History of the Los Angeles Chargers
[3] General manager Frank Leahy picked the name, and Hilton agreed: "I liked it because they were yelling 'charge' and sounding the bugle at Dodgers Stadium and at USC games.
[10] The Chargers began their inaugural season on September 10, 1960, overcoming a 20–7 deficit in the fourth quarter to defeat the Dallas Texans 21–20 before crowd of 17,724 at the L.A.
Coliseum watched the Chargers top the Denver Broncos 41–33 to clinch the AFL Western Division title with a game to spare.
[13] On January 1, a crowd of 32,183 in Jeppesen Stadium and a national television audience saw host the Houston Oilers defeat the Chargers 24–16 in the AFL championship game.
The Chargers, during this time frame, publicly committed to stay in San Diego each year and rejected the offers of other stadium developers.
[23] In 2015, team spokesperson Mark Fabiani continued to bash the local San Diego city government's efforts to negotiate a replacement for Qualcomm Stadium.
In February 2015, the team announced a stadium proposal in Carson, California, in partnership with the Oakland Raiders, their AFC West divisional rivals.
[26] On January 14, 2016, the team filed paperwork for official trademark protection of the term "Los Angeles Chargers" for the purposes of running and marketing a professional football franchise.
Both teams would contribute a $200 million stadium loan from the NFL and personal seat license fees to the construction costs and would pay $1 per year in rent to the facility's controlling entity, StadCo LA, LLC.
[29][30][31] As an incentive to work out a stadium deal in their current market, the NFL pledged $100 million to the Chargers if they come to an agreement with the city of San Diego.
On December 14, 2016, at an owners' meeting, the terms of the Chargers and Rams lease agreement, as well as the team's debt ceiling were approved thus taking the first steps for a possible relocation to Los Angeles in 2017.
On January 12, 2017, Chargers chairman Dean Spanos announced in a letter that the team would be moving back to Los Angeles in time for the 2017 NFL Season.
In 2018, the Chargers finished the season 12–4 and went to the playoffs for the first time since 2013, making it to the divisional round before being eliminated by the eventual Super Bowl LIII champions New England Patriots.
Taylor won the starting job out of training camp, but was sidelined for Herbert after one game due to a punctured lung resulting from a botched painkiller shot.
[48] The 2020 season was also notable for the Chargers as they moved into the newly completed SoFi Stadium with the Los Angeles Rams, though fans did not attend any home games due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
[49] With Herbert firmly entrenched as the starting quarterback, the Chargers hired former Rams' defensive coordinator Brandon Staley as their new head coach on January 17, 2021.
In comparison to the Chargers' fairly average season, the Jaguars had only managed an appearance after a sudden comeback which was guaranteed by a victory against the Tennessee Titans.
The Chargers hired former San Francisco 49ers and University of Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh to lead the team starting in the 2024 season.
