When Al Davis (and others) forced the AFL-NFL merger it ticked off the elite billionaires boys club who owned the NFL. The animosity towards AFL teams stayed in the rear view mirror long enough that many of the AFL greats faded into history. The snubbing of players from the AFL teams continued into the early merger years. It's a shame. Many of these guys are honored in stadium "ring of excellence/fame". I'm sure we both could come up with twenty guys in a New York minute. I loved me some Cookie. Daniels was a beast, gets his helmet torn off and still runs twenty yards & tackled in the end zone. Abner was smooth with eyes in the back of his helmet. Nance was an excellent player from the Syracuse lineage of backs. Thanks brother, you're appreciated.
The NFL in the 60s was not a billionaire boys club. Millionaires, but not billioniares. Many of the AFL owners were worth more than most NFL owners. Bud Adams, Ralph Wilson, Barron Hilton and especially Lamar Hunt were definitely worth more than George Halas, Art Rooney, Wellington Mara and George Preston Marshall.
I remember all of them! Several hard running physical backs! Daniels and Abner deserve way more recognition! Gilchrist and Nance were excellent backs as well! I haven't had a chance to dissect the video, but you did a awesome job as usual coming up with stats and footage!
Cookie could really rock the widows peak. A bunch of big strong running backs in those days. Another reason old time football was better than today’s entertainment touch football. Along with being interesting characters, they were very versatile. Great video Mark!
Thank you, Evan. What I admire about these guys are the challenging roads they took in succeeding. I wish that they all received a lot more recognition that they have because I believe that they deserve it.
Abner Haynes anecdote: A big game between the Dallas Texans and the Houston Oilers went into overtime. Haynes had the job of calling the overtime coin toss and Texans coach Hank Stram told Haynes to choose to defend the goal opposite the stadium clock. Dallas won the toss and Haynes, thinking the Oilers would elect to receive, said, "We'll kick to the clock." But the rules at the time made it so that the "We'll kick" part invalidated the rest, so the Texans wound up kicking and _not_ having the wind. Fortunately for Haynes, the Texans won anyway, with a field goal in the 2nd overtime (with the wind at their backs).
Another EXCELLENT video!!! IMHO, I don't believe the HOF selection committee / sports writers give players from the AFL their just due, because they hold a "silent bias" against players from the American Football League. Particularly those from the early, formative years of the AFL. Just sayin'...
Thanks Myron. I agree with you and I wish that the HOF would have a special AFL section dedicated to their star players. Maybe they do now - it's been 30+ years since I've visited.
The expansion Miami Dolphins gained a lot of credibility when they signed Cookie Gilchrist (34) in their maiden season. I don’t remember him doing much of note, but I believe Billy Joe was also on that first Dolphins team.
as always i enjoy your videos, the sad thing is so so many people dont realize, the Very important rule Al Davis, played in the forming of today's NFL .Al Davis weather you like him or not was a genius. As i have gotten older, and had learn more and more about him ant the others responsible for the, for the AFL and NFL meager. I have truly come to respect the Man, He put together the Raider teams of legends. And this is coming for a die hard Broncos, Fan. all i can say is Thanks Al.
He was the AFL Commissioner, but for only an extremely short period of time in 1963, I believe, although I could be off a year +/-. Thanks for your comments!
Cookie Gilchrist's 243 yard game against the Jets in 1963 was the pro football record for most yards rushed in a game until it was broken in 1973 when OJ Simpson rushed for 250 yards against the Patriots.
It's amazing how many AFL-era RBs were mentioned here in some level of detail, but I noticed that only two were actually NFL Hall of Famers - Floyd Little and OJ Simpson. Perhaps the AFL wasn't recognized very well when it came to players that played a majority of their career in that league.
Cookie Gilchrist died when I was 5 years old! People on here should check on things before they speak! As always Mr. Mark, fantastic video! IDK why these guys are not in the hall. I can only imagine: their numbers consistently were not that good. On this video, you show how big time these are, though. Joey in Cleveland
Thank you for your take, Joey. The numbers aren't Earth-shattering, but I noted that the AFL was predominately a passing league, so it's understandable as to why the numbers aren't stellar. Not to have any of the top 5 rushers inducted into the HOF isn't right in my mind.
Got to see the Kansas City Chiefs play the Cincinnati Bengals, the Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers in AFL games. And Len Dawson was handing off to Robert "The Tank" Holmes and Warren McVay. Pretty good Defense back then too with Willie Lanier, Buck Buchanan, Johnny Robinson, Aaron Brown and Ernie "The Big Cat" Ladd. And, oh yeah, my buddy, Tight End Fred Arbanas.
I remember them all, the only one I’d add to the list of AFL great RBs would be Charlie Smith of the Raiders. I believe you mentioned Matt Snell and also Pete Banaszak. .
I can see an argument for Paul Lowe being number 1, but I'm going with Cookie Gilchrist. I think he is a top 50 runningback in NFL/AFL history due to his power and dominant, albeit short peak with the Bills.
If Dickie Post hadn't taken such a beating he'd be an 8000 yard rusher. He was certainly exciting to watch. When they played game tape Ron Mix his HOF blocker said, "I wanna see Dickie!": ruclips.net/video/JebDb_hmUK4/видео.html
I thought Boozer and Snell were very good RB for the Jets.Snell had a career high rushing of 948 in 1964 his rookie year, and Boozer's career high was 831 in 73 Snell's highlight is obviously the 121 yards rushing in SB 3! Their best year together was 69 when they both had over 600 yards Snell had 4285 yards rushing 1057 carries Boozer 1291 for 5135 they both had about the same yards per attempt 4.0-4.1 but what really surprised me is Snell had 24 TD rushing and 7 receiving 31 total but Boozer had 54 TD rushing and 12 receiving 66 total..huge difference!
Abner Haynes is my choice. Although Cannon came into the league with much fanfare, it was Haynes who put up the better numbers on the field. It should be noted that Cannon's signing resulted in more fans attending and watching games on tv than what would have otherwise been the case. Thanks for your take.
Always a lot of misconceptions about the AFL being just a pass-happy league. The Jets ran the ball over 40 times vs the Colts in SB III. Snell could have arguably been the MVP in that game. In SB IV, the Chiefs ran for over 150 yards against a great Vikings defense. The AFL teams beating the NFL at it's own game.
Those games were played in the last 2 years of the AFL's existence. They were becoming more of an offensive-balanced league by then. However, earlier the variance between the 2 leagues was stark. In '64, NFL teams averaged 27.7 passes per game and 19.9 passing td's per year while the AFL averaged 33.5 passes per game and 23.8 passing touchdowns per year. Certain pass-happy teams like the Jets, Chargers and Oilers made the difference even more noticeable.
@@markgardner9460 My point was that the AFL ran the ball more than people think. in '61 The Oilers had the leading Passer(Blanda), and the leading runner(Cannon). The Dallas Texans/KC Chiefs ran more than they passed in every AFL season but one. And six time they totaled over 2000 yards on the ground. In the '62 Title game they went to the ground 54 times. FB Keith Lincoln was a one-man gang in the Chargers romp of the Pats in the '63 Game. San Diego put up over 300 yards on the ground that day. Buffalo also ran the ball plenty especially with Cookie. In the '67 AFL Title Game, the Raiders literally ran over Houston with two runners(Daniels, and Dixon) rushing over 100 yards. And SB III and IV showed the AFL was just as capable of grinding it on the ground as the NFL. And a thing about those league averages you mentioned. a lot of that factors in the bottom teams who had to pass more. As they were usually behind in games and had to put it up. But the competitors balanced things out better. Especially in the big games.
Gilchrist didn't go to college, as stated in the video - Daniels went to Prairie View A & M as stated in the video, Haynes went to North Texas as shown on a photo. The 2 RB's colleges that were disclosed were Nance (Syracuse) and Lowe (Oregon State).
'52 and '60 versions of the Dallas Texans, '74 Houston Texans, '78 Austin Texans (semi-pro league), '90 Dallas Texans of the Arena Football League and 2002 Houston Texans.
Emerson Boozer was a good back, but it was Matt Snell who was the "big gun" in Super bowl 3. Matt had 121 yards on 30 carries . Boozer 10 carries 19 yards. Also Boozer was hurt most of that 1968 season. ( 69 Super Bowl)
With 2,455 rushing yards he is outside of the top 10 AFL rushing yardage list. He is one of only 4 runners to rush for at least 200 yards in a single AFL game.
Cannon led Houston to the first 2 AFL championships. They played for a third and list in the first ever sudden death overtime .When he was healthy there was Noone better. Scored the winning TD in both of Houstons first 2 championships.
Спорт
When Al Davis (and others) forced the AFL-NFL merger it ticked off the elite billionaires boys club who owned the NFL. The animosity towards AFL teams stayed in the rear view mirror long enough that many of the AFL greats faded into history. The snubbing of players from the AFL teams continued into the early merger years. It's a shame. Many of these guys are honored in stadium "ring of excellence/fame". I'm sure we both could come up with twenty guys in a New York minute.
I loved me some Cookie. Daniels was a beast, gets his helmet torn off and still runs twenty yards & tackled in the end zone. Abner was smooth with eyes in the back of his helmet. Nance was an excellent player from the Syracuse lineage of backs. Thanks brother, you're appreciated.
Great comments, as always! You hit it right on the head with each statement.
The NFL in the 60s was not a billionaire boys club. Millionaires, but not billioniares. Many of the AFL owners were worth more than most NFL owners. Bud Adams, Ralph Wilson, Barron Hilton and especially Lamar Hunt were definitely worth more than George Halas, Art Rooney, Wellington Mara and George Preston Marshall.
I remember all of them! Several hard running physical backs! Daniels and Abner deserve way more recognition! Gilchrist and Nance were excellent backs as well! I haven't had a chance to dissect the video, but you did a awesome job as usual coming up with stats and footage!
I think Cookie Gilcrest needs a middle name: "I'm not good with money and I'm always in debt."
He was at least exploring for oil and gold mines lol he needs a documentary
Cookie Monster Money
I’ll give him this, at least he was trying to set himself up for the future. He didn’t blow his money on booze 🥃, dames, and drugs.
Cookie cutter Gilchrist
This is another excellent video Mark! I've been a bit under the weather sorry about my lack of comments
So many fun memories. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
The Shreveport Steamer is one of the funniest team names ever. Sounds like a euphemism for what happens after you've eaten some bad crawdads.
Good one!!
It is a very colorful name!
Keith Lincoln? he had that great game in the 1963 AFL Championship
He had 3,383 rushing yards which may have placed in the top 10, but outside the top 5.
Cookie could really rock the widows peak. A bunch of big strong running backs in those days. Another reason old time football was better than today’s entertainment touch football. Along with being interesting characters, they were very versatile. Great video Mark!
Thank you, Evan. What I admire about these guys are the challenging roads they took in succeeding. I wish that they all received a lot more recognition that they have because I believe that they deserve it.
"Not having a few drinks, enjoying the ladies company is un-American" Joe Namath
Great quote. I remember watching Joe shoot pool while saying that.
😅
Abner Haynes anecdote: A big game between the Dallas Texans and the Houston Oilers went into overtime. Haynes had the job of calling the overtime coin toss and Texans coach Hank Stram told Haynes to choose to defend the goal opposite the stadium clock. Dallas won the toss and Haynes, thinking the Oilers would elect to receive, said, "We'll kick to the clock." But the rules at the time made it so that the "We'll kick" part invalidated the rest, so the Texans wound up kicking and _not_ having the wind. Fortunately for Haynes, the Texans won anyway, with a field goal in the 2nd overtime (with the wind at their backs).
Thank you for your additional information - much appreciated!
It worked out in the end!
I agree Mark! Paul Lowe doesn't get enough recognition
Daniels averaged 16.3 a catch? Insane for a RB!
Great effort/.bad tackling by Miami on Garrett's TD at 17:30!
Another EXCELLENT video!!!
IMHO, I don't believe the HOF selection committee / sports writers give players from the AFL their just due, because they hold a "silent bias" against players from the American Football League. Particularly those from the early, formative years of the AFL.
Just sayin'...
Thanks Myron. I agree with you and I wish that the HOF would have a special AFL section dedicated to their star players. Maybe they do now - it's been 30+ years since I've visited.
Best answer. 👌
@@markgardner9460 Excellent idea Mark!
Another great compilation Mark!!!! I dont know much about the old AFL and this was very enjoyable!!!
Right on, Hammer. I'm glad that you liked it. I learned a lot in my research for this video. Great to hear from you again.
Awesome video. Love the AFL. The NFL still snubs the AFL. Great backs. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Carlton " Cookie" Gilchrist! I love that name. Sounds like a Spider-Man villian! Great video!
I like it! He was the original Cookie Monster.
Glad to see The Flea and Hewitt Dixon in this ! Another GREAT post ! Thanks
Glad you enjoyed it. The Flea didn't last too long, but he was fun to watch.
@@markgardner9460 He sure was . BTW , how on earth is Jim Nance NOT in the HOF ? Ridiculous to me . He should 100% be there
@@GBst1007 AGREE with you.
I agree. He had the top 2 rushing seasons by a long shot. The Pro Football HOF should consider WFL stats, too, in which case he's a no-brainer.
That cut to the outside that Mercury Morris makes around 17:40 is absolutely lightning fast!
Imagine him playing all of his games on artificial turf. He was electric!
The expansion Miami Dolphins gained a lot of credibility when they signed Cookie Gilchrist (34) in their maiden season. I don’t remember him doing much of note, but I believe Billy Joe was also on that first Dolphins team.
You are correct, Sir!
as always i enjoy your videos, the sad thing is so so many people dont realize, the Very important rule Al Davis, played in the forming of today's NFL .Al Davis weather you like him or not was a genius. As i have gotten older, and had learn more and more about him ant the others responsible for the, for the AFL and NFL meager. I have truly come to respect the Man, He put together the Raider teams of legends. And this is coming for a die hard Broncos, Fan. all i can say is Thanks Al.
He was the AFL Commissioner, but for only an extremely short period of time in 1963, I believe, although I could be off a year +/-. Thanks for your comments!
Love or hate Al Davis ,he was a visionary!
Cookie Gilchrist's 243 yard game against the Jets in 1963 was the pro football record for most yards rushed in a game until it was broken in 1973 when OJ Simpson rushed for 250 yards against the Patriots.
Actually, Willie Ellison of the Rams rushed for 247 yards against the Saints in a December 1971 game to break Gilchrist's record.
It's amazing how many AFL-era RBs were mentioned here in some level of detail, but I noticed that only two were actually NFL Hall of Famers - Floyd Little and OJ Simpson. Perhaps the AFL wasn't recognized very well when it came to players that played a majority of their career in that league.
Larry Csonka was featured in the second video clip, but yeah, AFL Running Backs have not received nearly enough recognition, in my opinion.
17:50 my man George Atkinson running him down
"Butch" had big wheels!
Cookie Gilchrist died when I was 5 years old! People on here should check on things before they speak! As always Mr. Mark, fantastic video! IDK why these guys are not in the hall. I can only imagine: their numbers consistently were not that good. On this video, you show how big time these are, though. Joey in Cleveland
Thank you for your take, Joey. The numbers aren't Earth-shattering, but I noted that the AFL was predominately a passing league, so it's understandable as to why the numbers aren't stellar. Not to have any of the top 5 rushers inducted into the HOF isn't right in my mind.
Man ole Joe Willie sure knew how to pick ‘em!
Raquel Welch...whew!!!
Got to see the Kansas City Chiefs play the Cincinnati Bengals, the Denver Broncos and the San Diego Chargers in AFL games. And Len Dawson was handing off to Robert "The Tank" Holmes and Warren McVay. Pretty good Defense back then too with Willie Lanier, Buck Buchanan, Johnny Robinson, Aaron Brown and Ernie "The Big Cat" Ladd. And, oh yeah, my buddy, Tight End Fred Arbanas.
Bobby Bell is my favorite LB of all-time time!
Could imaging trying to tackle these Guys, it would be like trying to tackle a greyhound bus.
Lookee Lookee Here Comes Cookie - emblazoned on the front of his Lincoln Continental
Gotta love it!
I love this channel
Thank you - I appreciate that. Any ideas for future videos?
I love the old AFL very colorful characters and personalities!
Indeed! Some of their early stadiums left a lot to be desired, however, but I guess that adds to the alure and charm of the league.
On the way home ready to watch this!
I hope you dig it, Steven.
@@markgardner9460 I have no doubt!
I miss the muddy baseball field games
Me too. It added another dimension to the game and most fans viewing the game from the comfort of their own home would agree, too.
I remember them all, the only one I’d add to the list of AFL great RBs would be Charlie Smith of the Raiders. I believe you mentioned Matt Snell and also Pete Banaszak. .
He was a terrific receiver, too!
Wray Carlton of the Bills is another.
@@markgardner9460The Heidi Game
Love your Denver jersey.
Thanks, Michael. It's the oldest look to old school NFL that I have. I'd like to pick up some more from this era.
Great stuff again !
Thanks, Keith!!
I can see an argument for Paul Lowe being number 1, but I'm going with Cookie Gilchrist. I think he is a top 50 runningback in NFL/AFL history due to his power and dominant, albeit short peak with the Bills.
Thanks for your take! I actually have Gilchrist ranked higher on my personal RB list - what a monster.
If Dickie Post hadn't taken such a beating he'd be an 8000 yard rusher. He was certainly exciting to watch. When they played game tape Ron Mix his HOF blocker said, "I wanna see Dickie!": ruclips.net/video/JebDb_hmUK4/видео.html
always love watching Dickie post Vids.
Hi Mark - put on my Steve Grogan home Pats home tog … Lookie Lookie here comes cookie 🍪
Great rhyme! That's a cool jersey, too!
"Always "enjoy " the "historical "aspect"of these "comps"..."the"notable"section was a "standout"also""!!
Thank you, Michael.
Agreed!
I thought Boozer and Snell were very good RB for the Jets.Snell had a career high rushing of 948 in 1964 his rookie year, and Boozer's career high was 831 in 73 Snell's highlight is obviously the 121 yards rushing in SB 3! Their best year together was 69 when they both had over 600 yards Snell had 4285 yards rushing 1057 carries Boozer 1291 for 5135 they both had about the same yards per attempt 4.0-4.1 but what really surprised me is Snell had 24 TD rushing and 7 receiving 31 total but Boozer had 54 TD rushing and 12 receiving 66 total..huge difference!
I would have thought that Snell would have been the go-to goal line guy. Great stat digging, Steven!!
@@markgardner9460 You know I love stats, Mark!
As a side note the Jets kept Snell his last couple of years because he was a excellent pass blocker for Namath!
Snell is 6th place all-time...and made the list despite only playing 6 years in the AFL.
@@markgardner9460 Snell or Boozer? Boozer had better stats but for one game I would pick Snell I believe!
Surprised Keith Lincoln got no mention. He was better than Dickie Post.
I only had grainy video footage of Lincoln, so I decided not to utilize it.
Billy Cannon! The AFL's first marquee player!
Abner Haynes is my choice. Although Cannon came into the league with much fanfare, it was Haynes who put up the better numbers on the field. It should be noted that Cannon's signing resulted in more fans attending and watching games on tv than what would have otherwise been the case. Thanks for your take.
Hey my brother thanks so much for these posts they’re awesome not exaggerating 👍❤️
Glad you like them! Thanks!
👍👍👍
cookie gilchrist could have played in any era of football.
I agree!
Keith Lincoln was also a very good running back in the AFL.
Yes he was. I couldn't locate game footage of him, unfortunately.
@@markgardner9460 Try the Afl Championship game in Buffalo 1963. When Mike Stratton demolished Keith Lincoln.
Simpson, Csonka. Were post AFL
Simpson played in the AFL during the 1969 season and Csonka in 1968 and 1969. Their footage shown in this video was taken from the 1969 season.
Dickie Post would be at the top of this list
He didn't make the top 10 career rushing yardage list, although he is prominently featured with a few outstanding runs in this video.
Always a lot of misconceptions about the AFL being just a pass-happy league. The Jets ran the ball over 40 times vs the Colts in SB III. Snell could have arguably been the MVP in that game. In SB IV, the Chiefs ran for over 150 yards against a great Vikings defense. The AFL teams beating the NFL at it's own game.
Those games were played in the last 2 years of the AFL's existence. They were becoming more of an offensive-balanced league by then. However, earlier the variance between the 2 leagues was stark. In '64, NFL teams averaged 27.7 passes per game and 19.9 passing td's per year while the AFL averaged 33.5 passes per game and 23.8 passing touchdowns per year. Certain pass-happy teams like the Jets, Chargers and Oilers made the difference even more noticeable.
@@markgardner9460 My point was that the AFL ran the ball more than people think. in '61 The Oilers had the leading Passer(Blanda), and the leading runner(Cannon). The Dallas Texans/KC Chiefs ran more than they passed in every AFL season but one. And six time they totaled over 2000 yards on the ground. In the '62 Title game they went to the ground 54 times. FB Keith Lincoln was a one-man gang in the Chargers romp of the Pats in the '63 Game. San Diego put up over 300 yards on the ground that day. Buffalo also ran the ball plenty especially with Cookie. In the '67 AFL Title Game, the Raiders literally ran over Houston with two runners(Daniels, and Dixon) rushing over 100 yards. And SB III and IV showed the AFL was just as capable of grinding it on the ground as the NFL. And a thing about those league averages you mentioned. a lot of that factors in the bottom teams who had to pass more. As they were usually behind in games and had to put it up. But the competitors balanced things out better. Especially in the big games.
You left out Hewritt Dixon
He scored a touchdown in the second to last clip of the video.
Dickie Post was awesome. How long did he play in the league?
'67-'69, then played in the NFL during the '70 & '71 seasons.
@@markgardner9460 Yeah I just read he had to retire early due to knee problems
Who knows how much longer he could have played with the aid of modern medicine.
@@markgardner9460 Gale Sayers hated his surgeon for screwing his knee surgery up.
Jim Nance should be right up near the top
Would have loved to know what colleges these backs came from
Gilchrist didn't go to college, as stated in the video - Daniels went to Prairie View A & M as stated in the video, Haynes went to North Texas as shown on a photo. The 2 RB's colleges that were disclosed were Nance (Syracuse) and Lowe (Oregon State).
@@markgardner9460 i stand corrected
I should have mentioned Syracuse and Oregon State, but I just couldn't fit it in without it being awkward.
I saw Czonka, Little and Nance in college for Syracuse vs. Holy Cross.
How many teams were named Texans and how many named Titans ?
'52 and '60 versions of the Dallas Texans, '74 Houston Texans, '78 Austin Texans (semi-pro league), '90 Dallas Texans of the Arena Football League and 2002 Houston Texans.
Mike Garrett should be near the top
He only played 4 years in the AFL and is outside of the top 10.
Nance was a wrecking ball.
When Linebackers get bowled over, you know that DB's have absolutely no chance.
mark i am voting for Emerson Boozer 🍺🍺🍺he won the 69 Super Bowl with Joe Nameth
Matt Snell got a ring, too.
@@markgardner9460 Mark , Chuck Knoll doesn't get the respect that he deserves . i'm just saying .
Emerson Boozer was a good back, but it was Matt Snell who was the "big gun" in Super bowl 3. Matt had 121 yards on 30 carries . Boozer 10 carries 19 yards. Also Boozer was hurt most of that 1968 season. ( 69 Super Bowl)
@@darrylguilford4061 who was the wide receiver on that 69 team
@@markgardner9460 mark ,nameth tossed a TD pass to a receiver in SB III ,Who caught that ball .?Lance Alworth
Billy Cannon ? carl Garrett ?
Garrett only played one year in the AFL and Billy Cannon was outside of the Top 10 all-time AFL rushing yardage list.
Where is Billy Cannon?
With 2,455 rushing yards he is outside of the top 10 AFL rushing yardage list. He is one of only 4 runners to rush for at least 200 yards in a single AFL game.
In jail !
Cannon led Houston to the first 2 AFL championships. They played for a third and list in the first ever sudden death overtime
.When he was healthy there was Noone better. Scored the winning TD in both of Houstons first 2 championships.
@@tomneff7030 agreed. Thanks for the info.
Paul Lowe, Charger great, #23