Full Color Football: The History of the American Football League
Encyclopedia
Full Color Football: The History of the American Football League is a sports documentary miniseries
that focuses on the American Football League
(AFL, 1960-1969), recognized by many as the genesis of modern Professional Football
. The 5-part series originally aired on the US pay-cable network Showtime in the fall of 2009 to coincide with the 50th anniversary season of both the AFL's founding and its original 8 teams
. Reruns are currently airing on NFL Network
.
The show traces the history of the league using game broadcasts and highlight footage (some of which have never been previously aired on national television); archived and recent interviews with AFL personalities and players including Joe Namath
, Al Davis
and John Madden
; and commentary from football historians, authors, and AFL eyewitnesses such as Ange Coniglio, Dan Rather
and Larry King
, and AFL players including Ernie Warlick
, Alex Kroll
, and Larry Eisenhauer
. The show is narrated by Peter Coyote
and was produced by NFL Films
.
It has not been released on DVD. Warner Home Video
owns the rights as part of its output deal with NFL Films.
, after the NFL
turned down his attempts to purchase a franchise, arranges a group of fellow businessmen, the self-titled "Foolish Club,"
to start their own league. The episode examines back stories of the 8 founding owners, and spotlights the AFL's humble beginnings, from games played in mostly empty stadiums to the exciting 1962 championship game
that took 2 overtimes to be resolved.
Episode 2: "Times They Are A Changin'" (original air date: 9/23/2009) highlights how the San Diego Chargers
(powered by coach Sid Gillman's offensive schemes) and the Buffalo Bills
(and their dominating defense) became the AFL's premiere teams. Societal effects on the AFL are also examined, from the John F. Kennedy assassination
to the relocation of the league's January 1965 All-Star Game from New Orleans
to Houston
after several black players were refused service in the former city.
Episode 3: "War and Peace" (original air date: 9/30/2009) sees the AFL reach a watershed: a lucrative new TV contract with NBC, the awarding of a 9th franchise to Miami
, and the launch of a player bidding war with the NFL that began with the New York Jets'
signing of Alabama
QB Joe Namath
. The two leagues would reach a truce that would lead to the start of the Super Bowl
, a "common draft" of collegiate players
, and their eventual 1970 merger
.
Episode 4: "Revolution" (original air date: 10/7/2009) looks at how, amidst a backdrop of upheaval in American society, the AFL generates its own upheaval in the sports world: after its champions are soundly defeated in the first two Super Bowls, the league gains respectability on the shoulders of Joe Namath, who, after his Jets defeat Oakland
for the 1968 league title, fulfills a brash guarantee to defeat NFL champ Baltimore
in Super Bowl III
, regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
Episode 5: "The Final Frontier" (original air date: 10/14/2009) profiles the league's final year, 1969, including the contentious debate on post-merger league realignment, Joe Namath's near-retirement, and innovations like the West Coast Offense
and stack defense that found their origins in the AFL. With the respectability it long sought now secure, the league ends on a high note with Hank Stram's
Kansas City Chiefs
soundly defeating Minnesota
in Super Bowl IV
.
Miniseries
A miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
that focuses on the American Football League
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...
(AFL, 1960-1969), recognized by many as the genesis of modern Professional Football
Professional football
In the United States and Canada, the term professional football includes the professional forms of American and Canadian gridiron football. In common usage, it refers to former and existing major football leagues in either country...
. The 5-part series originally aired on the US pay-cable network Showtime in the fall of 2009 to coincide with the 50th anniversary season of both the AFL's founding and its original 8 teams
2009 NFL season
The 2009 NFL season was the 90th regular season of the National Football League.The preseason started with the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game on August 9, 2009, and the regular season began September 10. The season ended with Super Bowl XLIV, the league's championship game, on February 7, 2010 at...
. Reruns are currently airing on NFL Network
NFL Network
NFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
.
The show traces the history of the league using game broadcasts and highlight footage (some of which have never been previously aired on national television); archived and recent interviews with AFL personalities and players including Joe Namath
Joe Namath
Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
, Al Davis
Al Davis
Allen "Al" Davis was an American football executive. He was the principal owner of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League from 1970 to 2011...
and John Madden
John Madden (American football)
John Earl Madden is a former American professional football player in the National Football League, a former Super Bowl-winning head coach with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League and later the NFL, and a former color commentator for NFL telecasts. In 2006, he was inducted into...
; and commentary from football historians, authors, and AFL eyewitnesses such as Ange Coniglio, Dan Rather
Dan Rather
Daniel Irvin "Dan" Rather, Jr. is an American journalist and the former news anchor for the CBS Evening News. He is now managing editor and anchor of the television news magazine Dan Rather Reports on the cable channel HDNet. Rather was anchor of the CBS Evening News for 24 years, from March 9,...
and Larry King
Larry King
Lawrence Harvey "Larry" King is an American television and radio host whose work has been recognized with awards including two Peabodys and ten Cable ACE Awards....
, and AFL players including Ernie Warlick
Ernie Warlick
Ernest "Ernie" "Big Hoss" Warlick is a former tight end from North Carolina Central University who played American collegiate and Professional Football as well as Canadian Professional Football...
, Alex Kroll
Alex Kroll
Alexander Stanley Kroll was an American collegiate and Professional Football player and a now-retired major advertising agency executive.-Early life:...
, and Larry Eisenhauer
Larry Eisenhauer
Lawrence Conway Eisenhauer was an American college and professional football defensive end. A graduate of Chaminade High School in Mineola, New York, the Boston College standout was one of several Boston-area athletes to join the American Football League's Boston Patriots...
. The show is narrated by Peter Coyote
Peter Coyote
Peter Coyote is an American actor, author, director, screenwriter and narrator of films, theatre, television and audio books. His voice work includes narrating the opening ceremony of the 2002 Winter Olympics and Apple's iPad campaign. He has also served as on-camera co-host of the 2000 Oscar...
and was produced by NFL Films
NFL Films
NFL Films is a Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based company devoted to producing commercials, television programs, feature films, and documentaries on the National Football League, as well as other unrelated major events and awards shows...
.
It has not been released on DVD. Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video
Warner Home Video is the home video unit of Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc., itself part of Time Warner. It was founded in 1978 as WCI Home Video . The company launched in the United States with twenty films on VHS and Betamax videocassettes in late 1979...
owns the rights as part of its output deal with NFL Films.
Episode Synopsis
Episode 1: "The New Frontier" (original air date: 9/16/2009) looks at how Lamar HuntLamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt was an American sportsman and promoter of American football, soccer, basketball, and ice hockey in the United States and an inductee into three sports' halls of fame. He was one of the founders of the American Football League and Major League Soccer , as well as MLS predecessor the...
, after the NFL
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...
turned down his attempts to purchase a franchise, arranges a group of fellow businessmen, the self-titled "Foolish Club,"
Foolish Club
The Foolish Club was the self-imposed name taken by the owners of the eight original franchises of the American Football League . When Texas millionaires Lamar Hunt and Bud Adams, Jr. were refused entry to the established NFL in 1959, they contacted other businessmen to form an eight-team...
to start their own league. The episode examines back stories of the 8 founding owners, and spotlights the AFL's humble beginnings, from games played in mostly empty stadiums to the exciting 1962 championship game
1962 American Football League Championship Game
The 1962 American Football League Championship Game was played at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston, Texas on December 23, 1962.-Background:The day saw the Eastern Division's 11-3 Houston Oilers in the title game for their third straight year, against the West's Dallas Texans, also at 11-3...
that took 2 overtimes to be resolved.
Episode 2: "Times They Are A Changin'" (original air date: 9/23/2009) highlights how the San Diego Chargers
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. they were members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
(powered by coach Sid Gillman's offensive schemes) and the Buffalo Bills
Buffalo Bills
The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
(and their dominating defense) became the AFL's premiere teams. Societal effects on the AFL are also examined, from the John F. Kennedy assassination
John F. Kennedy assassination
John Fitzgerald Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, was assassinated at 12:30 p.m. Central Standard Time on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dealey Plaza, Dallas, Texas...
to the relocation of the league's January 1965 All-Star Game from New Orleans
New Orleans, Louisiana
New Orleans is a major United States port and the largest city and metropolitan area in the state of Louisiana. The New Orleans metropolitan area has a population of 1,235,650 as of 2009, the 46th largest in the USA. The New Orleans – Metairie – Bogalusa combined statistical area has a population...
to Houston
Houston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
after several black players were refused service in the former city.
Episode 3: "War and Peace" (original air date: 9/30/2009) sees the AFL reach a watershed: a lucrative new TV contract with NBC, the awarding of a 9th franchise to Miami
Miami Dolphins
The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, and the launch of a player bidding war with the NFL that began with the New York Jets'
New York Jets
The New York Jets are a professional football team headquartered in Florham Park, New Jersey, representing the New York metropolitan area. The team is a member of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
signing of Alabama
University of Alabama
The University of Alabama is a public coeducational university located in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States....
QB Joe Namath
Joe Namath
Joseph William "Joe" Namath , nicknamed "Broadway Joe" or "Joe Willie", is a former American football quarterback. He played college football for the University of Alabama under coach Paul "Bear" Bryant and his assistant, Howard Schnellenberger, from 1962–1964, and professional football in the...
. The two leagues would reach a truce that would lead to the start of the Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
, a "common draft" of collegiate players
Common Draft
The Common Draft was the name given to the selection of college football players in a combined draft from 1967 to 1969 by the American Football League and the National Football League . This took place after the AFL-NFL merger agreement in 1966....
, and their eventual 1970 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...
.
Episode 4: "Revolution" (original air date: 10/7/2009) looks at how, amidst a backdrop of upheaval in American society, the AFL generates its own upheaval in the sports world: after its champions are soundly defeated in the first two Super Bowls, the league gains respectability on the shoulders of Joe Namath, who, after his Jets defeat Oakland
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...
for the 1968 league title, fulfills a brash guarantee to defeat NFL champ Baltimore
Indianapolis Colts
The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. They are currently members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
in Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III
Super Bowl III was the third AFL-NFL Championship Game in professional American football, but the first to officially bear the name "Super Bowl". This game is regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history...
, regarded as one of the greatest upsets in sports history.
Episode 5: "The Final Frontier" (original air date: 10/14/2009) profiles the league's final year, 1969, including the contentious debate on post-merger league realignment, Joe Namath's near-retirement, and innovations like the West Coast Offense
West Coast offense
In American football, "West Coast Offense" refers to two similar but distinct offensive-strategic-systems of play: the "Air Coryell" system; or more commonly the pass play system popularized by Bill Walsh...
and stack defense that found their origins in the AFL. With the respectability it long sought now secure, the league ends on a high note with Hank Stram's
Hank Stram
Henry Louis "Hank" Stram was an American football coach. He is best known for his 15-year tenure with the American Football League's Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs and the Chiefs of the NFL. Stram won three AFL Championships and Super Bowl IV with the Chiefs...
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...
soundly defeating Minnesota
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
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"...
.