1960 American Football Season

The 1960 American football season was a landmark year that fundamentally reshaped the landscape of professional football. It marked the historic debut of the American Football League (AFL), which directly challenged the long-standing dominance of the National Football League (NFL) and initiated a fierce rivalry that eventually led to the modern pro football structure.

The Birth of the AFL

Frustrated by the NFL’s refusal to grant expansion franchises, a group of businessmen led by Lamar Hunt formed the AFL. The league played its inaugural games in September 1960 with eight original teams:

• Eastern Division: Houston Oilers, Titans of New York, Buffalo Bills, Boston Patriots
• Western Division: Los Angeles Chargers, Dallas Texans, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders

The Houston Oilers became the first-ever AFL Champions by defeating the Los Angeles Chargers 24–16 in the title game on January 1, 1961. Led by veteran quarterback George Blanda and star running back Billy Cannon, the Oilers solidified their spot in the history books. Dallas Texans halfback Abner Haynes was named the league’s first Player of the Year.

The NFL Campaign and Expansion

To counter the threat of the new league, the NFL expanded in 1960 by adding the Dallas Cowboys as its 13th franchise.

The regular season concluded with the Philadelphia Eagles (10–2) winning the Eastern Conference and the Green Bay Packers (8–4) capturing the Western Conference under second-year head coach Vince Lombardi.

The 1960 NFL Championship Game

On December 26, 1960, the Eagles hosted the Packers at Franklin Field in Philadelphia. In a grueling, physical battle, the Eagles defeated Green Bay 17–13.

• The Deciding Tackle: In the final seconds of the game, legendary Eagles linebacker Chuck Bednarik tackled Green Bay’s Jim Taylor at the 9-yard line and pinned him to the ground until the final clock ran out.
• Historical Significance: This game marked the only postseason loss in the coaching career of Vince Lombardi. Following the victory, Eagles quarterback and league MVP Norm Van Brocklin announced his retirement.

A Deep Dive into 1960 Football History and Highlights

The 1960 season is remembered as a crucial turning point where television contracts, innovative offensive strategies, and aggressive cross-town scouting wars took root. The success of the AFL proved that the American public had an insatiable appetite for professional football, setting the wheels in motion for the ultimate merger of the two leagues a decade later.

• January 1, 1960 – The 46th Rose Bowl game pitted the Washington Huskies against the Wisconsin Badgers. The PAC-10 would shine in this game, as Washington crushed the Badgers, 44-8, with Player of the Game Bob Schloredt.
• January 17, 1960 – The 10th NFL Pro Bowl was held at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In this game, the Western Conference pulled away from the Eastern Conference for a 38-21 victory. Baltimore Colts defensive lineman Eugene Lipscomb and quarterback Johnny Unitas earned MVP honors for their standout performances.
• January 26, 1960 – According to the Raiders.com website, at an AFL owners meeting, Lamar Hunt of the Dallas Texans was named as the first AFL president.
• January 26, 1960 – Pete Rozelle elected NFL commissioner on 23rd ballot. A dozen National Football League team owners cast 23 ballots over a nine-day span in a futile attempt to find a successor for Bert Bell, the league’s popular and competent commissioner, who had died three months earlier. Early in the marathon meeting, Austin Gunsel, the NFL’s treasurer, and Marshall Leahy, the league’s chief legal counsel, each had strong but almost-equal support. Numerous attempts to settle on experienced, well-known compromise nominees came to naught. Finally, according to the Pro Football Hall of Fame, two powerful and respected administrators – Wellington Mara of the New York Giants and Paul Brown of the Cleveland Browns- hit on the idea of Pete Rozelle, the 33-year-old general manager of the Los Angeles Rams, as a candidate most owners might accept. Rozelle was informed of their decision and then asked to leave the room so his name could be presented and discussed. Moved HQ from Philadelphia to New York, Rozelle announced a contract had been signed with CBS, producing the then princely sum of $4,650,000 a year to be divided equally among the NFL’s teams. AFL Merger.
• January 27, 1960 – The AFL adopts its first 14-game home-and-away schedule.
• January 28, 1960 – The Dallas Cowboys began as the NFL formally announced it was awarding Dallas a franchise.
• January 28, 1960 – The Minnesota Vikings franchise is awarded by the NFL.
• January 30, 1960 – The Oakland Raiders entered the American Football League, according to Raiders.com. The Oakland group was awarded the former Minneapolis-St. The Paul franchise was basically abandoned when the NFL granted permission for the Minnesota Vikings franchise to form before the AFL could step in.
• February 9, 1960 – The AFL and NFL agreed verbally to a “no tampering” pact. According to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s website, the verbal pact between the then-rival professional football leagues pertained to player contracts. It might just be the first thing that these two organizations agreed upon in the early 1960s.
• February 9, 1960 – Eddie Erdelatz was appointed as the first head coach of the Raiders. Eddie stayed on the sideline for two seasons in Oakland, but they parted ways in late 1961 after his team recorded a dismal 8-20 record in the AFL.
• March 3, 1960 – At a special AFL meeting in Oakland, the “allocation” draft was formulated to stock the Oakland club. The issue at hand was that Oakland was a late replacement for the Twin Cities franchise, which resigned after the initial AFL draft due to the NFL announcing a new Vikings franchise in the metro area of St. Paul and Minneapolis. In that round of AFL meetings, which kicked off at the Leamington Hotel in Oakland. Minneapolis-St originally selected 14 players. Paul, in the AFL draft, and were “signed by fellow AFL clubs for Oakland,” would transfer to the newly minted franchise. (source 1) (source 2)
• March 9, 1960 – Per Joe Ziemba, the Cardinals announced that rumors of the franchise leaving Chicago for St. Louis. The relocation of the Chicago Cardinals to St. Louis in 1960 was driven by financial survival. In Chicago, the team was heavily overshadowed by the more popular Bears, leading to poor attendance and near-bankruptcy. Additionally, the NFL sought to block the newly formed AFL from entering the St. Louis market. In March 1960, owners unanimously approved the move, ending the Cardinals’ 62-year history in Chicago.
•  April 3, 1960 – the American Football League (AFL) made a unique historical footprint by officially adopting the two-point conversion right out of the gate for its inaugural season. While the NFL resisted the move for decades, the AFL used it as a “gimmick” to provide more excitement and high-scoring finishes.
• April 14, 1960 – A team naming.  Back on March 20, the new Oakland AFL franchise kicked off its “Name Your Football Team” contest. Soon, the franchise announced that the nickname “Senors” was the most popular answer. On April 14, the team announced that the nickname was being changed to the “Raiders.”
• September 9, 1960 – Boston University’s Nickerson Field hosts the very first AFL regular-season game, as the visiting Denver Broncos defeated the Boston Patriots 13-10. Boston’s kicker, Gino Capaletti, scored the very first points in the new league with his boot from 35 yards.
• October 10, 1960 – A CFL rushing record for a single game was reached when Ron Stewart of the Ottawa Rough Riders ran for 287 yards in a game against the Montreal Alouettes. According to americanfootballdatabase.fandom.com, Stewart capped off his 1960 season by winning the CFL’s Most Outstanding Canadian Award. In his 13-year career, he ran for 5690 yards on 983 attempts, scoring 42 touchdowns.
• November 26, 1960 – Empire Stadium, Vancouver – The 48th Grey Cup Final pitted the Edmonton Eskimos against the Ottawa Rough Riders, according to sportsteamhistory.com. This year, it was the Rough Riders who would come out on top, defeating the Eskimos 16-6 for their 5th Championship. (source)
• November 26, 1960 – Birmingham, Alabama – In a defensive battle per onthisday.com, it was the Alabama Crimson Tide that kicked a field goal to get by Auburn, 3-0, in the 25th Iron Bowl. (source)
• November 27, 1960 – New AFL teams in the heat of battle as the Buffalo Bills tie the Denver Broncos, 38-38. The Democrat and Chronicle fills us in on the details, that the Bills found a way to blow a 31-point third-quarter lead and were fortunate to hold on for a 38-38 tie when the defense stopped the Broncos’ last drive, and Denver settled for Gene Mingo’s 19-yard tying field goal with four seconds remaining. Bills coach Buster Ramsey was quoted as saying, “For the first three quarters, I watched the greatest display of defensive football I’ve seen in the league this year. Every man executed almost every play perfectly. Then, for reasons that I cannot put a finger on, the whole thing collapsed.”
• November 29, 1960 – Navy Halfback Joe Bellino takes home the hardware as he is awarded the 26th Heisman Trophy. 
• December 26, 1960 – Philadelphia’s Franklin Field – Vince Lombardi’s Green Bay Packers met the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFL Championship. The Packers won the Western Division after beating the two-time champion Baltimore Colts, who had lost their last four games. The Eagles stayed one game ahead of the Browns to win the East. In the first quarter, the Packers were stopped at the Eagles’ 5-yard line after a fourth-down try. Norm Van Brocklin, an experienced quarterback, threw for 202 yards with one interception and led the Eagles to a 17-13 win over Green Bay. This was Lombardi’s only playoff loss in his 10-year NFL head coaching career. He would lead the Packers to three NFL Championships and the first two Super Bowl wins over the next seven seasons.
• December 27, 1960 – Running Back Tommy Mason of Tulane was the first pick by the Minnesota Vikings in the 1961 NFL Draft. The Football Database website also reports that players picked in this draft included future Hall of Famers Mike Ditka, Jimmy Johnson, Herb Adderley, Bob Lilly, Fran Tarkenton, Billy Shaw, and Deacon Jones. Not a bad class of college players turning professional at all.