From www.CheckOutMyCards.com, a 1960 Fleer football card of Los Angeles Chargers head coach Sid Gillman. Gillman is widely considered to be the father of the modern passing game in pro football. The Chargers, based in L.A. for one season before moving to San Diego, were the main reason that the American Football League got its’ reputation for being a wide-open, high-scoring league, and in 1963 Gillman’s team reached the pinnacle by routing the Boston Patriots, 51-10, in the AFL championship game. Considered one of the greatest offensive minds in football history, coaches who tutored under Gillman and went on to NFL success include Chuck Noll, Al Davis, Dick Vermeil, George Allen and Chuck Knox. Gillman was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1983 and passed away in 2003. Davis, an AFL pioneer and current Oakland Raiders’ owner, said this of Gillman: “Sid Gillman brought class to the AFL. Being part of Sid’s organization was like going to a laboratory for the highly developed science of professional football.”