The 1963 AFL Championship - In Color
On January 5, 1964, the San Diego Chargers won their only championship, routing the Boston Patriots 51-10 at Balboa Stadium to claim the 1963 A.F.L. title. There isn't much film of this game, nor many photos, especially not in color. But recently some color slides taken at the game became available on eBay. These were taken from the stands, presumably by a fan attending the game. These are the only known color photographs from this game. Combined with highlight film footage, they provide us with a rare color look at the Chargers' championship game.
First, a series of shots from before the game.
A photo of the Chargers warming up, in full uniforms but without shoulder pads. A few of the Patriots can be seen behind them.
Let's zoom in on parts of this photo:
A close-up from the photo identifies these Chargers: (left to right) Lance Alworth (19), Dick Harris (36), George Blair (39), Gary Glick (43), Jacque MacKinnon (38), and Ernie Wright (75).
The next group includes John Hadl (21), Dick Westmoreland (25) Tobin Rote (18), Ernie Park (61), Gerry McDougall (20), Paul Maguire (84), Bud Whitehead (47), Dave Kocourek (83), and Jerry Robinson (29).
Finally, Don Norton (88), Don Rogers (52), Keith Lincoln (22), and Paul Lowe (23).
Another shot of the warmups. The players are closer to the camera, but this one is a little blurry.
One last shot of the warmups. There are a couple of interesting details from this one:
Head coach Sid Gillman talks to starting quarterback Tobin Rote.
Team captains Ron Mix (74) and Emil Karas (56) meet with the head referee just before the pre-game coin flip. In that era, the coin flip was done about 30 minutes before the game started. A few minutes later the coin flip took place, as captured by Chargers' team photographer Charles Aqua Viva (in black and white):
The Grambling College band played during the pre-game ceremonies and at halftime. The sharpness of this photo allows us to zoom in on the crowd:
There's one thing missing from crowds of this era: team jerseys and hats. It wasn't until the early 80s that licensed merchandise would take off.
The Grambling band on the field before the game.
Alright, let's get to game action...
On the Chargers' first drive, Keith Lincoln breaks a trap play and gets all the way down to the five yard line, setting up the Chargers' first touchdown. This photo shows the end of the run, as Lincoln is brought down by Boston safety Dick Felt (arrow). The crowd in front of the photographer has risen in excitement.
Here is a highlight film clip of the play. We'll freeze-frame it to match the moment the photo was taken.
After the Chargers' touchdown, the Patriots take the field on offense. On first down following the kickoff, Boston quarterback Babe Parilli drops back to pass (it was incomplete).
The Patriots went three-and-out and the Chargers got the ball back. Two plays later...
...Keith Lincoln takes a pitch left. When this photo was taken, he had just cut up field.
In this blow-up from that photo, we see Lincoln (red arrow) following the blocks of Ernie Wright (yellow arrow) and Lance Alworth (blue arrow).
Sixty-seven yards later he was in the end zone.
Here's the color film of the play, again pausing to match the moment the photos were taken.
The Patriots then drove for a touchdown to narrow the Chargers' lead to 14-7. One the ensuing drive...
...Paul Lowe takes a pitchout right, dances down the sidelines, then cuts back to the middle of the field to score on a 57-yard run. This photo shows the end of the run, as Lowe crosses the five yard line on his way to the end zone, with the crowd on their feet. Here is the film of Lowe's run:
That's it for the first half photos. Next, we have four snaps from halftime.
This final halftime shot has several interesting features, not the least are Balboa Stadium's Roman columns in the end zone. Other details:
The scoreboard shows the Chargers with a 31-10 lead. On either side is the "All-America City" badge that the Chargers wore on their helmets during the season.
A television camera on the sidelines. You can see the ABC logo on side of the camera - AFL games were broadcast by the ABC network the first five years of the league. No footage of the broadcast is known to exist.
A cameraman stands hoisted above the field via a crane. Based on the size of the camera, this was also a TV broadcast camera.
At the base of the column structure are several vehicles, including an emergency ambulance (far left), and a van with the Chargers logo (right). On the far right is bandstand for the Chargers Band, taking a break during halftime.
Now, back to game action. No photos were taken in the third quarter; this is the first play of the fourth quarter. The Chargers now led 38-10. The Patriots are facing 3rd down and eight from their own four yard line. Babe Parilli is passing from his end zone, just releasing the ball for Art Graham (#84, on the 20 yard line). The pass was complete for a gain of 45 yards.
Boston failed to score on this drive. The Chargers put John Hadl in at quarterback, and he drove them to the Patriots' 25 yard line.
On fourth and two, Hadl fakes a handoff to Lowe and finds Lincoln wide open for the score. The photo is a little blurry but you can see Lincoln in the end zone and the ref signaling a touchdown.
Here is the film of the play. Again we pause to match the photograph:
This final photo was taken during the Chargers' last drive. The exposure setting for this shot wasn't great, but with the help of the game log we can determine the situation. The is the end of a play where tight end Jacque McKinnon (38) has just caught a pass for a 33 yard gain, down to the Boston 15 yard line. You can see the two refs spotting the location.
Several plays later, John Hadl dove over from the one yard line to make the final score 51-10, and the Chargers had their lone championship.