1960 Houston Oilers season
# 1960 Houston Oilers season

The 1960 Houston Oilers season was the first season for the Houston Oilers as a professional American football franchise; Head Coach Lou Rymkus led the Oilers to the AFL Eastern Division title, with a 10–4 record. It was also the first American Football League season. It ended with a 24–16 victory in the AFL championship game at home over the Los Angeles Chargers (10–4).

## Player movements

### AFL draft

In the 1960 AFL draft, the Houston Oilers selected the following players.

### Regular season

* The Oilers scored an important victory over the NFL when they signed the Heisman Trophy winner, All-America running back Billy Cannon of LSU. Cannon joined other Oiler offensive stars such as veteran quarterback George Blanda.

## Regular season

### Schedule

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Game Recap |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 1 | September 11 | at Oakland Raiders | W 37–22 | 1–0 | Kezar Stadium | 12,703 | Recap |
| 2 | September 18 | Los Angeles Chargers | W 38–28 | 2–0 | Jeppesen Stadium | 20,156 | Recap |
| 3 | September 20 | Oakland Raiders | L 13–14 | 2–1 | Jeppesen Stadium | 16,421 | Recap |
| 4 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye |
| 5 | October 9 | New York Titans | W 27–21 | 3–1 | Jeppesen Stadium | 16,151 | Recap |
| 6 | October 16 | Dallas Texans | W 20–10 | 4–1 | Jeppesen Stadium | 19,026 | Recap |
| 7 | October 23 | at New York Titans | W 42–28 | 5–1 | Polo Grounds | 21,000 | Recap |
| 8 | October 30 | at Buffalo Bills | L 24–25 | 5–2 | War Memorial Stadium | 23,001 | Recap |
| 9 | November 6 | at Denver Broncos | W 45–25 | 6–2 | Bears Stadium | 14,489 | Recap |
| 10 | November 13 | at Los Angeles Chargers | L 21–24 | 6–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 21,805 | Recap |
| 11 | November 20 | Denver Broncos | W 20–10 | 7–3 | Jeppesen Stadium | 20,778 | Recap |
| 12 | November 25 | at Boston Patriots | W 24–10 | 8–3 | Nickerson Field | 27,123 | Recap |
| 13 | December 4 | at Dallas Texans | L 0–24 | 8–4 | Cotton Bowl | 20,000 | Recap |
| 14 | December 11 | Buffalo Bills | W 31–23 | 9–4 | Jeppesen Stadium | 25,247 | Recap |
| 15 | December 18 | Boston Patriots | W 37–21 | 10–4 | Jeppesen Stadium | 22,352 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. ||||||||

### Game summaries

**Week 1: at Oakland Raiders**

| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Oilers | 7 | 0 | 13 | 17 | 37 |
| Raiders | 0 | 7 | 7 | 8 | 22 |

at Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, California

* Date: September 11
* Game weather: 66 °F (19 °C)
* Game attendance: 12,703
* Recap

**Week 2: vs. Los Angeles Chargers**

| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Chargers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 14 | 28 |
| Oilers | 14 | 7 | 17 | 0 | 38 |

at Jeppesen Stadium, Houston, Texas

* Date: September 18
* Game weather: 80 °F (27 °C)
* Game attendance: 20,156
* Recap

**Week 3: vs. Oakland Raiders**

| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Raiders | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
| Oilers | 0 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 13 |

at Jeppesen Stadium, Houston, Texas

* Date: September 20
* Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C)
* Game attendance: 16,421
* Recap

### Notable stats

| Player | Comp. | Att. | Comp% | Yards | TD's | INT's |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| George Blanda (HOU) | 169 | 363 | 46.6 | 2413 | 24 | 22 |

## Standings

AFL Eastern Division :

| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Houston Oilers | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 5–1 | 379 | 285 | W2 |
| New York Titans | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 2–4 | 382 | 399 | L1 |
| Buffalo Bills | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 3–3 | 296 | 303 | L2 |
| Boston Patriots | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 2–4 | 286 | 349 | L4 |

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.

## Postseason

### AFL Championship Game

| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
| - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Chargers | 6 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 16 |
| Oilers | 0 | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |

at Jeppesen Stadium, Houston, Texas

* Date: Sunday, January 1, 1961
* Game time: 2:30 p.m. CST
* Game attendance: 32,183
* Referee: John McDonough
* TV announcers (ABC): Jack Buck, George Ratterman, and Les Keiter
* Recap
