1969 American Football League season
Encyclopedia
The 1969 American Football League
season was the tenth regular season
of the American Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger
. To honor the AFL's 10th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each Kansas City Chiefs
player wore a patch on his jersey with the logo during Super Bowl IV
, the final AFL-NFL World Championship Game
prior to the merger of the two leagues.
The season ended when the Chiefs defeated the Oakland Raiders
in the final AFL Championship Game, then went on to defeat the National Football League
's Minnesota Vikings
in Super Bowl IV.
For the 1969 season, a provision was made for a four team playoff to determine the AFL representative in the Super Bowl, with the #1 team in the division to play against the #2 team in the opposite division. The NFL also had a four team playoff, matching the winners of the Capitol and Century divisions, and the Coastal and Central divisions.
The 1970 merger would place the 10 AFL teams (along with 3 teams from the pre-1970 NFL) into the AFC. (The other NFL teams would go into the NFC.)
* — Team won division.
Italics mean team qualified for the playoffs.
17, Oakland Raiders
7
Scoring
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
season was the tenth regular season
Season (sports)
In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an...
of the American Football League, and the last one before the AFL-NFL Merger
AFL-NFL Merger
The AFL–NFL merger of 1970 was the merger of the two major professional American football leagues in the United States at the time: the National Football League and the American Football League...
. To honor the AFL's 10th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each Kansas City Chiefs
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
player wore a patch on his jersey with the logo during Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV
Super Bowl IV was the fourth AFL-NFL World Championship Game in professional American football, and the second one to officially bear the name "Super Bowl"...
, the final AFL-NFL World Championship Game
Professional American football championship games
Below is a list of professional football championship games in the United States, involving:* the informal Pittsburgh circuit of professional football teams ;...
prior to the merger of the two leagues.
The season ended when the Chiefs defeated the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
in the final AFL Championship Game, then went on to defeat the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
's Minnesota Vikings
Minnesota Vikings
The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960...
in Super Bowl IV.
Division Races
In its final year of existence, the AFL had ten teams, grouped into two divisions. Each team would play a home-and-away game against the other four teams in its division, a home-and-away series against one of the five teams in opposite division, and one game each against the remaining four teams from the opposite division. Interestingly, using that format, the defending World Champion New York Jets went 10-0 against the five teams they played twice (i.e., their four weak divisional rivals plus last-place second-year Cincinnati) while going 0-4 against the top four teams in the West.For the 1969 season, a provision was made for a four team playoff to determine the AFL representative in the Super Bowl, with the #1 team in the division to play against the #2 team in the opposite division. The NFL also had a four team playoff, matching the winners of the Capitol and Century divisions, and the Coastal and Central divisions.
The 1970 merger would place the 10 AFL teams (along with 3 teams from the pre-1970 NFL) into the AFC. (The other NFL teams would go into the NFC.)
| Week | EASTERN #1 | Eastern #2 | WESTERN #1 | Western #2 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | N.Y. JETS | 1-0-0 | Hou, Bos, Buf, Mia | 0-1-0 | Oak, KC, Den, Cin | 1-0-0 | Oak, KC, Den, Cin | 1-0-0 |
| 2 | Hou, NY | 1-1-0 | Hou, NY | 1-1-0 | Oak, KC, Den, Cin | 2-0-0 | Oak, KC, Den, Cin | 2-0-0 |
| 3 | HOUSTON | 2-1-0 | NY, Buf | 1-2-0 | Oak, Cin | 3-0-0 | Oak, Cin | 3-0-0 |
| 4 | HOUSTON | 3-1-0 | N.Y. Jets | 2-2-0 | OAKLAND | 3-0-1 | Kansas City | 3-1-0 |
| 5 | NY, Hou | 3-2-0 | NY, Hou | 3-2-0 | OAKLAND | 4-0-1 | Kansas City | 4-1-0 |
| 6 | N.Y. JETS | 4-2-0 | Houston | 3-3-0 | OAKLAND | 5-0-1 | Kansas City | 5-1-0 |
| 7 | N.Y. JETS | 5-2-0 | Houston | 4-3-0 | OAKLAND | 6-0-1 | Kansas City | 6-1-0 |
| 8 | N.Y. JETS | 6-2-0 | Houston | 4-4-0 | KANSAS CITY | 7-1-0 | Oakland | 6-1-1 |
| 9 | N.Y. JETS | 7-2-0 | Houston | 4-4-1 | KANSAS CITY | 8-1-0 | Oakland | 7-1-1 |
| 10 | N.Y. JETS | 7-3-0 | Houston | 4-4-2 | KANSAS CITY | 9-1-0 | Oakland | 8-1-1 |
| 11 | N.Y. JETS | 8-3-0 | Houston | 5-4-2 | OAKLAND | 9-1-1 | Kansas City | 9-2-0 |
| 12 | N.Y. JETS | 8-4-0 | Houston | 5-5-2 | OAKLAND | 10-1-1 | Kansas City | 10-2-0 |
| 13 | N.Y. JETS | 9-4-0 | Houston | 5-6-2 | OAKLAND | 11-1-1 | Kansas City | 11-2-0 |
| 14 | N.Y. JETS | 10-4-0 | Houston | 6-6-2 | OAKLAND | 12-1-1 | Kansas City | 11-3-0 |
Standings http://nflhistory.net/linescores/pdf/1969a.pdf
For its tenth and final season before merging with the NFL, the AFL instituted a four team playoff tournament with the second place teams in each division also participating.Italics mean team qualified for the playoffs.
Playoffs
1969 Championship
Kansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
17, Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
7
- January 4, 1970 at Oakland-Alameda County ColiseumMcAfee ColiseumO.co Coliseum is a multi-purpose stadium, located in Oakland, California, in the Coliseum Industrial area...
, Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, CaliforniaOakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
Scoring
- OAK - Smith 3 run (Blanda kick)
- KC - Hayes 1 run (Stenerud kick)
- KC - Holmes 5 run (Stenerud kick)
- KC - Field goal Stenerud 22