The San Diego Chargers franchise was founded in 1959 as a charter member of the American Football League. The team played the 1960 season in Los Angeles, moving to San Diego in 1961. The Chargers played in San Diego for 56 years. In 2017, the Chargers' owner announced a move to Los Angeles, effective with the 2017 season, taking the "Chargers" name with them.

The team began as the Los Angeles Chargers and was established in 1959 with seven other American Football League teams: the Denver Broncos, Dallas Texans, Oakland Raiders, New York Titans, Houston Oilers, Buffalo Bills, and Boston Patriots. The Chargers' original owner was hotel heir Barron Hilton, son of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton.

Frank Leahy, a former Notre Dame University football coach, was named the team's first general manager. According to the official website of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Barron Hilton agreed after Leahy picked the Chargers name when he purchased an AFL franchise for Los Angeles: "I liked it because they were yelling ‘charge’ and sounding the bugle at Dodgers Stadium and at USC games." The Chargers initially considered playing at the Rose Bowl, but instead signed a lease to play at the Los Angeles Coliseum. There is also an alternative theory about a man named Gerald Courtney of Hollywood who won an all-expenses-paid trip to Mexico City and Acapulco for submitting "Chargers" in a name-the-team contest. They played ten years in the AFL before the merging of the league into the older NFL. Their only coach for the ten-year life of the AFL was Sid Gillman, former coach of the NFL's Los Angeles Rams, who originally signed a three-year contract as head coach. Gillman (87–57–6), who was later voted to the Hall of Fame, was widely recognized as a great offensive innovator. He also took on the dual role of coach and general manager after Frank Leahy resigned because of poor health. The early AFL years of the San Diego Chargers were highlighted by the outstanding play of wide receiver Lance Alworth with 543 receptions for 10,266 yards in his 11-AFL/NFL-season career. In addition, he set the pro football record of consecutive games with a reception (96) during his career. With players such as Alworth, Paul Lowe, Keith Lincoln and John Hadl, the high-scoring Chargers reached the AFL Championship Game five times winning once during that ten-year span.

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