American Football League Guest Book 2

From Bill Axtell nospam.BA12351@cs.com 22 Feb 2004 7:56:32 EST I was nine or ten when the AFL came into existence. Although I lived in an NFL city--Detroit--the American Football League provided an interesting contrast to its stodgy rival league. I remember several players in particular--Abner Haynes, Keith Lincoln, Wahoo McDaniel, Cookie Gilchrist and Daryle Lamonica. And Lance Alworth, of course. Two players who graduated from my high school--St. Mary of Redford--made it to the AFL; one was Fred Arbanas, tight end for the Dallas Texans and Kansas City Chiefs. Abner Haynes is the player I most associate with the upstart league. The AFL was an exciting product. Their players got better and better. By the end of the decade, there was no big difference in talent between leagues. I kind of wish pro football had not added Cleveland, Pittsburgh and Baltimore to the AFC, and left the AFL teams intact. The AFL remains the most successful sports league to challenge the status quo in my lifetime. Thanks, Bill: Who was the other AFL player from your high school? Remember *the AFL*
From W. Eugene Jessup: nospam.dogotto@aol.com 22 Feb 2004 21:07:24 EST Now I understand why the recently produced Gatorade ad, which features Keith Jackson telling the tale of the 1969 "Champion" KC Chiefs, which profiles Hank Stram, and E.J. Holub, and the Chiefs' trainer, says nothing about the fact that the game was the last game played before the merger. As you know, the Chiefs did not really need Gatorade to beat the Vikings. As "Rebels" [HBO's "Rebels with a Cause"] points out in a really terrific way, that Chiefs team, when finally permitted to face off against the NFL in the preseason, whipped the Bears, that venerable and proud NFL franchise, 55-24 (and it could have been worse)! In the third quarter, Butkus called across the line to Dawson and asked him if he did not think the Chiefs had made their point! It was a night for which the AFL had longed for years and years! [Interesting that there was such passion over EXHIBITION games! All because of AFL-NFL rivalry, which the merger killed.] I thought the NFL would have looked better if it had allowed Gatorade to mention the AFL's 10-year history, "the Foolish Club," et.al.; not to mention the fact that the 1969 NFL Champion Vikings was the evolution of a franchise that had been born, with the Chiefs franchise, in the AFL! How about them apples! As you know, AFL fans took sweet pleasure in the Vikings loss, and not just because they were the NFL's best! The Vikings franchise was an AFL deserter, and Lamar Hunt's Chiefs (Texans) franchise was an original AFL sister franchise of the Benedict Arnold Vikings! [The NFL would also look better if it finally admitted that dozens of AFL players have been unfairly kept out of the "pro football" hall of fame, and if it declared a moratorium on restrictive new selection rules, long enough to get those AFL "senior candidates" enshrined! Strictly speaking, it was the city of Minneapolis, and not the Vikings franchise, that deserted the AFL. I know what you mean, though, and I felt the same way about Atlanta, which could have had the eventual Miami AFL franchise, but backed out. I wonder how Atlanta would have liked their perfect 1972 team, if they had only stayed in the AFL?] I am glad that I (and fans like you) know that story. I just wish Gatorade had seen fit to tell it!
From T. H. Brady: nospam.thbrady@att.com Green Brook, NJ 08812 23 Feb 2004 06:16:09 Ange, Your site is great. The first pro game I ever attended was with my Dad in the Polo Grounds on a Friday night in 1962 - Raiders vs. Titans. I was 10 years old and thought that game was the greatest. That's right, Friday night. The AFL, especially the Titans, would play at weird times in order to get the fans to come. I loved the AFL and the bombs away attack that most of the teams used. It was so much more enjoyable than watching the NFL. I have been attending Jet games ever since, first a game here and there and now a season ticket holder for over 25 years.
Rick Freitas nospam.RJMFWine@aol.com 23 Feb 2004 14:23:00 EST [Originally posted at http://aflfootball.tripod.com/ 15 Feb 2004 4:21:08] I HAD SEASON TICKETS WITH THE OAKLAND RAIDERS STARTING IN 1963, AT FRANK YOUELL FIELD (NAMED AFTER AN OAKLAND MORTICIAN), WHEN I WAS NINE (9) YEARS OLD. I WILL ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT THE AFL POLICY WAS THAT EXHIBITION GAMES DID NOT COST AS MUCH AS REGULAR SEASON GAMES, AND IN OAKLAND IT WAS PART OF THE ENTIRE PACKAGE. I HAD TO EARN $50.00 DURING THE YEAR, SO I COULD BUY MY SEASON TICKETS. OAKLAND RAIDERS SEASON TICKETS COST $48.50, AND AFTER THREE LOSING SEASONS, 1960-1-2, IT WAS AMAZING THAT THE RAIDERS FINISHED JUST ONE (1) GAME BEHIND THE "UNDISPUTED" WORLD CHAMPIONS, THE 1963 SAN DIEGO CHARGERS, WHO WON THE 1963 AFL CHAMPIONSHIP GAME 51-10 OVER THE BOSTON PATRIOTS. I HAVE ALWAYS REGARDED SID GILMAN AS THE PREMIER AFL HEAD COACH, FOLLOWED BY HANK STRAM (KANSAS CITY CHIEFS), LOU SABAN (BUFFALO BILLS), WEEB EWBANK (NEW YORK JETS [TITANS]), AL DAVIS (OAKLAND RAIDERS AND AFL COMMISSIONER. DO YOU REMEMBER THAT THE AMERICAN FOOTBALL GAME OFFICIALS UNIFORM WAS RED AND WHITE STRIPES (THE NFL WORE THE BLACK & WHITE). I BELIEVE THAT THE AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE INSIGNIA IS FAR SUPERIOR THAN THE OTHER LEAGUE'S. ALSO THE OAKLAND RAIDERS ORCHESTRA WAS VOTED THE BEST IN FOOTBALL, UNDER THE DIRECTION OF DEL CORTNEY, BIG BAND LEADER. WERE YOU ALSO AWARE THE OAKLAND RAIDERS FANS AND THE SAN DIEGO CHARGERS FANS FLEW BACK AND FORTH FOR THEIR GAMES. SAN DIEGO WAS THE HUB FOR P.S.A. AIRLINES WITH THE PAINTED SMILE ON THE NOSE OF THE PLANE. IN 1969, OAKLAND SENT APPROXIMATELY 10,000 FANS DOWN TO SAN DIEGO, AND SAN DIEGO SENT APPROXIMATELY 7,500 FANS TO OAKLAND. THE NFL PRO MAGAZINE IS FAR INFERIOR TO THE AFL PICTORIAL MAGAZINE. REMEMBER, THAT REPUBLICAN CONGRESSMAN AND U.S. CABINET MEMBER, JACK KEMP (QUARTERBACK OF THE BUFFALO BILLS), FOUNDED THE FIRST AFL PLAYERS UNION. THE AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE HAD DEFINITELY THE BEST SIGNAL CALLERS IN PRO FOOTBALL, LEN DAWSON, JOHN HADL, JOE NAMATH, JACK KEMP, DARYLE LAMONICA, AND GEORGE BLANDA. UNFORTUNATELY, WE AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE FANS NEVER RECEIVED THE RESPECT FROM THE OTHER LEAGUE. TODAY, TO THIS DAY, I ALWAYS ROOT FOR ALL THE 'OLD' AFL TEAMS, FIRST, DON'T YOU? I REALLY BELIEVE THAT THE AFC INSIGNIA SHOULD BE REPLACED IN THE ENDZONES, BY THE AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE INSIGNIA FOR THE ORIGINAL EIGHT (8) TEAMS AND THE (2) EXPANSION TEAMS. WHERE WOULD THE MAN-FOR-MAN DEFENSE COME FROM, BUT THE OAKLAND RAIDERS. HANK STRAM SIGNED UP THE BIGGEST DEFENSIVE LINEMEN, WHICH REQUIRED THEIR CHIEF RIVALS THE RAIDERS AND CHARGERS TO DRAFT HUGE OFFENSIVE LINEMEN. GO AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE TEAMS. SEE, THE BOSTON (NEW ENGLAND) PATRIOTS WON THIS YEAR'S SUPERBOWL (2004). THANK YOU, COMMISSIONER JOE (FOSS) FOR ALL YOU DID AS OUR FIRST AFL COMMISSIONER. AND TO LAMAR HUNT, BARRON HILTON, BUD ADAMS, AND WAYNE VALLEY FOR BEING SUCH GREAT TEAM OWNERS. THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES............ RICK FREITAS
From Charles Oakey: nospam.oakeyc@hotmail.com San Diego, CA 27 Feb 2004 12:16:50 EST Dear Oakland Raider Friends, This photograph was taken during the Oakland Raiders vs the New York Titans game of October 29, 1961, at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park. My magazine source’s photo caption reads "Raider fullback Clemon Daniels shows drive in late 1961 game with the Titans." The featured player in the picture is wearing number 35. Raider fans know Clem Daniels wore uniform number 36 throughout his career with the Raiders, or now it seems, most of his career. Did Clem Daniels actually wear number 35 during this particular game or, for that matter, any other games during the 1961 season? The face of the player does look like Clem Daniels.
Oakland or San Francisco newspaper box scores dated October 29, 1961 may shed light on this question, if anyone cares to research it. Clem Daniels was arguably the greatest runner in Raider history. Fans of the early Oakland Raiders and the American Football League: contact Charles Oakey!
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