Raiders Gameday
The AFL: a TIMELINE
August 14—First organizational
meeting held under leadership
of league founder Lamar Hunt.
August 15—AFL announced
with six member clubs: Dallas,
New York, Los Angeles, Houston,
Denver, and Minneapolis-St. Paul.
August 22—American Football
League chosen as official name.
October 28—Buffalo joins the
AFL as the seventh franchise. November 19—Boston becomes the
eighth team in the AFL. November 22-23—First draft meeting held,
with first selections composed of: Boston—RB Gerhard Schwedes;
Buffalo—QB Richie Lucas; QB Dallas—Don Meredith; Denver—C
Roger LeClerc; Houston—RB Billy Cannon; Los Angeles— E Monty
Stickles; Minneapolis—QB Dale Hackbart; New York—QB George
Izo. The eight teams select a total of 264 players. November 23—
Cooperative television plan adopted by AFL. November 30—Joe
Foss named league commissioner. December 2—AFL completes
first draft of collegiate players with an additional 161 draft choices.
January 1—First AFL championship
game held: Houston Oilers defeat
Los Angeles Chargers, 24-16, before
32,183. January 17—E.W. McGah
named president of Raiders. June
24—First call for auditions for the
Raiderettes appears in the Oakland
Tribune. September 17—Chargers
make home debut in San Diego after
relocating from Los Angeles, defeat
Raiders 44-0. September 18—
Eddie Erdelatz fired, Marty Feldman
promoted to head coach. December
2—1962 AFL Draft is held, Raiders
select QB Roman Gabriel in the first
round. December 17—Raiders finish
the 1961 season with a 2-12 record
after a loss to the Houston Oilers in the
season finale. December 24—Houston Oilers defeat San Diego
Chargers to win second straight AFL title.
1960:
1959:
ABOVE (Left to Right):
AFL Owners; Eddie Erdelatz
BELOW (Left to Right):
First-ever Raiders game; first day of practice in Santa Cruz
January 4—Minneapolis-St.
Paul officially leaves the AFL.
January 26—Lamar Hunt of
the Dallas Texans named first
AFL president. January 30—
Oakland group awarded former
Minneapolis-St. Paul franchise.
February 8—Co-owner Y.C.
“Chet” Soda named franchise’s
first general manager. February
9—Eddie Erdelatz appointed as first head coach of Raiders.
March 3-5—At special AFL meetings in Oakland, “allocation”
draft formulated to stock Oakland club. March 20—“Name Your
Football Team” contest kicks off. March 23—Team announces color
scheme of black, orange and white. April 5—Franchise announces
nickname “Senors.” April 14—Team announces nickname change
to “Raiders.” May 16—Kezar Stadium announced as Raiders
home stadium for 1960 season. June 2—Raiders sign QB Tom
Flores. June 9—AFL signs five-year contract with ABC for network
televising of games. July 11—Raiders open first training camp
at Santa Cruz High School in Santa Cruz, Calif. July 30—First
preseason game held: Boston defeats Buffalo, 28-7, before 16,000
at Buffalo. July 31—Raiders play their first preseason game and fall
to the Dallas Texans at Kezar Stadium. September 9—First league
1961:
game held: Denver defeats Boston, 13-10, before 21,597 at Boston.
September 11—Raiders open at home, losing to Houston, 37-
22. September 25—Raiders win first regular season league game
in franchise history, 14-13 at Houston. November 21-22—AFL
holds its second draft, Raiders select Illinois tackle Joe Rutgens in the
first round. December 4—Raiders fall to Los Angeles Chargers, 41-
17, in their first game after switching stadiums to Candlestick Park
for the last three contests of the 1960 season. December 5-6—
AFL completes the “1961” draft. December 17—Raiders complete
inaugural season with a 48-10 win over the Denver Broncos at
Candlestick Park, finishing the season with a 6-8 record.
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