The Foolish Club were the owners of the eight original franchises of the American Football League (AFL). When Texas oil magnates Lamar Hunt and Bud Adams Jr. were refused entry to the established National Football League (NFL) in 1959, they founded franchises in Dallas and Houston, and recruited businessmen in six other U.S. markets to form an eight-team rival circuit, calling it the American Football League.
The AFL quickly became a viable competitor to the established league, in its first year signing half of the NFL's first-round draft choices, and introducing the first professional football gate and TV revenue-sharing plans, which made it financially stable. It went on to develop its own stars, and added expansion franchises in the Miami Dolphins (1966) and Cincinnati Bengals (1968).
After forcing a merger with the NFL in 1966, the now ten-team AFL entered the NFL intact in 1970. It became the only major U.S. sports league ever to merge with another without losing any franchises. The merger was the raison d'être for the first "Professional Football World Championship Games" (later called the Super Bowl), and after losing the first two games of that series to the Green Bay Packers of the elder league, the AFL closed out its ten-year existence with victories over the NFL's best teams after the 1968 (with the Jets upsetting the then-Baltimore Colts) and 1969 (the Chiefs defeating the Vikings) seasons.
50th anniversary remembrance (2009)
In the first exhibition game of the 2009 NFL season, the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, both the Bills and Titans faced off, with both teams wearing their 1960s throwback uniforms as the Titans wearing the colors of the Houston Oilers. This contest kicked off what would have been the AFL's 50th season, featuring "AFL Legacy Weekends", in which teams of the "Original Eight" played one another wearing AFL period uniforms, game officials wore AFL "Chinese Red" striped uniforms and fields were designed in the innovative style used during the 1960s. The first regular season games served as the Monday Night Football season opener on September 14 as the Bills visited the now-New England Patriots and the current San Diego Chargers visited the Oakland Raiders.
Personal legacies
The last surviving member of the Foolish Club, Barron Hilton, died in 2019; he had sold off the Chargers in 1966 to appease the board of directors of Hilton Hotels. With the AFL struggling in its early years, Howsam sold the Broncos after the first season, while Wismer sold the New York club in 1963. The Valley group eventually sold their shares of the Raiders in the 1970s after Al Davis took control over the club's team operations. After infamously bankrolling The Jackson Five's 1984 Victory Tour, financial difficulties forced Sullivan to sell his ownership stake in the Patriots in 1988 while Foxboro Stadium lapsed into bankruptcy; Sullivan remained team president until 1992 while Robert Kraft purchased the stadium out of bankruptcy to eventually use as leverage to buy the team in 1994. Ralph Wilson died in 2014 as Bills owner, but the estate instead auctioned off the Bills to the highest bidder when he died (his two surviving daughters were not directly involved in the team's operations during his lifetime).
Heirs of two Foolish Club members continue to own their teams. The Hunt family continues to own the Chiefs, with offspring equally splitting the team, with son Clark the owner of record since Lamar's death in 2006. The Adams family continues to own the Titans, although the offspring initially changed from his two surviving daughters and the widow of his son in 2013 (daughter Susie Smith the owner of record until 2016, selling her stake in 2020), and since 2016 officially from the other surviving daughter Amy Strunk, along with Susan Lewis, the widow of their brother, Kenneth S. Adams III, who died in 1987. Lewis' stake is evenly spit with her sons (the grandson of Bud Adams) Kenneth S. Adams IV and Barclay Adams. Since 2021, the structure is Strunk as the owner of record and owns 50% of the club, with 16.66% each by Lewis and the Adams brothers.
One of two Foolish Club members whose family continues to control their team: the Oilers relocated to Nashville, Tennessee in 1997 and were rebranded the Tennessee Titans. Daughter Amy Adams Strunk is primary owner, with other stakes owned by grandsons Kenneth S. Adams IV and Barclay Adams, and their mother Susan Lewis (the widow of Strunk's brother Kenneth III): Strunk's sister Susie Smith divested her stake of the team in 2017.
The last surviving member of the Club, dying in 2019. Played as the San Diego Chargers from 1961–2016. Sold team in 1966 to appease Hilton Hotels board of directors.
One of two Foolish Club members whose family continues to control their team: the Texans relocated to Kansas City and were rebranded as the Chiefs in 1963. Elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1972. As of 2023, the team is equally owned by four children — Clark Hunt, the legal owner of record upon his death, along with siblings Lamar Jr., Daniel, and sister Sharron Munson.
Part-owner with F. Wayne Valley and Donald Blessing, replaced Minnesota-based group led by Max Winter. Was the presumed source of the team's original botched-Spanish name "Oakland Senors" [sic]; left before start of season.
Team was renamed New England Patriots in 1971. Remained president until 1992; financial mismanagement eventually led to a takeover by current owner Robert Kraft.
The American Football Conference (AFC) is one of the two conferences of the National Football League (NFL), the highest professional level of American football in the United States. The AFC and its counterpart, the National Football Conference (NFC), each contain 16 teams with 4 divisions. Both conferences were created as part of the 1970 merger between the National Football League, and the American Football League (AFL). All ten of the AFL teams, and three NFL teams, became members of the new AFC, with the remaining thirteen NFL teams forming the NFC. A series of league expansions and division realignments have occurred since the merger, thus making the current total of 16 teams in each conference. The current AFC champions are the Kansas City Chiefs, who defeated the Baltimore Ravens in the 2023 season's AFC Championship Game for their fourth conference championship and went on to win Super Bowl LVIII against the San Francisco 49ers.
The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence. It was more successful than earlier rivals to the NFL with the same name, the 1926, 1936 and 1940 leagues, and the later All-America Football Conference.
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The Las Vegas Raiders are a professional American football team based in the Las Vegas metropolitan area. The Raiders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team plays home games at Allegiant Stadium in Paradise, Nevada, and is headquartered in Henderson, Nevada.
Ralph Cookerly Wilson Jr. was an American businessman and sports executive. He was best known as the founder and owner of the Buffalo Bills, a team in the National Football League (NFL). He was one of the founding owners of the American Football League (AFL), the league with which the NFL merged in 1970, and was the last of the original AFL owners to own his team. At the time of his death he was the oldest owner in the NFL, at age 95, and the third-longest tenured owner in NFL history. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2009.
Harry Wismer was an American sports broadcaster and the charter owner of the New York Titans franchise in the American Football League (AFL).
The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in the division: the Buffalo Bills, the Miami Dolphins, the New England Patriots, and the New York Jets. All four members of the AFC East were previously members of the Eastern Division of the American Football League (AFL).
The history of the New York Jets American football team began in 1959 with the founding of the Titans of New York, an original member of the American Football League (AFL); they began actual play the following year. The team had little success in its early years. After playing three seasons at the Polo Grounds, the team changed its name to the New York Jets, and moved into newly built Shea Stadium in 1964. In January 1965, the Jets signed University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath to a then-record contract. The team showed gradual improvement in the late 1960s, posting its first winning record in 1967 and winning its only American Football League championship in 1968. By winning the title, New York earned the right to play in Super Bowl III against the champions of the National Football League (NFL), the Baltimore Colts. The Jets defeated the Colts in the game; in the aftermath of the upset, the AFL was deemed a worthy partner to the NFL as the two leagues merged.
The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating back to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now known as the Los Angeles Chargers.
The 1963 AFL season was the fourth regular season of the American Football League.
The 1961 AFL season was the second regular season of the American Football League. It consisted of 8 franchises split into two divisions: the East Division and the West Division.
The 1960 AFL season was the inaugural regular season of the American Football League. It consisted of 8 franchises split into two divisions: the East Division and the West Division.
The 1960 American Football League Championship Game was the first AFL title game, played on New Year's Day 1961 at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston, Texas. With New Year's on Sunday, the major college bowl games were played on Monday, January 2. This was the first time that a major professional football league's playoff game was played in January rather than December.
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL). The 50th anniversary of the original eight charter members of the American Football League was celebrated during this season.
The 1960 Los Angeles Chargers season was the team's inaugural season and also the inaugural season of the American Football League (AFL). Head coach Sid Gillman led the Chargers to the AFL Western Division title with a 10–4 record, winning eight games out of nine after a 2–3 start, and qualifying to play the Houston Oilers in the AFL championship game.
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The 1960 Buffalo Bills season was the club's first season in the American Football League (AFL). Home games were played at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo, New York. Head Coach Buster Ramsey's Bills compiled a 5–8–1 record, placing them third in the AFL Eastern Division.
The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996. The Oilers began play as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) and won two AFL championships before joining the NFL in the AFL–NFL merger of the late 1960s.
The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team that currently plays and competes in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers were established in 1960 and played one season in Los Angeles before moving to San Diego in 1961. The team returned to Los Angeles in 2017.
Amy Adams Strunk is an American businesswoman best known as the controlling owner of the National Football League's Tennessee Titans. The daughter of the late owner Bud Adams, Strunk owns half of the Titans franchise, with Susan Lewis, the widow of her brother, and her sons Kenneth S. Adams IV and Barclay Adams owning the remaining half. The team is currently owned under the banner of KSA Industries, which also owns many of Bud Adams' businesses, including a controlling stake of Adams Resources & Energy. Before Strunk took over as controlling owner in 2015, the role belonged to her sister, Susie Adams Smith, whose husband Tommy Smith was team president and CEO.
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