The Denver Broncos will play their first preseason game of 2009 on Friday night at San Francisco’s storied Candlestick Park. With a new head coach in Josh McDaniels and a bevy of new players, the CBS4 television audience promises to be a huge one.
It would be in any case, but particularly so with all the new elements thrown into the mix.
But……
It wasn’t always that way.
This is the 50th anniversary of Broncos football, and just for the fun of it, let’s take a quick look back at some preseason games, sites and crowds from the Broncos’ very first season, the inaugural 1960 campaign.
We all know what pro football is today, but the early years of the American Football League in no way represented what we will be watching at a near sold out stadium in one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities on Friday night.
In the early years, the teams schooled their own preseason games, playing who they could, where they could and when they could.
The Broncos’ first game was in Providence, Rhode Island before a scintillating crowd of 4,706 — a gem which Denver lost to the Boston Patriots by a 43-6 margin.
The team stayed east the following week, playing and losing to the Buffalo Bills by a convincing 31-14 margin before 6,200 curious onlookers in Rochester, New York.
The next game was finally in a major metropolitan area, Houston, but the venue was a high school field known as Jeppesen Stadium — that’s where the Oilers played their home games in their first few seasons. A relatively huge crowd of 19,500 watched the game (although the figures might have been inflated “just a bit”, as they sometimes did for early AFL games). In any case, the Broncos were pummeled, 42-3.
Denver continued its ignominious march through the preseason the following week in Little Rock, Arkansas, where the gold and brown (we were still two years away from being the orange and blue) got slaughtered (is there any better way to put it?) by AFL founder Lamar Hunt’s Dallas Texans, 48-0. So the Broncos had played the AFL’s two Texas franchises in back-to-back weeks and had rolled up a point differential of 90-3.
The preseason concluded in Los Angeles with the Broncos playing the Chargers in the Coliseum before 21,516, and the Coliseum ghosts that had witnessed Olympic events and classic college football matchups must have simply rolled their collective eyes. Los Angeles won by a 30-36 margin.
So the final tally for Denver that first preseason was an 0-5 record, played before a total attendance of merely 57,422. That would be a low figure for any NFL game played in 2009.
And oh yes, the Broncos were outscored by a composite point total of 200 to 53.
Who would have thought that the following week the Broncos would revisit the Patriots, to whom they had lost by 37 points on that dismal night in Providence, and create a historical footnote by winning the first regular season game in AFL history, 13-10 before a curious but respectable audience of 21,597?
In sports, the games are the building blocks of history, and the Denver Broncos begin their 50th season of play and a new historical era Friday night against the 49ers.
Tags: 1960, Denver Broncos, Preseason
Good post Jim! I really enjoyed the history lesson. Usually preseason isn’t very interesting as far as I’m concerned, but this year is certainly different. With all the changes to the roster through free agency and the draft, as well with the new coaching staff, this preseason is going to be VERY exciting to see how it all comes together.
With high hopes on a great season! GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!
Yea I’m so excited to just see how we run the offense, defense, everything I’m really interested to what identity we take on because with our weapons and offense and defense we could be just about anything. But this year lets hope we can be a run stopping team. I believe we have the right personnel and the right scheme to do it.
LETS GO BRONCOS!!!!!! MAKE DA NINERS PAY FOR CRUSHING OUR PLAY OFF HOPES IN 06!!
I remember going to a Bronco pre-season game at the old University of Denver football field. It may not have been the first season.
I can’t wait for the October game.
Old Hockey Guy: Is this (C3AS) hockey coach, aka Old Man?
More bad news for Torain.
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afcwest/0-3-2602/Torain-hopes-to-fight-way-up-Denver-s-depth-chart.html
im sorry this is the link to Torain
http://myespn.go.com/blogs/afcwest/0-3-2610/Denver-s-Torain-has-strained-knee-ligament.html
Somewhere lamont jordan is smiling
Torain has the potential to be good bu he just cant stay healthy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXTNeqVvFKw&NR=1
kyle orton video………..
bu=but
Man, Torain cannot stay healthy, plain and simple. I think he will get waived. Would they really want to put him on IR AGAIN? I love the kid when he’s healthy. Problem is, that’s seldom. Call it bad luck, whatever, but I now don’t see him making the roster. Who is Thomas? I’ll have to google him. I know we have a Marcus Thomas as a DT, but a RB?
From wiki:
Marcus Bernard Thomas (born May 28, 1984 in Phoenix, Arizona) is an American football running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the fifth round of the 2008 NFL Draft. He played college football at Texas-El Paso.
Thomas has also been a member of the Detroit Lions, Dallas Cowboys and Cleveland Browns.
San Diego Chargers
On August 30, 2008, Thomas was waived by the Chargers during final cuts.
Detroit Lions
A day after being let go by the Chargers, Thomas was claimed off waivers by the Detroit Lions on August 31, 2008. He appeared in three games for the Lions before being waived on October 9 when the team signed fullback Moran Norris.
Dallas Cowboys
Thomas was signed to the practice squad of the Dallas Cowboys on December 17, 2008 and remained there through the end of the season.
Cleveland Browns
Thomas was signed to a future contract by the Cleveland Browns on January 7, 2009. He was waived on July 15, 2009.
Denver Broncos
Thomas signed with the Denver Broncos on August 12, 2009.
Yeah he was a Miner. 5 minutes from my house where he played. Unfortunately never saw him. But read good things about him in the newspaper.
I am very excited about the upcoming season. The defense will be better. They will be more physical and cause more turnovers. I am especially excited about our Db’s and linebackers. Our db’s were terrible last year. I remember countless missed tackles by our safeties. That won’t happen nearly as much this year.
Crush Cutler on August 30th! Lets blitz that joker like there is no tomorrow baby…ummm I mean crybaby.
So he will probably be waived. McD is just tryin to make competition now that torain is gonna be out.
Thomas sure gets bounced around a lot. Maybe Turner can make him into a back who is worthy? 4 teams turned him away. Not a good confidence builder.
I’m just excited to see the orange and blue running a 3-4 defense, that’ll be enough to keep me tuned into the preseason…
ATV, what will you change your handle to, if Torain happens to get waived? Please not another Royal name. It’s getting too crowded in here, ha, ha. PHD (Peyton Hillis Denver).
here is a good link.
http://www.nationalfootballpost.com/Is-Brandon-Marshall-hiding-out.html
DD, im not sure. I will surprise you and see if you guys can figure it out later. LOL. Where’s Torain? Where’s Waldo.
Suxs to hear news on Torain
Hey its not my fault royal is a beast. lol
Here is another good link. Broncos Camp Report
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/ross_tucker/08/12/broncos/index.html?eref=T1
Whats up with the blog first off. Did anyone play Madden?? They did us just wrong. As for Camp, I think Orton will lose his job to Simms. What do ya’ll think.
That conversation has been had many times. read previous blogs. thank u.
i think they might switch off throughout the season
DAMN IT RYAN!!!! F@#$@&@^#%@$#@*&#*@&#@*&^@$$@_)!!!!! I thought he was a bit suspect when I saw the knee brace on at practice… MAN I P#@$ED!!!!!
Ryan Torain was released…….check out the video with McD. Said Ryan has been released….
Yeah I heard Ryan got released too. Oh and sorry I’m not on here everyday. I have a house to pay for. Must be nice living with mom. Knowshawn looks real good. I hope he gets some good playing time. Marshall probably will try to sit out as much of the preseason he can.
The #1, Orton will be the starter, IMO, throughout the season unless, like ANY QB, he struggles during the regular season.
Too bad about Ryan. Thank God we have Moreno. He needs to stay healthy (I’m knocking on wood right now). If Moreno goes down, we’re in deep stuff. Anybody got Tatums #, ha ha. McD must really not like Tatum. He picked up somebody who gets waived by every team he plays for.
The#1, what did you mean by “what’s up with the blog?”
I’m glad to see Marcus Thomas with the Broncos now, for starters. I served part of my LDS mission in El Paso so I’m glad for any Miners we have that can do a good job for us. Incidentally, it’s a shame Thomas Howard and Johnnie Lee Higgins became Raiders but that’s a rant for another time. Even as the Broncos started their first season on the right foot by beating the Patriots, even so will the 50th season be one for the ages. We’ll start our dominance with a win over the 49ers and all should be well. GO BRONCOS!!!
The Broncos were involed in a lot of AFL firsts; 1st preseason game; first regular season game; first AFL team to beat an NFL team (Minnesota); first AFL team to beat two consecurtive NFL teams (Vikings and Lions). After the Broncos beat ther Vikings, Alex Karras said that if the BRoncos beat the Lions he’d walk back to Dertroit. He didn’t walk back but he got manhandled by Cookie Gilchrest when he tried to rough up Floyd Little. I’m not certain, but I believe the Broncos-Lions game was at DU and that Steve Tensi threw a late bomb to win the game. Correct Jim?
when i started reading this blog, I thought it would be more like what OLDSOUTHSTANDER is talking about, thanks.