1968 AFL Season

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See also 1968 NFL Season.


As originally written by Tim Brulia and Jimmy Delach:


The Cincinnati Bengals begin play this season in the AFL.

National Television

AFL WEEK 1, 1968:

Friday 9/6:

Bengals-Chargers, 8:30, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote, Al DeRogatis

Sunday 9/8:

Patriots-Bills, 2, NBC, Charlie Jones, Al DeRogatis

Monday 9/9:

Chiefs-Oilers, 8, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote

Bye: Broncos, Dolphins, Jets, Raiders


AFL WEEK 2, 1968:

Saturday 9/14:

Oilers-Dolphins, 8, Not televised

Sunday 9/15:

Broncos-Bengals, 1:30, NBC, Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

Raiders-Bills, 1:30, NBC, Jim Simpson, Al DeRogatis

Jets-Chiefs, 4, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote

Bye: Patriots, Chargers


AFL WEEK 3, 1968:

Saturday 9/21:

Raiders-Dolphins, 8, Not televised

Oilers-Chargers, 11, Not televised

Sunday 9/22:

Bills-Bengals, 1:30, NBC, Charlie Jones, Al DeRogatis

Broncos-Chiefs, 4, NBC, Jim Simpson, Elmer Angsman

Jets-Patriots (Birmingham, Ala.), 4, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote


AFL WEEK 4, 1968:

Saturday 9/28:

Chiefs-Dolphins, 8, Not televised

Sunday 9/29:

Jets-Bills, 1:30, NBC, Jim Simpson, Al DeRogatis

Chargers-Bengals, 1:30, NBC, Charlie Jones, Elmer Angsman

Patriots-Broncos, 4, NBC, Bill Enis, George Ratterman

Raiders-Oilers, 4, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote


AFL WEEK 5, 1968:

Saturday 10/5:

Chiefs-Bills, 8, Not televised

Chargers-Jets, 8, KCST-San Diego, KHJ-Los Angeles. Bob Chandler, Emil Karas

Sunday 10/6:

Patriots-Raiders, 4, NBC, Charlie Jones, Kyle Rote

Bengals-Broncos, 4, NBC, Jay Randolph, George Ratterman

Dolphins-Oilers, 4, NBC, Bill Enis, Al DeRogatis


AFL WEEK 6, 1968:

Saturday 10/12:

Bills-Dolphins, 8, Not televised

Sunday 10/13:

Broncos-Jets, 1:30, NBC, Jim Simpson, Al DeRogatis

Oilers-Patriots, 1:30, NBC, Charlie Jones, Elmer Angsman

Bengals-Chiefs, 4, NBC, Jay Randolph, George Ratterman

Chargers-Raiders, 4, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote


AFL WEEK 7, 1968:

Sunday 10/20:

Bills-Patriots, 1:30, NBC, Charlie Jones, Al DeRogatis

Dolphins-Bengals, 1:30, NBC, Bill Enis, Chris Burford

Broncos-Chargers, 4, NBC, Jay Randolph, George Ratterman

Jets-Oilers, 4, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote

Raiders-Chiefs, 4, NBC, Jim Simpson, Elmer Angsman


AFL WEEK 8, 1968:

Sunday 10/27:

Patriots-Jets, 1:30, NBC, Jim Simpson, Al DeRogatis

Oilers-Bills, 1:30, NBC, Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

Bengals-Raiders, 4, NBC, Jay Randolph, Elmer Angsman

Dolphins-Broncos, 4, NBC, Bill Enis, Chris Burford

Chargers-Chiefs, 4, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote


AFL WEEK 9, 1968:

Sunday 11/3:

Bills-Jets, 1:30, NBC, Charlie Jones, Al DeRogatis

Broncos-Patriots, 1:30, NBC, Jay Randolph, Chris Burford

Oilers-Bengals, 1:30, NBC, Bill Enis, George Ratterman

Chiefs-Raiders, 4, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote

Dolphins-Chargers, 4, NBC, Jim Simpson, Elmer Angsman


AFL WEEK 10, 1968:

Sunday 11/10:

Oilers-Jets, 1:30, NBC, Bill Enis, Al DeRogatis

Chiefs-Bengals, 1:30, NBC, Len Dillon, Chris Burford

Dolphins-Bills, 1:30, NBC, Bill Mazer, George Ratterman

Chargers-Patriots, 1:30, NBC, Jay Randolph, Elmer Angsman

Raiders-Broncos, 4, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote


AFL WEEK 11, 1968:

Sunday 11/17:

Bengals-Dolphins, 1:30, NBC, Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

Chargers-Bills, 1:30, NBC, Jim Simpson, Kyle Rote

Patriots-Chiefs, 4, NBC, Jay Randolph, Chris Burford

Broncos-Oilers, 4, NBC, Bill Enis, Elmer Angsman

Jets-Raiders (a.k.a. The Heidi Game), 4, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis


AFL WEEK 12, 1968:

Sunday 11/24:

Dolphins-Patriots, 1:30, NBC, Jim Simpson, George Ratterman

Raiders-Bengals, 1:30, NBC, Charlie Jones, Al DeRogatis

Bills-Broncos, 4, NBC, Jay Randolph, Elmer Angsman

Jets-Chargers, 4, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote

Bye: Oilers, Chargers


AFL WEEK 13, 1968:

Thursday 11/28:

Oilers-Chiefs, 1:30, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote

Bills-Raiders, 4, NBC, Jim Simpson, Al DeRogatis

Sunday 12/1:

Bengals-Patriots, 1:30, NBC, Jim Simpson, Elmer Angsman

Dolphins-Jets, 1:30, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote

Chargers-Broncos, 4, NBC, Charlie Jones, Al DeRogatis


AFL WEEK 14, 1968:

Saturday 12/7:

Bills-Oilers, 4:30, NBC, Jim Simpson, Al DeRogatis

Sunday 12/8:

Patriots-Dolphins, 1:30, NBC, Bill Enis, Elmer Angsman

Bengals-Jets, 1:30, NBC, Charlie Jones, Al DeRogatis

Broncos-Raiders, 4, NBC, Jim Simpson, George Ratterman

Chiefs-Chargers, 4, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote


AFL WEEK 15, 1968:

Saturday 12/14:

Chiefs-Broncos, 4, NBC, Charlie Jones, Al DeRogatis

Sunday 12/15:

Jets-Dolphins, 1:30, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote

Patriots-Oilers, 4, NBC, Charlie Jones, George Ratterman

Raiders-Chargers, 4, NBC, Jim Simpson, Al DeRogatis

Bye: Bills, Bengals


AFL Western Division Playoff:

Sunday 12/22: Chiefs-Raiders, 4, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote, Al DeRogatis


1968 AFL Championship:

Sunday 12/29: Raiders-Jets, 1, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote


SUPER BOWL III from Miami:

Sunday 1/12: Jets-Colts, 3, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote, Al DeRogatis, Jim Simpson


AFL All-Star Game from Jacksonville:

Sunday 1/19: East-West, 1:30, NBC, Curt Gowdy, Kyle Rote, Charlie Jones

Local Radio Crews

Originally written by garretta

Here's a look at radio in the AFL in 1968. We begin in the East:

Bills: WBEN-FM is the head of a twenty-three-station network that will carry all scheduled games. Van Miller (referred to i the article as "Van Allen") and Stan Barron will call the games. Game sponsorship was not complete at press time. The pregame show will be sponsored by Milk for Health on the Niagra Frontier, Inc. The postgame show will be sponsored by Harvest Markets.

Oilers: Majestic Advertising of Milwaukee is packaging and selling the entire schedule to a seventeen-station network in Texas and Louisiana. KILT-AM is the flagship station. Lone Star Brewing will sponsor half of each game, with Dodge and Southwestern Eell sponsoring a quarter each. A ten-minute pregame show and a five-minute postgame show will be produced by the network for local sale. Bill Enis and Ed Dittert will call the games.

Dolphins: WIOD-AM will feed the entire schedule to a thirty-station Florida network. The two pregame shows are the fifteen-minute George Wilson Show and a ten-minute show with Jim Ruppert (who?). The nightly five-minute George Wilson Show remains unsold. Velda Farm Dairies is the major sponsor of the games and also sponsors Dial the Dolphins from 7:05 PM to 8PM Eastern on Mondays as well as twice-daily interview segments featuring the wife of head coach George Wilson and various players' wives. All other game advertising is sold locally. Bob Gallagher and Henry Barrow will call the action.

Jets: WABC-AM will carry all five preseason games and all fourteen regular season games. This is the fourth year of a six-year contract. Sponsors are Manufacturers Hanover Trust, Chevron Oil, Schaefer Beer, and the local Buick Dealers. The ten-minute pre- and postgame shows will be sponsored by the House of Worsted-Tex. Merle Harmon will call the play-by-play, while Sam DeLuca handles color.

Patriots: WBZ-AM leads a three-station network that will air four preseason games and all fourteen regular season games. Gil Santos and Bob Starr will call the action, Sponsors are Public Finance, Liberty Mutual Insurance, Schlitz Beer, and Chrysler-Plymouth. Pre- and postgame shows will be sponsored by New England Telephone and Telegraph.

Chiefs: KCMO-AM heads a network of about forty-five stations in Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, and Oklahoma that will carry five exhibition games plus all regular season games. Interstate Securities is buying a quarter of each game on KCMO and also buying a quarter of each game on the network separate from KCMO. National Fire Sprinkler Corporation is also buying a quarter on the network separate from KCMO. Other sponsors on KCMO for a quarter apiece include Country Club Dairy and the local Schlitz Wholesalers. The other quarter is split between Sanatone Cleaners and U.S. Supermarkets.

The pregame show is sponsored by City National Bank. The postgame locker room show will be sponsored by Swift Dodge, while the postgame scoreboard show will be sponsored by Aamco Transmissions. Tom Hedrick and Bill Grigsby will call the action.

Chargers: KFMB-AM heads a twenty-two-station network (six more stations than last year) in California, Nevada, and Arizona that is carrying all scheduled games; this is the final year of a four-year contract.  Sponsors include Home Federal Savings and Loan Association, the local Ford Dealers, and Schlitz Brewing. Pre- and postgame shows are sponsored by Douglas Oil and Adohr Dairies. Lyle Bond and Bob Blum are your announcers.

Raiders: KNEW-AM is the flagship of a sixteen-station network; fifteen stations are in California and one is in Reno. Nevada. All scheduled games will be broadcast. Pregame, postgame, and locker room shows are sponsored by Foremost Dairies, Rainier Ale, Treesweet (beverages), Pacific Airlines, and Volvo. Games are sponsored by Union Oil, Central Valley Bank, and Grodins of California (men's clothiers). Bill King and Van Amsburg call the action.

Broncos: KTLN-AM will air all five preseason games and all fourteen regular season games. About forty stations on the Intermountain Network will also carry the games. Sponsors are Public Service Company of Colorado, Denver U.S, National Bank, Humble Oil, and Schlitz Brewing. Bob Martin will call the play-by-play, while Bob McCulllough handles color.

One pregame show will be sponsored by Perl Mack Construction; the other, Ask the Coach, is a fifteen-minute pregame show sponsored by the First National Bank. The ten-minute postgame Scoreboard will be sponsored by Roger Mauro Chryslerville. This will be followed by Pigskin Playback, sponsored by Seven Eleven Stores. After that will be a one-hour call-in discussion of the game with participating advertisers.

Bengals: WLW-AM has a three-year contract to broadcast all scheduled games and be the flagship for a fifty-station network in Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, and West Virginia. WLW is also airing The Paul Brown Show daily for twenty-six weeks and feeding it to a ten-station network. A quarter of each game will be sponsored by Burger Brewing, Tresler-Comet Gasoline, and Cincinnati Chrysler-Plymouth. The other quarter will be partially sponsored by Union Central Life Insurance, with the other part still open. Phil Samp and Jimmy Crum will be on the call.

There will be three pregame features. The preview show will be sponsored by Cinderella Cleaners, the warmup feature will be sponsored by Patridge Meats, and the coach's corner will be sponsored by First National Bank. The two halftime features will be sponsored by Central Trust Bank and State Mutual Life Assurance Company. The postgame Highlights show will be sponsored by Carter's Restaurants, and the postgame Star of the Game show is sponsored by Ohio Appliance Company (an RCA dealer).

Both WLW and WLWT-TV will promote the Bengals extensively throughout the season.

Local TV Crews

Originally written by garretta

Patriots: The Boston NBC station is WBZ-TV.

Dolphins: WCKT-TV, the NBC station in Miami, will televise one exhibition game, from Jacksonville, Florida on August 23, It will be in black and white and sponsored by Johnnie and Mack, an automobile paint shop. There will also be a half hour pregame show with participating sponsorship.

Jets: The New York NBC station is WNBC-TV.

WOR-TV will televise five preseason games. Sponsors are Rheingold Beer. Mobil Oil, Wilkinson Blades, Bankers Trust, and the local Chrysler-Plymouth Dealers. Charlie Jones will call the action for the first four games, with Bob Murphy taking over for the final game on September 7. Dick Young will provide color for all five games.

Bills: The Buffalo NBC station is WGR-TV.

WKBW-TV is carrying three preseason games. Sponsors were not set at press time. Rick Azar will call the play-by-play.

Broncos: The Denver NBC station is KOA-TV.

Raiders: The Bay Area NBC station is KRON-TV.

Chargers: The San Diego NBC station is KOGO-TV.

KCST-TV has signed a one-year contract to televise the Chargers' preseason games. It will show the two road games live and the three home games (all played on Saturday) on tape delay the following Monday night. All five games will be televised on color. Bob Chandler and Emil Karat will call the action.

The station is also airing a 1968 Kickoff Special, highlight shows of every Chargers game, a coach's show with Chargers head coach Sid Gillman. and the October 5 game against the Jets in New York, which will kick off at 8PM Eastern. Chandler and Karas will be on the call for that one as well. Pre- and postgame programming will be sponsored by Fed-Mart Stores. The half-hour coach's show will air Wednesday nights at 7:30 PM Pacific, and it will be sponsored by Adohr Dairies. (Adohr will also hand out a trophy for the Chargers' Player of the Week at a weekly Charger Booster meeting in San Diego and give Chargers football schedules for each home delivery customer.)

The preseason telecasts and the October 5 game against the Jets will also be carried by KHJ-TV Los Angeles, and there are talks about showing them on other California stations.

(What was the deal with this? I could understand trying to cultivate a fan base in LA when the leagues were fighting, but with the merger coming it doesn't make sense, unless they were thinking about moving back or at least wanted to keep that option open for the future. As for the rest of California, did they really think that they had even the slightest chance in the Bay Area, where the Niners were already an institution and the Raiders were fast becoming one even at this early stage of their history?)

Oilers: The Houston NBC station is KPRC-TV. They will present a coach's show with Oilers head coach Wally Lemm before every game.

Majestic Advertising of Milwaukee has the radio and preseason television rights of the Oilers. Two of the preseason games will be fed over a four-station network in Texas, KTRK-TV is the Houston flagship; the other stations are KDTV-TV Dallas, KNMT-TV Beaumont, and KSAT-TV San Antonio. Schlitz Beer will sponsor half of each game, with Dodge and Southwestern Bell each taking a quarter. No announcers had been named for these games at press time.

Chiefs/Oilers: This may be the most unique package I've ever run across in pro football. KMBC-TV Kanas City is the producer and flagship station, and the package will air on twenty-one Chiefs stations and a dozen Oilers stations. (Last year, the entire Chiefs' network was just seven stations.)

Seven games will be aired: all five Chiefs games plus two Oilers games. Three of the games will be in color. Sponsors for the Chiefs are Wilson and Company. RCA Victor Distributing Company, Falstaff Brewing, and the local Plymouth Dealers. Oilers games will be sponsored by Household Finance, Schlitz Beer, Blue Cross, and Commerce Trust Bank. The pregame show will be sponsored by Cooper Tires and Mildren Food Stores. Charlie Jones will call the play-by-play, while Tom Kelly and John Sanders provide color. This is the first year of a five-year contract for the Chiefs and KMBC.

Chiefs: The Kansas City NBC station is WDAF-TV. Among the sponsors for their pre- and postgame shows are Lee Wholesalers (Zenith Distributing Company of Kansas), Household Finance, and Kroger.

Cincinnati Bengals: Three preseason games will be aired on the four Avco television stations: WLWT-TV Cincinnati (also the Cincinnati NBC station), WLWC-TV Columbus, Ohio; WLWD-TV Dayton, Ohio; and WLWI-TV Indianapolis, Indiana. Burger Brewing and Marathon Oil will each sponsor a quarter of each game, with the other half being sold locally. Phil Samp and Omar Williams will be on the call.