329: The 1963 AFL San Diego Chargers - With Dave Steidel

Dec 18, 2023

After last week's ugly, team-record 63-21 drubbing by the Las Vegas Raiders, and the subsequent dismissal of its head coach and general manager - it's been a (yet another) rough season for the NFL's Los Angeles Chargers. 

While family owner/scion Dean Spanos tries (again) to plot a plan forward, we look nostalgically back to the franchise's early years in San Diego as one of the charter entries in the iconoclastic American Football League - an era that produced the club's (still) one-and-only championship in 1963.

AFL history chronicler Dave Steidel ("The Uncrowned Champs: How the 1963 San Diego Chargers Would Have Won the Super Bowl") helps us zero in on the story behind that AFL title-winning season - with an in-depth revisit of iconic coach Sid Gilman's blockbuster squad, featuring revered Charger greats like Tobin Rote, John Hadl, Paul Lowe, Keith Lincoln, Chuck Allen, and future Pro Football Hall of Famers Lance Allworth and Ron Mix. 

Plus: we debate whether the '63 Chargers could have truly beaten the NFL champion Chicago Bears that season for a definitive (albeit mythical) pre-merger American pro football title.

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SPONSOR THANKS:

• 417 Helmets (promo code: GOODSEATS): https://417helmets.com/?wpam_id=3

 

BUY/READ EARLY & OFTEN:

• "The Uncrowned Champs: How the 1963 San Diego Chargers Would Have Won the Super Bowl" (2015)
• "Remember the AFL: The Ultimate Fan's Guide to the American Football League" (2008)
• "AFL Trivia and Tales: The Ultimate American Football League Trivia Book" (2023)

 

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