More Than A Passing Fancy

Our All-Time AFL Team is filled with bigger-than-life characters like Don Maynard [right], who typified the renegade league's high-flying style

IF THERE'S ONE PLAYER WHO will always be synonymous with the AFL, it's Joe Namath. Namath's original $400,000 contract with the New York Jets in 1965 played a major role in giving the fledgling league credibility. And with his shaggy hair and craggy looks, he was the NFL's answer to the Beatles. It also helped that he had one of the game's best arms and made that famous guarantee prior to Super Bowl 3.

Still, Namath wasn't the only player in the AFL with star power, not by a long shot. He was just one of the 11 Hall of Fame players--Lance Alworth, George Blanda, Willie Brown, Bobby Bell, Ron Mix, Buck Buchanan, Len Dawson, Don Maynard, Billy Shaw, and Jim Otto were the others--who made their marks in the AFL. Also enshrined in Canton are owner Lamar Hunt, who got the league started, and coach Sid Gillman, a master of the passing game. In addition, Willie Lanier, Ken Houston, Larry Little, Art Shell, Gene Upshaw, and Jan Stenerud arrived in the AFL after the merger with the NFL was announced in 1966 and went on to have Hall of Fame careers.

Players like Shaw (the first man to make the Hall who spent his entire career in the AFL), Otto, Brown, and Buchanan started their careers in the AFL, but the league also provided a second chance for ones like Dawson and Maynard, who were NFL castoffs.

The NFL initially tried to paint the AFC as a second-rate "Mickey Mouse League," and in the beginning this may have been true. But it quickly improved. Even the NFL players were surprised by how good it was. After the first Super Bowl, when the NFL's Green Bay Packers routed the Kansas City Chiefs, the two leagues started to play exhibition games in the fall of 1967. When Detroit went to Denver, Alex Karras said he'd walk home if his Lions lost. The Lions did fall 13-7 to the Broncos, but Karras didn't walk home. The next week, the Broncos beat the Minnesota Vikings 14-3. Granted, exhibition games are not a perfect barometer, but the Broncos weren't even a quality AFL team, going 3-11 that season.

The same year, the Chiefs went to Chicago to play George Halas' Bears. They routed the Bears 66-24, although they lost to the Rams 44-24 in Los Angeles the next week.

The bottom line? The AFL was a much better league than it was given credit for at the time. Our All-Time AFL Team is proof of that.

OFFENSE

WIDE RECEIVERS: LANCE ALWORTH (SAN DIEGO CHARGERS), DON MAYNARD (NEW YORK JETS)

Both players enjoyed Hall of Fame careers. Alworth, nicknamed "Bambi" because of Iris graceful style, played for the Chargers from 1962 to '70 and then spent two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. He made the All-AFL team seven times, and caught 542 passes for 10,266 yards and 85 touchdowns.

Maynard was a kick returner for the 1958 New York Giants team that lost the celebrated overtime championship game to the Baltimore Colts. He was out of football for a year before playing for the Titans (who became the Jets) from 1960 to '72. His final season was with the St. Louis Cardinals. He caught 633 passes for 11,834 yards and 88 touchdowns and was one of Joe Namath's favorite receivers.

TIGHT END: FRED ARBANAS (KANSAS CITY CHIEFS)

A five-time All-AFL choice, Arbanas played with the Chiefs from 1961 to '70. He was known as a tenacious blocker, but he also caught 198 passes in his career. Despite losing an eye in an accident in 1964, he came back to play.

OFFENSIVE TACKLES: RON MIX (SAN DIEGO CHARGERS), JIM TYRER (KANSAS CITY CHIEFS)

Mix, a Hall-of-Famer, played for the Chargers from 1960 to '69 and then spent a year with the Oakland Raiders before hanging it up. A devastating blocker, he was called for only two holding penalties in his decade with the Chargers. Not surprisingly, he made the All-AFL team nine times.

Tyrer teamed with Ed Budde to anchor the Chiefs' strong offensive line, which helped win Super Bowl 4. He played with the Chiefs from 1961 to '73--and was a perennial All-AFL choice--before spending a year with the Washington Redskins. His life came to a tragic end in 1980 when he shot his wife and then himself.

GUARDS: BILLY SHAW (BUFFALO BILLS), ED BUDDE (KANSAS CITY CHIEFS)

Shaw earned a spot in the Hall of Fame due to the 119 games he played for the Bills from 1961 to '69. Each season from 1962 to '66, he was a first-team All-AFL selection. Budde played 14 seasons with the Chiefs, from 1963 to '75, and was a seven-time AFL All-Star or Pro Bowl pick.

CENTER: JIM OTTO (OAKLAND RAIDERS)

Considered by some football observers to be the best center who ever lived, Otto played with the Raiders from 1960 to '74. Despite numerous injuries, he played in 210 games.

QUARTERBACK: JOE NAMATH (NEW YORK JETS)

The first quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season, Namath was noted for his flamboyant style off the field as well as his play on it. His finest moment was the Jets' monumental upset of the Colts in Super Bowl 3.

RUNNING BACKS: PAUL LOWE (SAN DIEGO CHARGERS), CLEM DANIELS (OAKLAND RAIDERS)

Lowe still holds Chargers records with 1,014 rushes for 4,963 yards, from 1960 to '68. Daniels, who played for Oakland from 1961 to '67, rushed 1,133 times for 5,103 yards, third on the Raiders' all-time list.

DEFENSE

ENDS: JERRY MAYS (KANSAS CITY CHIEFS), GERRY PHILBIN (NEW YORK JETS)

Mays started out as an offensive tackle and made the All-AFL team twice before switching to defense, where he was named to the All-Star team from 1964 to '68. He played 140 games from 1961 to '70. Philbin was an eight-year starter for the Jets, and although he played in the AFL All-Star game only twice, he was a defensive mainstay on the Super Bowl 3 title team.

TACKLES: BUCK BUCHANAN (KANSAS CITY CHIEFS), HOUSTON ANTWINE (NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS)

Buchanan made the Hall of Fame after playing 181 games from 1963 to '75. He was voted to the AFL All-Star team or the Pro Bowl every season in an eight-year stretch. Antwine played for the Patriots from 1961 to '71 and was voted to the AFL All-Star team six straight years.

LINEBACKERS: BOBBY BELL (KANSAS CITY CHIEFS), GEORGE WEBSTER (HOUSTON OILERS), NICK BUONICONTI (MIAMI DOLPHINS)

Bell, a Hall-of-Famer, intercepted 26 passes, recovered 15 fumbles, and scored nine touchdowns in 168 games with the Chiefs from 1964 to '73. Webster's career was cut short by injuries--he played for only six seasons, from 1967 to '72--but he made the All-Star team his first three years in the league. Buoniconti, who Was nominated for the Hall of Fame this year, spearheaded Miami's no-name defense, which won the NFL title in 1972 and '73.

CORNERBACKS: WILLIE BROWN (OAKLAND RAIDERS), DAVE GRAYSON (KANSAS CITY CHIEFS, OAKLAND RAIDERS)

Brown played for Denver from 1963 to '66, but his best years were with the Raiders from 1967 to '78. He had 54 interceptions in his career and returned one 75 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl 11. Grayson intercepted 48 passes for the Chiefs and Raiders.

SAFETIES: JOHN ROBINSON (KANSAS CITY CHIEFS), GEORGE SAIMES (BUFFALO BILLS)

Robinson started his career as a running back with the Chiefs in 1960, but he played safety from 1962 to '71 and wound up with 57 interceptions while earning All-AFL honors six times. Saimes was an AFL All-Star five straight years, from 1964 to '68, and was a key cog in the Bills defense, which helped the team win back-to-back AFL titles, in 1965 and '66.

MY YEAR COVERING THE AFL

WHAT WAS IT LIKE COVERING THE AFL?

Well, it was never dull, I had an up-close took at the league while covering the New York Jets for UPI in 1967, the year before they won the Super Bowl. No team typified the wide-open style of the AFL more than the Joe Namath-led Jets. The teams didn't bother with the Vince Lombardi style of running, running, and more running. They liked to throw. In fact, the pass-happy mentality you see in today's NFL is similar to that of the AFL.

Namath passed for 4,007 yards that year, while the Jets' leading rusher, Emerson Boozer, rushed for only 442 yards. Namath was held to under 17 points only once all season, but the Jets defense gave up too many points; for instance, Namath lost 42-18 to the Kansas City Chiefs and 38-29 to the Oakland Raiders.

The Jets wound up with an 8-5-1 record, losing the Eastern division title by a game to the Houston Oilers, but they were always entertaining. In Don Maynard and George Sauer, Namath had the perfect combination of speed and possession receivers.

Even though the NFL had announced the merger with the AFL the previous year and the team was drawing big crowds at Shea Stadium, the Jets still had to sell themselves to the New York market. Coach Weeb Ewbank used to show game films to reporters at his weekly luncheon, and reporters were even allowed into the locker room before the game on Sunday, something that would never happen in today's NFL.

The thing the team did best, though, was sell Namath, who also knew a thing or two about promotion, Namath wore pantyhose in commercials and enjoyed the night life on the East Side of Manhattan where it was said he liked Johnny Walker Red and blonde-haired women. He always seemed to be on the back pages of the tabloids.

When The Jets traveled it was as if Namath was a rock star--he was mobbed in hotel lobbies. But the other players never seemed to resent Namath. Instead, they recognized that he was their meal ticket, a fierce competitor on the field.

For all of Namath's charisma, through the Jets still played second fiddle to the Giants in New York. Although the Giants had been struggling since 1964 and went 7-7 in 1967, they were the team with the legacy of Gifford, Rote, Tittle, and Huff. The Jets, on the other hand, were the upstarts.

That's why I switched to the Giants beat in 1968 when it became available. As it turns out, though, I missed out on a lot of excitement. The Giants finished 7-7 again, while the Jets went on to win Super Bowl 3 in one et the greatest upsets in the history of sports. NO, that wasn't good timing on my part.

The Jets though, turned out to be a like roman candle. The year after their Super Bowl season they lost a first-round playoff game to Kansas City. The Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl in the final AFL season. In subsequent seasons, Namath was hit by a series of injuries, and the team dipped dramatically.

Namath never regained the magic he displayed from 1966 to '68, when he passed for more than 10,000 yards. It was probably fitting that the flamboyant Namath had his best moments in the equally flamboyant AFL. As I can attest, you had to see Namath in the AFL to truly appreciate what kind of a show he could put on.

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