THE AFL 1960–69: A RETROSPECTIVE
1962 Game of the Year: Titans 46, Broncos 45
On a crazy Thanksgiving Day in Denver, New York’s Johnny Green threw two late TD passes to pull out the victory.
If ever there was a proverbial quintessential game, one that defined the AFL in its infancy stage, it was this incredible Thanksgiving Day shootout in Denver.
This was the type of entertainment the league had become known for during its first three years of existence, and with a nation of football fans watching, the AFL served up a classic shootout: New York Titans 46, Denver Broncos 45.
“We put on a decent show offensively, we put a lot of points on the board,” said Denver wide receiver Lionel Taylor of those infamous AFL scoring fests. “The NFL was playing three yards and a cloud of dust, and we couldn’t come in and do the same thing. That wasn’t going to get the fans. We had better skill people at that time than we did offensive and defensive linemen because it takes a little more time for line play to mature.”
The Broncos had won just seven of their first 28 AFL games in 1960 and ’61, but after a memorable day when new coach Jack Faulkner burned a huge pile of the team’s hideous vertical-striped socks, the team’s fortunes…
