2012 United States federal budget

The 2012 United States federal budget was the budget to fund government operations for the fiscal year 2012, which lasted from October 1, 2011 through September 30, 2012. The original spending request was issued by President Barack Obama in February 2011. That April, the Republican-held House of Representatives announced a competing plan, The Path to Prosperity, emboldened by a major victory in the 2010 Congressional elections associated with the Tea Party movement. The budget plans were both intended to focus on deficit reduction, but differed in their changes to taxation, entitlement programs, defense spending, and research funding.

The House resolution did not pass the Senate, nor did the Senate pass a resolution of their own, so there was no 2012 budget of record. The actual appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2012 included four continuing resolutions and three full-year appropriations bills enacted in November and December 2011, in accordance with the United States budget process. These appropriations were greatly affected by the Budget Control Act of 2011, passed in August 2011 as a resolution to the debt-ceiling crisis; it mandated budget cuts over a ten-year period beginning with Fiscal Year 2012. In addition, legislation was passed to extend a cut in the Social Security payroll tax for the entirety of calendar year 2012.

The government was initially funded through five temporary continuing resolutions. Final funding for the government was enacted as an omnibus spending bill, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012, on December 23, 2011.

## Background

In February 2010, President Obama formed the bipartisan Bowles–Simpson Commission to recommend steps that could be taken to reduce future budget deficits. The commission released its report on November 10, 2010, which recommended deep domestic and military spending cuts, reforming the tax system by eliminating many tax breaks in return for lower overall rates, and reducing benefits for Social Security and Medicare. The plan did not receive the supermajority vote within the commission which it needed to be directly sent to Congress, and portions of the plan were rejected by both parties.

## Budget proposals

The Obama administration proposed its 2012 budget on February 14, 2011. It aimed to reduce annual deficits to more sustainable levels by making selective cuts in spending, while increasing support in specific areas such as education and clean energy to foster long-term economic growth. The plan did not contain specific proposals to rein in spending on entitlement programs such as Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, which were expected to make up much of the increase in the deficit in future years. The budget represented a shift from the Obama administration's strategy in previous years of using increased government spending, such as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, to combat the late 2000s recession. The 2012 budget plan was instead projected to reduce deficits by \$1.1 trillion over the next ten years. Republicans criticized the plan for not going far enough to reduce future deficits.

A competing plan, called The Path to Prosperity, was announced by House Republicans, led by House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan, on April 5, 2011. This plan would cut \$5.8 trillion in spending over ten years, but would also reduce tax income by \$4.2 trillion below current projections. The plan would make no further reduction in defense spending beyond the Obama administration's plan, but would make major changes to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security, which was expected to pass more of the cost of these programs onto individuals. It would also cut energy research and other applied research and development. This plan was criticized by Democrats for disproportionately cutting programs which benefit the disadvantaged and stifling innovation, while not cutting defense spending further and containing deep tax cuts. The House Republican plan was defeated in the Senate by a margin of 40–57 votes on May 25, 2011, the same day that the Obama budget was also defeated.

In response to the Republican plan and a recent deal on the 2011 budget, President Obama on April 13, 2011 presented an alternative plan in a major policy speech. This new plan would cut deficits by \$4 trillion over 12 years through a combination of broad spending cuts and tax increases, including the expiration of the Bush tax cuts for incomes over \$200,000 and proposed a cap on increases in Medicare and Medicaid spending, to be paid for by individuals. Obama criticized the Republican plan for enriching the wealthy through tax cuts while placing a greater economic burden on the elderly through Medicare cuts. Obama's plan was criticized by Republicans for its large cuts in defense spending and for its lack of specific detail. On June 23, at a hearing of the Budget Committee, CBO director Douglas Elmendorf was asked what his agency made of the proposals in that presidential address. “We don’t estimate speeches,” he said. “We need much more specificity than was provided in that speech." A motion to proceed on a Republican-sponsored bill meant to represent the original Obama administration budget proposal was defeated in the Senate by a margin of 0–97 votes on May 25, 2011; the lack of Democratic support was said to have been because the original budget had been superseded by Obama's April speech.

## Legislation

### Implications of debt limit deal

A controversy arose in July 2011 over the raising of the federal debt limit, which was needed to prevent a default by the United States government. Republicans in Congress demanded spending cuts in the budgets for 2012 and subsequent years in return for raising the debt limit. On July 19, 2011, the Republican-led House passed a bill, the Cut, Cap and Balance Act, by a margin of 234–190 which would require \$111 billion in cuts in 2012 spending levels, exempting defense, Medicare, and Social Security from these cuts, and would limit subsequent federal spending to about 20% of the gross national product as compared to the current 24%. It did not immediately increase the debt limit, but would have required Congress to pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the United States Constitution before increasing the debt limit. The bill was tabled by a vote of 51–46 in the Senate on July 22, and thus defeated. An alternate plan proposed by the bipartisan Gang of Six senators and favored by the Obama administration would contain about \$3.7 trillion in deficit reduction over the next decade, including both new revenue and large spending cuts, including in entitlement healthcare and defense, failed to gain traction.

Two rival plans were then prepared by the Senate Democrats and House Republicans. The Democratic plan would immediately raise the debt limit by \$2.7 trillion, enough to last beyond the 2012 elections, and would decrease spending by \$900 billion over ten years. The Republican plan would cut a total of \$850 billion over ten years, and would raise the debt limit in two stages: by \$1 trillion immediately, enough to last until early 2012, and then would form a bipartisan committee to recommend the second half of the budget cuts, which upon being passed by Congress would increase the debt limit by another \$1.6 trillion. Neither plan included revenue increases or cuts to entitlement programs. The vote on the Republican plan was delayed several times as more conservative members of the caucus refused to support it. After being altered to again require passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment before the second stage of debt limit increases, it passed the House 218–210, with 22 Republicans opposing the bill. It was defeated in the Senate two hours later by a vote of 59–41, as the Democratic plan was prepared to be taken up there.

On July 31, 2011, President Obama and the leadership of both legislative chambers reached a deal on the debt limit legislation. The deal guaranteed \$2.4 trillion in immediate and eventual debt limit increases. It mandated \$917 billion in spending cuts over ten years, of which \$21 billion would be included in the FY2012 budget. It would then give Congress a choice between either accepting the recommendation of a Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction which would cut the deficit by \$1.2–1.5 trillion through spending cuts and/or revenue increases, or accepting automatic budget cuts to national security funding (including defense spending) and to Medicare, which would start in the FY2013 budget. Congress would also be required to vote on a Balanced Budget Amendment. On August 1, the Budget Control Act of 2011 passed the House 269–161, with 66 Republicans and 95 Democrats voting against the bill. On August 2, it passed in the Senate 74–26, and was signed into law by President Obama the same day. August 2 was also the date estimated by the Department of the Treasury that the borrowing authority of the US would be exhausted.

### Initial continuing resolutions and FEMA controversy

Because the federal budget legislation was not expected to be enacted by the September 30, 2011 deadline, work began on a continuing resolution to fund the government temporarily through November 18, 2011 with an across-the-board reduction of 1.503% below the 2011 budget levels. However, a dispute arose between the Republican-led House and the Democrat-led Senate over the amount of additional funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for costs associated with relief from Hurricane Irene, and whether this extra funding should be partially offset with cuts elsewhere. FEMA's disaster relief fund had \$792 million remaining in it just prior to the hurricane's landfall in August 2011, which was below the \$1 billion thresholds that caused FEMA to act under "immediate-needs status," delaying long-term projects in favor of urgent tasks. The proposed cuts targeted a program to fund development of fuel-efficient automobiles as well as the program that had guaranteed a loan to the recently bankrupt Solyndra corporation. The Senate rejection of the House bill on September 23, 2011 raised the possibility of a government shutdown on October 1.

However, FEMA subsequently determined that the \$114 million left in the fund as of late September would suffice for the final week of the fiscal year, and the fund would thus not in fact run out of money. This led to the Senate passing a pair of continuing resolutions on September 26: one lasting until October 4, 2011 to give the then-out-of-session House of Representatives time to consider the second resolution, which funded the government through the first seven weeks of the 2012 fiscal year, until November 18, 2011. The House passed the short-term resolution on September 29, 2011 by unanimous consent in an unusual example of passing legislation during a pro forma session. After the House came back into normal session, the second continuing resolution was passed by a vote of 352–66 on October 4, 2011.

### Appropriations legislation passed

On November 18, 2011, the first appropriations bill was enacted, the Consolidated and Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2012. It combined the three appropriations bills for Agriculture, Commerce/Justice/Science (CJS), and Transportation/Housing and Urban Development (THUD), and also contained a continuing resolution providing funding for other departments until December 16, 2011.

On December 15, 2011, a deal was reached on the remaining nine appropriations bills, which were combined into the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2012. One point of contention was that an earlier draft of the bill supported by Republicans contained new restrictions on travel to Cuba, which had been relaxed by the Obama administration in 2009. These restrictions were removed in the enacted bill at the insistence of the Obama administration. A separate Disaster Relief Appropriations Act, 2012 was also included in the package, as well as a concurrent resolution which offset the increased disaster funding by imposing a 1.83% across-the-board spending cut to all discretionary programs except Defense and Veterans Affairs. Two more continuing resolutions were also passed, one extending the deadline by one day so that the Senate could vote on the package, and one until December 23, 2011. The two appropriations bills were enacted on December 23, 2011, but the concurrent resolution failed in the Senate.

On December 17, 2011, the Senate passed legislation to extend the Social Security payroll tax cut which had been previously enacted during the FY2011 budget negotiations. That legislation had reduced the rate from 6.2% to 4.2% for the 2011 calendar year only. The initial 2012 extension was for two months, rather than the full-year extension which had been sought; the legislation also extended unemployment benefits as well as a measure preventing a drop in rates for Medicare reimbursement; the spending for these was offset by enacting new fees on Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Points of contention included a Democratic plan to fund the tax cut with a new surtax on income over \$1 million, which was dropped in later stages of negotiation, as well as attempts by Republicans to insert language which would speed the approval of the Keystone XL pipeline, which had recently been delayed by the Obama administration. The bill was initially rejected in the House, whose leaders insisted on a full-year extension, despite the fact that the Senate had already adjourned for the year. However, after criticism from other Republicans that the impasse would harm their prospects in the upcoming 2012 elections, the House leadership on December 23, 2011 announced that it would pass the Senate bill in return for Democrats promptly beginning negotiations on a full-year extension. The bill, the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2011, was passed by the House and signed by the President later that day.

The tax cut extension for the remainder of the year was passed as the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012 on February 17, 2012, by a vote of 293–132 in the House and 60–36 in the Senate. The bill also contained a further extension of unemployment benefits and the Medicare reimbursement rates. The cost of the tax cut was not offset by spending cuts, but the other provisions were offset by cuts in federal healthcare and pension programs. Republican support for the bill was motivated by a desire to not oppose a tax cut in an election year. Some Democrats criticized the bill for directing spending cuts at federal employees rather than generating funds by increasing taxes on the wealthy or closing tax loopholes.

## Major initiatives

The following provisions were enacted in the final budget legislation:

- No new funding for long-distance intercity and high-speed rail was included in the budget. This funding had originally been introduced as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act stimulus bill in 2009, but had proved controversial as several Republican governors elected in the 2010 elections subsequently rejected the federal funding for rail projects in their states. However, funding for 26 short-distance routes eliminated in the House version was restored in the enacted bill.
- The National Science Foundation's budget was increased 2.5%, to \$7.03 billion, and the National Institutes of Health's was increased slightly from \$30.4 billion to \$30.7 billion. However, the Office of Science and Technology Policy's budget was cut by 32% to \$4.5 million, in retaliation for the office allegedly ignoring a provision in 2011 budget legislation banning it from pursuing collaborations with China. Funding for the James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to the Hubble Space Telescope, was maintained, as was funding for the Joint Polar Satellite System.
- The legislation contained a ban on using federal funds to enforce the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs that had been mandated in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, but requires recipients of more than \$1 million in Department of Energy grants to comply with the energy efficiency standards.
- Regular funding for the Department of Defense increased from \$513 billion to \$518 billion, including a 1.6% pay raise for military personnel. Funding for the wars in Iraq and in Afghanistan was reduced from \$158 billion to \$115 billion.
- Funding for the Race to the Top education program was cut from \$698 million to \$550 million. A proposal to create an educational technology research and development program, Advanced Research Projects Agency-Education (ARPA-ED), in a similar vein to the successful DARPA research agency within the Department of Defense, was not enacted.
- The Obama administration had requested to create a Climate Service within NOAA, similar to the National Weather Service. This request was not enacted.
- Transfers of prisoners from the Guantanamo Bay detention camp to the United States was prohibited, and language on transfers to other countries was revised.
- The Department of Justice was forbidden from consolidating or maintaining certain firearms records, and it was prohibited for health officials to use federal money to advocate gun control.

## Total revenues and spending

The Obama administration's budget request contained \$2.627 trillion in revenues and \$3.729 trillion in outlays (expenditures) for 2012, for a deficit of \$1.101 trillion. The April 2011 Republican plan contained \$2.533 trillion in revenues and \$3.529 trillion in outlays, for a deficit of \$0.996 trillion. The enacted budget contained \$2.469 trillion in receipts and \$3.796 trillion in outlays, for a deficit of \$1.327 trillion.

### Total receipts

### Total outlays by agency

The Department of Defense budget is divided into two parts: the base budget, and Overseas Contingency Operations which includes the Iraq War and the War in Afghanistan.

### Total outlays by budget function

U.S. budget to fund government operations 2012


William Hanna

William Denby "Bill" Hanna (July 14, 1910 – March 22, 2001) was an American animator and cartoonist who was the creator of Tom and Jerry as well as the voice actor for the two title characters. Alongside Joseph Barbera, he also founded the animation studio and production company Hanna-Barbera.

Hanna joined the Harman and Ising animation studio in 1930 and steadily gained skill and prominence while working on cartoons such as Captain and the Kids. In 1937, while working at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), Hanna met Joseph Barbera. In 1957, they co-founded Hanna-Barbera, which became the most successful television animation studio in the business, creating or producing programs such as The Flintstones, The Huckleberry Hound Show, The Jetsons, Scooby-Doo, The Smurfs, and Yogi Bear. In 1967, Hanna-Barbera was sold to Taft Broadcasting for \$12 million, but Hanna and Barbera remained heads of the company until 1991. At that time, the studio was sold to Turner Broadcasting System, which in turn was merged with Time Warner in 1996; Hanna and Barbera stayed on as advisors.

Tom and Jerry won seven Academy Awards, while Hanna and Barbera were nominated for two others and won eight Emmy Awards. Their cartoons have become cultural icons, and their cartoon characters have appeared in other media such as films, books, and toys. Hanna-Barbera's shows had a worldwide audience of over 300 million people in their 1960s heyday, and have been translated into more than 28 languages.

## Early and personal life

William Hanna was born to William John (1873–1949) and Avice Joyce (Denby) Hanna (1882–1956) on July 14, 1910, in Melrose, New Mexico Territory. He was the third of seven children. Hanna described his family as "a red-blooded, Irish-American family". His father was a construction superintendent for railroads as well as water and sewer systems throughout the western regions of America, requiring the family to move frequently.

When Hanna was three years old, the family moved to Baker City, Oregon, where his father worked on the Balm Creek Dam. It was there that Hanna would develop his love of the outdoors. The family moved to Logan, Utah, before moving to San Pedro, California, in 1917. During the next two years they moved several times before eventually settling in Watts, California, in 1919.

In 1922, while living in Watts, he joined the Boy Scouts. He attended Compton High School from 1925 through 1928, where he played the saxophone in a dance band. His passion for music carried over into his career; he helped write songs for his cartoons, including the theme for The Flintstones. Hanna became an Eagle Scout as a youth and remained active in Scouting throughout his life. As an adult, he served as a Scoutmaster and was recognized by the Boy Scouts of America with their Distinguished Eagle Scout Award in 1985. Despite his numerous career-related awards, Hanna was most proud of this Distinguished Eagle Scout Award. His interests also included sailing and singing in a barbershop quartet. Hanna studied both journalism and structural engineering at Compton City College, but had to drop out of college with the onset of the Great Depression.

On August 7, 1936, Hanna married Violet Blanch Wogatzke (July 23, 1913 – July 10, 2014), and they had a marriage lasting over 64 years, until his death. The marriage produced two children, David William and Bonnie Jean, and seven grandchildren. In 1996, Hanna, with assistance from Los Angeles writer Tom Ito, published his autobiography—Joe Barbera had published his own two years earlier.

## Early career

After dropping out of college, Hanna worked briefly as a construction engineer and helped build the Pantages Theatre in Hollywood. He lost that job during the Great Depression and found another at a car wash. His sister's boyfriend encouraged him to apply for a job at Pacific Title and Art, which produced title cards for motion pictures. While working there, Hanna's talent for drawing became evident, and in 1930 he joined the Harman and Ising animation studio, which had created the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series. Despite a lack of formal training, Hanna soon became head of their ink and paint department. Besides inking and painting, Hanna also wrote songs and lyrics. For the first several years of Hanna's employment, the studio partnered with Pacific Title and Art's Leon Schlesinger, who released the Harman-Ising output through Warner Bros. When Hugh Harman and Rudolph Ising chose to break with Schlesinger and begin producing cartoons independently for Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM) in 1933, Hanna was one of the employees who followed them.

Hanna was given the opportunity to direct his first cartoon in 1936; the result was To Spring, part of the Harman-Ising Happy Harmonies series. The following year, MGM decided to terminate their partnership with Harman-Ising and bring production in-house. Hanna was among the first people MGM hired away from Harman-Ising to their new cartoon studio. During 1938–1939, he served as a senior director on MGM's Captain and the Kids series, based upon the comic strip of the same name (an alternate version of the Katzenjammer Kids that had resulted from a 1914 lawsuit). The series did not do well; consequently, Hanna was demoted to a story man and the series was canceled. Hanna's desk at MGM was opposite that of Joseph Barbera, who had previously worked at Terrytoons. The two quickly realized they would make a good team. By 1939 they had solidified a partnership that would last over 60 years. Hanna and Barbera worked alongside animation director Tex Avery, who had created Daffy Duck and Bugs Bunny for Warner Bros. and directed Droopy cartoons at MGM.

## Tom and Jerry

In 1940, Hanna and Barbera jointly directed Puss Gets the Boot, which was nominated for an Academy Award for Best (Cartoon) Short Subject. The studio wanted a diversified cartoon portfolio, so despite the success of Puss Gets the Boot, Hanna and Barbera's supervisor, Fred Quimby, did not want to produce more cat and mouse cartoons. Surprised by the success of Puss Gets the Boot, Hanna and Barbera ignored Quimby's resistance and continued developing the cat-and-mouse theme. By this time, however, Hanna wanted to return to working for Ising, to whom he felt very loyal. Hanna and Barbera met with Quimby, who discovered that although Ising had taken sole credit for producing Puss Gets the Boot, he never actually worked on it. Quimby, who had wanted to start a new animation unit independent of Ising, then gave Hanna and Barbera permission to pursue their cat-and-mouse idea. The result was their most famous creation, Tom and Jerry.

Modeled after the Puss Gets the Boot characters with slight differences, the series followed Jerry, the rodent who continually outwitted his feline foe, Tom. Hanna said they settled on the cat and mouse theme for this cartoon because: "We knew we needed two characters. We thought we needed conflict, and chase and action. And a cat after a mouse seemed like a good, basic thought." The revamped characters first appeared in 1941's The Midnight Snack. Over the next 17 years Hanna and Barbera worked almost exclusively on Tom and Jerry, directing more than 114 highly popular cartoon shorts. During World War II they also made animated training films. Tom and Jerry relied mostly on motion instead of dialog. Despite its popularity, Tom and Jerry has often been criticized as excessively violent. Nonetheless, the series won its first Academy Award for the 11th short, The Yankee Doodle Mouse (1943)—a war-time adventure. Tom and Jerry was ultimately nominated for 14 Academy Awards, winning 7. No other character-based theatrical animated series has won more awards, nor has any other series featuring the same characters. Tom and Jerry also made guest appearances in several of MGM's live-action films, including Anchors Aweigh (1945) and Invitation to the Dance (1956) with Gene Kelly, and Dangerous When Wet (1953) with Esther Williams.

Quimby accepted each Academy Award for Tom and Jerry without inviting Hanna and Barbera onstage. The cartoons were also released with Quimby listed as the sole producer, following the same practice for which he had condemned Ising. When Quimby retired in late 1955, Hanna and Barbera were placed in charge of MGM's animation division. As the studio began to lose more revenue due to television, MGM soon realized that re-releasing old cartoons was far more profitable than producing new ones. In 1957, MGM ordered Hanna and Barbera's business manager to close the cartoon division and lay off everyone by a phone call. Hanna and Barbera found the no-notice closure puzzling because Tom and Jerry had been so successful.

## Television

During his last year at MGM, Hanna branched out into television, forming the short-lived company Shield Productions with fellow animator Jay Ward, who had created the series Crusader Rabbit. Their partnership soon ended, and in 1957 Hanna reteamed with Joseph Barbera to produce cartoons for television and theatrical release. The two brought different skills to the company; Barbera was a skilled gag writer and sketch artist, while Hanna had a gift for timing, story construction, and recruiting top artists. Major business decisions would be made together, though each year the title of president alternated between them. A coin toss determined that Hanna would have precedence in the naming of the new company, first called H-B Enterprises but soon changed to Hanna-Barbera Productions. Barbera and Hanna's MGM colleague George Sidney, the director of Anchors Aweigh, became the third partner and business manager in the company, and arranged a deal for distribution and working capital with Screen Gems, the television division of Columbia Pictures, who took part ownership of the new studio.

The first offering from the new company was The Ruff & Reddy Show, a series which detailed the friendship between a dog and cat. Despite a lukewarm response for their first theatrical venture, Loopy De Loop, Hanna-Barbera soon established themselves with two successful television series: The Huckleberry Hound Show and The Yogi Bear Show. A 1960 survey showed that half of the viewers of Huckleberry Hound were adults. This prompted the company to create a new animated series, The Flintstones. A parody of The Honeymooners, the new show followed a typical Stone Age family with home appliances, talking animals, and celebrity guests. With an audience of both children and adults, The Flintstones became the first animated prime-time show to be a hit. Fred Flintstone's signature exclamation "yabba dabba doo" soon entered everyday usage, and the show boosted the studio to the top of the TV cartoon field. The company later produced a space-age version of The Flintstones, known as The Jetsons. Although both shows reappeared in the 1970s and 1980s, The Flintstones was far more popular.

By the late 1960s, Hanna-Barbera Productions was the most successful television animation studio in the business. The Hanna-Barbera studio produced over 3,000 animated half-hour television shows. Among the more than 100 cartoon series and specials they produced were: Atom Ant, Augie Doggie and Doggie Daddy (an imitation of the earlier Spike and Tyke MGM cartoons), Jonny Quest, Josie and the Pussycats, Magilla Gorilla, Pixie and Dixie and Mr. Jinks, Quick Draw McGraw, and Top Cat. Top Cat was based on Phil Silvers's character Sgt. Bilko, though it has been erroneously reported that Sgt. Bilko was the basis for Yogi Bear. The Hanna-Barbera studio also produced Scooby-Doo (1969–91) and The Smurfs (1981–89). The company also produced animated specials based on Alice in Wonderland, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cyrano de Bergerac, as well as the feature-length film Charlotte's Web (1973).

As popular as their cartoons were with 1960s audiences, they were disliked by artists. Television programs had lower budgets than theatrical animation, and this economic reality caused many animation studios to go out of business in the 1950s and 1960s, putting many people in the industry out of work. Hanna-Barbera was key in the development of limited animation, which allowed television animation to be more cost-effective, but also reduced quality. Hanna and Barbera had first experimented with these techniques in the early days of Tom and Jerry. To reduce the cost of each episode, shows often focused more on character dialogue than detailed animation. The number of drawings for a seven-minute cartoon decreased from 14,000 to nearly 2,000, and the company implemented innovative techniques such as rapid background changes to improve viewing. Reviewers criticized the change from vivid, detailed animation to repetitive movements by two-dimensional characters. Barbera once said that their choice was to adapt to the television budgets or change careers. The new style did not limit the success of their animated shows, enabling Hanna–Barbera to stay in business, providing employment to many who would otherwise have been out of work. Limited animation became the standard for television animation, and continues to be used today in television programs such as The Simpsons and South Park.

In 1966, Hanna-Barbera Productions was sold to Taft Broadcasting (renamed Great American Communications in 1987) for \$12 million. Hanna and Barbera remained at the head of the company until 1991. At that point, the company was sold to the Turner Broadcasting System for an estimated \$320 million, which itself merged with Time Warner, owners of Warner Bros., in 1996. This began a close association with the Cartoon Network. Hanna and Barbera continued to advise their former company and periodically worked on new Hanna-Barbera shows, including The Cartoon Cartoon Show series and hit silver screen versions of The Flintstones (1994) and Scooby-Doo (2002).

## Death

Hanna died of esophageal cancer at his home in North Hollywood, Los Angeles, California on March 22, 2001, at the age of 90. After his death, Cartoon Network aired a 20-second segment with black dots tracing Hanna's portrait with the words "We'll miss you – Cartoon Network" fading in on the right-hand side. This same type of tribute happened for Chuck Jones in 2002 and Hanna's partner, Joseph Barbera in 2006, when each of them died. However, Barbera, unlike the other two, had an audio clip of his voice playing in his Cartoon Network promotional tribute. Hanna is buried at Ascension Cemetery in Lake Forest, California.

## Legacy

Most of the cartoons Hanna and Barbera created revolved around close friendship or partnership; this theme is evident with Yogi Bear and Boo Boo, Fred Flintstone and Barney Rubble, Ruff and Reddy, The Jetsons family, and the friends in Scooby-Doo. These may have been a reflection of the close business friendship and partnership that Hanna and Barbera shared for almost 60 years. Professionally, they balanced each other's strengths and weaknesses very well, but Hanna and Barbera traveled in completely different social circles. Hanna's personal friends primarily included other animators; Barbera tended to socialize with Hollywood celebrities. Their division of work roles complemented each other but they rarely talked outside of work since Hanna was interested in the outdoors and Barbera liked beaches, good food and drink. Nevertheless, in their long partnership, in which they worked with over 2,000 animated characters, Hanna and Barbera rarely exchanged a cross word. Barbera said: "We understood each other perfectly, and each of us had deep respect for the other's work."

Hanna is considered one of the all-time great animators and on a par with Tex Avery. Hanna and Barbera were among the most successful animators on the cinema screen and successfully adapted to the change television brought to the industry. Leonard Maltin says the Hanna–Barbera team "[may] hold a record for producing consistently superior cartoons using the same characters year after year—without a break or change in routine. Their characters are not only animated superstars, but also a very beloved part of American pop culture". They are often considered as Walt Disney's only rivals as cartoonists.

Hanna and Barbera had a lasting impact on television animation. Cartoons they created often make greatest lists. Many of their characters have appeared in film, books, toys, and other media. During the 1960s their TV shows had a worldwide audience of over 300 million people and have since been translated into more than 20 languages. The works of Hanna and Barbera also have been recognized for their music, such as The Cat Concerto (1946) and Johann Mouse (1952), called "masterpieces of animation" in part due to their use of classical music.

In all, the Hanna–Barbera team won seven Academy Awards and eight Emmy Awards, including the 1960 award for The Huckleberry Hound Show, which was the first Emmy awarded to an animated series. They also won these awards: Golden Globe for Television Achievement (1960), Golden IKE Award—Pacific Pioneers in Broadcasting (1983), Pioneer Award—Broadcast Music Incorporated (1987), Iris Award—NATPE Men of the Year (1988), Licensing Industry Merchandisers' Association Award for Lifetime Achievement (1988), Governors Award of the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (1988), Jackie Coogan Award for Outstanding Contribution to Youth through Entertainment Youth in Film (1988), Frederic W. Ziv Award for Outstanding Achievement in Telecommunications—Broadcasting Division College—Conservatory of Music University of Cincinnati (1989), stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame (1976), several Annie Awards, several environmental awards, and were recipients of numerous other accolades prior to their induction into the Television Hall of Fame in 1994. In March 2005 the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and Warner Bros. Animation dedicated a wall sculpture at the Television Academy's Hall of Fame Plaza in North Hollywood to Hanna and Barbera.

Hanna's audio of Tom Cat's screams and various vocal effects he provided for the cat and mouse from the original Tom and Jerry cartoons over at MGM back in the 1940s and 1950s were reused in the 2006 direct-to-video film, Tom and Jerry: Shiver Me Whiskers, Tom and Jerry Tales (2006-2008 TV series, several season 1 episodes), The Tom and Jerry Show (2014 TV series), Tom & Jerry (2021 film), Tom and Jerry Special Shorts (2021 series), Tom and Jerry in New York (2021 series), the upcoming educational TV series, Tom and Jerry Time (previously known as Tom and Jerry Junior) (2022 series), the recent direct-to-video film, Tom and Jerry: Cowboy Up! (2022 film), the Holiday direct-to-video film, Tom and Jerry: Snowman's Land (2022 film) and the video game, MultiVersus (2022 video game). Outside of Tom and Jerry, his screams were modified for the Critters in Critters 2 and Critters 3, it also was used in the James Bond film For Your Eyes Only and for the caveman in the game Prehistorik Man.

## See also

- Golden age of American animation
- Tom and Jerry filmography
- List of works produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions
- Peace on Earth (remade by Hanna and Barbera as Good Will to Men)
- Tom and Jerry awards and nominations
- Tom and Jerry: The Movie

American animator and cartoonist (1910–2001)

Directors of Best Animated Short Academy Award winners

Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer cartoon studio people


Clonmacnoise Crozier

The Clonmacnoise Crozier is a late-11th-century Insular crozier that would have been used as a ceremonial staff for bishops and mitred abbots. Its origins and medieval provenance are unknown. It was likely discovered in the late 18th or early 19th century in the monastery of Clonmacnoise in County Offaly, Ireland. The crozier has two main parts: a long shaft and a curved crook. Its style reflects elements of Viking art, especially the snake-like animals in figure-of-eight patterns running on the sides of the body of the crook, and the ribbon of dog-like animals in openwork (ornamentation with openings or holes) that form the crest at its top. Apart from a shortening to the staff length and the loss of some inserted gems, it is largely intact and is one of the best-preserved surviving pieces of Insular metalwork.

The crozier may have been associated with Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise (died c. 549 CE), and was perhaps commissioned by Tigernach Ua Braín (died 1088), Abbot of Clonmacnoise, but little is known of its origin or rediscovery. It was built in two phases: the original 11th-century structure received an addition sometime around the early 15th century. The staff is made from a wooden core wrapped in copper-alloy (bronze) tubes, fixed in place by binding strips, and three barrel-shaped knops (protruding decorative metal fittings). The hook was concurrently but separately constructed before it was placed on top of the staff. The crozier's decorative attachments include the crest and terminal (or "drop") on the crook, and the knops and ferrule on the staff; these components are made from silver, niello, glass and enamel. The hook is further embellished with round blue glass studs and white and red millefiori (glassware) insets.

The antiquarian and collector Henry Charles Sirr, Lord Mayor of Dublin, held the crozier until his collection was acquired by the Royal Irish Academy on his death in 1841. It was transferred to the archaeology branch of the National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street on the branch's foundation in 1890. The archaeologist and art historian Griffin Murray has described the crozier as "one of [the] finest examples of early medieval metalwork from Ireland".

## Function

Like all Insular croziers produced between CE, the Clonmacnoise crozier is in the shape of an open shepherd's crook, a symbol of Jesus as the Good Shepherd leading his flock. Psalm 23 mentions a "rod" and a "staff", and from the 3rd century onwards Christian art often shows the shepherd holding a staff, including the 4th-century Sarcophagus of the Three Shepherds in the Vatican Museums in Rome, and the 6th-century Throne of Maximian at the Archiepiscopal Museum, Ravenna. The distinctive shape of Irish croziers evokes the function of shepherds' crooks in restraining wayward sheep, and according to the art historian Rachel Moss is similar to the crook-headed sticks used by cherubs to grasp vine branches in Bacchic iconography.

Croziers became symbols of status for bishops and abbots when Pope Celestine I linked them to the episcopal office in a 431 letter to bishops in Gaul. By tradition the first Irish example (lost since 1538) was the "Bachal Isu" (Staff of Jesus) given by God to Saint Patrick. According to the archaeologist A. T. Lucas, the croziers thus acted as "the principal vehicle of [Patrick's] power, a kind of spiritual electrode through which he conveyed the holy energy by which he wrought the innumerable miracles attributed to him". In a 2004 survey, the Clonmacnoise Crozier was one of an estimated twenty (or fewer) largely intact Insular croziers in addition to some sixty fragments.

## Origin and dating

The Irish antiquarian George Petrie (d. 1866) was the first to write about the crozier's discovery, and based on his sources placed the find-spot as in the "Temple Ciarán", a now ruined oratory on the grounds of Clonmacnoise monastery, County Offaly. The oratory is said to contain the tomb of the monastery's founder Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise (d. ), and he is recorded as having appeared centuries after his death "to smite a would-be raider with his crozier". Petrie recorded that it was found alongside a hoard including a silver chalice dated to 1647, a wine vessel and an arm-shrine or relic of Ciarán's hand, all now lost except for the chalice. The objects would have been deposited individually at the burial site during the centuries after Ciarán's death. However there is no surviving documentary evidence to support Petrie's account of the find spot. The claim seems based on accounts from 1684 and 1739 which mention that a relic of Ciarán's hand had been found there, while the crozier's style and production technique closely resemble two other contemporary fragmentary croziers sometimes associated with Clonmacnoise; the very similar and so-called Frazer Crozier-head (catalog number NMI 1899:28) and a crozier-knop in the British Museum. The antiquarian William Frazer wrote in 1891 that the Clonmacnoise Crozier was probably revered as holding a relic of Saint Ciarán.

Clonmacnoise monastery was founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán in the territory of Uí Maine where an ancient major east–west land route and early medieval political division (the Slighe Mhor) met at the River Shannon. This strategic location helped it become a thriving centre of religion, learning, craftsmanship and trade by the 9th century, and many of the high kings of Tara (Ard Rí) and of Connacht were buried here. Clonmacnoise was largely abandoned by the end of the 13th century. Today the site includes nine ruined churches, a castle, two round towers and many carved stone crosses.

The crozier's late 11th-century dating is based in part on its stylistic resemblance to the Bell Shrine of St. Cuileáin and the early 12th-century Shrine of Saint Lachtin's Arm, as well as the Romanesque elements sometimes found on Insular art of the period. Lucas places it shortly after 1125.

Some historians suggest that the crozier was produced in Dublin, based on the so-called "Dublin school" Hiberno-Ringerike patterns on the crook. It also has zoomorphic designs similar those on the Dublin-manufactured Prosperous Crozier, on the shrine of the Cathach of Saint Columba, which also contains stylistic resemblances to Dublin metalwork, in particular with those found during excavations at High Street, Dublin, during 1962 and 1963. None of these links are definitive nor widely accepted. A significant metal workshop is known to have been in operation at Clonmacnoise in the 11th century, and the crozier contains design elements and motifs unique to contemporary objects found on or near the monastery's grounds. These include the confronted lions with intertwined legs on collar below the top-most knop, that are also present on a high cross in Temple Ciarán.

## Description

The crozier is 97 cm (38 in) long (about the length of a walking stick) and the crook 13.5 cm (5.3 in) wide. It was probably once 20 cm longer and had four knops, as with most other intact examples; the losses seem to result from its having been broken apart to make it easier to fold and thus hide from Viking and later Norman invaders. The staff is formed from a wooden core overlaid by metal tubes, and comprises two main sections: the long shaft and the crook. The crook ends in a vertical section called the drop, with a drop-plate on the outward-facing side. The casing on the shaft is attached by binding strips connected to each other by three knops, while a protective copper alloy ferrule comprises the tip of the shaft's base. The shaft and crook cores are made from separate pieces of timber but date from the same period. The crook is fitted with an inner binding strip, crest and drop-plate, each of which was independently made and, having no structural function, are purely decorative.

It was built in two phases: the early 11th-century structure was added to and refurbished in the 14th century, the later additions including the bishop and dragon in the drop-plate, and some of the ornamentation on the upper knop. The first phase is designed in the Insular style, and contains animal ornament, interlace and Celtic art patterns. Several of the decorations are influenced by the late 10th-century Ringerike and 11th-century Urnes styles of Viking art, both of which are characterised by band-shaped animals (often snakes, dogs and birds), acanthus-leaf foliage, crosses and spirals, and was adapted in Ireland via direct contact and contemporary Anglo-Saxon art from Southern England. Moss describes the crozier as among the finest of the Irish Ringerike-influenced objects, along with the Shrine of Miosach and the Cathach (both 11th-century cumdaigh).

Although it has suffered some losses, damage and detrimental repair-work, it is in excellent condition overall. The original drop-plate was replaced in the late medieval period. The wood at the end of the crest is decayed, likely due to one of the rivets being exposed, which in turn led to further damage to the structure.

### Crook

The crook is 13.5 cm (5.3 in) high, 15.5 cm (6.1 in) wide and has a maximum circumference of 3.7 cm (1.5 in). It is composed of a single piece of wood, encased in copper alloy, with an inner binding and plates for the crest and drop. Each side of the crook is decorated with four or five silver cast zoomorphic snake-like animals in rows of tightly bound figure-eight knots and ribbon-shaped pale coloured bodies that intertwine and loop over each other. Designed in an Irish adaption of the Ringerike style, they are outlined with thin strips of niello that appear as decorative flaps that, according to the archaeologist and art historian Griffin Murray, "spring from their heads and bodies forming knotted vegetal-like designs around them" before terminating in spiral patterns.

The crest is attached to the top of the crook by rivets and nails. Around half of it has broken away, but what remains is a openwork row of five crouching dog-like animals that extends from above the joining with the staff to just before the top of the crook – presumably the row once extended to the top of the drop, especially since the lead animal is the most badly damaged and missing its head, while those nearest are also damaged and have missing parts. The animals are forward-looking and positioned end-to-end, and rendered in the Oseberg Style of Viking art. They each appear, in the words of the art historian Máire de Paor, as "grasping with [their] jaws the buttocks of the preceding animal". Similarly, the Frazer Crozier-head contains dog-tooth patterns on the upper part of the crook, but these are thought to be 16th-century additions.

### Drop

The original drop was presumably as highly decorated as the knops, but is lost and was replaced sometime during the 14th or 15th centuries. The current plate, like the original, forms a hollow box-like extension that was fixed to the end of the crook. It is cast from copper alloy and consists of a cast figurative insert attached to a plain metal strip. At its top is a looming, grotesque human head in champlevé enamel. Set into the cavity below is a figure added in the 14th or 15th century, who appears to be a bishop or cleric wearing a mitre (a type of bishop's headgear). He has one hand raised in blessing while the other holds a long crozier with a spiral crook, which he uses to impale an animal, probably a dragon, at his feet. De Paor describes the cleric as a generic late-period Insular figure with "pierced eyes, small ears, a large nose, and [a] heavy mustache and beard".

The positioning of the human figures is similar to the late 9th-century Prosperous Crozier. The only other surviving example of such a figure is in the drop of the River Laune Crozier; presumably other croziers once held similar figures but the components were damaged or removed. It seems likely that the cleric is intended to represent the commemorated saint, thus "making the body of the founder saint visible and active", and conferring the saint's authority to the crozier's current bearer. The copper plate underneath the drop contain enamel double-spiral designs rendered in blue, green and yellows.

As the most visible portion of the crozier, the drops were the obvious focus point for figure art, an element that is, apart from zoomorphism, otherwise almost entirely absent in Insular metalwork. This led to theories in the 19th century that the drops acted as containers for smaller relics of saints, while the metal casing held the saint's original wooden staffs; these claims have been in doubt since the mid-20th century, and there is no evidence to support the theories. An exception is the Lismore Crozier, where two small relics and a linen cloth were found inside the crook during a 1966 refurbishment.

### Shaft

The shaft is formed from a wooden core plated with two copper alloy tubes and narrows after the lowest knop. The tubing was originally sealed by two binding strips on the front which were probably of leather but are now lost, although a portion of a leather membrane between the wood and metal still exists. The shaft contains three large and ornately decorated barrel-shaped and individually cast knops, each of which fully wraps around the staff. They are positioned equally distant on the staff, separated by lengths of bare tubing. Each contains openwork patterns and chased or repoussé (i.e. relief hammered from the back) copper-alloy plates, a feature only otherwise found on the Prosperous Crozier.

The largest and uppermost knop is 7.5 cm (3.0 in) high and has a diameter of 4.8 cm (1.9 in). It is centred by a horizontal band of interlace and champlevé enamelling containing geometric and foliage patterns. It is lined with inserted triangular and rectangular plaques (some of which are missing) between which are blue glass studs. The plaques are in copper and decorated with interlace and have borders lined with strips of twisted copper and silver wire. It contains a 4.2 cm (1.7 in) crest which has been trimmed to hold the base of the crook. The crest below the upper knop is made of copper alloy and contains two pairs of large cat-like animals facing or confronting each other. The animals are rendered in relief and decorated with niello and inlaid silver. They have lion-like manes, upright ears, long necks and taloned tails. Their intertwined legs begin from spirals which develop or knot into triquetra arcs before merging with the corresponding animal on the opposite side. Although usually identified as lions, the figures also bear a resemblance to griffins in an 8th-century Insular knop from Setnes in Norway.

The central knop is 8.8 cm (3.5 in) in height and less decorated than the other two, but has bands of open Ringerike-style interlace made of inlaid silver that form series of knotted patterns. The lower knop measures 6.8 cm (2.7 in) in height, and like the upper knop is biconical (i.e. of two parts) and contains copper plaques separated by glass studs.

After the lower knop the shaft passes through a free ring and tapers (narrows) into the spiked ferrule (a protective metal-cast foot, here of copper alloy) that forms the crozier's basal point. Unlike the other two Insular examples with surviving ferrules (Lismore and River Laune, both of which have more elaborate and complex endings) it is not cast into the lower knop, but is a separate piece.

## Modern provenance

The location and year of the crozier's rediscovery is uncertain. Writing in 1821 in his Notes on the history of Clonmacnoise, Petrie said that it had been found "some 30 years ago [...] [in] the tomb of St. Ciaran", placing its finding . He continued that other objects discovered in the tomb included a chalice and wine vessel which, according to Petrie "fell into ignorant hands, and were probably deemed unworthy of preservation", indicating that their precious metal was melted and sold for its intrinsic value. The "St Ciaran's tomb" referred to by Petrie is most likely Clonmacnoise's Temple Ciarán, a shrine-chapel on the site.

The crozier was for a period in the collection of the Lord Mayor of Dublin and collector Henry Charles Sirr (1764–1841), although the circumstances of his purchase are unknown. In 1970, the archaeologist Françoise Henry speculated that Sirr "might have obtained it directly or indirectly from the family of its hereditary keepers" (a local family who would have looked after and protected the object over centuries), but there is no documentary evidence for this. In 1826, a lithograph representation appeared in Picturesque Views of the Antiquities of Ireland, compiled in 1830 by the architect and draughtsman Robert O'Callaghan Newenham, where it was described as having been "dug up 100 years ago".

The crozier is described as an "ancient" and ornamental crozier, which once belonged to the Abbots of Clonmacnoise, in an 1841 catalogue for an exhibition of Sirr's collection at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, held shortly after his death. It was acquired at that exhibition by the Royal Irish Academy, and transferred to the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, Dublin, on its founding in 1890. Today it is on permanent display in the Treasury Room, next to the Lismore and River Laune Croziers, where it is catalogued as R 2988. An early 20th-century replica is in the Met Cloisters in New York. Widely considered the most lavish and ornate of the surviving early medieval croziers, it appeared in 2011 in The Irish Times and Royal Irish Academy's list of "A History of Ireland in 100 Objects".

## Gallery

11th-century Irish crozier

Collection of the National Museum of Ireland


1960 Los Angeles Chargers season

The 1960 Los Angeles Chargers season was the team's inaugural season and also the inaugural season of the American Football League (AFL). Head coach Sid Gillman led the Chargers to the AFL Western Division title with a 10–4 record, winning eight games out of nine after a 2–3 start, and qualifying to play the Houston Oilers in the AFL championship game.

The Chargers had the right to host the championship game at their home venue, the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. However, as the team's attendance for home games was falling below 10,000, league and television officials feared showing empty seats in the 100,000+ seat Coliseum, and they persuaded the Chargers to give up the advantage. The game was moved to Houston's Jeppesen Stadium. The teams had split their two games in the regular season, with the home teams winning, and the host Oilers were 61⁄2-point favorites to win the title. Down by a point after three quarters, the Chargers gave up an 88-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter and lost, 24–16.

The Chargers' poor attendance figures, due in part to heavy competition from the Los Angeles Rams, soon led to speculation that they might leave Los Angeles. In December, owner Barron Hilton denied that he was planning a move, but in late January he relocated the Chargers down the coast to Balboa Stadium in San Diego for the 1961 season. The team would not return to Los Angeles until 2017 where they would temporarily stay at Dignity Health Sports Park in the suburb of Carson for three seasons until they moved to Sofi Stadium in Inglewood with the Rams in 2020.

## Offseason

### Formation

The AFL granted a Los Angeles franchise to Barron Hilton on August 14, 1959; the nickname "Chargers" was announced on October 27. Hilton's first major signing was former Notre Dame coach and administrator Frank Leahy, who became the club's first general manager on October 14 and began the search for a head coach. Leahy also employed Don Klosterman as Director of Personnel, to help sign new players.

### Coaching staff

Bob McBride, a former assistant of Leahy's at Notre Dame, was named the first Chargers head coach on November 19, but McBride changed his mind within 24 hours of the announcement and pulled out. Subsequently, Leahy had several talks with Los Angeles Rams offensive line coach Lou Rymkus about the vacancy, but Rymkus ultimately joined another AFL team, the Houston Oilers.

On December 12, Sid Gillman left the NFL's Los Angeles Rams after five years as their head coach. The Rams had reached the NFL Championship Game in Gillman's first season in charge, but went 2-10 in 1959. After his exit, Gillman considered retiring from football to become a stockbroker, but was soon lured to the AFL when approached by Hilton, signing a three-year contract on January 7, 1960, having been out of work for just 26 days.

Gillman recruited four assistant coaches in the months that followed. Both Joe Madro and Jack Faulkner had been on Gillman's staff with the Rams; they were installed as offensive line and defensive backfield coaches, respectively. Al Davis was serving as the defensive coordinator at the University of Southern California when Gillman called to offer him a post of his choosing. Davis agreed, taking over the offensive ends, as he wanted to be involved with the passing game. The group was completed on February 1 by the addition of Chuck Noll as defensive line coach. Noll had recently concluded a seven-year career with the Cleveland Browns where he had served as both offensive lineman and linebacker. Three of the coaches on this five-man team are now in the Hall of Fame: Gillman, Davis and Noll.

In July 1960, Leahy resigned as general manager due to ill health, and Gillman took over the role on top of his head coaching duties.

### AFL draft

#### First selections

The AFL owners met on November 22-23, 1959, for the opening stages of the league's inaugural draft. On the first day, a "territorial draft" was conducted, with each team receiving the rights to one local player. This was intended to increase interest in the new teams. Each player in the territorial draft was agreed upon by all eight owners; the Chargers received Monty Stickles, but the Notre Dame end ultimately signed with the NFL's San Francisco 49ers instead.

The following day, thirty-two more rounds took place, with the intent of giving each team three players in each offensive position. The selections are believed to have been decided by a drawing of lots, though the closed-door nature of the meeting leaves the precise details of the process unknown. A contemporary source lists 11 players as "Charger Choices" and a further 22 as "additional selections".

The rival NFL staged their own draft one week later, beginning a bidding war for the services of players. Including Stickles, eight of the Chargers' initial thirty-three selections played for NFL teams in 1960. Only three were with the Chargers on opening day. Linebacker and punter Paul Maguire, who had played for Al Davis at The Citadel in 1956, agreed to an \$8,000 contract with a \$1,000 bonus on Christmas Day, while Wisconsin safety Bob Zeman signed on January 12, 1960, following a meeting with Gillman. The acquisition of Charlie Flowers was less straightforward. Flowers signed a contract with the New York Giants but asked them to keep the agreement secret until after the 1960 Sugar Bowl, to maintain his eligibility for the game. Flowers then changed his mind and signed with the Chargers after they offered him more money. The Giants obtained an injunction to temporarily block the fullback from joining his chosen team, but the courts ruled in San Diego's favor on June 23.

As the precise order of selection is unknown, the Chargers' draft is presented here in alphabetical order. The players were listed according to their offensive positions, even if they were primarily defensive players.

#### Second selections

The AFL owners reconvened on December 2, 1959, for a further 20 rounds of picks. The league released no details as to the order of these selections, but the randomized method is believed to have been used again.

None of Los Angeles' 20 selections played for the team in 1960, but George Blair would join them in 1961, after playing for the University of Mississippi in his senior year.

### Roster building

AFL teams were permitted a squad of 35 players going into the opening week of the regular season. The Chargers stocked their initial roster with numerous rookies, along with a smattering of former NFL players.

One of their most successful acquisitions, Ron Mix, had been drafted by the Boston Patriots, but Los Angeles traded for his rights and beat the NFL's Baltimore Colts to his signature. Mix officially became a Charger on December 16, ten days before his last game for USC. He would become the only man to play for the Chargers in all ten AFL seasons, while being named All-AFL at right tackle every year from 1960 to 1968.

Jack Kemp had been cut by three different NFL teams before signing for the Chargers. When Kemp was signed by the Chargers, he was also offered a job with the Hilton hotel chain to improve his job prospects after his playing career ended. Kemp was soon identified as the leading candidate for the starting quarterback role. He would lead the Chargers to the first two AFL title games, and win a further two with the Buffalo Bills.

Once Al Davis had joined Gillman's coaching team, he became instrumental in persuading several players to join the Chargers. Center Don Rogers had been a late cut of the San Francisco 49ers in 1959. He returned to college at South Carolina, and told Davis he had no further interest in playing pro football. Davis persisted with several telephone calls, and gave Rogers \$500 to sign a contract, despite Rogers making it clear he had no intention of reporting to training camp. Rogers eventually drove out to Los Angeles to see California, with little expectation of making the team, but won the starting job and stayed with the Chargers for five years. Others signed by Davis included guards Fred Cole and Sam DeLuca. Like Rogers, running back Paul Lowe had been released by the 49ers in 1959. He took a job with the Carte Blanche credit card organization, owned by the Hilton family. The Chargers management discovered that Lowe was working in the mail room and contacted him about playing for them. Lowe won a spot on the team, and stayed with the Chargers until 1968, rushing for nearly 5,000 yards.

In some cases, the Chargers signed key players away from the NFL by offering more money. Tackle Ernie Wright was offered a guaranteed \$33,000 over three years; having heard that fellow Ohio State graduate Jim Parker was making less than \$8,000 per year with the Baltimore Colts, he considered the offer too good to pass up. Wright would start over 100 games at left tackle for the Chargers.

Some veteran players actively sought out employment in Los Angeles. End Dave Kocourek and defensive end Ron Nery both wanted to return to the U.S. after stints in the Canadian Football League. They contacted the Chargers and were invited to training camp. For less experienced players, open trials were held by Gillman's staff in April. A handful of these hopefuls made it to training camp proper, which began on July 8 at Chapman College in Orange, California. Players came to the camp in three waves, with higher-rated prospects coming in later, and were steadily whittled down to the target of 35 players.

## Personnel

### Staff

### Roster

## Preseason

The Chargers' first exhibition game was played at home against the Titans, before a crowd of 27,778. Paul Lowe received the opening kickoff, and returned it 105 yards for a touchdown. Jack Kemp rushed for one touchdown and passed for another to Royce Womble, before Bob Laraba wrapped up a 27–7 win with a short run. Five days later, Los Angeles played before a greatly reduced home crowd of 11,491. Howie Ferguson's late touchdown run represented the only points scored by a Charger who would make their regular season roster. Jetstream Smith scored on a 30-yard run, while Bob Reifsnyder contributed three field goals and an extra point; they would spend the 1960 season with the Raiders and Titans, respectively. In week 3, Los Angeles made the short trip to Oakland, where they faced the Raiders. Lowe caught a 43-yard pass from Kemp for his second preseason score, and a pair of Ferguson touchdown runs in the third quarter put the Chargers ahead to stay, 24–17.

After engaging in a controlled scrimmage against the Eagle Rock Athletic Club on August 26, Los Angeles concluded their exhibition schedule at home against Denver, before an attendance of 21,516. Lowe scored one of three Charger touchdowns in the first half, and Bob Zeman's 47-yard interception return had them up by five in the third quarter. Nonetheless, they trailed 30–28 before two late takeaways. Paul Maguire's interception with barely a minute to play offered Los Angeles their first shot at victory, but Ben Donnell missed a 30-yard field goal. Though only seconds remained, Denver had to keep running regular plays, as the quarterback kneel was not yet an established part of the game. Two plays after Donnell's miss, a loose snap was fallen on in the end zone by Charlie Brueckman, winning the game with 14 seconds to play.

Donnell's struggles prompted the Chargers to approach kicking specialist Ben Agajanian, a veteran of both the NFL and AAFC, who signed for them just three days before their regular season opener.

## Regular season

### Overview

Quarterback Jack Kemp had struggled to make an impact in the established NFL, but proved a success in the AFL, ranking first in the league with 14.3 yards per completion, and a close second with 3,018 passing yards. He also rushed for eight touchdowns, tied with Paul Lowe for second most in the league. Lowe was used mainly as a kick returner during the first five weeks of the season, but broke out as a runner through the remaining nine, when he gained 817 of his 855 yards. With a further 377 receiving yards, he ranked fourth in the league in total scrimmage yards, and led the team with ten touchdowns rushing and receiving. Fullback Howie Ferguson, a veteran of six seasons in Green Bay, added 438 yards and four touchdowns on the ground, while scoring twice more with receptions. Ralph Anderson led the receiving corps in all categories through the first ten games, with 44 receptions for 614 yards and five touchdowns. He died from complications of diabetes on the eve of the next game, at the age of 24. Dave Kocourek finished with 40 catches for 662 yards and a touchdown.

On defense, the Chargers ranked second of the eight AFL teams against the pass, third against the rush and third overall. Rookie Dick Harris led the team with five interceptions, and ran one of those back for a touchdown. Defensive end Ron Nery was unofficially credited with a team-high quarterback sacks, while defensive tackle Dick Chorovich had 4. The most experienced Charger was kicker Ben Agajanian, whose career had begun in 1945. He was one of only two AFL kickers to make more than half of their field goal attempts, with 13 successes out of 24, while his 46 extra points from 47 tries tied George Blanda for league-best.

### Schedule

### Game summaries

All game reports use the Pro Football Researchers' gamebook archive as a source.

#### Week 1: vs. Dallas Texans

Los Angeles won their first regular season game with a late comeback. Dallas had touchdown drives of 60 and 94 yards either side of a Charger punt, and led 13–0 midway through the 2nd quarter. Later, Dallas had to punt from deep in their own territory, and Los Angeles took over on the Texan 46. They scored their first touchdown on the next play as Jack Kemp faked a handoff and threw a deep pass down the left sideline. Ralph Anderson caught the ball at the five and back-pedaled into the end zone. Dallas responded with an 80-yard touchdown drive, and led 20–7 at the break.

In the 3rd quarter, Los Angeles reached the Dallas eight yard line, but Kemp was sacked on 4th down and goal. They appeared to have been stopped on downs again in the 4th quarter, but Anderson had drawn a pass interference penalty, and the drive continued. Running back Paul Lowe completed a 24-yard pass to Anderson, then Kemp scrambled in from the Dallas 7 yard line, diving across the goal line with 9:38 to play.

Following a Texan three-and-out, the Chargers began the winning drive on their own 10. Penalties were again key. Dallas recovered a fumble in Charger territory, but the turnover was negated by a flag. Kemp then converted a 3rd and 15 with a 16-yard completion to Howard Clark, before Los Angeles reached a 4th and 6 from the Dallas 37 yard line. Again, Kemp's pass was incomplete, but again a pass interference call (this time drawn by Dave Kocourek) saved the drive. Five plays later, it was 3rd and goal from the four yard line, and Kemp found Howie Ferguson in the left flat for the winning score with 2:15 to play. Jimmy Sears stopped Dallas with a 4th-down interception, and the Chargers ran out the clock.

Kemp was 24 of 41 for 275 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. Anderson caught 5 passes for 103 yards and a touchdown; Lowe was the leading Charger rusher with just 20 yards.

#### Week 2: at Houston Oilers

A bad start to the 3rd quarter led to defeat for the Chargers in their first road game. Kemp found Royce Womble for a touchdown on their first drive and, following a burst of three touchdowns on three consecutive possessions for the Oilers, connected with Anderson on a short out pattern to close to 21–14 at the break. After Houston opened the second half with a 71-yard touchdown drive, Ron Waller lost a fumble on the Chargers' next play from scrimmage, setting up a field goal. On the ensuing kickoff, Lowe also fumbled, with Houston converting the turnover into a touchdown and a 38–14 lead. Kemp threw touchdowns to Womble and Charlie Flowers in the 4th quarter, the latter a catch-and-run of 55 yards, but the scores came too late to seriously threaten a comeback.

Kemp achieved the first 300-yard passing game in the fledgling AFL, going 27 of 44 for 337 yards, four touchdowns and an interception. For the second consecutive game, Los Angeles' top rusher gained 20 yards; as a team, they were outrushed 284-28.

#### Week 3: at Dallas Texans

Kemp struggled, throwing four interceptions against only 89 passing yards as the Chargers were shut out. Los Angeles had a couple of good openings while the game was still scoreless: they reached the Dallas 29, only for Kemp to be sacked for a 16-yard loss, and Ben Agajanian to see a long field goal attempt blocked; later, Los Angeles drove from their own 20 to the Dallas 22, but Flowers lost a fumble. Kemp fumbled on the next Charger drive, setting up the first Texan touchdown. Agajanian missed two kicks in the 3rd quarter, and Dallas added ten points in the 4th to clinch the win.

Los Angeles committed six of the game's nine turnovers. The running game improved, with Howie Ferguson gaining 93 yards on 17 carries.

#### Week 4: at Buffalo Bills

Four interceptions by their defense allowed Los Angeles to win despite 159 yards of total offense. Ferguson fumbled away their first big scoring opportunity, and Buffalo took the lead with a field goal. Before halftime, however, Paul Maguire claimed the first Charger interception, a 37-yard pass interference penalty moved the ball to the 11, and Bobby Clatterbuck, playing for an injured Kemp, threw to Dave Kocourek on a crossing pattern for the go-ahead score.

Maguire's second interception set up a 30-yard touchdown drive in the third quarter, Ferguson diving over the line from two yards out. The Bills pulled back to within four points, but a Dick Harris interception gave Los Angeles even better field position, at the Bills 13. Flowers rushed for a touchdown two plays later. Shortly afterwards, Jimmy Sears intercepted a pass and returned it 47 yards to set up a field goal; the final Bills threat was ended by a sack on 4th and goal from the nine.

#### Week 5: vs. Boston Patriots

The Chargers suffered their second shutout in three weeks, this time before their home fans. Courtesy of a fumbled kickoff, the Chargers trailed 11–0 before their offense got onto the field. With Boston's rushing attack churning out 177 yards on 45 carries, the game soon drifted away from Los Angeles. The Chargers tried bringing Kemp back in the second half, only to see him throw two interceptions. Their best chance to avert the shutout came in the 4th quarter, when Ferguson fumbled a yard from the goal line.

#### Week 6: at Denver Broncos

Paul Lowe had a breakout performance to lift the Chargers to an important win. Denver, topping the division with a 3–1 record coming in, led through an early field goal before Kemp passed to Lowe for 56 yards down the right sideline. On the next play, Lowe swept left for a 12-yard touchdown. A succession of field goals, the last a club-record 47-yarder by Agajanian, made it 16–9 to Los Angeles late in the third quarter. From the Denver 44, Lowe then took a handoff around left end before cutting back inside at the 15, breaking a tackle and completing his second touchdown run of the game.

The Broncos pulled three points back before both sides missed chances. Rommie Loudd intercepted Frank Tripucka to set the Chargers up at the Bronco 13, but Kemp fumbled three plays later. Denver then drove all the way from their 5 yard line to the Charger 8 before turning the ball over on downs. Given an opportunity to put the game away, Los Angeles instead gave the ball straight back through a Ferguson fumble. Denver scored two plays later; they shunned a two-point conversion attempt and trailed 23-19 with only 3:35 to play. Kemp converted a 3rd down with a completion to Kocourek, and Lowe had a 50-yard touchdown run ruled out by penalty before the Chargers had to punt in the final seconds. The Bronco return man was tackled at his own 23 yard line as time expired.

Lowe, who had gained only 38 yards on the ground and 35 through the air through the first five weeks of the season, rushed 11 times for 76 yards and two touchdowns, while catching 4 passes for 95 yards.

#### Week 8: at Boston Patriots

Three weeks after their 35-point loss to Boston, the Chargers beat the same opponent by a similar margin; the win moved them into a tie atop the AFL West. Kemp was intercepted on the first Charger drive, but Maury Schleicher recovered a fumble deep in Patriot territory a few possessions later, and Ferguson opened the scoring from a yard out. Kemp later dove over from the same distance, one play after a 27-yard completion to Anderson; Dick Harris soon added a defensive touchdown, going 42 yards untouched down the sideline with an interception. Thirty seconds before halftime, Lowe exploited a hole in the line of scrimmage to go 76 yards untouched for the fourth Charger score, and when Paul Maguire recovered a blocked punt early in the 4th quarter, Los Angeles had matched the 35–0 score from the first game. Boston recovered somewhat with a pair of touchdowns, but Lowe broke off a 69-yard run to set up a field goal, and Anderson added a 38-yard touchdown reception before the end.

Lowe posted the first 100-yard rushing game in Charger history, with 8 carries for 137 yards and a touchdown, and Los Angeles outrushed Boston 219–46. Anderson caught 6 passes for 124 yards and a touchdown.

#### Week 9: at New York Titans

Big plays helped the Chargers get to the top of their division. After surviving a 1st quarter in which Ron Botchan twice snapped the ball over punter Paul Maguire's head, Kemp threw a deep pass on 3rd and 15 from his own 47 yard line and the ball deflected off the hands of a Titans' defender and Kocourek brought it in for a 52-yard gain. Ferguson reached the end zone from a yard out on the next play. Botchan later made amends for his miscues with an interception at his own 30, and it was 7–0 at the break.

Early in the 3rd quarter, the Charger line created open lanes for Lowe to run right through the middle; he outraced the defense and scored from 62 yards out, untouched. Jets QB Al Dorow threw a touchdown to pull the Titans back within seven points, but later fumbled, with Charlie Brueckman recovering at the New York 21. Kemp bootlegged for 17 yards, then went over from the one yard line on the first play of the 4th quarter. The Titans' best chance to get back into the game ended when Doyle Nix intercepted Dorow in the red zone - one of six takeaways for the Charger defense on the day.

#### Week 10: vs. Houston Oilers

Los Angeles intercepted George Blanda four times as they edged the East-leading Oilers. Houston's first three possessions resulted in turnovers, and two of those were converted into points, Anderson catching touchdown passes of 34 and 4 yards. The roles were reversed in the 2nd quarter, as a long bomb from Kemp was intercepted, and Blanda led his team 93 yards the other way for a touchdown. Lowe inspired an immediate response from the Chargers, breaking off a 40-yard run up the right sideline and going in from three yards out a play later. Houston came back with a 68-yard touchdown drive, and it was 21–14 at halftime.

Agajanian missed a 27-yard field goal on the first drive of the second half, but catches of 32 and 11 yards by Kocourek put him in position for another try, and he converted a 22-yarder. The next two Houston drives penetrated into Los Angeles territory, but Blanda was intercepted both times, by Rommie Loudd and Bob Zeman. Blanda threw his third touchdown pass on the next Oiler possession, and Houston had a late chance after Kemp was intercepted. They reached the Charger 44, but two incompletions were followed by two fumbles. Los Angeles recovered the second of these, and ran out the clock.

Kemp was 18 of 37 for 296 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions; Kocourek caught 7 passes for 105 yards.

#### Week 11: vs. Buffalo Bills

The Chargers turned the ball over eight times as their four-game winning streak was brought to an end. The tone was set early, as Kocourek lost a fumble on their first possession, Kemp was intercepted on their second, and Sears fumbled a punt when they were expecting their third. Buffalo opened the scoring from that error; Agajanian then got Los Angeles on the scoreboard with a field goal, but the Bills drove 79 yards on 14 plays to an answering touchdown. Kemp threw five of the Chargers' six interceptions on the day. His struggles were epitomized by a sequence shortly before halftime, when he was sacked for a 24-yard loss on one play and had an interception run back for a touchdown on the next, putting the Bills up 19–3.

Ralph Anderson was one of the few bright spots for Los Angeles. He caught 7 passes for 109 yards in his final game.

#### Week 12: vs. Oakland Raiders

This game was played the day after the death of Ralph Anderson. Los Angeles scored more than 50 points for the first time. Don Norton began the scoring with a 69-yard touchdown reception only 2:16 into the game. The Raiders tied the score, but Lowe took a screen pass 63 yards for another touchdown only two plays later. He took a pass 33 yards in the 2nd quarter, opening an 80-yard drive that Ferguson finished with a dive over the middle on 4th and goal from the one. Kemp took in a sneak from the same distance, and Lowe's 30-yard run gave Agajanian the opportunity to kick a 28-yard field goal as time expired in the half.

Lowe added a 2-yard touchdown run the first time Los Angeles had the ball in the second half, and it was 38–7. Oakland then pulled back 15 points, but the Chargers responded with touchdowns from Fred Ford (a 4-yard run) and Doyle Nix (a 17-yard interception return of an underthrown pass in the flat).

Kemp was 13 of 24 for 307 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Norton caught 4 passes for 119 yards and a touchdown. Lowe carried 26 times for 149 yards and a touchdown, while catching two passes for 96 yards and a further touchdown. Linebacker and punter Paul Maguire sustained a season-ending knee injury during the game.

#### Week 13: at Oakland Raiders

Los Angeles again beat Oakland by a significant margin, though they had trailed before scoring four unanswered 4th quarter touchdowns. A 45-yard run by Lowe got the Chargers moving, late in a scoreless 1st quarter; a Royce Womble touchdown finished the drive. Oakland scored 14 unanswered points, then sacked Kemp and backed Los Angeles up to their own 18 yard line, where they faced a 3rd and 18. Kemp responded with three completions over the middle in a span of four plays: 27 yards to Kocourek; 34 to Norton; 21 and a touchdown to Norton. In the 3rd quarter, Oakland stopped Ferguson on 4th and goal from the one, before driving 82 yards the other way and edging in front with a field goal.

The momentum shifted early in the 4th quarter. On 2nd and 9 from the Oakland 49, Kemp rolled right under pressure before throwing back toward the middle of the field. Lowe caught the ball at the Raider 35, and evaded three diving tackles on his way to the end zone. As the quarter wore on, two fumble recoveries in Raider territory would set up a pair of Kemp rushing touchdown, before Babe Parilli lost the ball while being sacked; it bounced up for Loudd to recover and race 49 yards for a touchdown.

Kemp was 17 of 25 for 289 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. The Chargers had two 100-yard receivers for the first time, with Kocourek catching 6 for 123 yards, while Norton had 7 receptions for 105 yards and a touchdown. The Chargers committed no turnovers for the first time in their history, while the defense managed four takeaways. Dick Harris had both an interception and a fumble recovery.

Oakland protested the result of this game. Los Angeles had brought in Al Bansavage to replace the injured Paul Maguire, but the Raiders, who had held the rights to the player, claimed that Bansavage had refused to play for them, and thus was ineligible for any other team. The Chargers claimed in response that Oakland had told Bansavage they did not want him. On December 7, AFL commissioner Joe Foss ruled that the result would stand.

#### Week 14: vs. Denver Broncos

Coming into the game, the Chargers were two games clear of Dallas at the top of the AFL West, and could clinch the division with a win. They did so after surviving a high-scoring, back-and-forth encounter.

Denver opened the scoring with a field goal, then Lionel Taylor, who would gain 171 yards on the day, caught a 49-yard touchdown from Frank Tripucka. It took Kemp only two plays to respond, passing to Norton for 32 yards, then to Ferguson with a jump pass. The back raced unchallenged up the right sideline for a 39-yard score. Next, Sears recovered a Denver fumble, Kemp scrambled for 25 yards, and Lowe scored from three yards out a couple of plays later. Following an exchange of punts, Denver drove 98 yards in 12 plays to retake the lead, and converted a Kemp interception into three more points. Lowe responded with back-to-back carries of 18 and 27 yards, before Kemp passed to Womble for 12 yards on a slant pattern to put the Chargers back in front. Los Angeles added an Agajanian field goal after a Denver fumble, the Broncos responded with a kick of their own, and it was 24–23 to the Chargers at halftime.

Tripucka's second touchdown pass put Denver back on top in the second half; following an exchange of field goals, Denver led 33–27 early in the final quarter. On the Broncos' next possession, a 20-yard punt set Los Angeles up only 35 yards from the end zone. Kemp picked up a couple of first downs with passes, converted a 3rd and 1 with a sneak, and dove in from a yard out for the go-ahead score. Tripucka was then forced to pass under pressure; the pass was tipped, and Maury Schleicher intercepted it. Norton's 15-yard touchdown three plays later made it an eight-point game, and Denver failed to cross midfield on their final two possessions.

Lowe carried 19 times for 106 yards and a touchdown. Despite the high stakes of this game, the Los Angeles attendance figures dropped below 10,000 for the first time. This would remain the lowest attendance for a competitive Charger home game until the COVID-19 pandemic necessitated empty stadiums in the 2020 season.

#### Week 15: vs. New York Titans

Los Angeles closed out their regular season schedule by prevailing in another high-scoring game for an eighth win in nine. The Chargers' first touchdown came the play after Harris's 35-yard punt return, which put the ball at the New York 25. Lowe ran into traffic around right end, avoiding a heavy loss before reversing field to the left and going in untouched. A pair of long touchdown drives put New York up 14–10; Norton's 11-yard catch briefly restored the Charger lead, but Titans QB Al Dorow threw his second touchdown pass of the game, and it was 21–16 at halftime.

In the 3rd quarter, an Agajanian field goal was followed by Norton's second touchdown, from 31 yards. The final 3:13 of the quarter brought three further touchdowns: Dorow sneaked in follow a Kemp interception, Fred Ford broke of a 53-yard touchdown run around left end, and Dorow threw his third touchdown pass. When the Titans converted another interception into seven points, two minutes into the final quarter, they led 43–33. Kemp responded with a 29-yard completion to Kocourek on the next play from scrimmage, and found Blanche Martin for an 11-yard touchdown four plays later. Martin kept hold of the ball despite running into the goalposts. The Titans then went three-and-out, and Sears broke off a 29-yard punt return to the New York 48. Six plays later, Kemp swept to the right for the go-ahead touchdown. Charlie McNeil, who had intercepted Dorow once in the opening quarter, did so twice more in the final minutes; the Chargers kicked a field goal after the first of these, and ran out the clock after the second.

Kemp finished with 3 touchdowns against 4 interceptions. Ford rushed for 109 yards on 7 carries, the best game of his solitary year in professional football. Los Angeles scored 40+ points for the fourth consecutive game, an AFL/NFL record which stood unmatched until the St. Louis Rams repeated the feat in the 2000 season.

## Standings

## Playoffs

### Game summary

#### AFL championship game: at Houston Oilers

The first AFL title game matched two 10–4 divisional champions. Los Angeles scored field goals on their first two possessions of the game, with Lowe's 30-yard run on the second drive being the biggest play. The next time the Chargers had the ball, Kemp was intercepted in his own territory, but Blanda missed a 32-yard field goal wide right. Blanda, who doubled as a quarterback and kicker, did produce points on the next Oiler possession, capping an 83-yard drive with a 17-yard touchdown pass on 3rd and 10. Kemp was intercepted again five plays later, and Blanda led his team 40 yards before kicking an 18-yard field goal. Late in the half, Los Angeles capitalised on a 19-yard punt, with Agajanian's 27-yard field goal reducing their deficit to 10–9 at halftime.

Houston received the second half kickoff, and Blanda threw another touchdown pass to finish off a 55-yard drive, this time on 3rd and goal from the 7. In their response, the Chargers reached a 3rd and 13 at the Houston 35. Kemp eluded several pursuers while rolling to the right, eventually finding Kocourek 33 yards downfield to keep the drive going. Lowe scored from the next play; the Chargers opted not to try a two point conversion, and trailed 17–16 after a successful extra point. The next four possessions ended in punts, the last of these pinning Houston at their own 11 yard line, early in the final quarter. After two plays gained only a single yard, Blanda threw his third touchdown of the game, finding Billy Cannon in stride at about the 32, with the running back winning a footrace to complete an 88-yard score. The Chargers tried to convert a 4th and 3 at the Houston 35 on their next possession, but Womble was stopped a yard short on a catch from Kemp. On the next drive, Houston reached a 4th and 1 from the 2 before the Charger defense stuffed them for no gain on a running play.

Los Angeles then began their final drive from their own 2. Norton caught a pair of 6-yard passes, before Lowe broke off a 20-yard run around the right end. A 13-yard Kocourek catch moved the ball to the Charger 47, before Kemp was sacked twice for the loss of 12 yards, bring up 3rd and 22. Kemp and Ferguson connected for 13 yards, and Lowe converted on 4th and 9 with another run around the right end, this time for 24 yards, to the Houston 28. A 6-yard pass to Flowers, either side of two incompletions, brought up 4th and 4 from the 22 with a little over a minute remaining. Kemp's last pass, intended for Kocourek, was incomplete, and Houston ran out the clock to clinch the AFL title.

Blanda was 16 of 31 for 301 yards and three touchdowns, each of which came on 3rd down. Kemp was 21 of 41 for 171 yards, with two interceptions. Lowe rushed 21 times for 165 yards and a touchdown.

Inaugural season for the franchise in Los Angeles

1960 American Football League season by team