1960 Dallas Texans season

1960 Dallas Texans season
Head coach Hank Stram
Home field Cotton Bowl
Results
Record 8–6
Division Place 2nd AFL Western
Playoff finish did not qualify
Timeline
Previous season Next season
N/A 1961

The 1960 Dallas Texans season was the inaugural season of Lamar Hunt’s American Football League franchise from Dallas, Texas. Head coach Hank Stram led the team to an 8–6 record and second place in the AFL’s Western Conference.[1]

For the Texans' inaugural season, team owner Lamar Hunt pursued both legendary University of Oklahoma coach Bud Wilkinson and New York Giants defensive assistant Tom Landry to lead his Texans franchise. Wilkinson opted to stay at Oklahoma, while Landry was destined to coach the NFL’s expansion franchise in Dallas. Hunt settled on a relatively unknown assistant coach from the University of Miami, Hank Stram. “One of the biggest reasons I hired Hank was that he really wanted the job,” Hunt explained. “It turned out to be a very lucky selection on my part.”[2]

The Texans set up offices in the Mercantile National Bank Building, while Jerry Foss headquartered the AFL offices out of Dallas, as well.[1] Reserved seats were USD $4, general admission USD $2 and high school students paid USD $.90 that initial season. Don Rossi served as the team’s General Manager until November when he was succeeded by Jack Steadman.

The Texans conducted their inaugural training camp at the New Mexico Military Institute in Roswell, New Mexico. The club embarked on a whirlwind pre-season barnstorming tour that featured road games in Oakland, Tulsa, Boston, Abilene, and Little Rock. An announced crowd of 51,000 at the Cotton Bowl witnessed a 24–3 victory against Houston on September 2 as the club concluded a perfect 6–0 preseason record.[1]

The Texans had a strong home-state identity with quarterback Cotton Davidson from Baylor, linebacker Sherrill Headrick from TCU and running back Abner Haynes from North Texas. Haynes led the league with 875 rushing yards and nine TDs, as well as combined net yards (2,100) and punt return average (15.4).[1]

The Texans also had a flashy, high-scoring club which finished the year at 8–6 as three close losses kept the squad from challenging for the division title. The Texans averaged 24,500 for their home games, the highest average in the league.[1]

Contents

1960 AFL Draft

In the inaugural American Football League Draft, the Texans chose the following players to fill-up their squad:

  • Jack Atcheson, E, Western Illinois
  • George Boone, T, Kentucky
  • Chris Burford, E, Stanford
  • Earl Ray Butler, T, North Carolina
  • Gail Cogdill, E, Washington State
  • James Crotty, HB, Notre Dame
  • Gary Ferguson, T, SMU
  • Tom Glynn, C, Boston College
  • Gene Gossage, T, Northwestern
  • Jim Heineke, T, Wisconsin
  • William Jerry, G/T, South Carolina
  • John Kapele, T, BYU
  • Louis Kelley, FB, New Mexico State
  • Gilmer Lewis, T/G, Oklahoma
  • John Malmberg, T/G, Knox College
  • Arvle Martin, C, TCU
  • Don Meredith, QB, SMU
  • Tom Moore, HB, Vanderbilt
  • Ola Murchison, E, COP
  • Bob Nelson, C, Wisconsin
  • Jim Norton, E, Idaho
  • Warren Rabb, QB, LSU
  • Howard Ringwood, HB, BYU
  • Johnny Robinson, HB, LSU
  • John Saunders, FB, South Carolina
  • Glenn Shaw, FB, Kentucky
  • Gordon Speer, HB, Rice
  • Jack Stone, G, Oregon
  • Marvin Terrell, G, Mississippi
  • Emery Turner, G, Purdue
  • Joe Vader, E, Kansas State
  • Carroll Zaruba, HB, Nebraska
  • Grady Alderman, G/T, Detroit
  • Herman Alexander, T/G, Findlay (OH)
  • Taz Anderson, HB, Georgia Tech
  • Jim Beaver, T/G, Florida
  • Bill Beck, T/G, Gustavus Adolphus
  • Gary Campbell, HB, Whittier
  • Vernon Cole, QB, North Texas State
  • Toby Deese, T/G, Georgia Tech
  • Carl Dumbald, T/G, West Virginia
  • Charles Elizey, C, Mississippi State
  • Tom Gates, HB, San Bernardino
  • Austin (Goose) Gonsoulin, HB, Baylor
  • Clark Holden, HB, USC
  • Dewitt Hoopes, T/G, Northwestern
  • Don Leebern, T/G, Georgia
  • Bill Thompson, C, Georgia
  • Billy Tranum, E, Arkansas
  • Jim Vickers, E, Georgia
  • Larry Ward, E, Lamar Tech
  • Paul Winslow, HB, North Carolina College
  • Doug Pat Brown, T/G, Fresno State

Regular season

The Texans finished their inaugural season 8–6, with three wins coming by shut-out.[1]

Western Division
Team W L T PCT PF PA 1960 
Los Angeles Chargers 10 4 0 .714 373 336 Details
Dallas Texans 8 6 0 .571 362 253 Details
Oakland Raiders 6 8 0 .429 319 388 Details
Denver Broncos 4 9 1 .286 309 393 Details

W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Game site Attendance
1 September 10, 1960 at Los Angeles Chargers L 20–21 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 17,724
2 September 16, 1960 at Oakland Raiders W 34–16 Kezar Stadium 8,021
3 September 25, 1960 Los Angeles Chargers W 17–0 Cotton Bowl 42,000
4 October 2, 1960 New York Titans L 35–37 Cotton Bowl 37,500
5 October 9, 1960 Oakland Raiders L 19–20 Cotton Bowl 21,000
6 October 16, 1960 at Houston Oilers L 10–20 Jeppesen Stadium 19,026
Week 7 — Bye
8 October 30, 1960 at Denver Broncos W 17–14 Bears Stadium 13,102
9 November 6, 1960 at Buffalo Bills W 45–28 War Memorial Stadium 19,610
10 November 13, 1960 Denver Broncos W 34–7 Cotton Bowl 21,000
11 November 18, 1960 at Boston Patriots L 14–42 Nickerson Field 14,721
12 November 24, 1960 at New York Titans L 35–41 Polo Grounds 14,344
13 December 4, 1960 Houston Oilers W 24–0 Cotton Bowl 20,000
14 December 11, 1960 Boston Patriots W 34–0 Cotton Bowl 12,000
15 December 18, 1960 Buffalo Bills W 24–7 Cotton Bowl 18,000

Postseason

The Texans did not participate in the AFL Championship by finishing the season in second place of the Western Conference.

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Kansas City Chiefs History 1960s KCChiefs.com
  2. ^ Kansas City Chiefs History AFL Origins"

External links

Kansas City Chiefs
Formerly the Dallas Texans • Founded in 1960 • Based in Kansas City, Missouri
The Franchise
Stadiums
Personnel
Owner: Clark Hunt • President: Mark Donovan • General Manager: Scott Pioli • Head Coach: Romeo Crennel • Offensive Coordinator: Bill Muir • Defensive Coordinator: Romeo Crennel • Special Teams Coach: Steve Hoffman
Culture
Rivalries
Owners (2)
Presidents (5)
General Managers (5)
Head Coaches (12)
Offensive Coordinators (14)
Franklin • Schnelker • Mackovic • Smith • Sefcik • Pendry • Hackett • Raye • Saunders • Solari • Gailey • Haley • Weis • Muir
Defensive Coordinators (15)
Costello • Bettis • Rust • Carson • Daniel • Young • Rust • Cowher • Adolph • Cunningham • Schottenheimer • Robinson • Cunningham • Pendergast • Crennel
Special Teams Coach (13)
Ortmayer • Ross • Lawrence • Gansz • Vechiarella • Gansz • Beckman • Sefcik • Schottenheimer • Stock • Gansz • Priefer • Hoffman
Playoff Appearances (16)
1962 • 1966 • 1968 • 1969 • 1971 • 1986 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1997 • 2003 • 2006 • 2010
Division Championships (8)
1962 • 1966 • 1971 • 1993 • 1995 • 1997 • 2003 • 2010
Super Bowl Appearances (2)
I • IV
League Championships (4)
1962 • 1966 • 1969 • 1969
Retired numbers (8)
16 • 28 • 33 • 36 • 58 • 63 • 78 • 86
Pro Football Hall of Fame members (14)
Players - Allen • Bell • Buchanan • Dawson • Lanier • Montana • Moon • Stenerud • D. Thomas • E. Thomas • Webster
Coaches and Administration - Hunt • Levy • Stram
First Round Picks (51)
Haynes • Holub • Bull • Buchanan • Budde • Beathard • Sayers • Brown • Trosch • Moorman • Daney • Marsalis • Smith • Wright • Kinney • Green • Walters • Green • Still • Bell • Fuller • Budde • Scott • Hancock • Blackledge • Maas • Alt • Horton • Jozwiak • Palmer • Smith • Thomas • Snow • Williams • Carter • Hill • Jenkins • Woods • Gonzalez • Riley • Tait • Morris • Sims • Johnson • Johnson • Hali • Bowe • Dorsey • Albert • Jackson • Berry • Baldwin
Seasons (51)
1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011
1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011
Bold indicates AFL Championship or Super Bowl victory
Eastern Division Western Division
Boston Dallas Texans
Buffalo Denver
Houston Los Angeles Chargers
New York Titans Oakland
1960 AFL Draft • 1960 AFL Championship Game • 1960 AFL All-Star game
Related: 1960 NFL Season