1969 American Football League season

1969 AFL season
Regular season
Duration	September 14 – December 14, 1969
Playoffs
Date	December 20, 1969
Eastern champion	Kansas City Chiefs
Western champion	Oakland Raiders
Site	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California
Champion	Kansas City Chiefs
← 1968 AFL seasons

Oilers

Jets

Bills

Patriots

Dolphins

Chargers

Chiefs

Raiders

Broncos

Bengals

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AFL teams: West, East

The Chiefs topped the Raiders in the 1969 AFL championship game.

The 1969 AFL season was the tenth and final regular season of the American Football League. To honor the AFL's tenth season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each Kansas City Chiefs player wore a patch on his jersey with the logo during Super Bowl IV, the final AFL-NFL World Championship Game prior to the AFL–NFL merger.

The Chiefs defeated the Oakland Raiders in the final AFL Championship Game, then soundly defeated the National Football League's Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl IV.

Division races

In its final two years of existence, the AFL had ten teams, grouped into two divisions. Each team played a home-and-away game against the other four teams in its division, a home-and-away series against one of the five teams in opposite division, and one game each against the remaining four teams from the opposite division. Using that format, the defending World Champion New York Jets went 10–0 against the five teams they played twice, but were 0–4 against the top four teams in the West.

For the 1969 season, a provision was made for a four-team playoff to determine the AFL champion, the league's representative in the Super Bowl, with the #1 team in the division hosting the #2 team in the opposite division. The NFL also had a four-team playoff, introduced in 1967, matching the winners of the Capitol and Century divisions, and the Coastal and Central divisions.

The 1970 merger placed the ten AFL teams (along with three teams from the pre-1970 NFL) into the 13-team AFC. The other NFL teams went into the 13-team NFC.

Week	Eastern #1		Eastern #2		Western #1		Western #2
1	N.Y. Jets	1–0–0	Hou, Bos, Buf, Mia	0–1–0	Oak, KC, Den, Cin	1–0–0	Oak, KC, Den, Cin	1–0–0
2	Hou, NY	1–1–0	Hou, NY	1–1–0	Oak, KC, Den, Cin	2–0–0	Oak, KC, Den, Cin	2–0–0
3	Houston	2–1–0	NY, Buf	1–2–0	Oak, Cin	3–0–0	Oak, Cin	3–0–0
4	Houston	3–1–0	N.Y. Jets	2–2–0	Oakland	3–0–1	Kansas City	3–1–0
5	NY, Hou	3–2–0	NY, Hou	3–2–0	Oakland	4–0–1	Kansas City	4–1–0
6	N.Y. Jets	4–2–0	Houston	3–3–0	Oakland	5–0–1	Kansas City	5–1–0
7	N.Y. Jets	5–2–0	Houston	4–3–0	Oakland	6–0–1	Kansas City	6–1–0
8	N.Y. Jets	6–2–0	Houston	4–4–0	Kansas City	7–1–0	Oakland	6–1–1
9	N.Y. Jets	7–2–0	Houston	4–4–1	Kansas City	8–1–0	Oakland	7–1–1
10	N.Y. Jets	7–3–0	Houston	4–4–2	Kansas City	9–1–0	Oakland	8–1–1
11	N.Y. Jets	8–3–0	Houston	5–4–2	Oakland	9–1–1	Kansas City	9–2–0
12	N.Y. Jets	8–4–0	Houston	5–5–2	Oakland	10–1–1	Kansas City	10–2–0
13	N.Y. Jets	9–4–0	Houston	5–6–2	Oakland	11–1–1	Kansas City	11–2–0
14	N.Y. Jets	10–4–0	Houston	6–6–2	Oakland	12–1–1	Kansas City	11–3–0

Regular season

Results

Home/Road		Eastern Division					Western Division
		BOS	BUF	HOU	MIA	NY	CIN	DEN	KC	OAK	SD
Eastern	Boston Patriots		35–21	24–0	16–17	14–23			0–31	23–38	10–13
	Buffalo Bills	23–16		3–17	28–3	19–33	16–13	41–28	7–29
	Houston Oilers	27–23	28–14		22–10	26–34	31–31	24–21			17–21
	Miami Dolphins	23–38	24–6	7–32		9–27		27–24		20–20	14–21
	New York Jets	23–17	16–6	26–17	34–31		40–7		16–34	14–27
Western	Cincinnati Bengals	14–25			27–21	7–21		23–30	24–19	31–17	34–20
	Denver Broncos	35–7		20–20		21–19	27–16		13–26	14–24	13–0
	Kansas City Chiefs		22–19	24–0	17–10		42–22	31–17		24–27	27–3
	Oakland Raiders		50–21	21–17	20–17		37–17	41–10	10–6		21–16
	San Diego Chargers	28–18	45–6			34–27	21–14	45–24	9–27	12–24

Standings

For its tenth and final season before merging with the NFL, the AFL instituted a four team playoff tournament with the second place teams in each division also participating.

AFL Eastern Division view talk edit W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK New York Jets 10 4 0 .714 8–0 353 269 W2 Houston Oilers 6 6 2 .500 5–3 278 279 W1 Boston Patriots 4 10 0 .286 3–5 266 316 L2 Buffalo Bills 4 10 0 .286 2–6 230 359 L2 Miami Dolphins 3 10 1 .231 2–6 233 332 L1 Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings of the AFL.

AFL Western Division view talk edit W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK Oakland Raiders 12 1 1 .923 7–1 377 242 W6 Kansas City Chiefs 11 3 0 .786 5–3 359 177 L1 San Diego Chargers 8 6 0 .571 2–6 288 276 W4 Denver Broncos 5 8 1 .385 3–5 297 344 W1 Cincinnati Bengals 4 9 1 .308 3–5 280 367 L5

Playoffs

Main article: 1969–70 American Football League playoffs

	Divisional Playoff Games				AFL Championship Game
	December 20, 1969 – Shea Stadium
	Kansas City Chiefs	13
					January 4, 1970 – Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
	New York Jets	6
					Kansas City Chiefs	17
	December 21, 1969 – Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
					Oakland Raiders	7
	Houston Oilers	7
	Oakland Raiders	56

Super Bowl

Main article: Super Bowl IV

The Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Minnesota Vikings 23–7 at Tulane Stadium in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 11, 1970. The Super Bowl Most Valuable Player Award was given to Chiefs quarterback Len Dawson ^[1]

Stadium changes

• After six seasons at Fenway Park, the Boston Patriots moved to Alumni Stadium at Boston College in 1969. ^[2]

Coaching changes

Offseason

• Boston Patriots: Mike Holovak was fired and replaced by Clive Rush. ^[3]
• Buffalo Bills: John Rauch became the new Bills head coach after resigning from the Oakland Raiders. Joe Collier was fired after two games into the 1968 season, and defensive coordinator Harvey Johnson then served as interim head coach.
• Oakland Raiders: John Madden replaced John Rauch, who resigned to join the Bills. At age 33, Madden become the youngest head coach in pro football. ^[4]

In-season

• San Diego Chargers: Sid Gillman sat out five games due to health issues. Charlie Waller, the team's offensive backfield coach, served as interim.

Officials

Referee	Umpire	Head Linesman	Line Judge	Back Judge	Field Judge
(#12) Ben Dreith	(#27) Al Conway	(#74) Ray Dodez	(#24) Bruce Alford	(#44) Dick Eichhorst	(#58) Bob Baur
(#14) Bob Finley	(#78) Art Demmas	(#34) Harry Kessel	(#62) Gerry Hart	(#45) John Fouch	(#52) Pat Mallette
(#18) Walt Fitzgerald	(#53) Frank Kirtland	(#32) Cal Lepore	(#67) Tommy Miller	(#70) Hugh Gamber	(#55) Charley Musser
(#11) John McDonough	(#25) Walt Parker	(#35) Leo Miles	(#61) John Staffen	(#49) Hunter Jackson	(#50) Tony Skover
(#42) Jack Reader	(#20) Frank Sinkovitz	(#50) Al Saboto	(#65) Aaron Wade	(#43) Bill Kestermeier	(#57) Bill Summers
(#15) Jack Vest	(#22) Paul Trepinski	(#36) Tony Veteri	(#68) Bill Wright	(#48) Bob Rice	(#54) Bob Wortman

References

1. Minnesota Vikings vs. Kansas City Chiefs 7 to 23, Pro-Football-Reference.com. Accessed January 31, 2024. "The Chiefs played the Vikings in Super Bowl IV on Sunday, January 11, 1970. The Chiefs entered the game with a record of 11-3-0, while the Vikings entered the game with a record of 12-2-0. The Chiefs won 23-7 to win Super Bowl IV, finishing their championship season with a record of 11-3-0 in the regular season, 3-0 in the playoffs."
2. "A Team’s Ragtag Roots", The New York Times , January 28, 2012. Accessed January 31, 2024. "In 1963, the Patriots moved to Fenway Park. They walked into the Red Sox locker room and gaped at what had been Ted Williams’s locker.... By 1969, the Patriots had moved to Boston College’s Alumni Stadium, and a year later, at the end of a preseason game against the Washington Redskins, a fire erupted in the grandstand."
3. via Associated Press. "Former Patriots coach dead at 88", Worcester Telegram , January 27, 2008. Accessed January 31, 2024. "The Patriots didn’t return to the playoffs before Holovak was replaced after the 1968 season by Clive Rush."
4. via Associated Press. "Raiders Raid Own Ranks; Madden Youngest Pro Boss", The Orlando Sentinel , February 5, 1969. Accessed January 31, 2024, via Newspapers.com. "The Oakland Raiders once 'again dipped into their own ranks for a head coach Tuesday, naming assistant John Madden to do the job. Madden, who at 33 becomes professional football's youngest coach, replaces John Rauch at the helm of the American Football League club which won the championship in 1967 and the Western Division title in '68."

External links

• Football Database