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San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franchise played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now known as the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chargers' first home game in San Diego was at Balboa Stadium against the Oakland Raiders on September 17, 1961. The team played a majority of their time in San Diego at San Diego Stadium, from 1967 until 2017. Their final game as a San Diego–based club was played at the end of the 2016 season on January 1, 2017, against the Kansas City Chiefs, who defeated them 37–27.
In 1959, the team began as the "Los Angeles Chargers" when they entered the American Football League (AFL), joining seven other teams: the Denver Broncos, Dallas Texans, Oakland Raiders, New York Titans, Houston Oilers, Buffalo Bills, and Boston Patriots. The Chargers' first owner was Barron Hilton, the son of Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton Hotels corporation. Lamar Hunt, who was instrumental in organizing the AFL, said that he had asked Gene Mako for a suggestion for somebody to start a team in Los Angeles and he recommended Hilton. Hunt said that he visited Hilton for less than an hour and Hilton immediately agreed to start a team.
Barron Hilton held a contest to find a name for his team. The prize was a trip to Mexico. A man from Hollywood named Gerald Courtney submitted the name "Chargers" and won. Conrad Hilton said, "I liked [the name] because they were yelling 'charge' and sounding the bugle at Dodger Stadium and at USC games". Hunt said he thought Hilton picked the team name from the first batch of letters as publicity for his new charge account business Carte Blanche.
The team's first general manager was Frank Leahy, a former University of Notre Dame football coach. The team's first head coach was Sid Gillman from the Los Angeles Rams. His strength lay in offense innovation and he was later honoured in the Hall of Fame. Gillman (87–57–6) signed a contract with the team for three years. When Frank Leahy resigned due to poor health, Gillman became the general manager in addition to his coaching role.
The Chargers originally planned to play at the Rose Bowl, but instead signed a lease to play at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
The Chargers were to host the first ever AFL national championship game at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1961 (for the 1960 season). However, as attendances for home games were falling below 10,000, league and ABC television officials, fearing that showing empty seats in the 100,000+ seat Coliseum might jeopardize the entire league, persuaded the Chargers to give up the advantage and move the game to Houston (where they lost).
In December 1960, reports surfaced that the Chargers were considering relocation offers from San Diego, Atlanta and Seattle. Greg Gregston of the San Diego Union reported that the Chargers "have learned in one season that Los Angeles has been saturated beyond sensible proportions with sports." In January 1961, the team announced the move to Balboa Stadium in San Diego's Balboa Park. Hilton was reported to have lost $900,000 in the first season. San Diego would spend $250,000 to increase stadium seating from 22,000 to 30,000; adding back rests for reserved seats; raising the scoreboard; upgrading the locker rooms; moving the football field closer to the stands and reseeding it; and improving security measures. The Junior Chamber Commerce reported that there were 10,000 firm commitments for season tickets. Seating was increased even more in May 1961 with upper deck bring the total capacity to 34,000; both Atlanta and Seattle would later get NFL teams of their own, when the Falcons were enfranchised in 1966, and when the Seahawks began play in 1976, respectively.
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San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franchise played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now known as the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chargers' first home game in San Diego was at Balboa Stadium against the Oakland Raiders on September 17, 1961. The team played a majority of their time in San Diego at San Diego Stadium, from 1967 until 2017. Their final game as a San Diego–based club was played at the end of the 2016 season on January 1, 2017, against the Kansas City Chiefs, who defeated them 37–27.
In 1959, the team began as the "Los Angeles Chargers" when they entered the American Football League (AFL), joining seven other teams: the Denver Broncos, Dallas Texans, Oakland Raiders, New York Titans, Houston Oilers, Buffalo Bills, and Boston Patriots. The Chargers' first owner was Barron Hilton, the son of Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton Hotels corporation. Lamar Hunt, who was instrumental in organizing the AFL, said that he had asked Gene Mako for a suggestion for somebody to start a team in Los Angeles and he recommended Hilton. Hunt said that he visited Hilton for less than an hour and Hilton immediately agreed to start a team.
Barron Hilton held a contest to find a name for his team. The prize was a trip to Mexico. A man from Hollywood named Gerald Courtney submitted the name "Chargers" and won. Conrad Hilton said, "I liked [the name] because they were yelling 'charge' and sounding the bugle at Dodger Stadium and at USC games". Hunt said he thought Hilton picked the team name from the first batch of letters as publicity for his new charge account business Carte Blanche.
The team's first general manager was Frank Leahy, a former University of Notre Dame football coach. The team's first head coach was Sid Gillman from the Los Angeles Rams. His strength lay in offense innovation and he was later honoured in the Hall of Fame. Gillman (87–57–6) signed a contract with the team for three years. When Frank Leahy resigned due to poor health, Gillman became the general manager in addition to his coaching role.
The Chargers originally planned to play at the Rose Bowl, but instead signed a lease to play at the Los Angeles Coliseum.
The Chargers were to host the first ever AFL national championship game at the Los Angeles Coliseum in 1961 (for the 1960 season). However, as attendances for home games were falling below 10,000, league and ABC television officials, fearing that showing empty seats in the 100,000+ seat Coliseum might jeopardize the entire league, persuaded the Chargers to give up the advantage and move the game to Houston (where they lost).
In December 1960, reports surfaced that the Chargers were considering relocation offers from San Diego, Atlanta and Seattle. Greg Gregston of the San Diego Union reported that the Chargers "have learned in one season that Los Angeles has been saturated beyond sensible proportions with sports." In January 1961, the team announced the move to Balboa Stadium in San Diego's Balboa Park. Hilton was reported to have lost $900,000 in the first season. San Diego would spend $250,000 to increase stadium seating from 22,000 to 30,000; adding back rests for reserved seats; raising the scoreboard; upgrading the locker rooms; moving the football field closer to the stands and reseeding it; and improving security measures. The Junior Chamber Commerce reported that there were 10,000 firm commitments for season tickets. Seating was increased even more in May 1961 with upper deck bring the total capacity to 34,000; both Atlanta and Seattle would later get NFL teams of their own, when the Falcons were enfranchised in 1966, and when the Seahawks began play in 1976, respectively.