1960 Houston Oilers season

The 1960 Houston Oilers season was the first season for the Houston Oilers as a professional American football franchise; Head Coach Lou Rymkus led the Oilers to the AFL Eastern Division title, with a 10–4 record. It was also the first American Football League season. It ended with a 24–16 victory in the AFL championship game at home over the Los Angeles Chargers (10–4).

1960 Houston Oilers season
Owner	Bud Adams
General manager	Don Suman
Head coach	Lou Rymkus
Home field	Jeppesen Stadium
Local radio	KXYZ
Results
Record	10–4
Division place	1st AFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Won AFL Championship (vs. Chargers) 24–16

Player movements

AFL draft

In the 1960 AFL draft, the Houston Oilers selected the following players.

• Peter Arena, G, Northwestern
• Dick Bass, HB, College of Pacific
• William Bohler, E/T, St. Ambrose
• Larry Cadwell, T, Louisville
• Billy Cannon, HB, Louisiana State
• Doug Cline, LB, Clemson
• DeJustice Coleman, HB, Illinois
• Bob Crandall, HB, New Mexico
• Cleatus Drinnon, C, Hardin–Simmons
• John Gremer, G, Illinois
• George Herring, G/T, North Texas State
• Steve Johnson, QB, Pepperdine
• John Lands, E, Montana
• Jacky Lee, QB, Cincinnati
• Bruce Maher, HB, Detroit

• Don Mattson, T, Southern California
• Mike McGee G, Duke
• Hugh McInnis, E, Mississippi State
• Max Messner, T, Cincinnati
• George Mulholland, E, New Mexico State
• Gary O'Steen, HB, Alabama
• Gene Prebola, E, Boston University
• Palmer Pyle T, Michigan State
• William Roach, T, Texas Christian
• Robert Simms, E, Rutgers
• Phillip Snowden, QB, Missouri
• Don Underwood, G/T, McNeese State
• Duane Whetstone, FB, George Washington
• Bob White FB, Ohio State
• Maury Youmans, T, Syracuse

Regular season

• The Oilers scored an important victory over the NFL when they signed the Heisman Trophy winner, All-America running back Billy Cannon of LSU. Cannon joined other Oiler offensive stars such as veteran quarterback George Blanda.

Roster

1960 Houston Oilers roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 16 George Blanda 15 Jacky Lee Running backs (RB) 47 Don Brown 20 Billy Cannon 32 Dave Smith FB 33 Bob White FB 44 Charley Tolar FB Wide receivers (WR) 82 Johnny Carson 89 Bill Groman 37 Charley Hennigan 88 Al Witcher Tight ends (TE) 86 John White 80 James Yeats

Offensive linemen (OL) 65 Gary Greaves T 70 Al Jamison T 77 Rich Michael T 51 John Simerson T 60 Jim McCaneless G 61 Bob Talamini G 64 Fred Wallner G 63 Hogan Wharton G 57 George Belotti C Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB) Defensive backs (DB) {{{defensive_back}}} Special teams

Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Game Recap
1	September 11	at Oakland Raiders	W 37–22	1–0	Kezar Stadium	12,703	Recap
2	September 18	Los Angeles Chargers	W 38–28	2–0	Jeppesen Stadium	20,156	Recap
3	September 20	Oakland Raiders	L 13–14	2–1	Jeppesen Stadium	16,421	Recap
4	Bye
5	October 9	New York Titans	W 27–21	3–1	Jeppesen Stadium	16,151	Recap
6	October 16	Dallas Texans	W 20–10	4–1	Jeppesen Stadium	19,026	Recap
7	October 23	at New York Titans	W 42–28	5–1	Polo Grounds	21,000	Recap
8	October 30	at Buffalo Bills	L 24–25	5–2	War Memorial Stadium	23,001	Recap
9	November 6	at Denver Broncos	W 45–25	6–2	Bears Stadium	14,489	Recap
10	November 13	at Los Angeles Chargers	L 21–24	6–3	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	21,805	Recap
11	November 20	Denver Broncos	W 20–10	7–3	Jeppesen Stadium	20,778	Recap
12	November 25	at Boston Patriots	W 24–10	8–3	Nickerson Field	27,123	Recap
13	December 4	at Dallas Texans	L 0–24	8–4	Cotton Bowl	20,000	Recap
14	December 11	Buffalo Bills	W 31–23	9–4	Jeppesen Stadium	25,247	Recap
15	December 18	Boston Patriots	W 37–21	10–4	Jeppesen Stadium	22,352	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: at Oakland Raiders

Uke 1: Houston Oilers at Oakland Raiders

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Oilers	7	0	13	17	37
Raiders	0	7	7	8	22

at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, California

• Date: September 11
• Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C)
• Game attendance: 12,703
• Recap

Week 2: vs. Los Angeles Chargers

Week 2: Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Oilers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	7	7	0	14	28
Oilers	14	7	17	0	38

at Jeppesen Stadium, Houston, Texas

• Date: September 18
• Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C)
• Game attendance: 20,156
• Recap

Week 3: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week 3: Oakland Raiders at Houston Oilers

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Raiders	7	0	0	7	14
Oilers	0	10	3	0	13

at Jeppesen Stadium, Houston, Texas

• Date: September 20
• Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C)
• Game attendance: 16,421
• Recap

Notable stats

Player	Comp.	Att.	Comp%	Yards	TD's	INT's
George Blanda (HOU)	169	363	46.6	2413	24	22

Standings

AFL Eastern Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Houston Oilers	10	4	0	.714	5–1	379	285	W2
New York Titans	7	7	0	.500	2–4	382	399	L1
Buffalo Bills	5	8	1	.385	3–3	296	303	L2
Boston Patriots	5	9	0	.357	2–4	286	349	L4

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.

Postseason

AFL Championship Game

Main article: 1960 American Football League Championship Game

AFL Championship Game 1960 – Los Angeles Chargers at Houston Oilers – Game summary

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Chargers	6	3	7	0	16
Oilers	0	10	7	7	24

at Jeppesen Stadium, Houston, Texas

• Date: Sunday, January 1, 1961
• Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
• Game attendance: 32,183
• Referee: John McDonough
• TV announcers (ABC): Jack Buck, George Ratterman, and Les Keiter
• Recap

Game information

First quarter LAC – Ben Agajanian 38-yard field goal. Chargers 3–0. LAC – Ben Agajanian 22-yard field goal. Chargers 6–0. Second quarter HOU – Dave Smith 17-yard pass from George Blanda (Blanda kick). Oilers 7–6. LAC – Ben Agajanian 27-yard field goal. Chargers 9–7. HOU – George Blanda 17-yard field goal. Oilers 10–9. Third quarter HOU – Bill Groman 7-yard pass from George Blanda (Blanda kick). Oilers 17–9. LAC – Paul Lowe 2-yard run (Agajanian kick). Oilers 17–16. Fourth quarter HOU – Billy Cannon 88-yard pass from George Blanda (Blanda kick). Oilers 24–16.

References

• Oilers on Pro Football Reference
• Oilers on jt-sw.com