| 1962 Dallas Texans season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Lamar Hunt |
| General manager | Jack Steadman |
| Head coach | Hank Stram |
| Home field | Cotton Bowl |
| Local radio | WFAA |
| Results | |
| Record | 11–3 |
| Division place | 1st AFL Western |
| Playoff finish | Won
AFL Championship (at Oilers) 20–17 (2OT) |
| AFL All-Stars | QB
Len Dawson HB Abner Haynes FB Curtis McClinton G Marvin Terrell OT Jerry Cornelison OT Jim Tyrer TE Fred Arbanas DB Dave Grayson LB E.J. Holub DT Jerry Mays DT Mel Branch LB Sherrill Headrick |
The 1962 Dallas Texans season was the third and final season of Lamar Hunt's American Football League (AFL) franchise before its relocation to Kansas City from Dallas.
The Texans won their first AFL championship (and only title in Dallas) when they defeated their intrastate rivals, the two-time defending champion Houston Oilers, 20–17 in double overtime—a game which now stands as the second longest game in pro football history and the longest in AFL history. [1] [2]
Coach Hank Stram was named the AFL Coach of the Year and RB Curtis McClinton was named AFL Rookie of the Year. Haynes became the franchise's first 1,000-yard rusher, concluding the season with 1,049 yards and an AFL-high 13 rushing TDs. [3]
The Texans set an AFL record for completion percentage in a season (60.6%). [4] They led the league in both points scored (389), fewest points allowed (233), and total touchdowns (50; 29 passing, 21 rushing) in 1962. [5]
1962 AFL draft
| Round | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ronnie Bull | Halfback | Baylor |
| 2 | Bill Miller | End | Miami (Florida) |
| 3 | Eddie Wilson | Quarterback | Arizona |
| 4 | Charles Hinton | Tackle | North Carolina College |
| 4 | Irv Goode | Center | Kentucky (from Buffalo) |
| 5 | Bobby Plummer | Tackle | TCU |
| 5 | Bobby Ply | Quarterback | Baylor (from New York) |
| 5 | Bill Hull | End | Wake Forest (from Boston) |
| 6 | Al Hinton | End | Iowa |
| 8 | Larry Bowie | Tackle | Purdue |
| 9 | Dick Mills | Tackle | Pittsburgh |
| 10 | Jimmy Saxton | Halfback | Texas |
| 11 | Bobby Hunt | Defensive back | Auburn (from Oakland) |
| 11 | Guy Reese | Tackle | SMU |
| 12 | Bobby Thompson | Halfback | Arizona |
| 14 | Bookie Bolin | Guard | Mississippi |
| 15 | Dave Graham | Tackle | Virginia |
| 16 | Pettis Norman | End | John Smith |
| 17 | Tommy Brooker | End | Alabama |
| 18 | Joe Carollo | Tackle | Notre Dame |
| 19 | Lee Welch | Halfback | Mississippi State |
| 20 | Mike Semcheski | Guard | Lehigh |
| 21 | Kent Martin | Tackle | Wake Forest |
| 22 | Jim Bernhardt | Tackle | Linfield |
| 23 | Russ Foret | Tackle | Georgia Tech |
| 24 | Pat Trammell | Quarterback | Alabama |
| 25 | John Burrell | End | Rice |
| 26 | Walt Rappold | Quarterback | Duke |
| 27 | Scott Tyler | Halfback | Miami (Ohio) |
| 28 | Jim Thrush | Tackle | Xavier |
| 29 | Ed Ryan | Halfback | Michigan State |
| 30 | Don Goodman | Halfback | Florida |
| 31 | Everisto Nino | Tackle | East Texas State |
| 32 | Joel Arrington | Halfback | Duke |
| 33 | Jack Wilson | Halfback | Duke |
| 34 | Roger Shoals | Center | Maryland |
Schedule
Season summary
The Texans clinched their initial AFL Western Division Championship in November and finished with an 11–3 regular season record. Dallas won the 1962 AFL Championship when K Tommy Brooker connected on a 25-yard field goal during the second overtime of the title game, giving the Texans a 20–17 victory at Houston (12/23). Spanning an elapsed time of 77:54, the game still stands as the second-longest contest in pro football history as the franchise claimed its first of three AFL titles. [3] The game is the longest in the history of the American Football League.
Preseason
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 4 | vs. Oakland Raiders | W 13–3 | 1–0 | American Field* ( Atlanta) | 8,000 | Recap |
| 2 | August 11 | at San Diego Chargers | L 0–17 | 1–1 | Balboa Stadium | 28,555 | Recap |
| 3 | August 18 | Oakland Raiders | W 22–6 | 2–1 | Memorial Stadium* ( Midland) | 10,000 | Recap |
| 4 | August 24 | Denver Broncos | L 24–27 (OT) | 2–2 | Farrington Field* ( Fort Worth) | 18,000 | Recap |
| 5 | August 31 | vs. Houston Oilers | L 31–34 | 2–3 | Miami Orange Bowl* ( Miami) | 27,530 | Recap |
* Special pre-season game site
Regular season
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 8 | Boston Patriots | W 42–28 | 1–0 | Cotton Bowl | 32,000 | Recap |
| 2 | Bye | ||||||
| 3 | September 23 | at Oakland Raiders | W 26–16 | 2–0 | Frank Youell Field | 12,500 | Recap |
| 4 | September 30 | Buffalo Bills | W 41–21 | 3–0 | Cotton Bowl | 25,500 | Recap |
| 5 | October 7 | at San Diego Chargers | L 28–32 | 3–1 | Balboa Stadium | 23,092 | Recap |
| 6 | October 12 | at Boston Patriots | W 27–7 | 4–1 | Boston University Field | 23,874 | Recap |
| 7 | October 21 | New York Titans | W 20–17 | 5–1 | Cotton Bowl | 17,814 | Recap |
| 8 | October 28 | at Houston Oilers | W 31–7 | 6–1 | Jeppesen Stadium | 31,750 | Recap |
| 9 | November 4 | Houston Oilers | L 6–14 | 6–2 | Cotton Bowl | 29,017 | Recap |
| 10 | November 11 | at New York Titans | W 52–31 | 7–2 | Polo Grounds | 13,275 | Recap |
| 11 | November 18 | at Denver Broncos | W 24–3 | 8–2 | Bears Stadium | 23,523 | Recap |
| 12 | November 25 | Oakland Raiders | W 35–7 | 9–2 | Cotton Bowl | 13,557 | Recap |
| 13 | December 2 | at Buffalo Bills | L 14–23 | 9–3 | War Memorial Stadium | 35,261 | Recap |
| 14 | December 9 | Denver Broncos | W 17–10 | 10–3 | Cotton Bowl | 19,137 | Recap |
| 15 | December 16 | San Diego Chargers | W 26–17 | 11–3 | Cotton Bowl | 18,384 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Postseason
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AFL Championship | December 23 | at Houston Oilers | W 20–17 (2OT) | 1–0 | Jeppesen Stadium | 37,981 | Recap |
Standings
| AFL Western Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Dallas Texans | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 5–1 | 389 | 233 | W2 | |
| Denver Broncos | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 4–2 | 353 | 334 | L5 | |
| San Diego Chargers | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 3–3 | 314 | 392 | L2 | |
| Oakland Raiders | 1 | 13 | 0 | .071 | 0–6 | 213 | 370 | W1 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.
1962 AFL Championship
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texans | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| Oilers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
at Jeppesen Stadium, Houston, Texas
- Date: December 23, 1962
- Game time: 2:00 p.m. CST
- Game attendance: 37,981
- TV announcers ( ABC): Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman, and Jack Buck [6]
| Game information |
|---|
References
- ^ "Dallas wins in sudden death". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. December 24, 1962. p. 2, part 2. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
- ^ "Dallas tips Houston in second overtime". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. December 24, 1962. p. 8, part 2. Archived from the original on February 24, 2016. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
- ^ a b Kansas City Chiefs History 1960s Archived April 21, 2007, at the Wayback Machine KCChiefs.com
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference: In a single season, from 1960 to 1969, in the AFL, in the regular season, sorted by descending Pass Completion %
- ^ "Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1962 AFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on July 7, 2017. Retrieved March 29, 2018.
- ^ 1962 NFL-AFL Commentator Crews[ permanent dead link]