The San Diego Chargers were established in 1960 as one of the founding members of the American Football League before it merged with the NFL in 1970. The team plays in the American Football Conference (AFC) West Division and is the only team in Southern California (there is no team currently in Los Angeles).
The San Diego Chargers played their first season in Los Angeles before moving to San Diego, but have always been known as the Chargers. Some people believe the Chargers were named after the new Carte Blanche Credit Card owned by Chargers owner Barron Hilton. Others believe Hilton named the team “Chargers” because he liked the sounds of crowds yelling “charge” at Dodgers and USC (University of Southern California) games.
The Chargers were a standout team in their years in the AFL, appearing in the playoffs in 1960, 1961, 1964, and 1965, and winning the AFL Championship in 1963. That year, Hall-of-Fame wide receiver and Chargers legend Lance Alworth won the AFL Most Valuable Player Award. After the merger between the AFL and NFL, however, the Chargers struggled. From 1970-1978, the Chargers failed to finish higher than third in the AFC West Division. In 1979, the Chargers won the AFC West under the leadership of head Coach Don Coryell and quarterback Dan Fouts. In their first playoff game in 14 years, however, the Chargers would lose to the Houston Oilers, 17-14. In 1980, the Chargers made it to the AFC Championship before losing to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Oakland Raiders, 34-27. In 1981, quarterback Dan Fouts set a then record with 4,802 yards passing. The Chargers would win their third straight AFC West title before losing in their second consecutive AFC Championship game, this time to the Cincinnati Bengals, 27-7.
In 1994, the Chargers appeared in their first and only Super Bowl, after defeating the heavily favoured Pittsburgh Steelers, in Pittsburgh, 17-13, after a last-minute defensive stand in which the Steelers were denied a touchdown on their last possession from the Chargers three yard line. In Super Bowl XXIX, however, the Chargers were crushed by the San Francisco 49ers, 49-26. From 1996-2003, the Chargers would fail to achieve a winning record.
In 2004, the Chargers traded the number one overall pick in the NFL draft, Mississippi quarterback Eli Manning (who refused to play for the team) to the New York Giants and drafted North Carolina State quarterback Phillip Rivers. Rivers would take over as starting quarterback when Drew Brees left as a free agent to join the New Orleans Saints. Though Brees would go on to win a Super Bowl with the Saints, Rivers has failed to take the Chargers to the Super Bowl thus far. Despite high expectations virtually every season, the Chargers have continued to disappoint fans, losing in various rounds of the AFC playoffs in 2006, 2007, 2008 and 2009.
Answer the following questions
1 Which word or phrase best describes the Chargers performance while in the AFL?
a successful
b poor
c adequate
d mediocre
2 Based on the passage, which of the following would be considered the peak or pinnacle in Chargers history?
a 1963
b 2010
c 1981
d 1994
3 Why are the years 1982-1993 skipped by the author?
a Probably because the Chargers didn’t play football during this time period.
b Probably because the time period was uneventful.
c Probably because the Chargers had their best seasons during this time.
d The author probably doesn’t know the team’s history during this time.
4 Which of the following quarterbacks never played for the Chargers?
a Phillip Rivers
b Eli Manning
c Dan Fouts
d Drew Brees
5 What team did the San Diego Chargers defeat in reaching the Super Bowl?
a San Francisco 49ers
b Cincinnati Bengals
c Pittsburgh Steelers
d Houston Oilers
Shopping Cart
