Sept 22 in Jet History: First Win as the Jets
Sept 22, 2015 5:42:04 GMT -5
carlton, Bing© in Buffalo Chairman, and 1 more like this
Post by Lithfan on Sept 22, 2015 5:42:04 GMT -5
September 22, 1963
The AFL’s New York franchise got their first win as the New York Jets on this date in 1963. It was a 24-17 win over the Houston Oilers. The Jets had played the previous 3 seasons as the New York Titans, under their original owner, radio personality, Harry Wismer.
The AFL was facing a crisis in the offseason following the 1962 season. The Titan franchise was in desperate financial trouble, and the Lamar Hunt and the rest of the AFL owners knew that they needed a strong franchise in NY in order to survive. Wismer was a big personality, but he turned out to be a poor owner. Running the team out of his home, the Titans and Wismer were over $2.5 million in debt.
From the NJ Star Ledger .com:
As Harry kept talking, the debts kept mounting. As practice ended one day halfway through the season, the guy from the towel service was standing on the sidelines and George Sauer Sr., the general manager, hollered over at him:
“Where the hell are the towels? These guys are going to take showers in five minutes.”
“They’re in the truck, and they are going to stay there unless I get paid. I haven’t gotten a dime all year.”
Sauer had to reach into his own pocket. He never got reimbursed. Wismer’s checks were bouncing all over town. It was Lamar Hunt, the man who started the league and had a franchise in Dallas, who told the others, “If we don’t do something, the Titans could drag us all down.” Near the end of November of 1962, the league, desperate to keep a team in New York, seized control.
It got so bad that there were times when the players were left by themselves on the practice field. On payday, the coaches would leave practice and hurry to the bank before the players, hoping to cash their checks before the accounts ran dry.
The league oversaw the sale of the Jets to a five man syndicate led by entertainment magnate Sonny Werblin. Werblin promptly changed the team name to the Jets and set out to build a winner, both on and off the field.
The 1963 New York Jets team photo
It was game #2 of the 63 season, the Jets having lost week 1 to the Patriots, 38-14. The Jets used the big play to defeat the heavily favored Oilers. They got a 33 yard TD pass from Dick Wood to BIll Mathis to jump out to an early 7-0 lead. The Oilers tied it on a George Blanda TD strike to Charely Hennigan. Late in the 2nd quarter, Marshall Starks returned a missed FG attempt by Blanda 97 yards to give the Jets a 14-7 halftime lead.
Photo is of a different game from that 1963 season.
The game remained tight throughout and the Jets found themselves tied at 17 midway through the 4th quarter. A defensive pass interference penalty on Houston’s Tony Banfield on a Wood pass intended for Don Maynard set the Jets up at the Oilers 4 yard line. RB Mark Smolinski carried it in on the next play to give the Jets a 24-17 lead. LB Jim Price intercepted a George Blanda pass in the final minutes of the game to seal the first victory for the team as the New York Jets.
Source: The Star Ledger (1/23/11) and The Victoria Advocate (11/23/63)
The AFL’s New York franchise got their first win as the New York Jets on this date in 1963. It was a 24-17 win over the Houston Oilers. The Jets had played the previous 3 seasons as the New York Titans, under their original owner, radio personality, Harry Wismer.
The AFL was facing a crisis in the offseason following the 1962 season. The Titan franchise was in desperate financial trouble, and the Lamar Hunt and the rest of the AFL owners knew that they needed a strong franchise in NY in order to survive. Wismer was a big personality, but he turned out to be a poor owner. Running the team out of his home, the Titans and Wismer were over $2.5 million in debt.
From the NJ Star Ledger .com:
As Harry kept talking, the debts kept mounting. As practice ended one day halfway through the season, the guy from the towel service was standing on the sidelines and George Sauer Sr., the general manager, hollered over at him:
“Where the hell are the towels? These guys are going to take showers in five minutes.”
“They’re in the truck, and they are going to stay there unless I get paid. I haven’t gotten a dime all year.”
Sauer had to reach into his own pocket. He never got reimbursed. Wismer’s checks were bouncing all over town. It was Lamar Hunt, the man who started the league and had a franchise in Dallas, who told the others, “If we don’t do something, the Titans could drag us all down.” Near the end of November of 1962, the league, desperate to keep a team in New York, seized control.
It got so bad that there were times when the players were left by themselves on the practice field. On payday, the coaches would leave practice and hurry to the bank before the players, hoping to cash their checks before the accounts ran dry.
The league oversaw the sale of the Jets to a five man syndicate led by entertainment magnate Sonny Werblin. Werblin promptly changed the team name to the Jets and set out to build a winner, both on and off the field.
The 1963 New York Jets team photo
It was game #2 of the 63 season, the Jets having lost week 1 to the Patriots, 38-14. The Jets used the big play to defeat the heavily favored Oilers. They got a 33 yard TD pass from Dick Wood to BIll Mathis to jump out to an early 7-0 lead. The Oilers tied it on a George Blanda TD strike to Charely Hennigan. Late in the 2nd quarter, Marshall Starks returned a missed FG attempt by Blanda 97 yards to give the Jets a 14-7 halftime lead.
Photo is of a different game from that 1963 season.
The game remained tight throughout and the Jets found themselves tied at 17 midway through the 4th quarter. A defensive pass interference penalty on Houston’s Tony Banfield on a Wood pass intended for Don Maynard set the Jets up at the Oilers 4 yard line. RB Mark Smolinski carried it in on the next play to give the Jets a 24-17 lead. LB Jim Price intercepted a George Blanda pass in the final minutes of the game to seal the first victory for the team as the New York Jets.
Source: The Star Ledger (1/23/11) and The Victoria Advocate (11/23/63)
