Team History: Chargers go there and back again with the City of Los Angeles

Team History: Chargers go there and back again with the City of Los Angeles

The decade of the 1960s was one of major change in the United States. The Civil Rights Movement, assassinations of political and religious leaders and the Space Race dominated news headlines.

There were also several changes in the sports world. The NHL, NBA and Major League Baseball each expanded by six teams during the ’60s, and there were also quite a few teams that moved over that same period. Some, like the NBA’s Lakers, Warriors and 76ers and baseball’s Senators and Braves, were established franchises. On the other end of the spectrum, the Los Angeles Chargers moved to San Diego after just one season in the American Football League.

The AFL was looking to establish itself in large cities. The league already had clubs in New York and Houston, and founder Lamar Hunt gave a franchise in Los Angeles to Barron Hilton, the son of hotel company magnate, Conrad Hilton. The team was given the name Chargers after a fan contest. Hilton said the name reminded him of when the crowd yelled “charge” at Dodger and USC games, however, some believe he chose the moniker as a way of getting publicity for his new charge card business, Carte Blanche.

Former Notre Dame coach Frank Leahy was tabbed to be the general manager and Sid Gillman, who led the Rams to the 1955 NFL Championship Game, was named the first head coach. When Leahy had to resign due to health issues after one season, Gillman took on both roles. One of his assistants was Al Davis, who would go on to be a coach and later owner of the Oakland Raiders.

On the field, Los Angeles came back from a 20-7 fourth-quarter deficit to defeat the Dallas Texans, 21-20, in the AFL’s first game. Behind Jack Kemp’s 3,018 yards passing and Paul Lowe’s 855 yards and eight rushing touchdowns, the Chargers won the West division and reached the first AFL Championship Game, where they faced the Oilers.

Lowe ran for 165 yards in the title contest, and his two-yard scoring run late in the third quarter pulled Los Angeles to within 17-16. The Oilers padded their lead in the fourth. George Blanda threw a short pass that running back Billy Cannon turned into an 88-yard touchdown. One final Chargers drive stalled and Houston won, 24-16.

After the 1960 season, Hilton realized he was fighting a losing battle for fans with the Rams, so he moved the team south to San Diego. The Chargers won their first 11 games in 1961 before a loss to the Oilers. Behind a defense that created 49 interceptions, the team finished with a 12-2 record and earned a second chance at the AFL title.

The rematch with Houston turned out to be a defensive struggle. The Chargers intercepted Blanda, the league’s MVP, five times, but a 35-yard scoring pass to Cannon in the third quarter proved to be the difference in a 10-7 Oilers win.

The Chargers returned to the AFL Championship game three straight years. Thanks to 1,000-yard seasons by Lowe and star receiver Lance Alworth, the team went 11-3 in 1963. In the title game, San Diego ran for 350 yards and four touchdowns in a 51-10 win over the Boston Patriots. Keith Lincoln had 206 yards rushing and 123 receiving with two touchdowns.

San Diego lost in 1964 and ’65 to Kemp and his new team, the Buffalo Bills. Kemp was the Associated Press league MVP in 1965 and Lowe was given the same award by United Press International. After playing in five AFL Championship Games in the first six years, the Chargers went 13 straight seasons without a playoff appearance.

Following the 1966 season, Hilton sold the team to a group of business executives for $10 million. The two main investors were Eugene Klein, the chairman of insurance and entertainment company National General Corp., and Sam Schulman, the owner of a motion picture company.

Gillman resigned as coach due to health issues during the 1969 season. He returned briefly two years later, but the Chargers would not get back to the top of the standings until an offensive-minded coach used a heavy vertical passing scheme.

Don Coryell was a former San Diego State coach who also led the St. Louis Cardinals to a pair of division titles. He took over for Tommy Prothro in 1978 with the Chargers at 1-4. Although they missed the playoffs, they recovered to finish 9-7.

San Diego won division titles the next three seasons thanks to the “Air Coryell” offense that featured quarterback Dan Fouts, wide receivers Charlie Joiner and John Jefferson and tight end Kellen Winslow.

The Chargers went 12-4 in 1979, but Fouts threw five interceptions in a loss to Houston in the Division round. After an 11-5 record the following year, San Diego knocked off the Bills before falling to the Raiders in the AFC Championship Game.

In the 1981 Division game, the Chargers trailed late when Fouts overthrew Winslow, but his pass ended up in the hands of running back James Brooks for the tying touchdown. Kicker Rolf Benirschke missed a short field goal at the start of overtime but redeemed himself several minutes later in the 41-38 win. San Diego fell to Cincinnati in AFC title game the following week.

Fouts led the Chargers to a pair of late scores in the 1982 Wild Card victory over Terry Bradshaw and the Steelers, but they fell to the Dolphins in the Division round. San Diego would not make the playoffs for another 10 years, and Coryell resigned midway through the 1986 season.

Two years earlier, Klein sold 60 percent of the team to Alex Spanos, who ran the largest apartment building company in the United States. By 1994, Spanos owned 97 percent of the franchise, with restaurateur George Pernicano controlling the rest.

Beginning in 1992, the Chargers returned to the postseason under the guiding presence of Bobby Ross, who was a former coach of Maryland and Georgia Tech. San Diego went 11-5 in Ross’ first year and shut out the Chiefs in the Wild Card round before getting shut out by the Dolphins the following week.

After an 8-8 record in 1993, San Diego won the AFC West with an 11-5 mark the next season. Quarterback Stan Humphries found Mark Seay with an 8-yard scoring pass with 35 seconds left for a 22-21 win over Miami in the Division game. The next week, Humphries hooked up with Tony Martin on a 43-yard pass with 5:13 left as the Chargers defeated the Steelers, 17-13, to reach their first Super Bowl.

Unfortunately, the high of winning the AFC Championship Game did not amount to much against Steve Young, Jerry Rice, and the 49ers. Young was the easy choice for MVP after throwing six touchdown passes, including three to Rice. Ricky Waters caught two touchdown passes and ran for another score as San Francisco won, 49-26.
San Diego made the playoffs in 1995 but lost in the Wild Card round. Ross left to coach the Lions after the following season, and the Chargers did not make the playoffs until 2004 former Chiefs and Browns coach Marty Schottenheimer at the helm.

After a 4-12 season in 2003, San Diego held the first overall selection, with Tennessee quarterback Eli Manning as the top prize. However, much like John Elway more than 20 years before, Manning refused to play for the Chargers if they drafted him. San Diego picked him anyway, but later got the trade they wanted from the Giants. Coming back in the deal was Philip Rivers, who New York drafted fourth, along with several other picks.

The Chargers made the playoffs twice under Schottenheimer and quarterback Drew Brees, but Brees signed with the Saints as a free agent in 2006 to make room for Rivers. San Diego went a franchise-best 14-2 that season, but the campaign ended not only with a disappointing 24-21 loss to the Patriots in the Division round but also with Dean Spanos firing Schottenheimer.

Norv Turner led San Diego to AFC West titles his first three years at the helm. Behind Rivers, running back LaDainian Tomlinson, receivers Vincent Jackson and Malcolm Floyd and tight end Antonio Gates, the Chargers went 11-5 in Turner’s first season in 2007. After defeating the Titans and Colts in the first two rounds, the Chargers fell 21-12 to the perfect Patriots in the AFC Championship Game.

San Diego won the division at 8-8 the following year and fell to the eventual champion Steelers in the Division game. In 2009, a 13-3 record was wasted after a 17-14 home loss to the Jets in the playoffs. The Chargers missed the postseason the next three seasons, and both Turner and general manager A. J. Smith were fired in 2012.

Turner was replaced by Mike McCoy, who spent four years as the offensive coordinator in Denver and nine seasons before that on the Carolina coaching staff. San Diego snuck in as a Wild Card team in 2013, defeating the Bengals before a 17-point fourth-quarter comeback fell short against the Broncos in the Division round.

The Chargers would not make the playoffs again under McCoy, who was fired after the 2016 season. However, that was not the only major change the team would make that offseason.

About two weeks after firing McCoy, Spanos announced he was moving the team back to Los Angeles. Taxpayers and fans were upset at Spanos because they don’t think he tried hard enough to find finance options within the city other than demanding they pay for a new stadium.

The StubHub Center (now called Dignity Health Sports Park) is the Chargers’ temporary home until the Los Angeles stadium the team will share with the Rams opens in 2020. The field, which is shared with LA Galaxy from Major League Soccer, is by far the smallest in the NFL, seating only 27,000 fans.

Former Bills coach Anthony Lynn took over the Chargers in 2017. An offense led by Rivers, Gates, running back Melvin Gordon and receiver Keenan Allen brought about a 12-4 record and a playoff berth last season. After winning a close Wild Card game over rookie Lamar Jackson and the Ravens, the Chargers were taken down by the Patriots once again the following week.

Alex Spanos, who had purchased a majority stake in the team in 1984, died from complications of dementia early in the 2018 season.

Rivers returns for his 16th season, and he is joined by Gordon and Allen, plus receivers Michael Williams and Travis Benjamin, as well as tight end Hunter Henry.

A strong defensive line including ends Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram, and tackle Brandon Mebane got its fourth starter when Los Angeles drafted Jerry Tillery in the first round. Linebacker Thomas Davis brings veteran leadership, and second-round pick Nasir Adderley joins a secondary that includes Casey Hayward and last year’s rookie phenom, Derwin James. 

-By: Kevin Rakas