1961 American Football League season

1961 American Football League season
Regular season
Duration September 9 – December 17, 1961
Playoffs
Date December 24, 1961
Eastern Champion Houston Oilers
Western Champion San Diego Chargers
Site Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California
Champion Houston Oilers
American Football League seasons
 < 1960 1962 > 

The 1961 American Football League season was the second regular season of the American Football League. The Los Angeles Chargers moved to San Diego, California following the 1960 season, retaining the Chargers name.

The season ended when the Houston Oilers defeated the San Diego Chargers in the AFL Championship game.

Division Races

The AFL had 8 teams, grouped into two divisions. Each team would play a home-and-away game against the other 7 teams in the league for a total of 14 games, and the best team in the Eastern Division would play against the best in the Western Division in a championship game. If there was tie in the standings, a playoff would be held to determine the division winner.

Relocated from Los Angeles, the San Diego Chargers won their first eleven games, clinching the Western Division on November 12, with four games left. When San Diego reached 10–0, it had twice the wins of any other team in the AFL. In the Eastern Division, the New York Titans lost 27–10 to Denver, while Boston beat Buffalo 52–21, in Week Seven, for a tie in the race, with the Pats at 3–3–1 and the Titans at 3–3–0. The Titans lost, 48–13 to San Diego, in Week Nine. The following week, though (November 12), Houston beat Boston, 27–15, to take a half-game lead, and won the division by a full game.

Week Eastern Western
1 Tie (Hou, NYT) 1–0–0 Tie (Den, SD) 1–0–0
2 Houston 1–0–0 San Diego 2–0–0
3 Tie (Bos, NYT) 2–1–0 San Diego 3–0–0
4 N.Y. Titans 3–1–0 San Diego 4–0–0
5 N.Y. Titans 3–1–0 San Diego 5–0–0
6 N.Y. Titans 3–2–0 San Diego 6–0–0
7 Tie (Bos, NYT) 3–3–1 San Diego 7–0–0
8 Tie (Bos, NYT) 4–3–1 San Diego 8–0–0
9 Boston 5–3–1 San Diego 9–0–0
10 Houston 5–3–1 San Diego 10–0–0
11 Houston 6–3–1 San Diego 11–0–0
12 Houston 7–3–1 San Diego 11–0–0
13 Houston 8–3–1 San Diego 11–1–0
14 Houston 9–3–1 San Diego 12–1–0
15 Houston 10–3–1 San Diego 12–2–0

Regular season

Results

Home/Road Eastern Division Western Division
BOS BUF HOU NY DAL DEN OAK SD
Eastern Boston Patriots 52–21 31–31 20–21 28–21 45–17 20–17 27–38
Buffalo Bills 21–23 16–28 41–31 27–24 10–22 22–31 11–19
Houston Oilers 27–15 12–22 49–13 38–7 45–14 55–0 33–13
New York Titans 37–30 21–14 21–48 28–7 35–28 23–12 10–25
Western Dallas Texans 17–18 20–30 26–21 35–24 49–21 43–11 10–26
Denver Broncos 24–28 10–23 14–55 27–10 12–19 27–24 16–19
Oakland Raiders 21–35 21–26 16–47 6–14 35–42 33–19 10–41
San Diego Chargers 0–41 28–10 34–24 48–13 24–14 37–0 44–0

Standings

AFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Houston Oilers 1031.7694–1–1513242W9
Boston Patriots 941.6922–3–1413313W4
New York Titans 770.5003–3301390L2
Buffalo Bills 680.4292–4294342L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
AFL Western Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
San Diego Chargers 1220.8576–0396219L1
Dallas Texans 680.4294–2334343W2
Denver Broncos 3110.2141–5251432L7
Oakland Raiders 2120.1431–5237458L6

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Playoffs

AFL Championship Game
   
December 24, 1961 – Balboa Stadium
 Houston Oilers  10
 San Diego Chargers  3

Awards

See also

External links

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