THE AFL 1960–69: A RETROSPECTIVE
1962 AFL Championship Game: Texans 20, Oilers 17 (2OT)
Dallas running back Abner Haynes was taken off the hook and his gaffe on the overtime coin toss became a mere humorous footnote.
HOUSTON — As Jerome Bettis of the Pittsburgh Steelers found out on Thanksgiving Day 1998, the coin toss can be a tricky maneuver, at least when Phil Luckett was the referee and apparently had a wax build up in his ears.
Of course, 10 years before Bettis was even born, 26 years before Luckett misinterpreted what call Bettis made on that infamous toss, Abner Haynes of the Dallas Texans had his own coin toss catastrophe prior to the start of overtime in the 1962 AFL Championship Game against Houston at Jeppesen Stadium on Dec. 23, a game the Texans would ultimately win 20–17.
The Texans and Oilers had battled to a 17–17 standoff through regulation, so the captains of both teams met at midfield for the coin toss to determine which side would get the ball first in the extra period.
Winning this toss was paramount because of the sudden death nature of overtime per the rules of the day. First team to score wins, so it stood to reason that the team with the ball first had a distinct advantage.
