1960 Houston Oilers season
OwnerBud Adams
General managerDon Suman
Head coachLou Rymkus
Home fieldJeppesen Stadium
Local radioKXYZ
Results
Record10–4
Division place1st AFL Eastern
Playoff finishWon AFL Championship (vs. Chargers) 24–16

The 1960 Houston Oilers season was the first season for the Houston Oilers as a professional American football franchise; Head Coach Lou Rymkus led the Oilers to the AFL Eastern Division title, with a 10–4 record.[1] It was also the first American Football League season. It ended with a 24–16 victory in the AFL championship game at home over the Los Angeles Chargers (10–4).[2]

Offseason

AFL draft

In the 1960 AFL draft, the Houston Oilers selected the following players.

Regular season

Standings

AFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Houston Oilers 10 4 0 .714 5–1 379 285 W2
New York Titans 7 7 0 .500 2–4 382 399 L1
Buffalo Bills 5 8 1 .385 3–3 296 303 L2
Boston Patriots 5 9 0 .357 2–4 286 349 L4

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Game Recap
1 September 11 at Oakland Raiders W 37–22 1–0 Kezar Stadium
12,703
 Recap
2 September 18 Los Angeles Chargers W 38–28 2–0 Jeppesen Stadium
20,156
 Recap
3 September 20 Oakland Raiders L 13–14 2–1 Jeppesen Stadium
16,421
 Recap
4 Bye
5 October 9 New York Titans W 27–21 3–1 Jeppesen Stadium
16,151
 Recap
6 October 16 Dallas Texans W 20–10 4–1 Jeppesen Stadium
19,026
 Recap
7 October 23 at New York Titans W 42–28 5–1 Polo Grounds
21,000
 Recap
8 October 30 at Buffalo Bills L 24–25 5–2 War Memorial Stadium
23,001
 Recap
9 November 6 at Denver Broncos W 45–25 6–2 Bears Stadium
14,489
 Recap
10 November 13 at Los Angeles Chargers L 21–24 6–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
21,805
 Recap
11 November 20 Denver Broncos W 20–10 7–3 Jeppesen Stadium
20,778
 Recap
12 November 25 at Boston Patriots W 24–10 8–3 Nickerson Field
27,123
 Recap
13 December 4 at Dallas Texans L 0–24 8–4 Cotton Bowl
20,000
 Recap
14 December 11 Buffalo Bills W 31–23 9–4 Jeppesen Stadium
25,247
 Recap
15 December 18 Boston Patriots W 37–21 10–4 Jeppesen Stadium
22,352
 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Week 1: at Oakland Raiders

Box Score
1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Total
Houston 7 0 13 17 37
Oakland 0 7 7 8 22

Week 2: vs. Los Angeles Chargers

Box Score
1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Total
Houston 14 7 17 0 38
Los Angeles 7 7 0 14 28

Week 3: vs. Oakland Raiders

Box Score
1st Quarter 2nd Quarter 3rd Quarter 4th Quarter Total
Houston 0 10 3 0 13
Oakland 7 0 0 7 14

Notable stats

Player Comp. Att. Comp% Yards TD's INT's
George Blanda (HOU) 169 363 46.6 2413 24 22

Roster

1960 Houston Oilers inaugural roster
Quarterbacks

16 George Blanda
15 Jacky Lee
Running backs
47 Don Brown
20 Billy Cannon
32 Dave Smith FB
33 Bob White FB
44 Charley Tolar FB

Wide receivers
82 John Carson
89 Bill Groman
37 Charley Hennigan
88 Al Witcher

Tight ends
86 John White
80 James Yeats

 Offensive Linemen

65 Gary Greaves T
70 Al Jamison T
77 Rich Michael T
51 John Simerson T
60 Jim McCaneless G
61 Bob Talamini G
64 Fred Wallner G
63 Hogan Wharton G
57 George Belotti C

Defensive Linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs CB

Special Teams

Reserve Lists

Practice Squad

Rookies in italics

Postseason

AFL Championship Game

Main article: 1960 American Football League Championship Game
1 2 3 4 Total
Chargers 6 3 7 0 16
Oilers 0 10 7 7 24

Houston Oilers 24, Los Angeles Chargers 16

January 1, 1961, at Jeppesen Stadium, Houston, Texas
Attendance: 32,183

Scoring

Awards

Sporting News American Football League All-League Team – 1960

The American Football League did not have an All-Star game after its first season in 1960, but an All-League team, selected by vote of the AFL players themselves, was published by the Sporting News. In later years, the All-League players were augmented by

References

  1. ^ "Houston, Los Angeles play for AFL title". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 1, 1961. p. 2, section 2.
  2. ^ "Blanda paces Oilers to AFL title". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 2, 1961. p. 44.
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