This week’s NFL matchup that I decided to highlight a past game of on “Throwback Thursday” is between the San Diego Chargers and Tennessee Titans. The classic matchup between these 2 franchises took place on New Year’s Day in 1961, when both were located in different cities. The Chargers, playing in Los Angeles, won the Western Division title, while the Titans’ descendants, the Houston Oilers, won the Eastern crown. This game, played in Houston’s Jeppesen Stadium, would decide who would be champion of the inaugural season of the fledgling American Football League. The AFL was founded to rival the National Football League, by eight men, some of which had been spurned by the NFL in bids to acquire franchises in that league, and that group became known as “The Foolish Club”, a nickname they all wore proudly after the new league became popular and eventually forced a merger with the NFL. Owner Bud Adams’ Oilers would win this game, 24-16, to be crowned the first AFL champs. Adams had pulled a major coup by luring Heisman Trophy-winning back Billy Cannon from LSU to sign with the new Oiler franchise instead of the NFL, and the move paid off as Cannon was a major factor in helping win the title game. In the fourth quarter, he snared a short pass from QB George Blanda and scampered 88 yards to a touchdown which put the game away. The same 2 clubs would meet again the next season for the new league’s second championship, and the Oilers won again, 10-3, in a defensive struggle. Cannon was again the hero, scoring the game’s only touchdown on a 35 yard pass from Blanda. Things were a lot different for both teams in the second title matchup, with the Chargers now located in San Diego, and the Oilers being coached by Wally Lemm, who took over for Lou Rymkus after Rymkus was fired early in the year, despite the fact he had led the team to the ’60 championship.
“The Foolish Club” – original AFL owners