1963 San Diego Chargers season
[7] Sweeney chose the Chargers; he had actually met with head coach Sid Gillman and assistant Al Davis the previous day and signed a contract while still a college player.
[14] There was one future Hall of Fame player in the Chargers' draft class (linebacker Dave Robinson), but he signed for the Green Bay Packers,[15] where he won two Super Bowls.
[16] In the later rounds, San Diego picked up Bob Petrich, a defensive end who played in every game for the next four seasons,[17] and Ernie Park, an occasional starter at guard.
[6] San Diego lost a key staff member on January 19 when Davis signed with the Raiders in the dual role of head coach and general manager.
He had served as the Chargers' offensive ends coach, but had also earned a reputation as a good recruiter of new talent, an important role in the ongoing bidding war with the NFL.
[20] Davis soon brought defensive back Claude "Hoot" Gibson to join him in Oakland, as part of an equalization draft aimed at helping the league's weakest teams.
[23] After losing Jack Kemp to the Buffalo Bills the previous year,[24] San Diego were looking for a veteran quarterback who could both lead the team and mentor second-year passer John Hadl.
Both the Chargers and the Denver Broncos expressed an interest in signing Rote; AFL Commissioner Joe Foss conducted a coin flip to decide which team would have the right to claim the player.
Gillman, seeking both to instil both toughness and a sense of unity in his team, opted to switch to Rough Acres Ranch, located in Boulevard, an isolated town 66 miles (106 km) from San Diego.
Ernie Ladd described Rough Acres as a great training facility, noting the isolated location as a positive, while Lance Alworth stated the team had "one of the greatest years as a result of it.
"[42] The Chargers did not have the option to return to Rough Acres, as the owners brought a lawsuit worth over a million dollars against them, alleging both property damage and non-payment of rental fees.
Lowe again ran for two touchdowns, Charlie McNeil scored on a 44-yard interception return, and San Diego found the end zone seven times in total in a 50–17 win.
The second-year flanker set new club receiving records for catches (61), yards (1,205) and touchdowns (11),[59] ranking second in the league for the latter two categories;[60] he also posted a pair of 200-yard games, the first in Charger history.
[71] After an early Buffalo punt, Lincoln took a swing pass from Rote 32 yards down the right sideline, but Blair missed a short field goal soon afterwards.
Charger indiscipline aided Buffalo on their response, with three flags resulting from a single play: Ladd made a late hit on Kemp, Henry Schmidt was ejected for fighting, and Gillman was penalized for his protestations.
[75] Interceptions by McNeil and Maguire ended Patriot drives in the second half, and Alworth's 61-yard punt return gave the Chargers a chance to extend their lead, only for Blair to miss from 30 yards out early in the final quarter.
Three early touchdown passes by Rote set the Chargers on their way to a comfortable win over the team who, while known as the Dallas Texans, had won the previous season's AFL Championship game.
The Chiefs pulled three points back before the break, but Blair made one of two field goal attempts in the second half, and Kansas City didn't reach the end zone until the final two minutes of the match.
Hadl threw a deflected 54-yard touchdown pass to MacKinnon, but Denver recovered Blair's onside kick attempt, and Mingo added his fifth field goal with 20 seconds to play.
[86] The first four San Diego possessions resulted in punts, before Allen intercepted Len Dawson, setting up Blair's field goal to open the scoring.
[90] On their second play from scrimmage, Alworth hauled in a deep pass and gained 62 yards, though a Lincoln fumble prevented San Diego from capitalising with any points.
Westmoreland's fumble recovery then stopped a dangerous Patriot drive, and San Diego worked their way to the Boston 18, from where Alworth caught Rote's pass in the end zone and appeared to have opened the scoring.
Jack Kemp led his offense inside the Charger 10 late in the first half, but Maguire's third down sack had the Bills settling for a field goal and a 10–10 tie at the intermission.
After three straight incompletions, San Diego faked a field goal, Rote passing to Kocourek in the left flat, from where the tight end fought his way for 14 yards and a first down.
[108] After a Raider field goal, San Diego suffered a setback when Lincoln was knocked out of the game through injury, with Bobby Jackson taking his place in the backfield.
The stakes were high for both teams - San Diego were looking to maintain their one-game lead over Oakland, while Houston would be eliminated from the AFL East race with a loss.
[112] San Diego had the first drive that crossed into opposition territory, but Lowe lost a fumble - Houston then drove into field goal range, but George Blanda was wide right.
After Denver answered with a touchdown on the ensuing drive, Alworth drew a 39-yard pass interference penalty and Blair kicked a field goal to put San Diego back in front.
Hadl replaced Rote later in the game and was involved in the final two Charger touchdowns, finding Lincoln wide open over the middle on a 25-yard pass on 4th and 2, then scoring himself on a 1-yard run.
[120] Gillman had drawn up an offensive game plan he dubbed 'Feast or Famine', using motion to confuse Boston's blitzers and spring his running backs for several large gains.
