1960 Dallas Texans season

The 1960 Dallas Texans season was the inaugural season of Lamar Hunt's American Football League franchise from Dallas, Texas. Head coach Hank Stram led the team to an 8–6 record and second place in the AFL's Western Conference.[1]

1960 Dallas Texans season
Head coachHank Stram
Home fieldCotton Bowl
Local radioWFAA
Results
Record8–6
Division place2nd AFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify
AFL All-StarsNo All-star game

For the Texans' inaugural season, team owner Lamar Hunt pursued both legendary University of Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson and New York Giants defensive assistant Tom Landry to lead his Texans franchise. Wilkinson opted to stay at Oklahoma, while Landry was destined to coach the NFL's expansion franchise in Dallas. Hunt settled on a relatively unknown assistant coach from the University of Miami, Hank Stram. "One of the biggest reasons I hired Hank was that he really wanted the job", Hunt explained. "It turned out to be a very lucky selection on my part."[2]

The Texans set up offices in the Mercantile National Bank Building, while Jerry Foss headquartered the AFL offices out of Dallas, as well.[1] Reserved seats were USD $4, general admission USD $2, and high school students paid USD $.90 that initial season. Don Rossi served as the team's General Manager until November when he was succeeded by Jack Steadman.

The Texans conducted their inaugural training camp at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico. The club embarked on a whirlwind pre-season barnstorming tour that featured road games in Oakland, Tulsa, Boston, Abilene, and Little Rock. An announced crowd of 51,000 at the Cotton Bowl witnessed a 24–3 victory against Houston on September 2 as the club concluded a perfect 6–0 preseason record.[1]

The Texans had a strong home-state identity with quarterback Cotton Davidson from Baylor, linebacker Sherrill Headrick from TCU, and running back Abner Haynes from North Texas. Haynes led the league with 875 rushing yards and nine TDs, as well as combined net yards (2,100) and punt return average (15.4).[1]

The Texans also had a flashy, high-scoring club that finished the year at 8–6 as three close losses kept the squad from challenging for the division title. The Texans averaged 24,500 for their home games, the highest average in the league.[1]

1960 AFL Draft

In the inaugural American Football League Draft, the Texans chose the following players to fill-up their squad:

Regular season

The Texans finished their inaugural season 8–6, with three wins coming by shut-out.[1]

Standings
AFL Western Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Los Angeles Chargers 1040.7145–1373336W4
Dallas Texans 860.5714–2362253W3
Oakland Raiders 680.4292–4319388W1
Denver Broncos 491.3081–5309393L3

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

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 10 at Los Angeles Chargers L 20–21 0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 17,724 Recap
2 September 16 at Oakland Raiders W 34–16 1–1 Kezar Stadium 8,021 Recap
3 September 25 Los Angeles Chargers W 17–0 2–1 Cotton Bowl 42,000 Recap
4 October 2 New York Titans L 35–37 2–2 Cotton Bowl 37,500 Recap
5 October 9 Oakland Raiders L 19–20 2–3 Cotton Bowl 21,000 Recap
6 October 16 at Houston Oilers L 10–20 2–4 Jeppesen Stadium 19,026 Recap
7 Bye
8 October 30 at Denver Broncos W 17–14 3–4 Bears Stadium 13,102 Recap
9 November 6 at Buffalo Bills W 45–28 4–4 War Memorial Stadium 19,610 Recap
10 November 13 Denver Broncos W 34–7 5–4 Cotton Bowl 21,000 Recap
11 November 18 at Boston Patriots L 14–42 5–5 Boston University Field 14,721 Recap
12 November 24 at New York Titans L 35–41 5–6 Polo Grounds 14,344 Recap
13 December 4 Houston Oilers W 24–0 6–6 Cotton Bowl 20,000 Recap
14 December 11 Boston Patriots W 34–0 7–6 Cotton Bowl 12,000 Recap
15 December 18 Buffalo Bills W 24–7 8–6 Cotton Bowl 18,000 Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Postseason

The Texans did not participate in the AFL Championship by finishing the season in second place of the Western Conference.

References
  1. Kansas City Chiefs History 1960s Archived April 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine KCChiefs.com
  2. Kansas City Chiefs History AFL Origins" Archived February 5, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
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