American Football League All-Star game

The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the league's merger with the National Football League (NFL).

All-League Teams

The Sporting News published American Football League All-League Teams for each season played by the American Football League, 1960 through 1969. From 1960 through 1966, the All-League team was selected by the AFL players, and from 1967 through 1969 it was selected by a consensus of The Sporting News (TSN), the Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), and the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA). The All-League AFL selections usually included one player at each team position on offense and on defense (i.e., one quarterback, two guards, four defensive backs, etc.).

All-Star Teams

The AFL did not have an All-star game after its first season in 1960 but from 1961 through 1969, other AFL players were added to the All-League players to form two squads, and the league held All-Star games for those seasons. After every season except 1965, the format consisted of games between All-Star teams from the Eastern and Western divisions. In 1965, the league champion Buffalo Bills played all-stars from the other teams.

The Pro Football Hall of Fame and the NFL include AFL All-Star Games in their statistics for the Pro Bowl. After the AFL–NFL merger of 1970, the name of the NFL's all-star game was changed to the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl. Buffalo Bills rookie running back O.J. Simpson carried the ball on the last play in AFL history in the Houston Astrodome at the 1969 All-Star Game on January 18, 1970.

The 1965 boycott

After the 1964 season, the AFL All-Star Game had been scheduled for early 1965 in New Orleans' Tulane Stadium. After numerous black players were refused service by a number of New Orleans hotels and businesses, black and white players alike lobbied for a boycott.[1] Under the leadership of Buffalo Bills players including Cookie Gilchrist, the players put up a unified front, and the game was successfully moved to Houston's Jeppesen Stadium.[2][3]

Game history
SeasonDateScoreSeriesMost Valuable Player(s)VenueAttendanceHead CoachesTelevision
1961January 7, 1962
West, 47–27
West 1–0Cotton Davidson, QB, TexansBalboa Stadium, San Diego20,973E:Wally Lemm (Houston)
W:Sid Gillman (San Diego)		ABC
1962January 13, 1963
West, 21–14
West 2–0Offense: Curtis McClinton, RB, Dallas Texans
Defense: Earl Faison, DE, Chargers		Balboa Stadium, San Diego27,641E:Frank Ivy (Houston)
W:Hank Stram (Dallas)		ABC
1963January 19, 1964
West, 27–24
West 3–0Offense: Keith Lincoln, RB, Chargers
Defense: Archie Matsos, LB, Raiders		Balboa Stadium, San Diego20,016E:Mike Holovak (Boston)
W:Sid Gillman (San Diego)		ABC
1964January 16, 1965[4]
West, 38–14
West 4–0Offense: Keith Lincoln, RB, Chargers
Defense: Willie Brown, DB, Broncos		Jeppesen Stadium, Houston, Texas15,446E:Lou Saban (Buffalo)
W:Sid Gillman (San Diego)		ABC
1965January 15, 1966[4]
AFL All-Stars 30,
Buffalo Bills 19
-Offense: Joe Namath, QB, Jets
Defense: Frank Buncom, LB, Chargers		Rice Stadium, Houston35,572Buffalo:Lou Saban
AS:Sid Gillman (San Diego)		NBC
1966January 21, 1967[4]
East, 30–23
West 4–1Offense: Babe Parilli, QB, Boston Patriots
Defense: Verlon Biggs, DE, Jets		Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California18,876E:Mike Holovak (Boston)
W:John Rauch (Oakland)		NBC
1967January 21, 1968
East, 25–24
West 4–2Offense: Joe Namath, QB, Jets; and Don Maynard, F, Jets
Defense: Speedy Duncan, DB/KR, Chargers		Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Florida40,103E: Joe Collier (Buffalo)
W:Lou Saban (Denver)		NBC
1968January 19, 1969
West, 38–25
West 5–2Offense: Len Dawson, QB, Chiefs
Defense: George Webster, LB, Houston Oilers		Gator Bowl, Jacksonville, Florida41,058E:George Wilson (Miami)
W:Lou Saban (Denver)		NBC
1969January 17, 1970[4]
West, 26–3
West 6–2John Hadl, QB, ChargersAstrodome, Houston30,170E:George Wilson (Miami)
W:Lou Saban (Denver)		NBC

Broadcasters

The following is a list of the television networks and announcers that broadcast the American Football League All-Star game during its existence.

Season Network Play-by-play Color commentator(s) Sideline reporter(s)
1961[5] ABC Jack Buck Jim McKay George Ratterman
1962[6] ABC Curt Gowdy Paul Christman and George Ratterman
1963[7] ABC Curt Gowdy Paul Christman
1964[8] ABC Curt Gowdy Paul Christman and George Ratterman
1965[9] NBC Curt Gowdy Paul Christman Charlie Jones
1966[10] NBC Curt Gowdy Paul Christman Charlie Jones
1967[11] NBC Curt Gowdy Paul Christman
1968[12] NBC Curt Gowdy Kyle Rote Charlie Jones
1969[13] NBC Charlie Jones Al DeRogatis

See also

References
  1. Thomas, Ben (January 11, 1965). "American football League calls off All-Star game set for New Orleans". The Day. New London, Connecticut. Associated Press. p. 18.
  2. "AFL All-Star game moved to Houston". Morning Record. Meriden, Connecticut. January 12, 1965. p. 5.
  3. "New Orleans: pro grid nightmare". St. Petersburg Independent. Florida. Associated Press. January 12, 1965. p. 11A.
  4. game played on Saturday.
  5. 1961 NFL-AFL Commentator Crews
  6. 1962 NFL-AFL Commentator Crews
  7. 1963 NFL-AFL Commentator Crews Archived December 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  8. 1964 NFL-AFL Commentator Crews Archived December 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  9. 1965 NFL-AFL Commentator Crews Archived December 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  10. 1966 NFL-AFL Commentator Crews Archived December 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  11. 1967 NFL-AFL Commentator Crews Archived December 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  12. 1968 NFL-AFL Commentator Crews Archived December 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. 1969 NFL-AFL Commentator Crews Archived December 11, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
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