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One of the original AFL teams, the Denver Broncos have a long and storied history in Denver, and for the first 40 years of their existence they played at Mile High Stadium, a converted and expanded baseball facility which had well outlived its usefulness. So six counties in the greater Denver area formed a separate public agency - the Metropolitan Football Stadium District, and charged this body with the task of building a new venue for the Denver Broncos. And build it they did! Invesco Field at Mile High opened its doors for business in late summer, and has received rave reviews so far.
Since the merger between the AFL and the NFL in 1970, the Denver Broncos have been one of football's most consistent winners. Before the merger . . . that's another question entirely. In the early 1960's, the AFL was the target of numerous jokes and endless jeers by the NFL, and the Broncos were the most derided team of all.
On August 14, 1959, Bob Howsam was awarded an AFL charter franchise. Although Howsam had been the successful owner of a minor league baseball team, he was severely limited financially—he was forced to clothe his first team in old uniforms which he got from the defunct Copper Bowl in Tucson, Arizona. Making the uniforms particularly joke-worthy were the vertically-striped socks. When Jack Faulkner took over as head coach and general manager two years later, the socks were destroyed in a public burning ceremony.
While Denver's AFL experience was almost entirely bleak, there were a few bright moments. On September 9, 1960, they won the first-ever AFL game over the Boston Patriots, 13-10. On August 5, 1967, they became the first AFL team ever to beat an NFL team when they beat the Detroit Lions, 13-7. Nevertheless, at the end of the AFL's decade, the Broncos' 39-97-4 record was the worst of any of the original eight AFL teams' records.
The Broncos might have been a bad team in the 1960's, but they were still popular. In 1965, several minority partners formed a majority voting bloc and decided to sell the Broncos to a group that wanted to move the team to Atlanta. At the last minute, the Phipps brothers, Gerald and Allan, who had been left out of the voting block, bought the team. Excited fans showed their appreciation by purchasing almost 23,000 season tickets, compared to fewer than 8,000 the year before.
In 1973, their 14th season, coach John Ralston led the Broncos to a 7-5-2 record. It was their first winning season ever. Thus started a trend that saw the Broncos fall below the .500 mark only three times in the next 20 seasons. In the 14-year period between 1977 and 1991, the Broncos won seven AFC Western Division titles and four AFC championships. It was the kind of success the Broncos' founders could not possibly have imagined.
Denver Broncos Facts
- · Franchise Granted August 14, 1959 as Charter Member of AFL
- · First Season 1960
- · Stadium Denver Mile High Stadium (76,082)
- · President-Chief Executive Officer Pat Bowlen
- · General Manager John Beake
- · Super Bowl Championships 1997, 1998
- · AFC Championships 1977, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1997, 1998
- · AFC Western Division Championships 1977, 1978, 1984, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1996, 1998
- · AFL Record 39 - 97 - 4
- · Retired Uniform Numbers #18 Frank Tripucka, #44 Floyd Little.
Firsts, Records, and Odds and Ends
- · First Regular-Season Game A 13-10 victory over the Boston Patriots in the AFL's first regular season game, 9/9/60.
- · First Regular-Season Game Attendance 18,372
- · First Regular-Season Touchdown A 59-yard pass from Frank Tripuka to Al Carmichael vs. the Boston Patriots, 9/9/60.
- · First Winning Season 1973 (7-5-2).
- · First Playoff Appearance A 34-21 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the 1977 Divisional Playoff game, 12/24/77.
- · First Super Bowl Appearance A 27-10 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl XII, 1/15/78.
- · First to Rush 100 Yards in a Game Don Stone, 104 yards vs. the San Diego Chargers, 10/6/63.
- · First 1,000-Yard Rusher Floyd Little, 1,133 yards (1971).
- · First to Pass 400 Yards in a Game Frank Tripucka, 447 yards vs. the Buffalo Bills, 9/15/62.
- · Most Career Rushing Yards Floyd Little, 6,323 yards (1967-75).
- · Most Career Passing Yards John Elway, 45,034 yards (1983-96).
- · Most Career Receptions Lionel Taylor, 543 receptions (1960-66).
- · All-Time Leading Scorer Jim Turner, 742 points (1971-79).
- · Most Lopsided Win A 46-3 victory over the New York Jets, 9/19/76.
- · Original Uniform Colors Seal brown and light gold.
- · Coldest Game in Team History Zero degrees (-30 wind chill), 12/18/83 at Kansas City.
- NFL
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