
* — Qualified for Championship Game.
Italics denote playoff teams.
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
season was the fourth regular season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...
of the American Football League.
The season ended when the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
defeated the Boston Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
in the AFL Championship game.
Division Races
The AFL had 8 teams, grouped into two divisions. Each team would play a home-and-away game against the other 7 teams in the league for a total of 14 games, and the best team in the Eastern Division would play against the best in the Western Division in a championship game. If there was tie in the standings, a playoff would be held to determine the division winner. San Diego led the Western Division for the entire season, with Oakland following one game behind from Week Eight onward. The Raiders had started at 2-0, then lost four straight, then began a winning streak. Starting from a 2-4-0 handicap was insurmountable, and although Oakland beat San Diego twice (34-33 on October 27, and 41-27 on December 8), they were unable to catch up.The Eastern race changed in Week Seven, after the Jets lost to Oakland, 49-26, and the Patriots and Oilers tied at 4-3-0 for the lead. Houston pulled ahead the next week, and Boston beat them 45-3 the week after that; the next week, Boston lost 7-6 to San Diego, while Houston beat the Jets 31-27 to pull ahead again. Two weeks later (Week Twelve), San Diego beat Houston 27-0, while Boston led again after a 17-7 win over Buffalo. In Week Thirteen, Boston was at 7-5-1, and Buffalo and Houston right behind. In the final week, spoiler San Diego took out Houston, 20-14. Buffalo won 19-10 over the Jets, while Boston lost 35-3 to Kansas City, giving the Bills and Pats records of 7-6-1 and forcing a playoff.
The season schedule itself was pushed back a week from what was originally planned, owing to President Kennedy's assassination, which resulted in the AFL moving games from that weekend (i.e., the weekend of November 23-24) to the weekend of December 21-22, 1963. Since only three games had been scheduled for the November 23-24 weekend, with Boston and Buffalo both having a bye, moving the November 23-24 games to December 21-22 meant that the Patriots and Bills finished their regular schedule a week before the league's other six teams did. Consequently, the Patriots and Bills could have played their tiebreaker playoff on December 22nd, leaving the AFL Championship Game for the next weekend (the originally scheduled date), since they knew after games of December 15th that they and they alone had tied for the division title. But the Bills-Patriots Eastern Division playoff wasn't played until after the regular season ended, being played on Saturday, December 28th (the day before the Chicago-New York NFL Championship Game). This meant that the Boston-San Diego championship game wasn't played until January 5, 1964. Thus was held the second professional playoff game ever held in January (with the AFL's first ever title playoff on January 1, 1961 being the only time before then that that had occurred). As it happened, the Patriots-Chargers playoff was also latest date on which a non-Super Bowl playoff game was ever held, and it retained that record until the AFC and NFC Championship Games of January 7, 1979. No 14-game season ever ended later.
| Week | EASTERN | WESTERN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BOSTON | 1-0-0 | Tie (KC, Oak, SD) | 1-0-0 |
| 2 | Tie (Bos, Hou) | 1-1-0 | Tie (Oak, SD) | 2-0-0 |
| 3 | BOSTON | 2-1-0 | Tie (SD, KC) | 2-0-0 |
| 4 | N.Y. JETS | 2-1-0 | SAN DIEGO | 3-0-0 |
| 5 | N.Y. JETS | 3-1-0 | SAN DIEGO | 3-1-0 |
| 6 | N.Y. JETS | 3-2-0 | SAN DIEGO | 4-1-0 |
| 7 | Tie (Bos, Hou) | 4-3-0 | SAN DIEGO | 5-1-0 |
| 8 | HOUSTON | 5-3-0 | SAN DIEGO | 5-2-0 |
| 9 | Tie (Bos, Hou) | 5-4-0 | SAN DIEGO | 6-2-0 |
| 10 | HOUSTON | 6-4-0 | SAN DIEGO | 7-2-0 |
| 11 | HOUSTON | 6-4-0 | SAN DIEGO | 8-2-0 |
| 12 | Tie (Bos, Hou) | 6-5-1 | SAN DIEGO | 9-2-0 |
| 13 | BOSTON | 7-5-1 | SAN DIEGO | 9-3-0 |
| 14 | Tie (Bos, Buf) | 7-6-1 | SAN DIEGO | 10-3-0 |
| 15 | Tie (Bos, Buf) | 7-6-1 | SAN DIEGO | 11-3-0 |
Standings http://nflhistory.net/linescores/pdf/1963a.pdf
The Dallas Texans relocated to Kansas City, MissouriKansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
and changed the team's name to the Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
. Meanwhile, the New York Titans went under new ownership and changed their name the New York Jets
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
as they prepared to move from the Polo Grounds
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name given to four different stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used by many professional teams in both baseball and American football from 1880 until 1963...
in upper Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
to Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
near LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport
LaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
, and their colors went from navy blue and gold to green and white.
Italics denote playoff teams.
Playoffs
- Eastern Division playoff
- Boston PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
26, Buffalo BillsBuffalo BillsThe Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
8, December 28, 1963, War Memorial StadiumWar Memorial Stadium (Buffalo)War Memorial Stadium is the name of a stadium that formerly stood in Buffalo, New York. The stadium was on a rectangular block near the downtown area. Its main entrance was at Jefferson Avenue to the east and Best Street to the south...
, Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New YorkBuffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
- Boston Patriots
- AFL Championship Game
- San Diego ChargersSan Diego ChargersThe San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
51, Boston PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
10, January 5, 1964, Balboa StadiumBalboa StadiumBalboa Stadium is a football and soccer stadium located in San Diego, California. The original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the many buildings erected for the 1915 Panama-California Exposition located in Balboa Park. Originally called City Stadium, and designed by the Quayle Brothers...
, San Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego, CaliforniaSan Diego is the eighth-largest city in the United States and second-largest city in California. The city is located on the coast of the Pacific Ocean in Southern California, immediately adjacent to the Mexican border. The birthplace of California, San Diego is known for its mild year-round...
- San Diego Chargers