1963 American Football League Championship Game#Eastern Division playoff

{{Infobox AFLChamp

| type = aflc

| name = 1963

| visitor = Boston Patriots

| visitor_record = 7–6–1

| visitor_abbr = BOS

| home = San Diego Chargers

| home_record = 11–3

| home_abbr = SD

| visitor_coach = Mike Holovak

| home_coach = Sid Gillman

| visitor_conf = Eastern

| home_conf = Western

| visitor_qtr1 = 7

| visitor_qtr2 = 3

| visitor_qtr3 = 0

| visitor_qtr4 = 0

| visitor_qtr5 =

| visitor_total = 10

| home_qtr1 = 21

| home_qtr2 = 10

| home_qtr3 = 7

| home_qtr4 = 13

| home_qtr5 =

| home_total = 51

| date = January 5, 1964

| stadium = Balboa Stadium

| city = San Diego, California

| MVP = Keith Lincoln, running back

| referee =

| attendance = 30,127 [http://talesfromtheamericanfootballleague.com/afl-record-book/paid-attendance/ Paid Attendance|Tales from the AFL]

| network = ABC

| announcers = Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman

| HOFers = Patriots: Nick Buoniconti
Chargers: Sid Gillman (coach), Lance Alworth, Ron Mix

}}

The 1963 AFL Championship Game was the fourth American Football League (AFL) title game. The Western Division champion San Diego Chargers won 51–10 over the Eastern Division champion Boston Patriots. The Chargers' Keith Lincoln was named the game's most valuable player (MVP).

At the end of the regular season, the Chargers (11–3) won the Western Division for the third time in the four-year existence of the AFL. In the Eastern Division, the Patriots and the Buffalo Bills had identical 7–6–1 records, which required a tiebreaker playoff game on December 28 in Buffalo.{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1963/12/29/page/35/article/boston-beats-buffalo-26-8-in-playoffs |work=Chicago Tribune |agency=Associated Press |title=Boston beats Buffalo, 26-8, in playoff}}{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=uVcaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TicEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4974%2C2583947 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=Associated Press |title=Boston beats Bills for division crown |date=December 29, 1963 |page=2, sports }}

Eastern Division playoff

In their final regular season games on Saturday, December 14, Boston lost and Buffalo won to draw even in the standings. Three-time division winner Houston (6–6) controlled their own destiny, but lost the next day and were eliminated. Buffalo and Boston had two weeks to prepare for the playoff, as their bye weeks were postponed from November 24 to December 22, due to the assassination of President Kennedy.

The game was played on Saturday, December 28, as the following day was the 1963 NFL Championship Game. On a slippery field at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo with an inch of snow, visiting Boston led 16–0 at halftime and won 26–8. Quarterback Babe Parilli threw a touchdown pass in each half to fullback Larry Garron and Gino Cappelletti made four field goals for the Patriots. The Bills' sole score was a 93-yard touchdown pass play in the third quarter with a two-point conversion, which cut the lead to eight points. The AFL would not need a playoff to determine a division winner until 1968.

{{Americanfootballbox

|titlestyle=text-align:center; background:#eee

|title=Boston Patriots 26, Buffalo Bills 8

|Road=Patriots

|R1=10

|R2=6

|R3=0

|R4=10

|Home=Bills

|H1=0

|H2=0

|H3=8

|H4=0

|date=December 28, 1963

|stadium=War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York

|attendance=33,044

|time= 1:05 p.m. EST

|referee=

|weather={{convert|20|F}}, relative humidity 76%,
wind {{convert|11|mph|abbr=on}}, wind chill {{convert|9|F}}

|TV=ABC

|TVAnnouncers=

|scoring=

Scoring

First quarter
BOS – Field goal Gino Cappelletti 28, 3–0 BOS
BOS – Larry Garron 59 pass from Babe Parilli (Cappeletti kick), 10–0 BOS
Second quarter
BOS – Field goal Cappelletti 12, 13–0 BOS
BOS – Field goal Cappelletti 33, 16–0 BOS
Third quarter
BUF – Elbert Dubenion 93 pass from Daryle Lamonica (John Tracey pass from Lamonica), 16–8 BOS
Fourth quarter
BOS – Garron 17 pass from Parilli (Cappeletti kick), 23–8 BOS
BOS – Field goal Cappelletti 36, 26–8 BOS

}}

Surface: Natural grass

Championship Game

Idle during the week of Eastern Division playoff, well-rested San Diego was a touchdown favorite at home to win the AFL.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9OoxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EuMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=5192%2C574898 |work=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon) |title=San Diego, Boston vie in battle for AFL title |date=January 5, 1964 |page=4B}}{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1964/01/05/page/53/article/chargers-choice-over-patriots |work=Chicago Tribune |title=Chargers choice over Patriots |agency=Associated Press |date=January 5, 1964 |page=1, part 2}} Fullback Keith Lincoln performed tremendously and led the Chargers to a 51–10 rout of Boston.{{cite news |url=http://archives.chicagotribune.com/1964/01/06/page/81/article/chargers-shred-afls-best-defense-wallop-patriots-51-10-for-first-crown |work=Chicago Tribune |agency=Associated Press |title=Chargers shred 'AFL's best defense,' wallop Patriots, 51-10, for first crown |date=January 6, 1964 |page=1, part 3}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=qUIqAAAAIBAJ&sjid=_E4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=5794%2C1599405 |newspaper=Pittsburgh Press |agency=UPI |title=Chargers roll over Boston in AFL final |date=January 6, 1964 |page=27 }} Named the game's MVP,{{cite news|last=Means|first=Raymond|title=Chargers Smash Boston 51–10 For AFL Crown|date=January 6, 1964|newspaper=The Press-Tribune|page=A-5|agency=United Press International|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/34391276/|access-date=July 30, 2019|via=Newspapers.com}} he rushed for 206 yards on 13 carries, led the team with 123 yards in receiving, and completed a pass for 20 yards.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Vy8gAAAAIBAJ&sjid=VicEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4090%2C2258993 |newspaper=Milwaukee Journal |agency=Associated Press |title=Chargers rout Boston, 51-10; compared with NFL teams |date=January 6, 1964 |page=11, part 2}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=9eoxAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EuMDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6059%2C902427 |newspaper=Eugene Register-Guard |location=(Oregon)|agency=Associated Press |title=Are Chargers good enough for NFL opponents? |date=January 6, 1964 |page=3B}}{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rDlWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HekDAAAAIBAJ&pg=7012%2C1917607 |newspaper=Spokesman-Review |location=(Spokane, Washington) |agency=Associated Press |title=Charger win Lincolnesque; Palouse Moose gains 349 |date=January 6, 1964 |page=12 }}

The game was not a sellout; the attendance of 30,127 was several thousand under Balboa Stadium's capacity.

The Chargers' championship win {{Years or months ago|1963|5}} is noted for being the only major sports title for the city of San Diego, the longest drought for a major American city.{{cite web|url=http://www.sandiego6.com/mostpopular/story/Are-San-Diego-Sports-Teams-Cursed/p9gpzJyNPEWgxpIADJhOSA.cspx |title=Are San Diego Sports Teams Cursed? |publisher=San Diego 6 |access-date=2010-07-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716002728/http://www.sandiego6.com/mostpopular/story/Are-San-Diego-Sports-Teams-Cursed/p9gpzJyNPEWgxpIADJhOSA.cspx |archive-date=July 16, 2011 |df=mdy }}[https://web.archive.org/web/20090808214229/http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1032492/4/index.htm Thirteen years after missing a Super Bowl-winning field – 07.12.04 – SI Vault] The Chargers played in San Diego through 2016, then returned to Los Angeles in 2017. The Patriots' first league championship came in the 2001 season in Super Bowl XXXVI.

{{Americanfootballbox | titlestyle=text-align:center; background:#eee

|title=San Diego Chargers 51, Boston Patriots 10

|Road=Patriots

|R1=7

|R2=3

|R3=0

|R4=0

|Home=Chargers

|H1=21

|H2=10

|H3=7

|H4=13

|date=January 5, 1964

|stadium=Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California

|attendance=30,127

|time=1:30 p.m. PST

|referee=

|weather={{convert|57|F}}, relative humidity 26%, wind {{convert|10|mph|abbr=on}}

|TV=ABC

|TVAnnouncers=Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman[http://the506.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1223731385 1963 NFL-AFL Commentator Crews] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081211144654/http://the506.com/yabb/YaBB.pl?num=1223731385 |date=December 11, 2008 }}

|scoring=

Scoring

First quarter
SD – Tobin Rote 2 run (George Blair kick), 7–0 SD
SD – Keith Lincoln 67 run (Blair kick), 14–0 SD
BOS – Larry Garron 7 run (Gino Cappelletti kick), 14–7 SD
SD – Paul Lowe 58 run (Blair kick), 21–7 SD
Second quarter
SD – Field goal Blair 11, 24–7 SD
BOS – Field goal Cappelletti 15, 24–10 SD
SD – Don Norton 14 pass from Rote (Blair kick), 31–10 SD
Third quarter
SD – Lance Alworth 48 pass from Rote (Blair kick), 38–10 SD
Fourth quarter
SD – Lincoln 25 pass from John Hadl (pass failed), 44–10 SD
SD – Hadl 1 run (Blair kick), 51–10 SD

}}

=Starting lineups=

class="wikitable" ! style="width:160px;" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|Boston Patriots}};" \| Boston !! Position !! style="width:160px;" style="{{NFLPrimaryStyle\|San Diego Chargers\|year=1963}};" \| San Diego
colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" \| Offense
Babe Parilli	style="text-align:center;" \| QB	Tobin Rote
Ron Burton	style="text-align:center;" \| HB	Paul Lowe
Larry Garron	style="text-align:center;" \| FB	Keith Lincoln
Jim Colclough	style="text-align:center;" \| FL	bgcolor="#FFCC00" \| Lance Alworth
Gino Cappelletti	style="text-align:center;" \| SE	Don Norton
Tony Romeo	style="text-align:center;" \| TE	Dave Kocourek
Don Oakes	style="text-align:center;" \| LT	Ernie Wright
Charley Long	style="text-align:center;" \| LG	Sam DeLuca
Walt Cudzik	style="text-align:center;" \| C	Don Rogers
Billy Neighbors	style="text-align:center;" \| RG	Pat Shea
Milt Graham	style="text-align:center;" \| RT	bgcolor="#FFCC00" \| Ron Mix
colspan="3" style="text-align:center;" \| Defense
Larry Eisenhauer	style="text-align:center;" \| LDE	Earl Faison
Jess Richardson	style="text-align:center;" \| LDT	Henry Schmidt
Houston Antwine	style="text-align:center;" \| RDT	George Gross
Bob Dee	style="text-align:center;" \| RDE	Bob Petrich
Tom Addison	style="text-align:center;" \| LLB	Emil Karas
bgcolor="#FFCC00" \| Nick Buoniconti	style="text-align:center;" \| MLB	Chuck Allen
Jack Rudolph	style="text-align:center;" \| RLB	Paul Maguire
Dick Felt	style="text-align:center;" \| LCB	Bud Whitehead
Bob Suci	style="text-align:center;" \| RCB	Dick Harris
Ross O'Hanley	style="text-align:center;" \| SS	George Blair
Ron Hall	style="text-align:center;" \| FS	Gary Glick

Players' shares

The attendance in San Diego was nearly 8,000 lower than the previous year's game in Houston, but the players' shares were up slightly with increased television revenue. The winning Chargers players each made around $2,500, while the Patriots received about $1,700 each. These shares were less than half of those for the NFL title game in 1963, at approximately $6,000 and $4,200 each.{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fsZaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OmwDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4887%2C4724218|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette |agency=Associated Press |title=Each Bear to receive about $6,000 |date=December 30, 1963 |page=18}}