1960 Los Angeles Chargers season | |
---|---|
Head coach | Sid Gillman |
General manager | Frank Leahy |
Owner | Barron Hilton |
Home field | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum |
Results | |
Record | 10–4 |
Division place | 1st Western Division |
Playoff finish | Lost AFL Championship (Houston Oilers, 24–16) |
The 1960 Los Angeles Chargers season was the team's inaugural season, also the first season of the American Football League (AFL). Head coach Sid Gillman led the Chargers to the AFL Western Division title with a 10–4 record, in the team's only season in Los Angeles until its 2017 return, with its home field at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The season concluded with the AFL championship game against the Houston Oilers (10–4) of the Eastern Division, held at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston on New Year's Day. The teams had split their two games in the regular season, with the home teams winning, and the host Oilers were 6 1/2-point favorites to win the title. Down by a point after three quarters, the Chargers gave up an 88-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and lost, 24–16.
Initially denied in December, but announced in late January, owner Barron Hilton relocated the Chargers down the coast to a soon-to-be expanded Balboa Stadium in San Diego for the 1961 season. The Chargers would later return to Los Angeles to rejoin the Rams in 2017, nearly 60 years later.
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.