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| Date | December 23, 1962 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Jeppesen Stadium Houston, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Harold Bourne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 37,981 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Network | ABC | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Curt Gowdy,Paul Christman, andJack Buck[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
The1962 AFL Championship Game was played on December 23 atJeppesen Stadium inHouston,Texas. The Western Division'sDallas Texans (11–3) defeated the hostHouston Oilers of the Eastern Division (also 11–3) by a score of 20–17 after two overtimes.[2][3][4][5] The Oilers were trying for theirthird consecutiveAmerican Football League title.[6]
The two teams were the class of the league that year, and they split their regular season series, with the visiting team winning each game. The Texans thumped the Oilers at Houston 31–7 on October 28, and the next week the Oilers returned the favor with a 14–6 win at theCotton Bowl.[3]
Dallas was coached by the eruditeHank Stram, and featured players on offense includedAbner Haynes, quarterbackLen Dawson, and rookie running backCurtis McClinton, a powerful 230 lb (104 kg) All-American fromKansas.[7] The defense showcasedJohnny Robinson andE. J. Holub.
Houston was coached byFrank "Pop" Ivy, the third head coach of the Oilers in three seasons. The team featured a host of offensive talent with veteran quarterbackGeorge Blanda,Charlie Tolar, the fleet-footedBilly Cannon,Charlie Hennigan, and unheraldedWillard Dewveall. Jeppesen Stadium ticket takers counted 37,981 fans in attendance.[4][5] AstronautGus Grissom placed the ball on the kicking tee as the honorary referee.1 2 3
Houston entered the game as a 61⁄2-point favorite.[6][8][9]
At the time, it was the longest game in the history of professionalAmerican football,[5][10] and remains the longest professional championship game (and third-longest professional game) in the history of the sport.
Early in the game both teams relied on the run. Houston with Tolar and Cannon gained the advantage and advanced the ball to the Dallas 4-yard line. The Dallas defense rose to the occasion and hit Blanda as he attempted to pass causing the ball to wobble right into the eager arms of the Texans' EJ Holub for an interception. Holub scrambled upfield but Houston's Al Jamison saved a touchdown by knocking Holub out of bounds at midfield. Len Dawson then mixed running and passing to the Houston 8 where Tommy Brooker booted a 16-yard field goal.
Houston started driving again with Tolar and Cannon running, often from a "double wing" backfield formation. The drive stalled and Blanda missed a 47-yard field goal to conclude the 1st quarter.
When Dallas took possession, Jack Spikes promptly darted around left end for 33 yards, augmented by a 15-yard face mask penalty against Houston. Dawson then hit Abner Haynes, who had lined up as a flanker, on a curl-out pattern and Haynes scooted down the right sideline for 28 yards and a touchdown. Brooker's extra-point made it 10–0, Dallas.
Later, in the quarter, Houston had the ball at their 32, when Blanda lofted a pass deep, but Dave Grayson picked the ball off and returned it to the Houston 29. Dallas kept the ball on the ground, with Haynes scoring his 2nd TD, and Dallas led 17–0. George Blanda would not be deterred and continued to pass, but a 4th down incompletion at the Dallas 25 ended another drive, and any more scoring threats in the first half.
At halftime, AFL CommissionerJoe Foss presented Rookie-Of-The-Year Curtis McClinton and Player-Of-The-Year Len Dawson withMercury S-55 convertible automobiles.
The Oilers received the kickoff and Blanda again came out throwing. With Charlie Tolar (an oil-well fire fighter in the off-season)3 knocking defenders down and Blanda passing, Houston culminated the drive with a 15-yard pass to Willard Dewveall, closing the gap to 17–7, Dallas.
Later in the third period Haynes fumbled and Houston recovered at the Dallas 20, but Johnny Robinson picked-off Blanda's pass at the goal line and returned in to the Dallas 37.
Dallas kept the ball on the ground in the 2nd half, intending to use up the clock and keep Houston's potent offense off the field. Dallas consistently moved the ball, but could not get into scoring position.
George Blanda using the double wing backfield, had Houston driving again. On a third down pass from the Dallas 24, Johnny Robinson delivered a hard hit to Billy Cannon at the goal line, knocking the ball loose and preventing a touchdown. Blanda then kicked a 31-yard field goal to make it 17–10, Dallas.
Dallas stayed conservative and Blanda continued the aerial assault connecting with Cannon and Hennigan to move to the Dallas 1-yard line. Fullback Charlie Tolar, the"human bowling ball", took the ball in on a 1-yard dive, again knocking defenders out of the way. Blanda's extra-point tied the game at 17–17.
With the clock running down, Dave Grayson blocked a 42-yard field goal attempt by Blanda to end any more scoring threats.[10]
The first overtime started with a potentially damaging gaffe by Dallas captainAbner Haynes, who won the toss and said, "We'll kick to the clock," inadvertently leaving his team with neither the first possession or favorable wind conditions.[11] What Haynes wanted was the wind behind his team, but by saying"We'll kick..." first, he gave the Oilers the choice of having the wind at their backs. As it turned out, it didn't matter. The first overtime went scoreless, butBill Hull intercepted a Blanda pass to end it with the Texans at the Oilers' 48.
In the second overtime,Jack Spikes picked up ten yards on a pass reception and nineteen yards on a rush. After the Texans ran a couple of plays to position the ball, rookieTommy Brooker came in on fourth-and-nine, and kicked a 25-yard field goal after 2:54 of the sixth quarter, or 17:54 of sudden-death overtime, to end the game.[10]
The Houston Oilers had come within a hair's breadth of winning the first three AFL championships, but the Texans prevailed, 20–17, in their last game before moving north toMissouri to become theKansas City Chiefs. They would win the AFL title again in1966 and1969, gaining berths in thefirst andfourthSuper Bowls.
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texans | 3 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 20 |
| Oilers | 0 | 0 | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
atJeppesen Stadium,Houston, Texas
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The overflow attendance of nearly 38,000 brought a gate of about $170,000 ($1.77 million in 2024 dollars[12]). The winning Texans players each made $2,261 ($23,503 in 2024 dollars[12]), while the Oilers received $1,471 each ($15,291 in 2024 dollars[12]) .[5][10][13] These shares were less than half of those for theNFL title game in 1962, at $5,888 and $4,166 each.[14]
| Statistics | Texans | Oilers |
|---|---|---|
| First Downs | 19 | 21 |
| Rushing yards | 199 | 98 |
| Yards per carry | 3.6 | 3.2 |
| Passing yards | 88 | 261 |
| Sack Yds Lost | 6-50 | 0-0 |
| Total Yards | 237 | 359 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 2–1 | 0–0 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 5 |
| Penalties-Yards | 6–42 | 6–50 |
While the Texans were relatively more successful in town over the NFL'sDallas Cowboys, team ownerLamar Hunt realized that Dallas would not be a two-team town for football. In February of 1962, the Texans moved toKansas City, Missouri and changed their name to the Chiefs in honor of the mayorH. Roe Bartle, who was often nicknamed "The Chief".[15] The Chiefs would return to the AFL Championship 4 years later in1966 to earn a trip toSuper Bowl I.
The Oilers would go on to have four straight losing seasons before making it the AFL Championship game again in1967, where they would lose to theOakland Raiders.
As of 2025, this is the last title game[a] to have been played in Houston, and also the last title game hosted by the Oilers/Titans franchise, which moved to Tennessee after the1996 season (they have played in the AFC Championship Game three times since the move, all on the road). TheHouston Texans, who commenced play in 2002, are currently the only NFL team which has never played in a post-merger conference championship game.
29°43′19″N95°20′56″W / 29.722°N 95.349°W /29.722; -95.349
| Preceded by | Dallas Texans American Football League Champions 1962 | Succeeded by |