THE AFL 1960–69: A RETROSPECTIVE

With a War Hero as Commissioner, the AFL Finalizes its Footprint

Buffalo, New York, Boston, Houston, Dallas, Oakland, Los Angeles and Denver were ready to go for the debut 1960 season.

Welcome to the serial release of my book If You Can’t Join ’Em, Beat ’Em, a celebration of the history of the American Football League in this, the 60th anniversary year of the league’s debut in 1960.

Through the turbulent decade of the 1960s, the AFL became the first rebel league to take on an established major American sports entity — in this case the NFL — that not only survived, but thrived, ultimately forcing a merger prior to the 1970 season that helped create the modern-day behemoth that the NFL has become.

In each post, you will be transported back in time and you will meet the great players and coaches who made the AFL what it was, and I will take you onto the field in recounting some of the great games that took place during those 10 years that changed the landscape of professional football.

Lamar Hunt, Bud Adams and the four other men already committed to starting AFL franchises could not have disagreed more with the assertion of George Halas that their burgeoning enterprise…