1960 Los Angeles Chargers season
[7] In December, owner Barron Hilton denied that he was planning a move,[8] but in late January he relocated the Chargers down the coast to Balboa Stadium in San Diego for the 1961 season.
[9][10][11] The team would not return to Los Angeles until 2017 where they would temporarily stay at Dignity Health Sports Park in the suburb of Carson for three seasons until they moved to SoFi Stadium in Inglewood with the Rams in 2020.
[23] After his exit, Gillman considered retiring from football to become a stockbroker,[24] but was soon lured to the AFL when approached by Hilton, signing a three-year contract on January 7, 1960, having been out of work for just 26 days.
[33] Each player in the territorial draft was agreed upon by all eight owners; the Chargers received Monty Stickles,[34] but the Notre Dame end ultimately signed with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers instead.
Linebacker and punter Paul Maguire, who had played for Al Davis at The Citadel in 1956, agreed to an $8,000 contract with a $1,000 bonus on Christmas Day,[40][41] while Wisconsin safety Bob Zeman signed on January 12, 1960, following a meeting with Gillman.
[44] The Giants obtained an injunction to temporarily block the fullback from joining his chosen team,[45] but the courts ruled in San Diego's favor on June 23.
One of their most successful acquisitions, Ron Mix, had been drafted by the Boston Patriots,[50] but Los Angeles traded for his rights and beat the NFL's Baltimore Colts to his signature.
Rogers eventually drove out to Los Angeles to see California, with little expectation of making the team,[57] but won the starting job and stayed with the Chargers for five years.
Jetstream Smith scored on a 30-yard run, while Bob Reifsnyder contributed three field goals and an extra point; they would spend the 1960 season with the Raiders and Titans, respectively.
Lowe caught a 43-yard pass from Kemp for his second preseason score, and a pair of Ferguson touchdown runs in the third quarter put the Chargers ahead to stay, 24–17.
[77] After engaging in a controlled scrimmage against the Eagle Rock Athletic Club on August 26,[78] Los Angeles concluded their exhibition schedule at home against Denver, before an attendance of 21,516.
Paul Maguire's interception with barely a minute to play offered Los Angeles their first shot at victory, but Ben Donnell missed a 30-yard field goal.
[79][80] Donnell's struggles prompted the Chargers to approach kicking specialist Ben Agajanian, a veteran of both the NFL and AAFC, who signed for them just three days before their regular season opener.
[88] He was one of only two AFL kickers to make more than half of their field goal attempts, with 13 successes out of 24, while his 46 extra points from 47 tries tied George Blanda for league-best.
After Houston opened the second half with a 71-yard touchdown drive, Ron Waller lost a fumble on the Chargers' next play from scrimmage, setting up a field goal.
Before halftime, however, Paul Maguire claimed the first Charger interception, a 37-yard pass interference penalty moved the ball to the 11, and Bobby Clatterbuck, playing for an injured Kemp, threw to Dave Kocourek on a crossing pattern for the go-ahead score.
Denver, topping the division with a 3–1 record coming in, led through an early field goal before Kemp passed to Lowe for 56 yards down the right sideline.
From the Denver 44, Lowe then took a handoff around left end before cutting back inside at the 15, breaking a tackle and completing his second touchdown run of the game.
Three weeks after their 35-point loss to Boston, the Chargers beat the same opponent by a similar margin; the win moved them into a tie atop the AFL West.
Kemp was intercepted on the first Charger drive, but Maury Schleicher recovered a fumble deep in Patriot territory a few possessions later, and Ferguson opened the scoring from a yard out.
Kemp later dove over from the same distance, one play after a 27-yard completion to Anderson; Dick Harris soon added a defensive touchdown, going 42 yards untouched down the sideline with an interception.
Early in the 3rd quarter, the Charger line created open lanes for Lowe to run right through the middle; he outraced the defense and scored from 62 yards out, untouched.
Jets QB Al Dorow threw a touchdown to pull the Titans back within seven points, but later fumbled, with Charlie Brueckman recovering at the New York 21.
The Titans' best chance to get back into the game ended when Doyle Nix intercepted Dorow in the red zone - one of six takeaways for the Charger defense on the day.
Buffalo opened the scoring from that error; Agajanian then got Los Angeles on the scoreboard with a field goal, but the Bills drove 79 yards on 14 plays to an answering touchdown.
Oakland then pulled back 15 points, but the Chargers responded with touchdowns from Fred Ford (a 4-yard run) and Doyle Nix (a 17-yard interception return of an underthrown pass in the flat).
Los Angeles added an Agajanian field goal after a Denver fumble, the Broncos responded with a kick of their own, and it was 24–23 to the Chargers at halftime.
Charlie McNeil, who had intercepted Dorow once in the opening quarter, did so twice more in the final minutes; the Chargers kicked a field goal after the first of these, and ran out the clock after the second.
[121] Los Angeles scored 40+ points for the fourth consecutive game, an AFL/NFL record which stood unmatched until the St. Louis Rams repeated the feat in the 2000 season.
After two plays gained only a single yard, Blanda threw his third touchdown of the game, finding Billy Cannon in stride at about the 32, with the running back winning a footrace to complete an 88-yard score.
