1963 San Diego Chargers season

1963 San Diego Chargers season
OwnerBarron Hilton
General managerSid Gillman
Head coachSid Gillman
Home fieldBalboa Stadium
Results
Record11–3
Division place1st Western Division
Playoff finishWon AFL Championship
(vs. Patriots) 51–10
All-AFL
11
AFL All-Stars
11
Refer to caption
Tobin Rote had spent 13 seasons in the NFL and CFL before becoming the Chargers' starting quarterback.

The 1963 San Diego Chargers season was the team's fourth in the American Football League. The team had gone 4–10 in 1962 but rebounded with an 11–3 record, winning the AFL West by one game over the Oakland Raiders, who were coached by former Chargers assistant Al Davis. San Diego scored the most points in the league and conceded the fewest.[1] Their offense, led by veteran quarterback Tobin Rote, and featuring future Hall of Fame receiver Lance Alworth, gained more yards than any other team; Rote and Alworth were each named the league MVP, by the Associated Press and UPI, respectively.

On January 5, 1964, the team won their only AFL Championship with a 51–10 win over the Boston Patriots in Balboa Stadium.[2] To date, this is the Chargers' only league championship season in the AFL or NFL. This is also the only world championship won by a major league sports team in the city and county of San Diego to date.[3] In 2003, the team was inducted into the Chargers Ring of Honor.[4] The emphatic title game victory led to some speculation on whether San Diego might be able to beat the NFL champion Chicago Bears.

The 1963 Chargers earned a degree of lasting notoriety due to their program of anabolic steroid usage, the first such in professional football. Head coach Sid Gillman and strength coach Alvin Roy made daily doses of Dianabol compulsory for a five-week period during training camp before players became aware of potential side effects, and the program was relaxed to a voluntary one.

  1. ^ "1963 San Diego Chargers Statistics". pro-football-reference.com. Archived from the original on December 22, 2008. Retrieved August 25, 2021.
  2. ^ "Chargers roll over Boston in AFL final". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 6, 1964. p. 27. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
    "Are Chargers good enough for NFL opponents?". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. January 6, 1964. p. 3B. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
    "Charger win Lincolnesque; Palouse Moose gains 349". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. January 6, 1964. p. 12. Archived from the original on February 22, 2016. Retrieved January 22, 2016.
  3. ^ Schrotenboer, Brent. "Can the Padres overcome San Diego's sad-sack sports history?". USA today. Archived from the original on July 15, 2022. Retrieved February 27, 2022.
  4. ^ Gehlken, Michael (October 28, 2013). "Chargers to honor their title team". U-T San Diego. Archived from the original on February 2, 2016.