1964 AFL Season

See also 1964 NFL Season.

As originally written by Tim Brulia:

NBC, after an unsuccessful pitch for the NFL, licked its wounds and snatched the AFL with a five year deal, beginning in 1965. So in 1964, ABC would go into its fifth and final season with the AFL.

National Television

AFL WEEK 1, 1964:

Saturday 9/12:

Broncos-Jets, 8:00, Not televised.

Oilers-Chargers, 11:00, Not televised

Sunday 9/13:

Chiefs-Bills, 2:00, ABC. Curt Gowdy, George Ratterman

Patriots-Raiders, 4:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, Paul Christman

AFL WEEK 2, 1964:

Saturday 9/19:

Raiders-Oilers, 9:00, Not televised

Sunday 9/20:

Broncos-Bills, 2:00, ABC. Curt Gowdy, George Ratterman

Patriots-Chargers, 4:00, ABC. Charlie Jones, Paul Christman

Not playing: Chiefs, Jets

AFL WEEK 3, 1964:

Saturday 9/26:

Chargers-Bills, 8:00, Not televised

Sunday 9/27:

Jets-Patriots, 2:00, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman

Oilers-Broncos, 4:30, Not televised

Chiefs-Raiders, 4:30, Not televised

AFL WEEK 4, 1964:

Saturday 10/3:

Raiders-Bills, 8:00, Not televised

Chargers-Jets, 8:00, Not televised

Sunday 10/4:

Oilers-Chiefs, 2:30, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman

Patriots-Broncos, 4:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

AFL WEEK 5, 1964:

Friday 10/9:

Chargers-Patriots, 8:00, Not televised

Saturday 10/10:

Raiders-Jets, 8:00, Not televised

Sunday 10/11:

Chiefs-Broncos, 4:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, Paul Christman

Bills-Oilers, 9:00, WKBW-Buffalo. Rick Azar

AFL WEEK 6, 1964:

Friday 10/16:

Raiders-Patriots, 8:00, Not televised

Saturday 10/17:

Oilers-Jets, 8:00, Not televised

Sunday 10/18:

Bills-Chiefs, 3:30, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman

Broncos-Chargers, 4:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

AFL WEEK 7, 1964:

Friday 10/23:

Chiefs-Patriots, 8:00, Not televised

Saturday 10/24:

Jets-Bills, 8:00, Not televised

Sunday 10/25:

Chargers-Oilers, 3:30, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman

Broncos-Raiders, 4:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

AFL WEEK 8, 1964:

Saturday 10/31:

Patriots-Jets, 8:00 (JIP at 8:30), WNAC-Boston. Dom Valentino

Sunday 11/1:

Oilers-Bills, 2:00, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman

Broncos-Chiefs, 3:30, ABC. Charlie Brockman, Elmer Angsman

Raiders-Chargers, 4:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

AFL WEEK 9, 1964:

Friday 11/6:

Oilers-Patriots, 8:00, Not televised

Sunday 11/8:

Bills-Jets, 1:00, ABC. Charlie Brockman, Elmer Angsman

Raiders-Chiefs, 3:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

Chargers-Broncos, 3:30, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman

AFL WEEK 10, 1964:

Sunday 11/15:

Patriots-Bills, 2:00, ABC. Charlie Brockman, Elmer Angsman

Jets-Broncos, 3:30, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Chrsitman

Chargers-Chiefs, 3:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

Oilers-Raiders, 3:30, ABC. *Bill Flemming, *Johnny Lujack

Note: There would be two weeks where ABC would be stretched to the max with all four games slated for a Sunday, this being one of them. The HOU-OAK is the fourth game. I have listed Flemming and Lujack as a rather "best guestimate" as they assisted Curt Gowdy and Paul Christman with the College All-Star game between the Bears and College All-Stars.

AFL WEEK 11, 1964:

Friday 11/20:

Broncos-Patriots, 8:00, Not televised

Sunday 11/22:

Chiefs-Oilers, 3:30, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman

Jets-Raiders, 4:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

Not playing: Bills, Chargers

AFL WEEK 12, 1964:

Thursday 11/26:

Bills-Chargers, 3:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

Sunday 11/29:

Chiefs-Jets, 1:00, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman

Patriots-Oilers, 3:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

Raiders-Broncos, 3:30, ABC. Charlie Brockman, Elmer Angsman

AFL WEEK 13, 1964:

Sunday 12/6:

Patriots-Chiefs, 3:30, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman

Bills-Raiders, 3:30, ABC. Charlie Brockman, Elmer Angsman

Jets-Chargers, 4:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

Not playing: Broncos, Oilers

AFL WEEK 14, 1964:

Sunday 12/13:

Bills-Broncos, 3:30, ABC. Charlie Brockman, Elmer Angsman

Jets-Oilers, 3:30, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman

Chiefs-Chargers, 4:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

Not playing: Patriots, Raiders

AFL WEEK 15, 1964:

Sunday 12/20:

Bills-Patriots, 2:00, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman

Broncos-Oilers, 3:30, ABC. Not televised

Jets-Chiefs, 3:30, ABC. Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

Chargers-Raiders, 4:30, ABC. Keith Jackson, Elmer Angsman

1964 AFL Championship:

Saturday 12/26: Chargers-Bills, 2:00, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman, George Ratterman

AFL All-Star Game in Houston:

Saturday 1/16: East-West, 2:00, ABC. Curt Gowdy, Paul Christman, George Ratterman

Local Radio/TV Crews

As originally written by garretta

Here's the rundown on 1964 in the AFL East:

Houston Oilers: KXYZ-AM will broadcast all nineteen preseason and regular-season home games as head of a ten-station network, Hamm's Beer has been a full sponsor in the past, but will sponsor one half of each game this year. Ben Gordon Finance will sponsor a quarter; the other quarter is open, Al Jamieson, who does color on the game broadcasts, will host the pregame and postgame shows. Advertising will be sold locally. On KXYZ, Jacobe Pearson Lincoln-Mercury will sponsor the pregame show and College Inn Restaurant will sponsor the postgame show. Frank Fallon will call the play-by-play.

The Houston ABC station is KTRK-TV. It will produce five games and show eleven others.

Boston Patriots: WEEI-AM is the team's flagship radio station. and will carry all nineteen scheduled games on a nine-station network throughout New England. Sponsors signed at press time include Ballantine Beer and the Lincoln-Mercury Dealers Association of New England. Bob Gallagher and Fred Cusick are your announcers. Gallagher will also host a ten-minute pregame show and a ten-minute postgame show.

The Boston ABC station is WNAC-TV, It will produce two games and show fourteen others. They may also produce and show an exhibition game, although there were no firm plans at press time.

New York Jets: WABC-AM is beginning a five-year contract with the team; there are no plans for a radio network this year. Sponsors signed at press time are Carling Beer, Hess Oil, and the Lincoln-Mercury Dealers of New York. Merle Harmon and Otto Graham will call the games. Graham will also host the ten-minute postgame show, while Howard Cosell hosts the ten-minute pregame show.

The New York ABC station is WABC-TV. It will produce two games and show fourteen.

WOR-TV will show the team's five preseason games. Sponsors include Schaefer Beer, R.J. Reynolds. the Chrysler Dealers of New York, Chesebrough Pond's, Lever Brothers, Revlon, Armstrong Rubber, Chase Manhattan Bank, and Castro Convertibles. Clure Mosher and Benny Friedman are your announcers.

(One of Howard Cosell's many outrageous claims was that WABC Radio was taking a chance on a product nobody wanted when they bought the rights to the Jets. I just counted twelve sponsors between TV and radio. Did Howard ever get anything right when it came to sports?)

Buffalo Bills: The Buffalo ABC station is WKBW-TV. It will produce four games and show twelve. In addition, it will also show two Bills exhibition games. Rick Azar will host a thirty-minute pregame show, plus a thirty-minute weekly highlights show during the season in addition to doing color on the exhibition games. Charlie Jones will handle play-by-play. Both games and both shows will be sponsored by Genesee Beer and Marine Trust Company.

The September 11 game against the Oilers in Houston was televised locally by WKBW-TV. Azar was on the call; no color analyst was listed.

WBEN-AM is the flagship of a ten-station radio network in New York and Pennsylvania, International Breweries will sponsor one-half of each game on the network and one-quarter on WBEN. The rest of the network's time will be sold to local sponsors. Other sponsors on WBEN include the Oil and Heat Institute of Western New York, Western Savings Bank of Buffalo, Milk for Health on the Niagra Frontier, and F&W Oldsmobile. Play-by-play announcer Van Miller will host pre- and postgame shows on WBEN only. The ten-minute pregame show will be sponsored by Dutch Boy Paints, and the five-minute postgame scoreboard will be sponsored by Tobin Packaging Company. Ralph Hubbell will serve as color commentator.

Now to the AFL West:

Broncos: KTLN-AM will broadcast all five preseason games and all fourteen regular-season games. It is also the flagship of the Intermountain Network, which is expected to number around a dozen stations. Sponsorship wasn't set at press time. Bob Martin and Joe Finan are your announcers.

The Denver ABC station is KBTV, which will produce six games for the network and show nine others.

Raiders: KDIA-AM Oakland is the flagship radio station for the second consecutive year, broadcasting all nineteen exhibition and regular-season games as the head of a thirteen-station network heard throughout California. Bob Blum and Don Galvin will call the action. Half of each game will be sponsored by local businesses; Busch Bavarian Beer will sponsor another quarter. KDIA's local sponsors are the Educational Fund and the Sheet Metal Contractors Industry. Blum will also host a fifteen-minute pregame show and a fifteen-minute postgame show, each partially sponsored by Galileo Salami and Cobbledick-Kibbe Glass Company.

The Bay Area's ABC station is KGO-TV, which will produce five games for the network and show nine others.

Chargers: KFMB-AM is entering the final year of its three-year contract to carry the games. There were no plans for a radio network at press time. The entire slate (five exhibition games, fourteen regular-season games) will be sponsored by Union Oil and Home Federal Savings and Loan Association, Lyle Bond is the play-by-play man, with Rod Page handling color. The pre- and postgame shows will be sponsored by the San Diego County Plymouth Dealers Association and Anheuser-Busch.

XETV Tijuana-San Diego is the local ABC station. It will produce six games for the network and show ten others.

Chiefs: KCMO-AM is the flagship station of the team's radio network; at press time, the network numbered eleven stations throughout Kansas and Missouri, and it's expected to grow to at least twenty-five. It will carry all nineteen games (five exhibitions, fourteen regular-season games). Schlitz Beer is a signed sponsor on KCMO and may join the network; Interstate Securities is a signed sponsor on the network. The fifteen-minute pregame show is called Pow Wow, and will be sponsored by Businessmen's Assurance Company, and the five-minute postgame Scoreboard will be sponsored by the Golden Ox Restaurant. Your announcers are Tom Hedrick and Bill Grigsby.

The Kansas City ABC station is KMBC-TV, which will produce seven games for the network and show nine others. There will be two fifteen-minute pregame shows: AFL Kickoff, which will be partially sponsored by Interstate Securities, and Petticoat Quarterback, which will feature interviews with players' wives. It had not been sold as of press time. Interstate Securities is also a sponsor of the postgame All Pro Scoreboard.