1962: NY Titans Pull Out Wild Win Over Broncos

As the 1962 American Football League season progressed, the state of the third-year league’s New York City franchise, the Titans, was precarious, at best. Flamboyant and controversial owner Harry Wismer was in serious financial straits and the club was a poor draw at the decrepit Polo Grounds. By early November the league had taken over the running of the Titans.

The team’s original head coach, all-time great quarterback Sammy Baugh, had been demoted to assistant coach following the ’61 season and replaced by ex-Bears star Bulldog Turner. Still, despite all of the chaos, the Titans were competitive and showing signs of life on the field. Starting out at 2-1, they lost four straight before running off consecutive wins against the Chargers and Raiders prior to succumbing to the Dallas Texans. Coming into their Thanksgiving Day matchup at Denver on November 22, New York’s record stood at 4-6.

The Broncos, under first year Head Coach Jack Faulkner, had gotten off to a 7-2 start but were losers their two most recent games. The passing attack, with QB Frank Tripucka primarily throwing to split end Lionel Taylor and flanker Bob Scarpitto, made Denver exciting and capable of putting points on the board, but the running game and defense were suspect. They very much needed a win against the Titans to remain in contention in the Western Division.

There were 15,776 fans in attendance at Bears Stadium for the nationally televised game. It was all Titans in the early going. FB Bill Mathis ran for a one-yard touchdown and HB Dick Christy caught a pass from QB Johnny Green (pictured above) for a six-yard score that put New York ahead by 14-0 in the first quarter.

It was 17-0 in the second quarter following a 28-yard field goal by Bill Shockley (pictured below) before the home team finally got on the board. Tripucka threw to Scarpitto for a 35-yard touchdown and Gene Mingo added the extra point. The Titans responded with another score, however, as Green threw to split end Art Powell for a four-yard TD. But Denver managed to whittle away at New York’s lead with two field goals by Mingo, of 45 and 8 yards, to make it 24-13 at the half. It still seemed to be a comfortable margin for the Titans.

In the third quarter, the tables turned in favor of the Broncos. First, star DT Bud McFadin picked up a fumble and ran 69 yards for a touchdown. Then QB George Shaw, in for the injured Tripucka, tossed a six-yard TD pass to Scarpitto. Denver was in front by a score of 27-24.

The Titans narrowed the margin to 27-26 when Shaw recovered a loose ball in his own end zone for a safety. New York regained the lead thanks to a Green pass to flanker Don Maynard for a 35-yard touchdown. While the attempt to run for a two-point conversion failed, New York was on top by 32-27 heading into the fourth quarter.

Once again the Broncos rallied. Shaw connected with Taylor for a three-yard TD, followed it up with a two-point conversion, and then CB Jim McMillin intercepted a pass and returned it 59 yards for another touchdown, followed by Mingo’s kick. When Mingo kicked a 49-yard field goal with the wind at his back, Denver held a 45-32 lead with six minutes remaining to play.

The Titans proceeded to drive for another touchdown, this time on a five-yard pass from Green to Christy. Shockley’s extra point narrowed the score to 45-39, but the six points still seemed formidable as time was running down. Denver took over at its own 20 following a long kickoff by Shockley and New York proceeded to get a huge break when HB Al Frazier fumbled a handoff and FS Lee Riley recovered for the Titans.

With the time now down to three minutes, New York capitalized when Green tossed his fifth touchdown pass, of three yards, to Powell. Shockley’s extra point was successful and the Titans were staked to a one-point lead.

The Broncos still had a chance, and managed to get into New York territory, but with time running out Mingo attempted a 52-yard field goal that was straight but too short. The Titans came away with a thrilling 46-45 win.

The Titans led in total yards (381 to 294) and first downs (25 to 19). Each club turned the ball over four times. Denver was especially hurt by penalties, drawing 11 flags at a cost of 130 yards to four for 27 yards on New York.

Johnny Green had a noteworthy performance, completing 22 of 46 passes for 292 yards with five touchdowns and three interceptions. Bill Mathis rushed for 49 yards and a TD on 13 carries. Dick Christy (pictured below) caught 9 passes for 82 yards and two scores, ran the ball 9 times for another 30 yards, and returned a kickoff 28 yards. Don Maynard had 105 yards on four pass receptions that included a TD and Art Powell had three catches for 57 yards and two touchdowns.

For the Broncos, Frank Tripucka was successful on 9 of 15 throws for 113 yards with a TD and two interceptions before leaving the game and George Shaw added 12 completions in 26 attempts for 117 yards with two TDs and an interception. FB Bo Dickinson was the leading rusher with 48 yards on 6 carries and also contributed 5 catches for 57 yards. Lionel Taylor had 6 pass receptions for 60 yards and a TD and Bob Scarpitto gained 89 yards and scored twice on his 5 catches.

The exciting win at Denver was the last for the Titans – they lost their remaining three games to finish at the bottom of the Eastern Division with a 5-9 record. The franchise was sold during the offseason to an ownership group headed by Sonny Werblin and was revamped and rechristened the Jets for 1963.

The loss wiped out any lingering hopes for the Broncos of winning the Western Division title. They, too, lost their remaining games and closed out at 7-7 for second place. It would prove to be their best record until 1973.

Johnny Green, formerly of the Buffalo Bills, saw the most action at quarterback for the Titans in ’62 and completed 49.6 percent of his passes for 1741 yards with 10 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. While he had a strong arm, he lacked accuracy and consistency and saw little action in his last year with the Jets in 1963.

As the numbers from the Denver game indicated, Dick Christy was a productive all-purpose halfback who led the AFL in total yards with 2147 (535 rushing on 114 carries, 538 on 62 pass receptions, 824 on 38 kickoff returns, and 250 on 15 punt returns). He was selected to the AFL All-Star Game.

Don Maynard caught 56 passes for 1041 yards (18.6 avg.) and eight touchdowns and went on to star with the Jets. Art Powell had 64 receptions for 1130 yards (17.7 avg.) and eight TDs as well. Disgruntled after three years in New York, he moved on to the Raiders in ’63 and also continued to excel. 

1960: Chargers Come From Behind to Beat Broncos, Clinch Division Title

The Los Angeles Chargers had an 8-4 record and seemed poised to win the Western Division in the first year of the new American Football League as they hosted the Denver Broncos on December 10, 1960. Under Head Coach Sid Gillman, they started slowly and were 2-3 before winning six of their next seven games to take control of the division. The club developed a quick-striking offense guided by NFL-castoff QB Jack Kemp (pictured at right) and featuring rookie HB Paul Lowe. However, fielding an exciting and winning team was not enough to bring fans to the huge Memorial Coliseum, and the Chargers regularly played before a large expanse of empty seats.

The Broncos came into the game at 4-7-1, meanwhile, having started off respectably at 4-2 before losing five of their next six, with a tie interspersed. Head Coach Frank Filchock’s team had far more penurious ownership than the Chargers and were esthetically lacking in their ugly brown and gold (more appropriately yellow) uniforms with the infamous vertically-striped socks. QB Frank Tripucka, a veteran of both the NFL and CFL (as was Filchock), passed often, mostly to end Lionel Taylor. HB/PK Gene Mingo was another notable performer, but at this point Denver was a losing team that was playing out the schedule – and looking to be a spoiler. LA had won the first meeting of the two teams in Denver by a close score of 23-19.

There was a typically sparse turnout of 9928 at the Coliseum for the Saturday game. Denver took the early lead thanks to a 41-yard field goal by Mingo and added to it when Tripucka connected with Taylor for a 49-yard touchdown.

However, the Chargers came right back with Kemp throwing to FB Howie Ferguson for a 39-yard TD and, before the first quarter was over, gained the lead on a three-yard run by Lowe that made it 14-10.

Mingo put the Broncos back in front in the second quarter with a one-yard plunge and added the extra point that made it 17-14. It was Mingo adding more points with a 12-yard field goal before flanker Royce Womble caught a 12-yard scoring pass from Kemp to again put LA in the lead at 21-20. 41-year-old placekicking specialist Ben Agajanian added a 23-yard field goal to make it a four-point game before Mingo kicked another three-pointer, this time from 13 yards near the end of the first half, and the Chargers narrowly led by 24-23 at halftime.

The game continued to be a close, back-and-forth affair until midway through the fourth quarter. In the third quarter, Denver went back in front thanks to a pass play from Tripucka to end Jim Greer that covered 21 yards. Agajanian booted a field goal of 40 yards for the Chargers to start off the final period and Mingo responded in kind from 28 yards. The Chargers were behind by 33-27 with just under seven minutes remaining.

In the key play of the game, the Chargers took advantage of a shanked 20-yard punt by George Herring, who was reacting to a fierce rush led by DB Bob Zeman, giving them possession on the Denver 35. San Diego methodically drove to a touchdown with Kemp going in from a yard out. Agajanian’s extra point put LA in front by a point at 34-33.

LA then scored again thanks to an interception less than two minutes later as DE Maury Schleicher picked off a deflected Tripucka pass and returned it five yards to the Denver 20. Kemp followed up with a 15-yard TD throw to end Don Norton running a slant pattern behind the goal post, effectively finishing off the Broncos. The Chargers won the game by a score of 41-33 and clinched a berth in the AFL title game.

The Chargers had actually lost out on two additional scores before finally putting the feisty Broncos away. Zeman picked up a fumble and ran 52 yards for an apparent TD, but the play had been whistled dead. The other occurred when Mingo fielded a kickoff but fumbled on his three yard line. The ball rolled into the end zone and the Chargers appeared to recover but an offside penalty negated the play.

Denver outgained the Chargers with 391 yards to 347, although Los Angeles had more first downs (22 to 20) and fewer turnovers (two, to four by the Broncos). Denver also sacked Kemp four times while the Chargers got to Tripucka once.


Paul Lowe (pictured at left) rushed for 106 yards on 19 carries that included a touchdown. Jack Kemp completed 15 of 32 passes for 205 yards with three TDs and two intercepted. Don Norton had 5 catches for 81 yards and a score.

For Denver, Frank Tripucka went to the air 35 times and completed 17 for 291 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions apiece. Lionel Taylor (pictured below) typically paced the pass receivers as he recorded 9 catches for 171 yards and a TD, and as a result increased his league-leading season total to 88, which exceeded the existing NFL record of 84 that was set by Tom Fears of the Rams ten years earlier. FB Dave Rolle carried the ball 17 times for 68 yards and Gene Mingo added 37 yards on 12 attempts, one of which was a touchdown that was part of the 21 points in all that he scored.


The Chargers ended the regular season with a 10-4 record and went on to lose the first AFL Championship game to the Houston Oilers. Following the season, the franchise relocated to San Diego. The Broncos were last in the Western Division at 4-9-1.

By the system in use at the time, Jack Kemp led the AFL in passing (by today’s system, he ranked fourth) while placing second in attempts (406), completions (211), yards (3018), and completion percentage (52.0). He also led the league by averaging 7.4 yards per attempt while he tossed 20 touchdown passes but also 25 interceptions. Leading him in most categories was Frank Tripucka, who topped the AFL in attempts (478), completions (248), yards (3038), and interceptions (34).

Paul Lowe placed second among the new league’s rushers with 855 yards on just 136 carries, giving him an AFL-best 6.3 yards-per-carry. He scored eight rushing TDs (as did Kemp). Lionel Taylor finished at the top of the pass receivers for the first of five times (four consecutive) with 92 catches. His 1235 yards ranked third and 12 touchdown receptions tied for second with Houston’s Bill Groman. Gene Mingo led the AFL in scoring with 123 points that included a league-leading 18 field goals. He also scored six touchdowns and 33 extra points.