The 1963 AFL Championship Game was the fourth American Football League (AFL) title game. The Western Division champion San Diego Chargers won 51–10 over the Eastern Division champion Boston Patriots. The Chargers' Keith Lincoln was named the game's most valuable player (MVP).
At the end of the regular season, the Chargers (11–3) won the Western Division for the third time in the four-year existence of the AFL. In the Eastern Division, the Patriots and the Buffalo Bills had identical 7–6–1 records, which required a tiebreaker playoff game on December 28 in Buffalo.
Eastern Division playoff
In their final regular season games on Saturday, December 14, Boston lost and Buffalo won to draw even in the standings. Three-time division winner Houston (6–6) controlled their own destiny, but lost the next day and were eliminated. Buffalo and Boston had two weeks to prepare for the playoff, as their bye weeks were postponed from November 24 to December 22, due to the assassination of President Kennedy.
The game was played on Saturday, December 28, as the following day was the 1963 NFL Championship Game. On a slippery field at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo with an inch of snow, visiting Boston led 16–0 at halftime and won 26–8. Quarterback Babe Parilli threw a touchdown pass in each half to fullback Larry Garron and Gino Cappelletti made four field goals for the Patriots. The Bills' sole score was a 93-yard touchdown pass play in the third quarter with a two-point conversion, which cut the lead to eight points. The AFL would not need a playoff to determine a division winner until 1968.
Championship Game Idle during the week of Eastern Division playoff, well-rested San Diego was a touchdown favorite at home to win the AFL. Fullback Keith Lincoln performed tremendously and led the Chargers to a 51–10 rout of Boston. Named the game's MVP, he rushed for 206 yards on 13 carries, led the team with 123 yards in receiving, and completed a pass for 20 yards.
The game was not a sellout; the attendance of 30,127 was several thousand under Balboa Stadium's capacity.
The Chargers' championship win is noted for being the only major sports title for the city of San Diego, the longest drought for a major American city.Thirteen years after missing a Super Bowl-winning field – 07.12.04 – SI Vault The Chargers played in San Diego through 2016, then returned to Los Angeles in 2017. The Patriots' first league championship came in the 2001 season in Super Bowl XXXVI.
Starting lineups
Boston Position San Diego Offense Babe Parilli QB Tobin Rote Ron Burton HB Paul Lowe Larry Garron FB Keith Lincoln Jim Colclough FL Lance Alworth Gino Cappelletti SE Don Norton Tony Romeo TE Dave Kocourek Don Oakes LT Ernie Wright Charley Long LG Sam DeLuca Walt Cudzik C Don Rogers Billy Neighbors RG Pat Shea Milt Graham RT Ron Mix Defense Larry Eisenhauer LDE Earl Faison Jess Richardson LDT Henry Schmidt Houston Antwine RDT George Gross Bob Dee RDE Bob Petrich Tom Addison LLB Emil Karas Nick Buoniconti MLB Chuck Allen Jack Rudolph RLB Paul Maguire Dick Felt LCB Bud Whitehead Bob Suci RCB Dick Harris Ross O'Hanley SS George Blair Ron Hall FS Gary Glick
Statistics Statistics Patriots ChargersFirst downs 14 21Rushing yards 75 318Yards per carry 4.6 9.9Passing yards 228 305Sack Yds Lost 6–42 2–13Total yards 261 610Fumbles-Lost 1–0 1–1Turnovers 2 1Penalties–Yards 1–18 6–30
Players' shares The attendance in San Diego was nearly 8,000 lower than the previous year's game in Houston, but the players' shares were up slightly with increased television revenue. The winning Chargers players each made around $2,500, while the Patriots received about $1,700 each. These shares were less than half of those for the NFL title game in 1963, at approximately $6,000 and $4,200 each.
See also 1963 AFL season AFL Championship Games 1963 NFL Championship Game
References