1968 San Diego Chargers season

1968 San Diego Chargers season
OwnerEugene V. Klein
General managerSid Gillman
Head coachSid Gillman
Home stadiumSan Diego Stadium
Results
Record9–5
Division place3rd Western Division
PlayoffsDid not qualify
All-AFL
5
AFL All-Stars

The 1968 Season was the 9th season for the San Diego Chargers as a professional AFL franchise; the team improved on their 8–5–1 record from 1967, finishing at 9–5. This was also Sid Gillman's final full year as Chargers head coach.

Offseason

NFL/AFL draft

1968 San Diego Chargers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 4 Russ Washington *  Tackle Missouri
1 18 Jim Hill  Cornerback TAMUK
2 43 Bill Lenkaitis  Center Penn State
4 100 Ken Dyer  Defensive back Arizona State University
5 129 Bill Perry  Tight end Kent State
7 183 Lane Fenner  Wide receiver Florida State
8 209 Elliot Gammage  Tight end Tennessee
9 237 Grundy Harris  Running back Southern
11 291 Dennis Partee  Kicker / Punter SMU
12 317 Jeff Queen  Linebacker Morgan State
13 345 Fred Combs  Defensive back North Carolina State
14 371 Jim Campbell  Linebacker West Texas A&M
15 399 Dan Kramarczyk  Tackle Dayton
15 403 Bob Wells  Tackle Johnson C. Smith
16 425 Dick Farley  Safety Boston University
17 453 Dan Andrews  Tight end West Texas A&M
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Roster

1968 San Diego Chargers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Reserve {{{Reserve Lists}}}

Rookies in italics

Preseason

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 3 San Francisco 49ers W 30–18 1–0 San Diego Stadium
2 August 10 at Oakland Raiders L 7–31 1–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum
3 August 17 Pittsburgh Steelers L 33–36 1–2 San Diego Stadium
4 August 24 Los Angeles Rams W 35–13 2–2 San Diego Stadium
5 August 30 vs. Denver Broncos W 6–3 3–2 Alamo Stadium (San Antonio)

[1]

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 6 Cincinnati Bengals W 29–13 1–0 San Diego Stadium 33,687 Recap
2 Bye
3 September 21 Houston Oilers W 30–14 2–0 San Diego Stadium 46,217 Recap
4 September 29 at Cincinnati Bengals W 31–10 3–0 Nippert Stadium 28,642 Recap
5 October 5 at New York Jets L 20–23 3–1 Shea Stadium 63,786 Recap
6 October 13 at Oakland Raiders W 23–14 4–1 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 53,257 Recap
7 October 20 Denver Broncos W 55–24 5–1 San Diego Stadium 42,953 Recap
8 October 27 at Kansas City Chiefs L 20–27 5–2 Municipal Stadium 50,344 Recap
9 November 3 Miami Dolphins W 34–28 6–2 San Diego Stadium 37,284 Recap
10 November 10 at Boston Patriots W 27–17 7–2 Fenway Park 19,278 Recap
11 November 17 at Buffalo Bills W 21–6 8–2 War Memorial Stadium 27,993 Recap
12 November 24 New York Jets L 15–37 8–3 San Diego Stadium 51,175 Recap
13 December 1 at Denver Broncos W 47–23 9–3 Mile High Stadium 35,312 Recap
14 December 8 Kansas City Chiefs L 3–40 9–4 San Diego Stadium 51,174 Recap
15 December 15 Oakland Raiders L 27–34 9–5 San Diego Stadium 40,698 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Cincinnati Bengals

Week One: San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Bengals 7 3 3013
Chargers 10 0 13629

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: September 6
  • Game weather: 71 °F (21.7 °C), relative humidity 75%, wind 11 mph
  • Game attendance: 33,687
  • Box score
Game information

Week 3: vs. Houston Oilers

Week Three: Houston Oilers at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Oilers 0 7 7014
Chargers 3 6 02130

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: September 21
  • Game weather: 66 °F (18.9 °C), relative humidity 62%, wind 8 mph
  • Game attendance: 46,217
  • Box score
Game information

Week 4: at Cincinnati Bengals

Week Four: San Diego Chargers at Cincinnati Bengals – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 17 01431
Bengals 3 0 7010

at Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

  • Date: September 29
  • Game weather: 62 °F (16.7 °C), relative humidity 63%, wind 5 mph
  • Game attendance: 28,642
  • Box score
Game information

Week 5: at New York Jets

Week Five: San Diego Chargers at New York Jets – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 7 6720
Jets 3 6 7723

at Shea Stadium, New York, New York

  • Date: October 5
  • Game weather: 53 °F (11.7 °C), relative humidity 48%, wind 15 mph
  • Game attendance: 63,786
  • Box score
Game information

Week 6: at Oakland Raiders

Week Six: San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 10 7 3323
Raiders 0 14 0014

at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, California

  • Date: October 13
  • Game time: 1:04 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16.1 °C), relative humidity 81%, wind 5 mph
  • Game attendance: 53,257
  • Box score
Game information

Week 7: vs. Denver Broncos

Week Seven: Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Broncos 3 7 7724
Chargers 3 28 101455

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: October 20
  • Game time: 1:04 p.m. PDT
  • Game weather: 65 °F (18.3 °C), relative humidity 76%, wind 7 mph
  • Game attendance: 42,953
  • Referee: Bob Finley
  • Box score
Game information

Week 8: at Kansas City Chiefs

Week Eight: San Diego Chargers at Kansas City Chiefs – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 0 10 3720
Chiefs 7 10 01027

at Municipal Stadium, Kansas City, Missouri

  • Date: October 27
  • Game time: 3:05 p.m. CST
  • Game weather: 55 °F (12.8 °C), relative humidity 48%, wind 16 mph
  • Game attendance: 50,344
  • Referee: Jack Vest
  • Box score
Game information

Week 9: vs. Miami Dolphins

Week Nine: Miami Dolphins at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Dolphins 7 7 7728
Chargers 7 10 71034

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: November 3
  • Game time: 1:04 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 63 °F (17.2 °C), relative humidity 80%, wind 8 mph
  • Game attendance: 37,284
  • Referee: John McDonough
  • Box score
Game information

Week 10: at Boston Patriots

Week Ten: San Diego Chargers at Boston Patriots – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 7 10 10027
Patriots 3 0 01417

at Fenway Park, Boston, Massachusetts

  • Date: November 10
  • Game time: 1:32 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 42 °F (5.6 °C), relative humidity 81%, wind 19 mph
  • Game attendance: 19,278
  • Referee: Bob Finley
  • Box score
Game information

Week 11: at Buffalo Bills

Week Eleven: San Diego Chargers at Buffalo Bills – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 7 14 0021
Bills 3 0 306

at War Memorial Stadium, Buffalo, New York

  • Date: November 17
  • Game time: 1:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 34 °F (1.1 °C), relative humidity 95%, wind 15 mph, wind chill 25
  • Game attendance: 27,993
  • Referee: John McDonough
  • Box score
Game information

Week 12: vs. New York Jets

Week Twelve: New York Jets at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Jets 10 17 3737
Chargers 0 7 0815

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: November 24
  • Game weather: 60 °F (15.6 °C), relative humidity 87%, wind 6 mph
  • Game attendance: 51,175
  • Box score
Game information

Week 13: at Denver Broncos

Week Thirteen: San Diego Chargers at Denver Broncos – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chargers 21 10 01647
Broncos 3 14 6023

at Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado

  • Date: December 1
  • Game time: 2:00 p.m. MST
  • Game weather: 29 °F (−1.7 °C), relative humidity 54%, wind 9 mph, wind chill 21
  • Game attendance: 35,312
  • Referee: Ben Dreith
  • Box score
Game information

Week 14: vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Week Fourteen: Kansas City Chiefs at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Chiefs 7 14 14540
Chargers 3 0 003

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: December 8
  • Game time: 1:03 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 57 °F (13.9 °C), relative humidity 52%, wind 5 mph
  • Game attendance: 51,174
  • Referee: Jack Vest
  • Box score
Game information

Week 15: vs. Oakland Raiders

Week Fifteen: Oakland Raiders at San Diego Chargers – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Raiders 3 7 141034
Chargers 3 10 6827

at San Diego Stadium, San Diego, California

  • Date: December 15
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m. PST
  • Game weather: 58 °F (14.4 °C), relative humidity 53%, wind 7 mph
  • Game attendance: 40,698
  • Referee: Walt Fitzgerald
  • Box score
Game information

Standings

AFL Western Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Oakland Raiders 12 2 0 .857 6–2 453 233 W8
Kansas City Chiefs 12 2 0 .857 7–1 371 170 W5
9 5 0 .643 5–3 382 310 L2
Denver Broncos 5 9 0 .357 1–7 275 404 L3
Cincinnati Bengals 3 11 0 .214 1–7 215 329 L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.

Awards

Seven Chargers were in the West team for the AFL All-Star game, while three were named to the Associated Press All-AFL first team and two to the second team.[2][3] Also, Alworth and Hadl received votes for the AP AFL Player of the Year award (4 votes and 2 votes respectively), Washington received 2 votes for AFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, and Gillman received 3 votes for AFL Coach of the Year.[4]

Player Position All-Star AP 1st-team All-Pro AP 2nd-team All-Pro
Lance Alworth Flanker
Gary Garrison End
Kenny Graham Safety
John Hadl Quarterback
Jacque MacKinnon Tight end
Ron Mix Tackle
Dickie Post Running back
Walt Sweeney Guard


References

  1. ^ "2021 Los Angeles Chargers Media Guide". chargers.com.
  2. ^ "1968 AFL All-Stars". Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  3. ^ "1968 AFL All-Pros". Pro-Football-Reference. Retrieved April 12, 2025.
  4. ^ "1968 awards voting". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved April 12, 2025.