1964 American Football League season
Encyclopedia
The 1964 American Football League
season was the fifth regular season
of the American Football League.
The season ended when the Buffalo Bills
defeated the San Diego Chargers
in the AFL Championship game. Two years later, the AFL would join the NFL
to form the AFL-NFL World Championship game, known today as the Super Bowl
.
This was the final season of AFL telecasts on ABC
before the games moved to NBC
for the following season.
The Buffalo Bills won their first nine games, before Boston beat them at home on November 15, 36-28. Buffalo came back from a 24-14 deficit at San Diego on Thanksgiving Day to eke out a 27-24 win. On December 6 at Oakland, the Raiders beat the Bills on the final play of the game, 16-13, and didn't bother to try for an extra point . Boston won at Kansas City, 31-24, to take Buffalo's lead away. In Week Fourteen, Boston was idle, and Buffalo took a 1/2 game lead with a 30-19 win at Denver. As it turned out, the Eastern Division title would come down to the final game of the season, with Buffalo (11-2-0) traveling to Boston (10-2-1) on December 20, with the winner to take all. Jack Kemp led the Bills to three touchdowns for a 24-14 win to capture the title.
The Western Division race was less dramatic. In Week Six, the Chargers took a lead over the Chiefs during a six game winning streak, and held that lead for the rest of the season.
* — Qualified for Championship Game.
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 fifth 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 Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The 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...
defeated 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...
in the AFL Championship game. Two years later, the AFL would join the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
to form the AFL-NFL World Championship game, known today as the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
.
This was the final season of AFL telecasts on ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
before the games moved to NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
for the following season.
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.The Buffalo Bills won their first nine games, before Boston beat them at home on November 15, 36-28. Buffalo came back from a 24-14 deficit at San Diego on Thanksgiving Day to eke out a 27-24 win. On December 6 at Oakland, the Raiders beat the Bills on the final play of the game, 16-13, and didn't bother to try for an extra point . Boston won at Kansas City, 31-24, to take Buffalo's lead away. In Week Fourteen, Boston was idle, and Buffalo took a 1/2 game lead with a 30-19 win at Denver. As it turned out, the Eastern Division title would come down to the final game of the season, with Buffalo (11-2-0) traveling to Boston (10-2-1) on December 20, with the winner to take all. Jack Kemp led the Bills to three touchdowns for a 24-14 win to capture the title.
The Western Division race was less dramatic. In Week Six, the Chargers took a lead over the Chiefs during a six game winning streak, and held that lead for the rest of the season.
| Week | EASTERN | WESTERN | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tie (Bos, Buf, NYJ) | 1-0-0 | SAN DIEGO | 1-0-0 |
| 2 | Tie (Bos, Buf) | 1-1-0 | SAN DIEGO | 1-1-0 |
| 3 | Tie (Bos, Buf) | 3-0-0 | KANSAS CITY | 1-1-0 |
| 4 | Tie (Bos, Buf) | 4-0-0 | KANSAS CITY | 2-1-0 |
| 5 | BUFFALO | 5-0-0 | KANSAS CITY | 2-2-0 |
| 6 | BUFFALO | 6-0-0 | SAN DIEGO | 3-2-1 |
| 7 | BUFFALO | 7-0-0 | SAN DIEGO | 4-2-1 |
| 8 | BUFFALO | 8-0-0 | SAN DIEGO | 5-2-1 |
| 9 | BUFFALO | 9-0-0 | SAN DIEGO | 6-2-1 |
| 10 | BUFFALO | 9-1-0 | SAN DIEGO | 7-2-1 |
| 11 | BUFFALO | 9-1-0 | SAN DIEGO | 7-2-1 |
| 12 | BUFFALO | 10-1-0 | SAN DIEGO | 7-3-1 |
| 13 | BOSTON | 10-2-1 | SAN DIEGO | 8-3-1 |
| 14 | BUFFALO | 11-2-0 | SAN DIEGO | 8-4-1 |
| 15 | BUFFALO | 12-2-0 | SAN DIEGO | 8-5-1 |
Standings http://nflhistory.net/linescores/pdf/1964a.pdf
Playoffs
- AFL Championship Game
- Buffalo Bills 20, San Diego Chargers 7, December 26, 1964, 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...
- Buffalo Bills 20, San Diego Chargers 7, December 26, 1964, War Memorial Stadium