The 1965 San Diego Chargers season was their sixth as a professional AFL franchise; the team improved on their 8–5–1 record in 1964. Head Coach Sid Gillman led the Chargers to their fifth AFL West title with a 9–2–3 record, before losing the AFL Championship Game to the Buffalo Bills for the second consecutive season. It would prove to be the Chargers' last post-season appearance until 1979.
San Diego took the lead in the AFL Western division early in the season, as they won five of their first seven games and tied the other two. They maintained first place despite two midseason defeats and finished with three wins in a row, clinching their division with a game to spare. During the regular season, they led the league in several key statistical categories, ranking first for rushing and passing yardage on both offense and defense. They entered the AFL Championship game as point favorites on their own home field, but were shut out by the Bills 23–0.
Several individual Chargers had strong seasons, with the offense featuring the top passer, runner and receiver, ranked by yardage. Quarterback John Hadl, in his first season as the full time starter, threw for 2,798 yards, running back Paul Lowe set both team and league records with 1,121 yards while leading the league with 5 yards per carry, and flanker Lance Alworth's 1,602 receiving yards and 14 touchdowns are yet to be surpassed as Charger records. The defense featured strong performances by safety Bud Whitehead, cornerback Speedy Duncan (also the AFL's leading punt returner), and defensive linemen Earl Faison and Ernie Ladd. The latter two players fell out with Gillman, and declared their intention to leave at the end of the season.
Offseason
AFL draft
Regular draft The 1965 AFL draft took place on November 28, 1964, 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. The Chargers were able to sign their 1st-round pick, defensive lineman Steve DeLong, who had also been drafted by the Chicago Bears. DeLong stated that he preferred the city of San Diego, and that the Chargers had made him a better offer. While DeLong was used as a backup during his rookie season, he went on to start in 75 games during seven seasons in San Diego, making one AFL All-Star game. Other successful signings included linebacker Rick Redman, who started 81 games over nine years in San Diego and made one All-Star game, and running back Gene Foster, who scored twice in 1965 and gained over 2,500 yards during a six-year career with the Chargers.
Other Charger draftees opted to sign with NFL clubs, including 2nd-round pick Roy Jefferson, who joined the Pittsburgh Steelers. In total, five of the Chargers' selections chose the NFL, including four of their top eight picks, while five signed with San Diego.
1965 San Diego Chargers draft Round Pick Player Position College Notes 1 6 Steve DeLong * Defensive end Tennessee 6th pick in NFL draft 2 14 Roy Jefferson * Wide receiver Utah 18th pick in NFL draft; signed by Pittsburgh Steelers 3 22 Allen Brown Tight end Mississippi 38th pick in NFL draft; signed by Green Bay Packers 4 30 Steve Tensi Quarterback Florida State 224th pick in NFL draft 5 38 Rick Redman * Linebacker Washington 132nd pick in NFL draft 6 46 Will Beasley Fullback North Carolina A&T Signed by 1966 Brooklyn Dodgers (COFL) 7 54 Jack Snow * Wide receiver Notre Dame 8th pick in NFL draft; signed by Los Angeles Rams 8 62 Clancy Williams Defensive back Washington State 9th pick in NFL draft; signed by Los Angeles Rams 9 70 Jerry Whelchel Quarterback Massachusetts Signed by Holyoke Bombers (ACFL) 10 78 Gene Foster Running back Arizona State 201st pick in NFL draft 11 86 Veran Smith Guard Utah State 232nd pick in NFL draft 12 94 Jim Allison Running back San Diego State 13 102 Bill Quigley Linebacker Villanova 162nd pick in NFL draft 14 110 Don Floyd End Florida State Signed by Norfolk Neptunes (COFL) 15 118 Mike Howell Defensive back Grambling State 111th pick in NFL draft; signed by Cleveland Browns 16 126 John Godden Linebacker San Diego State Signed by 1966 Hartford Charter Oaks (COFL) 17 134 Leon Hardy Tackle Texas Southern 18 142 Bob Evans Defensive end Texas A&M Signed by Houston Oilers 19 150 Braden Beck Kicker Stanford Signed by 1971 Houston Oilers 20 158 Jack Edwards Center Florida State Signed by Norfolk Neptunes (COFL) Made roster Made at least one AFL All-Star game or NFL Pro Bowl during career Played in the NFL in 1965
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. With their first pick in this draft, the Chargers chose San Diego State Aztecs wide receiver Gary Garrison. They eventually signed him on December 5, 1965, after outbidding the NFL's San Francisco 49ers. Garrison went on to spend eleven seasons with the Chargers, accumulating over 7,500 receiving yards while being nominated to one AFL All-Star game and three Pro Bowls. He was also inducted into the Chargers Hall of Fame in 1985.
Unless noted otherwise, these players began their professional careers in 1966.
1965 San Diego Chargers redshirt draft Round Pick Player Position College Notes 1 6 Gary Garrison * Wide receiver San Diego State 77th pick in NFL draft 2 14 Larry Martin Defensive tackle San Diego State 195th pick in NFL draft 3 22 Stan Dzura Tackle California 106th pick in NFL draft 4 30 Doug Woodlief Linebacker Memphis 65th pick in NFL draft; signed by 1965 Los Angeles Rams 5 38 Jim Weatherwax Defensive tackle Los Angeles State 150th pick in NFL draft; signed by Green Bay Packers 6 46 Tom Good Linebacker Marshall 211th pick in NFL draft 7 54 Wayne Waff End East Tennessee State 8 62 Roy Shivers Running back Utah State 264th pick in NFL draft; signed by St. Louis Cardinals 9 70 Tony Carey Halfback Notre Dame 73rd pick in NFL draft 10 78 Dave Plump Defensive back Fresno State 156th pick in NFL draft 11 86 Jeff White End Texas Tech 248th pick in NFL draft; signed by 1967 Orange County Ramblers (COFL) 12 94 Mike Ciccolella Linebacker Dayton 239th pick in NFL draft; signed by New York Giants Made roster Made at least one AFL All-Star game or NFL Pro Bowl during career Played in the NFL in 1966
Departures and arrivals Quarterback Tobin Rote, who had started for the Chargers in the past two AFL championship games, retired after the 1964 season. John Hadl took over as the starter, having split time with Rote the previous year. There was also a change on the offensive line. Don Rogers had started every game at center over the past two seasons, and featured in all but two Charger games over the first five years of the franchise. He lost his starting job to Sam Gruneisen during the offseason, and did not play professionally again. Defensive lineman Hank Schmidt, who had featured in every game for San Diego over the previous four seasons, switched to the Buffalo Bills midseason and beat the Chargers with his new team in the AFL title game at season's end. New players included Dick Degen, an undrafted rookie who missed time through injury but still started seven games, specialist kicker Herb Travenio, who had briefly featured for the Chargers in 1964 before being dropped and working for the postal service, and safety Bob Zeman, back for a second stint with the team after starting 23 games from 1960 to 1961; he would start 7 more from 1965 to 1966.
San Diego stadium vote The future of the Chargers franchise was uncertain entering the 1965 season, with owner Barron Hilton indicating that he would choose to move his team to another venue unless the city of San Diego approved a new stadium. Press speculation named Anaheim as a possible alternative for the team, as well as Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. On November 2, over 130,000 citizens of San Diego voted by a majority of roughly 72% to 28% to allocated $27 million for the construction of a 50,000-seat stadium in Mission Valley. Hilton signed a 10-year lease, beginning in 1967. Jack Murphy, sports editor of the San Diego Union, was credited with getting the stadium project approved.
Initially known as San Diego Stadium, this would be the Chargers' home until their return to Los Angeles in 2017.
Personnel
Staff
Roster
Preseason San Diego lost their exhibition opener despite outgaining the Raiders by 293 yards to 116. An interception thrown by Hadl was run back 42 yards for a touchdown, and rookie kicker Les Murdock made only one of three field goal attempts. Hadl improved in the second game, running for one touchdown against the Chiefs and throwing another to Jacque MacKinnon. Rookies Foster (with a run) and DeLong (on a fumble return) also scored. Three 3rd-quarter touchdowns were enough to beat Denver in the next game: running back Keith Lincoln threw a 62-yard touchdown pass to Lance Alworth on a trick play, and Hadl and Dave Kocourek combined for two more.
The last two Chargers exhibition games were played in neutral venues. They faced the Raiders again in Portland, Oregon, scoring 37 unanswered points after facing a 10–3 deficit in the first half. MacKinnon, Hadl and Alworth all scored again, and the defense contributed with a safety from Earl Faison and a fumble return touchdown for Jimmy Warren. Finally, they lost in Little Rock, Arkansas to a George Blanda field goal with 8 seconds to play. Rookie Jim Allison scored the lone San Diego touchdown on a 12-yard reception from Hadl.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 7 Oakland Raiders L 3–10 0–1 Balboa Stadium 27,168 2 August 15 at Kansas City Chiefs W 31–10 1–1 Municipal Stadium 13,132 3 August 21 at Denver Broncos W 21–6 2–1 Bears Stadium 18,913 4 August 28 vs. Oakland Raiders W 46–17 3–1 Multnomah Stadium, (Portland) 15,234 5 September 4 vs. Houston Oilers L 10–13 3–2 War Memorial Stadium, (Little Rock) 17,000
Regular season
Summary
San Diego were unbeaten over the first half of the season, with five wins and two ties. This included an easy victory at Buffalo, who had beaten them in the previous season's AFL Championship Game. They lost two of their next three games, but maintained first place in the AFL West. After tying the return match with Buffalo, they won their final three games, clinching their division with a game to spare and setting up a rematch with the Bills.