1961 American Football League season
Regular season	September 9, 1961 - December 17, 1961
Champions
All-Star game

Contents 1 Division Races 2 Standings [1] 3 Playoffs 4 External links

[edit] Division Races

The AFL had 8 teams, grouped into two divisions. Each team would play a home-and-away game against the other 7 teams in the league for a total of 14 games, and the best team in the Eastern Division would play against the best in the Western Division in a championship game. If there was tie in the standings, a playoff would be held to determine the division winner.

Relocated from Los Angeles, the San Diego Chargers won their first eleven games, clinching the Western Division on November 12, with four games left. When San Diego reached 10-0, it had twice the wins of any other team in the AFL. In the Eastern Division, the New York Titans lost 27-10 to Denver, while Boston beat Buffalo 52-21, in Week Seven, for a tie in the race, with the Pats at 3-3-1 and the Titans at 3-3-0. The Titans lost, 48-13 to San Diego, in Week Nine. The following week, though (November 12), Houston beat Boston, 27-15, to take a half-game lead, and won the division by a full game.

Week	EASTERN		WESTERN
1	Tie (Hou, NYT)	1-0-0	Tie (Den, SD)	1-0-0
2	HOUSTON	1-0-0	SAN DIEGO	2-0-0
3	Tie (Bos, NYT)	2-1-0	SAN DIEGO	3-0-0
4	N.Y. TITANS	3-1-0	SAN DIEGO	4-0-0
5	N.Y. TITANS	3-1-0	SAN DIEGO	5-0-0
6	N.Y. TITANS	3-2-0	SAN DIEGO	6-0-0
7	Tie (Bos, NYT)	3-3-1	SAN DIEGO	7-0-0
8	Tie (Bos, NYT)	4-3-1	SAN DIEGO	8-0-0
9	BOSTON	5-3-1	SAN DIEGO	9-0-0
10	HOUSTON	5-3-1	SAN DIEGO	10-0-0
11	HOUSTON	6-3-1	SAN DIEGO	11-0-0
12	HOUSTON	7-3-1	SAN DIEGO	11-0-0
13	HOUSTON	8-3-1	SAN DIEGO	11-1-0
14	HOUSTON	9-3-1	SAN DIEGO	12-1-0
15	HOUSTON	10-3-1	SAN DIEGO	12-2-0

The 1961 American Football League season was the second regular season of the American Football League. The Los Angeles Chargers moved to San Diego, California following the 1960 season, retaining the Chargers name.

The season ended when the Houston Oilers defeated the San Diego Chargers in the AFL Championship game.

[edit] Standings [1]

* — Qualified for Championship Game.

[edit] Playoffs

• AFL Championship Game
  • Houston Oilers 10, San Diego Chargers 3, December 24, 1961, Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California

[edit] External links

• Football Database

v • d • e American Football League seasons 1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969

1961 AFL Season v • d • e
Eastern Division	Western Division
Boston	Dallas Texans
Buffalo	Denver
Houston	Oakland
New York Titans	San Diego
1961 AFL Draft • 1961 AFL Championship Game • 1961 AFL All-Star game Related: 1961 NFL Season