Tag: AFL

Remembering Chiefs Hall of Famer Abner Haynes

Remembering Kansas City #Chiefs Hall of Famer Abner Haynes | @EdEastonJr

The Kansas City Chiefs franchise lost an all-time great last week. Legendary running back Abner Haynes passed away at the age of 86.

Haynes was a trailblazer for the American Football League’s Dallas Texans during the 1960s. During the league’s first season in 1960, Abner earned Rookie of the Year and Player of the Year honors. Chiefs Chairman and CEO Clark Hunt released a statement about Abner following the news of his passing.

“My family and I are deeply saddened by the passing of Chiefs Hall of Famer Abner Haynes,” Hunt said. “Abner was one of the first great stars of the Dallas Texans and the American Football League.”

Abner owns or shares various franchise records, including the most touchdowns in a rookie season, the most points by a non-kicker in a rookie season, the most points in a game, the most touchdowns in a game, and the most rushing touchdowns in a game.

“He earned the respect and admiration of his teammates and fans alike. In addition to his on-the-field prowess, Abner was a man of courage and leadership from a very young age,” said Hunt. “He remained involved in the community well after his playing days were over, and his legacy extends far beyond the gridiron. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Guadalupe, and his entire family during this difficult time.”

After joining the North Texas first-year team, Haynes broke barriers. He and his teammate Leon King became the first Black student-athletes to play on an integrated college football team in Texas or anywhere in the South. He was inducted into the North Texas Athletic Hall of Fame in 1986 and the Chiefs Hall of Fame in 1991.

Former Broncos quarterback Steve Tensi dies at 81

Former Broncos quarterback Steve Tensi has died at age 81. He started 30 games in the AFL era and two games after the club joined the NFL.

Former Denver Broncos quarterback Steve Tensi has died, the team announced Monday. He was 81 years old.

Following the Frank Tripucka era, the Broncos bounced between six quarterbacks before landing on Tensi in 1967.

Tensi was a signal-caller for the AFL’s San Diego Chargers before a trade brought him to Denver in 1967. From 1967-70, Tensi started 32 games over those four seasons for the Broncos. He finished his Denver career with a 10-21-0 record.

In 1967, Tensi set a career-high in touchdowns with 16, which is as many as former Bronco Russell Wilson had in 2022.

In 1969, Tensi ranked in the top five (of 10 AFL teams) in touchdowns (14) and passer rating. After the AFL-NFL merger in 1970, Tensi started two games to help the franchise transition to the new league. He threw the first touchdown pass for the Broncos in their NFL history. He retired at 28, due to several injuries.

After his professional football career, Tensi was a quarterbacks coach for Wichita State University and then coached wide receivers, an unusual move for former quarterbacks, with the World Football League’s Chicago Fire.

To read more about his football legacy, the Broncos put gave a wonderful memorial on their website.

Broncos vs. Patriots series history: Bill Belichick on the way out?

If this is Bill Belichick’s last season with the Patriots, Sunday will dictate if he goes out with a winning record vs. the Broncos (10-10).

When it comes to rivalries between teams, there’s few that are more original than the New England Patriots and the Denver Broncos.

The Broncos and Patriots were part of the first AFL game in history in 1960, a game which Denver won, 13-10.

Since then, the Broncos lead the all-time series 31-23-0.

These two teams have had several iconic moments in their rivalry, with most of them happening during the Tom Brady era. First of all, there is the iconic almost-pick-six by Denver cornerback and future Pro Football Hall of Famer Champ Bailey of Brady in the 2005 AFC divisional game.

But the biggest games of recent memory happened when two other Hall of Famers duked it out on the national stage: Peyton Manning and Brady. Manning-Brady was almost always a primetime game, and as a Bronco from 2011-2015, Manning didn’t always win against Brady (he had a 3-3 record during his tenure), but Manning won two AFC Championship games against the Pats.

New England coach Bill Belichick is 10-10 against the Broncos all-time, but he has a losing record (3-1) in the playoffs, with his one postseason win against Denver coming against quarterback Tim Tebow.

Belichick’s future with the Patriots is uncertain, so it’s possible that Sunday could be his last game against the Broncos as New England’s coach. If that ends up being the case, Sunday’s game will dictate if Belichick ends up with a winning or losing record against Denver while coaching the Patriots.

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The Arena Football League is returning in 2024 to these 16 cities

The Arena Football League is back. Is it coming to your town?

After a four-year hiatus, the Arena Football League is attempting a comeback, per Sports Illustrated.

The indoor football league will be heading to 16 cities across the United States starting April 2024, with stops ranging from Orlando, Florida, to Everett, Washington.

The football organization announced all locations where AFL teams will be stationed this week, and the league promised that more cities will be added to widen the competitive pool in the future.

The AFL has been on-and-off since 1987 and will restart next year under new ownership.

“The first edition of the AFL launched in 1987 and ran through 2008 before internal issues forced the league to cancel its ’09 season,” SI‘s Nick Selbe reported. “The league relaunched in ’10 but filed for bankruptcy after the ’19 season. New ownership took over and announced in February of this year that play would resume in ’24.”

Is your town about to welcome the AFL back for its 2024 relaunch?

You can see the full list of 16 cities below.

Pro Football Hall of Famer Ron Mix made a vow to give USC his very best

Ron Mix, the greatest offensive lineman in the history of the American Football League, talked to us and shared great stories. Here’s one of them.

We have been very fortunate at Trojans Wire to talk to a few legendary Trojans. One is Ron Mix, who has been very generous in sharing stories with us over the past few years.

If you have never heard of Ron Mix, just search our archives for various articles in which he recalls his playing days and the important moments of his career, on and off the field. The bottom line about Mix as a football player: He is the greatest offensive lineman in the brief history of the American Football League. No one would contest that claim. He was that great, and it sent him to Canton as a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Today, we share another story from the conversations we have had with Mix. This story goes back to his senior year of high school and his pioneering decision to pursue weight and strength training, which were not commonplace in football or sports in the late 1950s. This led to a career-changing scholarship offer from USC.

The rest is history.

“I decided, man, I’m going to start lifting weights,” Mix said. “I know the coaches say it tied you up, but I can’t imagine that being in a sport that requires strength, (lifting weights) could be bad for you. So I’m going to start lifting weights. I might do it as soon as the season’s over. and I’m going to start training, doing agility drills and everything you can imagine. Then I’m going to go to El Camino Junior College, try to make that team. And if I do play there two years, then try to go to UCLA and make that team. So that was my plan. So what happened during that entire offseason of high school? I grew stronger. I was bigger and faster than I’d ever been by the end of that senior year.

“That senior year a stroke of luck happened. Our league’s group of seniors played another league in an all-star game in July. The coaches happened to be my high school coaches who were named for the all-star game. They were literally stuck with me as an all-star. They probably couldn’t believe it because the best ends at that time in the league were juniors, so they were not eligible to play. One of the top other top ends was a senior, but decided not to play. By the time that all-star practice began, I had transformed. I wasn’t that clumsy kid anymore. I was a true athlete. I was bigger, faster, and stronger. This sounds immodest, but the truth was I was the best player on that all-star team.

“One of the other players who was an outstanding player from another high school was on the (all-star) team. He was highly recruited. He told me, ‘I’ve told USC about you. They might be watching you during practice and maybe at the game, they could be interested in you.’ I was like, well, that’s unbelievable, because no school had expressed some interest me.

“At any rate USC did see me. They offered me a football scholarship and I was shocked. I was shocked beyond anything that ever happened in my life that the great USC offered me a scholarship. And I decided, man, I have got to honor them. I’ve got to. I owe them a lot. I’ve got to give them back more than they’re giving me. They have given me this education and the opportunity to play football. Then I made a vow.

“I said I’m going to do everything I can both on and off the field to demonstrate to them that they made the right decision. What they gave me, I’m going to give them more than they gave me. I’m going to work out year-round. My weightlifting is going to increase. I’m not going to have any alcohol, any sweets or anything for that whole four years. I kept that vow and didn’t have any alcohol. I didn’t have any sweets. Sure, if I had some, I doubt it would have had much of an adverse impact, but every time I resisted that temptation, it reminded me what I owed USC. It reminded me, I’m there to become the best possible player I can become. And by the way, that’s how I started working out at SC. They didn’t have a weight room. I started working out of (George) Redpath’s Gym.”

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AFL hilariously shoots their shot at recently retired Tom Brady

If you never ask, the answer is always no. So the AFL asked Tom Brady.

Former New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement on Wednesday, and one league is already lobbying for him to make an appearance.

The recently revived Arena Football League tweeted at Brady, asking him if he would join.

The league announced on Wednesday that it would officially return in 2024. It ceased operations back in 2019, but it is now set to return with 16 teams. In addition, it will have a 10-game season.

Brady’s involvement with the league would certainly create instant buzz and star power. Nevertheless, the 45-year-old quarterback may be looking for a break after 23 years of playing in the NFL.

For what it’s worth, the AFL took their shot. Now, it’s up to Brady to answer the call.

 

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The Vikings do something to the Bills that hasn’t happened since 1968

The Vikings had quite an impressive win on Sunday and they did so in historic fashion

The Minnesota Vikings found a way to extend their winning streak to seven games with a fantastic 33-30 win over the Buffalo Bills. The most important part of the game was the tremendous comeback engineered by quarterback Kirk Cousins.

The Vikings were down by 17 points to the Bills on the road and they found a way to win the game. It was also the Vikings’ seventh-consecutive win in one score games.

In doing so, the Vikings accomplished something not done in Buffalo for 54 years.

Not only were they the first team to accomplish the feat at Highmark Stadium, it was the first time it had happened in the NFL, as the last occurrence had the Bills still in the American Football League.

It’s going to take a lot to stop this Vikings team.

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Former Notre Dame quarterback Daryle Lamonica dead at 80

The Notre Dame family has lost one of its own.

Daryle Lamonica, who became one of the winningest quarterbacks in professional football after playing at Notre Dame, has died at age 80. In 12 seasons with the Buffalo Bills and Oakland Raiders, he compiled a 66-16-6 record. After winning back-to-back AFL championships with the Bills in 1964 and 1965 as a backup to Jack Kemp, he came into his own with the Raiders. He was selected to two post-merger Pro Bowls, had two First Team All-Pro selections led the AFL with 30 touchdown passes in 1967 and 3,302 passing yards in 1969.

Lamonica played 30 games for the Irish between 1960 and 1962, a forgettable period in which they went 12-18 under coach Joe Kuharich. It was not until Lamonica’s third and final collegiate season that he was made the primary quarterback. He completed 99 passes for 1,363 yards and eight touchdowns. On the ground, he ran for 353 yards and 10 touchdowns on 144 carries.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Lamonica’s family during this time.

Contact/Follow us @IrishWireND on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Notre Dame news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Geoffrey on Twitter: @gfclark89

PODCAST: Bills survive Jets; look to continue against Patriots

In a much needed victory, the Bills swept the Jets for the 2020 season. While New York put together a much better game plan this time around, it was not enough to keep the spunky Buffalo team down. The Bills now are 5-2 and move on to a much …

In a much needed victory, the Bills swept the Jets for the 2020 season. While New York put together a much better game plan this time around, it was not enough to keep the spunky Buffalo team down. The Bills now are 5-2 and move on to a much anticipated game against the New England Patriots.

The Jets led for the entire first half of the game, a surprising result for a team that hasn’t led much all year. Their offense finding some rhythm against the Bills defense. Frank Gore ripped off several big runs, and the Jets passing game looked relatively effective. That all changed in the second half however.

A testament to the Bills defense, which has mostly been a first half team this year, they stopped any momentum that Sam Darnold and the Jets offense had built. Combining that with effective offensive play, that couldn’t quite find the end zone, but moved the ball well enough for the Bills rookie kicker Tyler Bass to hit six field goals, and you have a gritty team victory.

While it wasn’t the world-beating Bills victory that we hoped to see, it was certainly a step in the right direction after two losses to great AFC contenders. There was a lot to build off of in this game, as the team pulls itself up by the bootstraps and heads toward their much tougher portion of the schedule.

Podcast hosts Matt and David take you through the Week 7 encounter between the Bills and Jets.

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Paul Rochester, member of Jets’ Super Bowl III team, dead at 81

Paul Rochester, a member of the Jets’ Super Bowl III team has died at the age of 81.

Former Jets defensive tackle Paul Rochester died this past weekend at the age of 81.

A member of the Jets from 1963 to 1969, Rochester was part of the Super Bowl III team that upset the Colts. He spent the first few years of his career with the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs.

Rochester is one of 20 players in football history to play from the beginning to the end of the American Football League. Throughout his time with the Jets, Rochester was a starting defensive tackle.

Most modern stats weren’t recorded back in the 60s, but Rochester did have two fumble recoveries and one sack in 1968 with the Jets. The sack came in the AFL Championship Game against the Oakland Raiders. It was the only sack of the entire game. The Jets then went on to beat the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

Rochester wasn’t looked at as one of the big names on those Jets teams back in the 60s. However, he did contribute in stopping the run game and opening up lanes for his fellow teammates.

“Paul was an underrated defensive tackle who played a major role on the Jets’ Super Bowl championship team,” former Jets public relations director Frank Ramos said. “He was a great run stopper who enabled defensive ends Gerry Philbin and Verlon Biggs to rush from the outside and John Elliott, the quick defensive tackle, to rush up the middle. Walt Michaels came up with a scheme to use undersized linebacker Carl McAdams at DT on passing downs, leading the 1968 Jets to have the number one defense in the AFL.”