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Established with seven other American Football
League teams in 1959, in 1960, the Chargers began AFL play
in Los Angeles. The Chargers only spent one season in L.A.
before moving to San Diego in 1961. The early AFL years of
the San Diego Chargers were highlighted by the outstanding
play of wide receiver Lance Alworth. In his day, he set the
pro football record of consecutive games with a reception.
The Los Angeles/San Diego Chargers were one of the elements
that made the American Football League the genesis of modern
professional football. Their only coach for the ten year
life of the AFL was Sid Gillman, a Hall of Famer who forced
his competition to try to field as professional a product
as the Chargers. With stars such as Lance Alworth, Paul Lowe,
Keith Lincoln and John Hadl, the Chargers' offense struck
fear into the hearts of AFL defenders. They also played defense,
as indicated by their professional football record 49 pass
interceptions in 1961. The Chargers were the originators of
the term "Fearsome Foursome" to describe their all-star
defensive line, anchored by Earl Faison and Ernie Ladd. The
phrase was later appropriated by various NFL teams. The Chargers
franchise appeared in the first two American Football League
Championship games and five altogether, winning the AFL title
in 1963 with a 51 - 10 thumping of the Boston Patriots. The
Chargers of that era were widely acknowledged as having the
most striking uniforms in the history of pro football.
In 1995, the San Diego Chargers made their first and only
Super Bowl appearance against the San Francisco 49ers in Super
Bowl XXIX in Miami. The underdog Chargers lost to the 49ers,
49-26.
They were the host team for Super Bowls XXII,
XXXII, and XXXVII in San Diego, but failed to make the playoffs
in any of these seasons. In fact, the Chargers had not made
the post-season since 1995, the year after their Super Bowl
XXIX appearance, until on December 19, 2004, a year removed
from their disastrous 4-12 season of 2003, they finally earned
a trip back to the post-season by capturing the AFC West Division
Title, winning their eighth straight game while shutting out
the Cleveland Browns 21-0. An estimated 1200+ fans waited
as long as six hours to greet the team at Chargers Park, their
year-round training facility starting in 2005. The Chargers
went on to finish the regular season 12-4.
They
entered the first round (the Wild Card portion) of the playoffs
as a lower seed, but proceeded to be eliminated by opponent
New York Jets, who won in overtime over the Chargers 20-17.
Nate Kaeding missed a 40-yard field goal that would have advanced
San Diego into the next round, thus opening the door for a
Jets victory.
Founded: 1959 (charter American Football
League member)
Formerly known as: Los Angeles Chargers
Home stadium: Qualcomm Stadium (formerly
Jack Murphy Stadium)
Uniform colors: Navy blue, gold, and white
Note: The original colors of the Charger
franchise was Electric blue (sky blue), gold, and white. The
Chargers now annually wear throwback uniforms from the 1960's
that are sentimental favorites
Helmet design: A yellow and white lightning
bolt on a blue helmet.
Note: The throwback jersey helmets are white
with a yellow lightning bolt and the player number in black.
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Arizona
Cardinals 
