Nov 8 in Jet History: AFL Takes Control of Titans
Nov 8, 2015 7:56:24 GMT -5
thebigragu and Bing© in Buffalo Chairman like this
Post by Lithfan on Nov 8, 2015 7:56:24 GMT -5
November 8, 1962
The Titans 1962 season was certainly among the most tumultuous seasons that any football team, or major American sports team has ever had to endure. The Titans struggled on the field, finishing with a 5-9 record, but it was their off the field struggles during this season that would help to reshape the future of the Jets - Titans franchise. It all came to a head on this date, 11/8 in 1962 when the AFL agreed to take over financial control of the Titans, a move that ultimately led to a forced sale of the Titans to a consortium of investors including Sonny Werblin.
The Titans original owner was Harry Wismer. Wismer was a radio personality who was granted the NY franchise in the fledgling American Football League in 1959. Almost from the beginning, the Titans struggled both on and off the field. Rarely drawing much more than 5,000 fans to the cavernous Polo Grounds, the Titans were a financial disaster. It all came to a head during that 1962 season.
Photo is from 1962 home opener against Denver at the Polo Grounds
In his book, The American Football League: A Year-by-Year History, 1960-1969, Ed Gruver describes how bad it was getting in 1962:
On September 18, the players angrily announced their paychecks to be ‘194 hours late’ and voted to go on strike unless they received money before noon the next day. The checks arrived at 1 PM, but so did a telegram from Wismer. Upset that his players threatened a strike, Wismer wired his staff that they would be fired if they conducted practice. Assistant Coach George Sauer told the team, “Prepare yourselves.”
"I remember when they came out to Dallas to play us” Texans defensive lineman Jerry Mays says. “They had no coaches. The players were coaching themselves.”
The players weren’t the only ones complaining. Before a game in Boston, the Titan team bus driver went on strike, refusing to drive unless he was paid first. “In cash.”
On payday, knowing that there was not likely enough money in the Titan accounts to pay the entire team, the players often rushed to the bank, without taking time to change out of their practice uniforms. There were times when the coaching staff would order the player to run sprints at the end of practice so the coaches could get a head start to the bank to get in line ahead of the players.
By November, the Titans were bankrupt.
Larry Grantham, a linebacker on that team, contacted Lamar Hunt and let him know how bad things had gotten. “I was smart enough to know then that the league needed a team in NY, Grantham recalled. “So I picked up the phone and called Lamar Hunt and told him we hadn’t been paid.”
AFL Commissioner Joe Foss took control. On November 8, he announced that the league would meet the Titans financial obligations.
Joe Foss (Center) with Lamar Hunt (L) and Harry Wismer (R) when he was named AFL Commisioner
“We had to have a New York franchise with a good public image,” Lamar Hunt said. “Unfortunately at that point the Titans were our weakest club. It was the most miserable operation imaginable. We were worried that they might drag the whole league down with them.”
Source: The American Football League: A Year-by-Year History, 1960-1969, By Ed Gruver and NJ.com (1/23/11)
The Titans 1962 season was certainly among the most tumultuous seasons that any football team, or major American sports team has ever had to endure. The Titans struggled on the field, finishing with a 5-9 record, but it was their off the field struggles during this season that would help to reshape the future of the Jets - Titans franchise. It all came to a head on this date, 11/8 in 1962 when the AFL agreed to take over financial control of the Titans, a move that ultimately led to a forced sale of the Titans to a consortium of investors including Sonny Werblin.
The Titans original owner was Harry Wismer. Wismer was a radio personality who was granted the NY franchise in the fledgling American Football League in 1959. Almost from the beginning, the Titans struggled both on and off the field. Rarely drawing much more than 5,000 fans to the cavernous Polo Grounds, the Titans were a financial disaster. It all came to a head during that 1962 season.
Photo is from 1962 home opener against Denver at the Polo Grounds
In his book, The American Football League: A Year-by-Year History, 1960-1969, Ed Gruver describes how bad it was getting in 1962:
On September 18, the players angrily announced their paychecks to be ‘194 hours late’ and voted to go on strike unless they received money before noon the next day. The checks arrived at 1 PM, but so did a telegram from Wismer. Upset that his players threatened a strike, Wismer wired his staff that they would be fired if they conducted practice. Assistant Coach George Sauer told the team, “Prepare yourselves.”
"I remember when they came out to Dallas to play us” Texans defensive lineman Jerry Mays says. “They had no coaches. The players were coaching themselves.”
The players weren’t the only ones complaining. Before a game in Boston, the Titan team bus driver went on strike, refusing to drive unless he was paid first. “In cash.”
On payday, knowing that there was not likely enough money in the Titan accounts to pay the entire team, the players often rushed to the bank, without taking time to change out of their practice uniforms. There were times when the coaching staff would order the player to run sprints at the end of practice so the coaches could get a head start to the bank to get in line ahead of the players.
By November, the Titans were bankrupt.
Larry Grantham, a linebacker on that team, contacted Lamar Hunt and let him know how bad things had gotten. “I was smart enough to know then that the league needed a team in NY, Grantham recalled. “So I picked up the phone and called Lamar Hunt and told him we hadn’t been paid.”
AFL Commissioner Joe Foss took control. On November 8, he announced that the league would meet the Titans financial obligations.
Joe Foss (Center) with Lamar Hunt (L) and Harry Wismer (R) when he was named AFL Commisioner
“We had to have a New York franchise with a good public image,” Lamar Hunt said. “Unfortunately at that point the Titans were our weakest club. It was the most miserable operation imaginable. We were worried that they might drag the whole league down with them.”
Source: The American Football League: A Year-by-Year History, 1960-1969, By Ed Gruver and NJ.com (1/23/11)
