American Football League All-Star game

The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFC All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the AFL-NFL merger.

All-League Teams

The Sporting News published American Football League All-League Teams for each season played by the American Football League, 1960 through 1969. From 1960 through 1966, the All-League team was selected by the AFL players, and from 1967 through 1969 it was selected by a consensus of The Sporting News (TSN), the Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), and the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA). The All-League AFL selections usually included one player at each team position on offense and on defense (i.e., one quarterback, two guards, four defensive backs, etc.).

All-Star Teams

The AFL did not have an All-star game after its first season in 1960 but from 1961 through 1969, other AFL players were added to the All-League players to form two squads, and the league held All-Star games for those seasons. After every season except 1965, the format consisted of games between All-Star teams from the Eastern and Western divisions. In 1965, the league champion Buffalo Bills played all-stars from the other teams.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame and the National Football League include AFL All-Star Games in their statistics for the Pro Bowl. After the AFL-NFL Merger of 1970, the name of the NFL's all-star game was changed to the "AFC-NFC Pro Bowl."

The 1965 boycott

After the 1964 season, the AFL All-Star Game had been scheduled for early 1965 in New Orleans' Tulane Stadium. After numerous black players were refused service by a number of New Orleans hotels and businesses, black and white players alike lobbied for a boycott.[1] Under the leadership of Buffalo Bills players including Cookie Gilchrist, the players put up a unified front, and the game was successfully moved to Houston's Jeppesen Stadium.[2][3]

Game history

Season Date Score Series Most Valuable Player(s) Venue AttendanceHead Coaches Television
1961January 7, 1962
West, 47-27
West 1-0 Cotton Davidson, QB, TexansBalboa Stadium, San Diego20,973 E:Wally Lemm (Houston)
W:Sid Gillman (San Diego)
ABC
1962January 13, 1963
West, 21-14
West 2-0 Offense: Curtis McClinton, RB, Dallas Texans
Defense: Earl Faison, DE, Chargers
Balboa Stadium, San Diego27,641 E:Frank Ivy (Houston)
W:Hank Stram (Dallas)
ABC
1963January 19, 1964
West, 27-24
West 3-0 Offense: Keith Lincoln, RB, Chargers
Defense: Archie Matsos, LB, Raiders
Balboa Stadium, San Diego20,016 E:Mike Holovak (Boston)
W:Sid Gillman (San Diego)
ABC
1964January 16, 1965 [4]
West, 38-14
West 4-0 Offense: Keith Lincoln, RB, Chargers
Defense: Willie Brown, DB, Broncos
Jeppesen Stadium, Houston, Texas15,446 E:Lou Saban (Buffalo)
W:Sid Gillman (San Diego)
ABC
1965January 15, 1966 [4]
AFL All-Stars 30,
Buffalo Bills 19
- Offense: Joe Namath, QB, Jets
Defense: Frank Buncom, LB, Chargers
Rice Stadium, Houston 35,572Buffalo:Lou Saban
AS:Sid Gillman (San Diego)
NBC
1966January 21, 1967 [4]
East, 30-23
West 4-1 Offense: Babe Parilli, QB, Boston Patriots
Defense: Verlon Biggs, DE, Jets
Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California18,876 E:Mike Holovak (Boston)
W:John Rauch (Oakland)
NBC
1967January 21, 1968
East, 25-24
West 4-2 Offense: Joe Namath, QB, Jets; and Don Maynard, F, Jets
Defense: Speedy Duncan, DB/KR, Chargers
Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Florida40,103 E: Joe Collier (Buffalo)
W:Lou Saban (Denver)
NBC
1968January 19, 1969
West, 38-25
West 5-2 Offense: Len Dawson, QB, Chiefs
Defense: George Webster, LB, Houston Oilers
Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Florida41,058 E:George Wilson (Miami)
W:Lou Saban (Denver)
NBC
1969January 17, 1970 [4]
West, 26-3
West 6-2 John Hadl, QB, ChargersAstrodome, Houston30,170 E:George Wilson (Miami)
W:Lou Saban (Denver)
NBC

See also

References

  1. Thomas, Ben (January 11, 1965). "American football League calls off All-Star game set for New Orleans". The Day (New London, Connecticut). Associated Press. p. 18.
  2. "AFL All-Star game moved to Houston". Morning Record (Meriden, Connecticut). January 12, 1965. p. 5.
  3. "New Orleans: pro grid nightmare". St. Petersburg Independent (Florida). Associated Press. January 12, 1965. p. 11A.
  4. 1 2 3 4 game played on Saturday.

External links

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