The 1966 season was the 7th season for the San Diego Chargers as a professional American Football League (AFL) franchise; the team failed to improve on their 9–2–3 record from 1965. In the team's final season at Balboa Stadium, the Chargers went 7–6–1 and finished in third place in the AFL West Division. They would move to San Diego Stadium for the following season. It was the first season to feature an AFL-NFL World Championship Game, now known as the Super Bowl. San Diego began the season among the favorites to represent the AFL in the historic game, but faded after a 4–0 start, winning only three more times in the remaining ten games.
Flanker Lance Alworth was the Chargers' main offensive threat. Catching passes from quarterback John Hadl, he achieved the AFL's triple crown by leading the league in receptions, receiving yards and receiving touchdowns. The Chargers' offense shifted its focus towards the pass, with running back Paul Lowe, the AFL's rushing champion the previous season, seeing far fewer carries in 1966. On defense, the Chargers lost assistant coach Chuck Noll and tackle Ernie Ladd during the offseason, while end Earl Faison left during the regular season. They were strong against the pass, with cornerback Speedy Duncan and safety Kenny Graham making twelve interceptions between them, but became the AFL's worst team against the run.
Offseason
AFL draft
Regular draft The 1966 AFL draft took place on November 27, 1965, late in the previous season. The rival National Football League (NFL) conducted its draft on the same day. Where the same player was drafted by both AFL and NFL franchises, the two would compete to sign him. San Diego struggled to sign their highest selections, with their top six (and seven of their first eight) signing for NFL clubs. One of these, running back Russ Smith, was cut by the Atlanta Falcons on 6 July 1966, and joined the Chargers afterwards, spending a year on the taxi squad before scoring 10 touchdowns over the following four seasons. 7th-round pick Jim Tolbert stayed with the team for six seasons, and returned briefly at the end of his 11-year NFL career; he played in over 100 games in the Chargers' defensive backfield, starting over 50 of them.
San Diego found a long-term starter in the later rounds in offensive tackle Terry Owens. Chosen in the 11th round, he was primarily a backup in his first two seasons, but won a starting role in 1968 and kept it until injuries forced his retirement in 1975, having made over 100 starts in total. In the 13th round, the Chargers selected defensive lineman Houston Ridge. A regular starter during two of his four seasons in San Diego, Ridge would later sue the Chargers, winning $300,000 after successfully arguing that the organization's drug culture had caused the injury that ended his career.
1966 San Diego Chargers draft Round Pick Player Position College Notes 1 7 Don Davis Defensive tackle Los Angeles State 25th pick in NFL draft; signed by New York Giants 2 16 Nick Rassas Defensive back Notre Dame 17th pick in NFL draft; signed by Atlanta Falcons 3 24 Milt Morin * Tight end UMass 14th pick in NFL draft; signed by Cleveland Browns 4 32 Charlie Brown Defensive back Syracuse 28th pick in NFL draft; signed by Chicago Bears 5 40 Russ Smith Running back Miami (FL) Signed and cut by Falcons before joining Chargers 6 49 Gary Pettigrew Defensive tackle Stanford 20th pick in NFL draft; signed by Philadelphia Eagles 7 61 Jim Tolbert Defensive back Lincoln (MO) 8 72 Doug Buffone Linebacker Louisville 60th pick in NFL draft; signed by Chicago Bears 9 81 Taft Reed Defensive back Jackson State 279th pick in NFL draft 10 90 Dan Pride Linebacker Jackson State 201st pick in NFL draft 11 99 Terry Owens Tackle Jacksonville State 167th pick in NFL draft 12 108 Ray Jones Halfback Los Angeles State Signed by Toronto Argonauts (CFL) 13 117 Houston Ridge Defensive end San Diego State 14 126 Mike London Linebacker Wisconsin 15 135 Shelly Novack End Long Beach State 16 144 Bill Scott Defensive back Idaho Signed by Toronto Argonauts (CFL) 17 153 Ron Ogle Defensive tackle Long Beach State 18 162 John Travis Fullback San Jose State 19 171 Jerome Bell End Central State (OK) 20 180 Bill McDowell Linebacker Florida State Made roster Made at least one AFL All-Star game or NFL Pro Bowl during career Played in the NFL in 1966
Redshirt draft As well as their regular collegiate draft, the AFL also held a separate redshirt draft. This covered players whose graduation had been delayed by taking a redshirt year, meaning that they still had a further year of college football eligibility. Three of these would play for the Chargers, with linebacker Jeff Staggs and running back Brad Hubbert joining the team in 1967, while defensive back Joe Beauchamp skipped his final year of college eligibility and played for the Chargers in 1966. It was the first of ten seasons in San Diego for Beauchamp, who eventually started 97 games, intercepting 23 passes and returning three of them for touchdowns.
Unless noted otherwise, these players began their professional careers in 1967.
1966 San Diego Chargers redshirt draft Round Pick Player Position College Notes 1 8 Bob Windsor Tight end Kentucky 26th pick in NFL draft; signed by San Francisco 49ers 2 17 Diron Talbert * Defensive tackle Texas 66th pick in NFL draft; signed by Los Angeles Rams 3 26 Jeff Staggs Linebacker San Diego State 2nd pick in 1967 NFL Redshirt draft 4 35 LaVerle Pratt Linebacker Idaho 210th pick in NFL draft 5 44 Rhome Nixon End Southern 6th pick in 1967 NFL Redshirt draft; signed by Orange County Ramblers (COFL) 6 53 Joe Beauchamp Defensive back Iowa State Joined the Chargers in 1966 7 62 Saint Saffold Split end San Jose State 222nd pick in NFL draft 8 71 Brad Hubbert * Running back Arizona 3rd pick in 1967 NFL redshirt draft 9 79 Wayne Page Defensive back Clemson 182nd pick in NFL draft 10 89 Wayne Becker Tackle Montana 197th pick in NFL draft; signed by Eugene Bombers (COFL) 11 97 Hugh Wright Fullback Adams State 223rd pick in NFL draft Made roster Made at least one AFL All-Star game or NFL Pro Bowl during career Played in the NFL in 1967
Undrafted free agents
+ 1966 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeChuck CowartLinebackerCalifornia WesternJohn SmedleySafetyCincinnati
Departures and arrivals The Chargers lost two 1965 AFL All-Pros in defensive tackle Ernie Ladd and defensive end Earl Faison; the pair had been named 1st-team All-Pros three and four times respectively during their five years in San Diego, but had expressed dissatisfaction with head coach Sid Gillman in his joint role of general manager early the previous season. They had played out the final year of their contracts in 1965, making clear their intention to leave afterwards, and were traded to the Houston Oilers on January 15 in exchange for three defensive players. Four days later, AFL commissioner Joe Foss nullified the trade after finding the Oilers guilty of tampering with the players, whose Chargers contracts would not expire until May 1. Ladd eventually signed with the Oilers as a free agent on June 7; Faison re-signed with the Chargers on July 29, but Gillman waived him when he struggled with injuries, commenting that Faison had, "a long way to go to become average, much less outstanding." The expansion Miami Dolphins signed Faison on October 19.
Other defensive departures included Dick Westmoreland, a cornerback who had finished runner-up for the AFL's rookie of the year award in 1963 and led the team in interceptions in 1964, being voted a 2nd-team All-Pro both times. After struggling with a broken arm in 1965, he was left unprotected by the Chargers in an expansion draft, and claimed by the Dolphins. Another defensive back, Dick Harris, retired from professional football. One of the original Chargers from 1960, Harris had made 29 interceptions over his career while being named twice each to the 1st and 2nd All-Pro teams.
Tight end Dave Kocourek was another original Charger to depart; he was allowed to go to Miami in the expansion draft after making four All-Pro 2nd teams and four AFL All-Star games with San Diego. The Chargers gained a replacement tight end when new AFL commissioner Al Davis awarded them Houston's Willie Frazier as compensation for the loss of Ladd. Frazier had been voted to the All-Star game once as an Oiler and would be twice more as a Charger, in 1967 and 1969. San Diego made a change of specialist kickers, releasing Herb Travenio and giving the job to Dick Van Raaphorst.
San Diego's coaching staff lost a future Hall of Fame coach when defensive backfield coach Chuck Noll took the same role with the NFL's Baltimore Colts. Noll had been on the Chargers staff since their first season.
Change of ownership The Chargers had their first change of majority ownership on August 25 when hotel chain heir Barron Hilton, who had owned the franchise since their formation in 1959, sold controlling shares to a consortium led by National General Corporation chairman Gene Klein. With a price of $10 million, the purchase set a new record for a professional football team. Hilton had announced his plans to sell the team the previous year, as he wanted to spend more time operating the hotel chain that he co-owned with his father Conrad Hilton. This had prompted speculation that the team may move, but Klein stated that they would remain in San Diego.
Klein's consortium included former White House Press Secretary Pierre Salinger and General Motors executive John DeLorean. The Hiltons remained as minority shareholders with a combined 30% ownership. Klein agreed to the record-breaking price as he anticipated that a forthcoming merger of the AFL with the more-established NFL would significantly increase the value of the Chargers.
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Preseason San Diego opened their exhibition schedule against the expansion Dolphins and took a quick 24–0 lead through interception-return touchdowns by Kenny Graham and Nat Whitmyer, together with Lance Alworth's 47-yard catch from running back Keith Lincoln. Further touchdowns followed in the second half on a John Hadl pass to Jacque MacKinnon and a short Jim Allison run. Against Oakland, Alworth's 89-yard touchdown catch tied the next game at 7–7 but those were the only Chargers points; the Raiders won the game with a touchdown in the final minute.
The Chargers next faced Kansas City in Anaheim; it was the second part of the first professional football double-header, directly following a Raiders-Patriots exhibition in the same stadium. Hadl ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, but San Diego lost 31–21. They returned home for their finale, defeating the Patriots with 24 unanswered second-half points. Hadl rushed for another touchdown, and his backup Steve Tensi passed to Don Norton for another. Speedy Duncan (on a 63-yard punt return) and Gene Foster also scored as the Chargers pulled away. The attendance of 11,894 was the smallest for a Chargers game since they moved to San Diego in 1961.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 6 Miami Dolphins W 38–10 1–0 Balboa Stadium 25,712 2 August 13 Oakland Raiders L 7–14 1–1 Balboa Stadium 17,904 3 August 20 vs. Kansas City Chiefs L 21–31 1–2 Anaheim Stadium, (Anaheim) 36,038 4 August 27 Boston Patriots W 31–13 2–2 Balboa Stadium 11,894
Regular season
Summary