1968: Bengals Fall to Chargers in AFL Debut

The Cincinnati Bengals, an AFL expansion team for 1968, started off their inaugural season on September 6 at San Diego. At the helm was Paul Brown, already in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his near-legendary work with the Cleveland Browns from 1946 through ’62. After five years out of the game, he was back as a part-owner, general manager, and head coach. The first-year Bengals were a typical collection of fading veterans and untested young talent. First draft choice Bob Johnson was to anchor the line at center, there was a promising rookie halfback in Paul Robinson, as well as HB/WR Warren McVea, and while a deal with Miami had brought former minor league QB John Stofa to the team, Dewey Warren, a rookie out of Tennessee, was behind center for the debut.

The Chargers, coached by Sid Gillman, were coming off of a respectable 8-5-1 record in ’67, although in the tough Western Division that was good only for third place. The offense was typically explosive and contained QB John Hadl, flanker Lance Alworth (who was coming off of an injury-plagued season), and HB Dickie Post, among others, but the defense was less impressive and still in rebuilding mode.

There were 33,687 fans on hand at San Diego Stadium for the nationally televised Friday night game. Taking the opening kickoff, the Bengals drove impressively down the field for 72 yards in eight plays. Warren McVea had a run of 28 yards and Paul Robinson had a 14-yard gain. Robinson capped the series by running two yards around end for a touchdown.

The Chargers drove into Cincinnati territory but stalled at the 34 and Dennis Partee kicked a 42-yard field goal to get the home team on the board. On San Diego’s next possession, and still in the opening period, Dickie Post broke away on a sweep for a 48-yard TD. With Partee’s extra point, the home team carried a 10-7 lead into the second quarter. Neither offense could move consistently during the remainder of the first half, but the Bengals managed to tie the score with a 22-yard field goal by Dale Livingston.

In the second half, John Hadl began to exploit weaknesses in Cincinnati’s pass defense. The Chargers moved 76 yards to start the third quarter and FB Brad Hubbert plunged into the end zone to put the home team in front. Partee added the extra point that made it 17-10.

TE Willie Frazier (pictured at top), who caught 57 passes and was an AFL All-Star in 1967, had lost his starting job to Jacque McKinnon and didn’t get into the game until the second half, but he made an impact when he did. Up by four points late in the third quarter, Hadl threw down the middle to Frazier, who caught the ball at the 20 and carried three defenders into the end zone for a 48-yard touchdown. Partee’s extra point attempt was blocked but it had no effect with the Chargers up by ten.

Attesting to the physicality of the game, Lance Alworth, who was clotheslined after his first catch by CB Fletcher Smith, was ejected in the fourth quarter for fighting. But the Chargers were able to keep the visitors in check for the remainder of the contest. In the closing seconds, Frazier pulled in a second scoring pass, this time from five yards out to secure the win. San Diego came out on top by 29-13.

The Chargers dominated in total yards (554 to 226) and first downs (27 to 13). They were impressive on both the ground and through the air, gaining 229 rushing yards and 325 via passing. However, San Diego was also hurt by 10 penalties, at a cost of 100 yards, while the Bengals were flagged five times. Each team turned the ball over twice, and the Bengals also gave up two sacks.

John Hadl completed 20 of 37 passes for 325 yards and two touchdowns with none intercepted. Dickie Post ran for 140 yards on 16 carries that included the one long TD and Brad Hubbert added 54 yards and a touchdown on his 11 attempts. WR Gary Garrison led San Diego’s receivers with 5 catches for 101 yards while TE Jacque MacKinnon added four receptions for 87 yards, Lance Alworth four for 58, and Willie Frazier contributed three catches for 66 yards and the two touchdowns. Dennis Partee (pictured below) had an uneven performance in his first game as placekicker/punter for the Chargers, connecting on one of three field goal attempts and failing on his last two extra point tries.

For the Bengals, Dewey Warren received praise for his poise after completing 14 of his 26 throws for 125 yards, giving up one interception. Paul Robinson gained 33 yards on 16 rushing attempts that included a TD. FB Tom Smiley ran for 26 yards on 9 attempts and led the club with 6 catches for 51 yards.

“My timing was off in the first half,” explained John Hadl regarding San Diego’s sluggish start. “We just didn’t click.”

“If we lose every game this year and are contenders in three years, I’ll be satisfied,” said Paul Brown, attesting to the difficulties as well as the ultimate goal in starting from scratch with an expansion team.

Coach Brown need not have worried about going winless, however, for the Bengals won their next two games at home, although they came out on top just one more time on the way to a 3-11 record and last place in the Western Division. San Diego won its first three contests, but again finished third in the division at 9-5.

Dewey Warren (pictured at left) was replaced by John Stofa the following week and, as one of three quarterbacks who started for the Bengals in their first year, completed 58.8 percent of his 80 passes for 506 yards and a touchdown with four intercepted. Paul Robinson, who scored the franchise’s first TD, had a much bigger year, leading the league in rushing with 1023 yards and gaining All-AFL as well as Rookie of the Year honors.

John Hadl went on to lead the AFL in pass attempts (440), completions (208), yards (3473), and TD passes (27), but also in interceptions (32). Dickie Post ranked fifth in rushing with 758 yards and Lance Alworth and Gary Garrison both finished over a thousand receiving yards (1312 and 1103, respectively). Willie Frazier remained a backup at tight end and caught 16 passes for 237 yards and a total of three touchdowns. Dennis Partee kicked 22 field goals, the third-highest total in the AFL, averaged 40.7 yards on 56 punts, and spent eight years with the Chargers.

Rookie of the Year: Paul Robinson, 1968

Halfback, Cincinnati Bengals

Age: 24 (Dec. 19)

College: Arizona

Height: 6’0”   Weight: 200

Prelude:

Robinson went to college on a track scholarship and only played football in his last year. He was chosen by the expansion Bengals in the third round of the 1968 AFL/NFL draft, moved directly into the lineup, and scored the first regular season touchdown in franchise history.

1968 Season Summary

Appeared in all 14 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing

Attempts – 238 [1]

Most attempts, game - 26 (for 33 yds.) at NY Jets 12/8

Yards – 1023 [1]

Most yards, game – 159 yards (on 17 carries) at Oakland 10/27

Average gain – 4.3 [5]

TDs – 8 [1]

100-yard rushing games – 4

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 24      

Most receptions, game – 7 (for 30 yds.) at Boston 12/1

Yards – 128

Most yards, game – 78 (on 4 catches) vs. Houston 11/3

Average gain – 5.3

TDs – 1

Kickoff Returns

Returns – 3

Yards – 58

Average per return – 19.3

TDs – 0

Longest return – 22 yards

Punt Returns

Returns – 1

Yards – 1

TDs – 0

All-Purpose yards – 1210 [7]

Scoring

TDs – 9 [6]

Points – 54 [14]

Awards & Honors:

AFL Rookie of the Year: UPI

1^st team All-AFL: AP, UPI, NEA, NY Daily News, Pro Football Weekly

2^nd team All-AFL: PFWA

1^st team All-Western Division: Sporting News

AFL All-Star Game

Bengals went 3-11 to finish fifth in the AFL Western Division.

Aftermath:

The smooth-running Robinson never again matched the production of his rookie year. His rushing total dropped off to 489 yards in 1969, although he was still chosen to the last AFL All-Star Game. With a strong second half, he reached 622 yards in ’70 but carried only 49 times for 213 yards in 1971 and was traded to the Oilers during the ’72 season. Robinson was a backup with Houston in 1973 and left for the Birmingham Americans of the WFL, where he played one final season in 1974 and led the team in rushing with 599 yards on the way to that league’s only championship. In the AFL and NFL, Robinson rushed for 2947 yards on 737 carries (4.0 avg.) and caught 90 passes for 612 more yards, scoring a total of 26 touchdowns. While his career failed to live up to the early promise, Robinson remains the only player to rush for a thousand yards for a first-year expansion team in the AFL/NFL.

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Rookie of the Year Profiles feature players who were named Rookie of the Year in the NFL, AFL (1960-69), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized organization (Associated Press – Offense or Defense, Newspaper Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, or the league itself – Pepsi NFL Rookie of the Year). 

1968: Bengals Defeat Broncos in First Home Game

On September 15, 1968, Commissioner Pete Rozelle and Ohio Governor James Rhodes were among 25,049 fans in attendance at Nippert Stadium to see the first regular season home game of the second (and last) American Football League expansion franchise, the Cincinnati Bengals. The Bengals had opened the season a week earlier on a Friday night in San Diego and lost to the Chargers, 29-13.

60-year-old Paul Brown was returning to pro football as a part-owner of the new franchise, as well as head coach and general manager, following a five-year hiatus after being summarily fired from the Cleveland Browns, the team he had coached with much success from 1946 through ’62. He chose to build the new team with younger players. QB John Stofa, a raw talent obtained from the Miami Dolphins and center Bob Johnson, the first draft choice out of Tennessee, were joined by other rookies on offense that included Arizona HB Paul Robinson and TE Bob Trumpy out of Utah (pictured above). More experienced help had been acquired for the defense, including LB Frank Buncom from the Chargers and two ex-Chiefs, LB Sherrill Headrick and safety Bobby Hunt.

The team they were hosting, the Denver Broncos, was opening the regular season after coming off a 3-11 year in 1967, the first under Head Coach/GM Lou Saban. The Broncos were in transition, with the most recognizable name on the roster being HB Floyd Little, in his second year out of Syracuse.

The first half was scoreless, with neither team able to get inside the opponent’s 19 yard line. Denver’s deepest penetration came to nothing when safety Jess Phillips intercepted QB John McCormick’s pass at the Bengals’ eight yard line. Bob Humphreys missed two field goal attempts for the Broncos and Dale Livingston failed on one for Cincinnati.


Livingston (pictured at left), who handled the punting as well as placekicking for the Bengals, was more effective punting the ball and kept the Broncos from gaining good field position while the offense sputtered. He had three straight 52 yard kicks in the second quarter that the Broncos returned for a total of 12 yards.

The Broncos outgained the Bengals in the first half, 118 yards to 64. John Stofa completed just 6 of 13 passes, but was victimized by well-thrown balls that were dropped.

Following the second half kickoff, the Bengals drove 38 yards in seven plays and Livingston kicked a 49-yard field goal for the first points of the contest. Three minutes later, and on the second play of Cincinnati’s next possession, Stofa threw to a leaping Bob Trumpy, who gathered in the slightly-underthrown ball at the 20, outmaneuvered DB Harold Lewis, and proceeded to the end zone to complete the 58-yard scoring play. But with the Bengals ahead by 10-0, the momentum swung back to the visitors.

The Broncos replaced starting quarterback John McCormick with Jim LeClair in the second half, and LeClair was effective, moving the team into position for a 33-yard field goal by Humphreys.

LeClair led the Broncos on another drive that commenced late in the third quarter and led to a score three minutes into the final period. Denver went 57 yards, helped by LeClair’s passing and the running of Little, capped by the second-year quarterback tossing a five-yard pass to WR Eric Crabtree for a touchdown.

The key series came with the score tied at 10-10 in the fourth quarter. On a second-and-ten play, Stofa threw a screen pass to Paul Robinson that was inches short of a first down. On the next play, FB Tom Smiley ran off tackle and was brought down still short of a first down. With the ball on the Cincinnati 46, it was fourth-and-inches and the crowd was chanting for the home team to go for it. Paul Brown gave the go-ahead, and Smiley hit the line and appeared to be stopped short once more but, following a measurement, the officials signaled first down. On the next play, Stofa threw long to rookie split end Warren McVea for a 54-yard touchdown.

Backup HB Essex Johnson clinched the game at just under three minutes to go with a 34-yard run down the middle and the Bengals came away winners of their inaugural home game by a 24-10 tally.

Cincinnati outgained the Broncos (289 yards to 199) although Denver led in first downs (15 to 11). The Bengals didn’t turn the ball over at all, while the Broncos suffered an interception.


John Stofa (pictured at right) completed 12 of 22 passes for 224 yards and two touchdowns with, of course, none intercepted. Bob Trumpy caught 4 passes for 114 yards and the one long TD while Warren McVea hauled in three receptions for 84 yards and a score. With the long touchdown run, Essex Johnson was the team’s leading rusher, gaining 49 yards on five carries. Tom Smiley ran the ball 12 times for 28 yards and Paul Robinson gained 27 yards on his 10 attempts.

For the Broncos, John McCormick was successful on just 8 of 19 passes for 89 yards with one intercepted; Jim LeClair threw 6 completions in 12 attempts for 82 yards and one TD. Split end Al Denson caught 8 passes for 115 yards but suffered a broken collar bone in the fourth quarter and was lost for nearly half of the season. Floyd Little ran for 30 yards on 13 carries and gained 32 more yards on two catches out of the backfield.

Toasting the win afterward, Paul Brown said, “Here’s to one in a row.” As he was handed the game ball, he added, “this is going right up there on the top shelf.”

Cincinnati made it two in a row with a win over Buffalo the next week, but had only one more victory the rest of the way to finish at the bottom of the Western Division with a 3-11 record. Denver was just ahead of the Bengals at 5-9.

While John Stofa proved to be something of a disappointment at quarterback, the running game ranked second in the league in yards per carry (4.3). Paul Robinson topped the AFL with 1023 rushing yards. Bob Trumpy was the team’s leading receiver, with 37 catches for 639 yards and three TDs.