1966 San Diego Chargers season

The 1966 Season was the 7th season for the San Diego Chargers as a professional AFL franchise; the team failed to improve on their 9–2–3 record from 1965. In the team's final season at Balboa Stadium, the Chargers went 7–6–1 and finished in third place in the AFL West Division. The team would move to San Diego Stadium for the following season. It was also the first season to feature an AFL-NFL World Championship Game now known as the Super Bowl.

1966 San Diego Chargers season
Owner	Eugene V. Klein
Head coach	Sid Gillman
General manager	Sid Gillman
Home field	Balboa Stadium
Results
Record	7–6–1
Division place	3rd Western Division
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

For the 1966 season only, the Chargers changed the color of the lightning bolt on their helmets from yellow to blue. The yellow bolt returned the following season.[1]

Roster

1966 San Diego Chargers final roster

	Quarterbacks 21 John Hadl 13 Steve Tensi Running backs 23 Paul Lowe 22 Keith Lincoln 37 Gene Foster FB 32 Jim Allison (American football) FB Wide receivers 19 Lance Alworth 27 Gary Garrison Tight ends 38 Jacque MacKinnon 83 Willie Frazier		Offensive linemen 74 Ron Mix 78 Walt Sweeney 65 Sam Gruneisen Defensive linemen 56 Steve DeLong		Linebackers 66 Rick Redman Defensive backs 40 Joe Beauchamp CB 45 Speedy Duncan CB 33 Kenny Graham S 47 Bud Whitehead S Special teams 39 Dick Van Raaphorst K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

Season schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 4	Buffalo Bills	W 27–7	1–0	Balboa Stadium	27,572	Recap
2	September 10	Boston Patriots	W 24–0	2–0	Balboa Stadium	29,539	Recap
3	Bye
4	September 25	at Oakland Raiders	W 29–20	3–0	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	37,183	Recap
5	October 2	Miami Dolphins	W 44–10	4–0	Balboa Stadium	26,444	Recap
6	October 8	at New York Jets	L 16–17	4–1	Shea Stadium	63,497	Recap
7	October 16	at Buffalo Bills	T 17–17	4–1–1	War Memorial Stadium	45,169	Recap
8	October 23	at Boston Patriots	L 17–35	4–2–1	Fenway Park	32,371	Recap
9	October 30	Denver Broncos	W 24–17	5–2–1	Balboa Stadium	25,819	Recap
10	November 6	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 14–24	5–3–1	Municipal Stadium	40,986	Recap
11	November 13	Oakland Raiders	L 19–41	5–4–1	Balboa Stadium	26,230	Recap
12	Bye
13	November 27	at Denver Broncos	L 17–20	5–5–1	Bears Stadium	24,860	Recap
14	December 4	at Houston Oilers	W 28–22	6–5–1	Rice Stadium	17,569	Recap
15	December 11	New York Jets	W 42–27	7–5–1	Balboa Stadium	25,712	Recap
16	December 18	Kansas City Chiefs	L 17–27	8–5–1	Balboa Stadium	28,548	Recap

Notes:

• Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFL Western Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Kansas City Chiefs	11	2	1	.846	5–1	448	276	W3
Oakland Raiders	8	5	1	.615	4–2	315	288	W1
San Diego Chargers	7	6	1	.538	2–4	335	284	L1
Denver Broncos	4	10	0	.286	1–5	196	381	L2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

1. SportsLogos.net: San Diego Chargers

External links

• Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1966 San Diego Chargers