The
Chargers were born on August 14, 1959, when Barron Hilton, a 32-year-old hotel executive, was awarded a franchise for
Los Angeles in the new American Football League. Even though they won the AFL Western division championship in 1960, the
Los Angeles Chargers received meager fan support so Hilton, buoyed by the encouragement of
San Diego sports editor Jack Murphy, moved his team 120 miles south to
San Diego in 1961. Historic Balboa Stadium was expanded to 34,000 capacity to accommodate the Chargers.
The Chargers moved into a new 60,835-seat stadium -- it is now called
Qualcomm Stadium -- in 1967. While the new home assured the future of pro football in
San Diego, the team itself did not win another championship until 13 years later in 1979. Gillman suddenly retired from coaching because of failing health after nine games in 1969. He did coach 10 more games for the Chargers in 1971 but the glory days of the early '60s could not be duplicated. Gillman's 87-57-6 record in 11 seasons in
San Diego is easily the best in Chargers' history.
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