SEASONS 60 A RETROSPECTIVE OF DENVER BRONCOS FOOTBALL
by
• Printed in the United States of America
This book is an unofficial account of the Denver Broncos’ 60 seasons and is not endorsed by the NFL or the Denver Broncos. Johansson, Tracy curated John Sunderland
The Denver Post 5990 Washington St. Denver, CO 80216 Bill Reynolds, General Manager, Senior Vice President, Circulation and Operations Steve
Director of Circulation Operation
Ulmer, President and CEO, Denver Post Community Foundation Scott Monserud, Sports editor Patrick Traylor, Senior editor/ photography and multimedia Chapter introductions by Sam Adams Photos
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the copyright owner or the publisher. by Pediment Publishing, a division of The Pediment Group, www.pediment.comInc.
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Copyright © 2020 by The Denver Post Rights Reserved • ISBN: 978-1-59725-946-0
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INTRODUCTION | 3 CONTENTS The 1960s ........................ 11 The 1970s ........................ 31 The 1980s ....................... 63 The 1990s ....................... 87 The 2000s ..................... 107 The 2010s ...................... 133 Appendix ....................... 172 Ann Judges rides Thunder the mascot before the game against the Houston Texans at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on Nov. 4, 2018. JOE AMON / THE DENVER POST
John Elway celebrates the Broncos’ Super Bowl XXXIII victory on Jan. 31, 1999. Elway, who was named the game’s Most Valuable Player, led the Broncos to a 34-19 win over the Atlanta Falcons.
THE DENVER POST
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On Friday, Sept. 9, 1960, the Broncos played the host Boston Patriots at Nickerson Field. Boston scored first on a field goal. But quarterback Frank Tripucka’s 59-yard touchdown pass to Al Carmichael, and Gene Mingo’s 76-yard punt return for a touchdown gave Denver the points it needed for a 13-10 win.
In the year 1960, motorists paid 30 cents a gallon for gas, while a loaf of bread cost 20 cents and the average price of a house was less than $20,000 . . . and the Denver Broncos of the American Football League wore vertical-striped socks with their brownand-yellow uniforms in their inaugural season.
The constant losing did not help the Broncos cause in the AFL drafts. They selected high-profile college stars only to be spurned, players the likes of future Pro Football Hall of Famers Merlin Olsen (first round 1962), Dick Butkus (second round 1965) and defensive lineman Curly Culp (second round 1968).
THE 1960 s | 11 THE 1960s
Mac Speedie took over early in the 1964 season, but the losing ways continued in 1965.
The new Broncos played their first three games on the road. Once home at Bears Stadium, a 31-14 win Oct. 2, 1960 over the Oakland Raiders gave coach Frank Filchock’s team a glossy 3-1 record. Four games into the season, the 33-year-old Tripucka had six touchdown passes. The most impressive stat of Denver’s early season was defensive back Austin “Goose” Gonsoulin’s seven interceptions in the team’s first three games. Gonsoulin finished the season with 11 interceptions — still a franchise single-season record. So are Tripucka’s 34 interceptions thrown in 1960. The promising start hit a tailspin. The Broncos’ first season ended with a 4-9-1 record, giving them the AFL’s worst record and the first pick overall in the 1961 draft. Bob Howsam sold the team in 1961 to Gerald Phipps and Cal Kunz. The following season, with new head coach Jack Faulkner, the Broncos finished 7-7 — a disappointing finish considering the team won seven of its first nine games. Denver won only four of its next 28 games, and Faulkner lost his job.
In 1964 the Broncos drafted three players who would become Hall of Fame inductees after their NFL careers ended — offensive lineman Bob Brown (first round), defensive back Paul Krause (12th round) and wide receiver Bob Hayes (14th round).
“I first heard it when I arrived (in 1973), I started to understand that it’s likely the franchise wouldn’t have even existed without Floyd Little,” said Broncos Ring of Fame linebacker Tom Jackson, who was a rookie in 1973 and Little’s teammate for three“Youseasons.lose13 seasons in a row, maintain a franchise and have the stands packed . . . it was happening because of Floyd.”
One college star who didn’t get away from the Broncos was Syracuse University running back Floyd Little. The first NFL/AFL common draft was held in 1967, and Denver selected Little with the sixth pick overall. At 5-foot-10 and 195, Little was both an elusive and powerful bow-legged runner, which made him the gate attraction Denver’s front office desperately needed.
Little’s arrival in 1967 coincided with the arrival of new coach Lou Saban — who was the Patriots’ coach in 1960 when the Broncos beat them in the AFL’s first game. Prolonged losing spells in 1967, 1968 and 1969 left the Broncos under .500 each season, while searching for answers on how to reach respectability in the 1970s.
The Broncos’ brightest star during those early dark days was wide receiver Lionel Taylor, who became the first player in pro football history to catch 100 passes in a season (1961) and had four 1,000-yard seasons in the AFL’s first six years.
JOHN LEYNA / THE DENVER POST
92 | 60 SEASONS OF BRONCOS FOOTBALL JAN. 25, 1993
PHILLIPS NAMED HEAD COACH Wade Phillips is hired as the 10th head coach in Broncos history, signing a three-year contract as head coach after four seasons as the Broncos’ defensive coordinator.
JAN. 2, 1994
TOO GOOD NOT ENOUGH In the Broncos’ 1993 regular season finale John Elway throws for 361 yards and three TDs against Raiders. But L.A. prevailed in OT, 33-30. Elway finished the regular season with career highs for completions (348), passing yards (4,030) and touchdowns (25).
BELOW: Wade Phillips addresses the press.
ABOVE: John Elway expresses frustration in a close loss.
JOHN LEYBA / THE DENVER POST
ABOVE:
THE 1990 s | 93 JAN. 9, 1994 SHARPE SETS PLAYOFF MARK Tight end Shannon Sharpe caps Pro Bowl season by tying an NFL postseason record with 13 receptions (for 156 yards) in a 42-24 loss to Los Angeles Raiders.
Broncos tight end Shannon Sharpe celebrates a touchdown against the Oakland Raiders. CRAIG F. WALKER / THE DENVER POST HIGHLIGHTS SHANNON SHARPE » 2× Super Bowl champion (XXXII, XXXIII) » 7× Pro Bowl (1992–1998) » 4× First-team All-Pro (1993, 1996–1998) » Ring of Fame inductee (2009) » Pro Football Hall of Fame enshrinee (2011)
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AARON ONTIVEROZ / THE DENVER POST RIGHT: John Elway yells, “This one’s for Pat!” as he hoists the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
AARON ONTIVEROZ / THE DENVER POST ABOVE MIDDLE: Super Bowl 50 MVP winner Von Miller talks with his boss, Super Bowl XXXIII MVP winner John Elway.
RJ SANGOSTI / THE DENVER POST
JOE AMON / THE DENVER POST ABOVE RIGHT: Peyton Manning holds the Vince Lombardi Trophy after the Broncos’ Super Bowl win.
ABOVE: Emmanuel Sanders (10) celebrates with his father, Joel Shalow, after the Broncos’ Super Bowl win.
JOE AMON / THE DENVER POST OPPOSITE: Fans crowd downtown Denver during a parade to celebrate the Denver Broncos winning Super Bowl 50, Feb. 9, 2016. The parade went from Union Station and ended at Civic Center Park.
THE 2010 s | 161
source: Sports Reference (www.sports-reference.com)
Season Record Coaches Top passer Division finish Playoff finish 1960 4-9-1 Filchock Tripucka 4th 1961 3-11-0 Filchock Tripucka 3rd 1962 7-7-0 Faulkner Tripucka 2nd 1963 2-11-1 Faulkner Slaughter 4th 1964 2-11-1 Speedie, Faulkner Lee 4th 1965 4-10-0 Speedie McCormick 4th 1966 4-10-0 Malavasi, Speedie Choboian 4th 1967 3-11-0 Saban Tensi 4th 1968 5-9-0 Saban Briscoe 4th 1969 5-8-1 Saban Tensi 4th 1970 5-8-1 Saban Liske 4th 1971 4-9-1 Smith, Saban Ramsey 4th 1972 5-9-0 Ralston Johnson 3rd 1973 7-5-2 Ralston Johnson 3rd 1974 7-6-1 Ralston Johnson 2nd 1975 6-8-0 Ralston Ramsey 2nd 1976 9-5-0 Ralston Ramsey 2nd 1977 12-2-0 Miller Morton 1st Lost Super Bowl 1978 10-6-0 Miller Morton 1st Lost Divisional 1979 10-6-0 Miller Morton 2nd Lost Wildcard 1980 8-8-0 Miller Morton 4th 1981 10-6-0 Reeves Morton 2nd 1982 2-7-0 Reeves DeBerg 5th 1983 9-7-0 Reeves Elway 3rd Lost Wildcard 1984 13-3-0 Reeves Elway 1st Lost Divisional 1985 11-5-0 Reeves Elway 2nd 1986 11-5-0 Reeves Elway 1st Lost Super Bowl 1987 10-4-1 Reeves Elway 1st Lost Super Bowl 1988 8-8-0 Reeves Elway 2nd 1989 11-5-0 Reeves Elway 1st Lost Super Bowl
Season Record Coaches Top passer Division finish Playoff finish 1990 5-11-0 Reeves Elway 5th 1991 12-4-0 Reeves Elway 1st Lost Conference 1992 8-8-0 Reeves Elway 3rd 1993 9-7-0 Phillips Elway 3rd Lost Wildcard 1994 7-9-0 Phillips Elway 4th 1995 8-8-0 Shanahan Elway 4th 1996 13-3-0 Shanahan Elway 1st Lost Divisional 1997 12-4-0 Shanahan Elway 2nd Won Super Bowl 1998 14-2-0 Shanahan Elway 1st Won Super Bowl 1999 6-10-0 Shanahan Griese 5th 2000 11-5-0 Shanahan Griese 2nd Lost Wildcard 2001 8-8-0 Shanahan Griese 3rd 2002 9-7-0 Shanahan Griese 2nd 2003 10-6-0 Shanahan Plummer 2nd Lost Wildcard 2004 10-6-0 Shanahan Plummer 2nd Lost Wildcard 2005 13-3-0 Shanahan Plummer 1st Lost Conference 2006 9-7-0 Shanahan Plummer 3rd 2007 7-9-0 Shanahan Cutler 2nd 2008 8-8-0 Shanahan Cutler 2nd 2009 8-8-0 McDaniels Orton 2nd 2010 4-12-0 McDaniels, Studesville Orton 4th 2011 8-8-0 Fox Tebow 1st Lost Divisional 2012 13-3-0 Fox Manning 1st Lost Divisional 2013 13-3-0 Fox Manning 1st Lost Super Bowl 2014 12-4-0 Fox Manning 1st Lost Divisional 2015 12-4-0 Kubiak Manning 1st Won Super Bowl 2016 9-7-0 Kubiak Siemian 3rd 2017 5-11-0 Joseph Siemian 4th 2018 6-10-0 Joseph Keenum 3rd 2019 7-9-0 Fangio Flacco 2nd
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PAT
ELWAY QUARTERBACK
GARY ZIMMERMAN TACKLE Broncos career: 1993–1997 Enshrined: 2008
CHAMP BAILEY CORNERBACK Broncos career: 2004–2013 Enshrined: 2019
FLOYD LITTLE HALFBACK Broncos career: 1967–1975 Enshrined: 2010 BOWLEN OWNER Ownership:Enshrined:1984–20192019 SHARPE TIGHT END Broncos career: 1990–99, 2002–03 Enshrined: 2011
STEVE ATWATER SAFETY Broncos career: 1989–1998 Enshrined: 2020 IN THE PRO FOOTBALL HALL OF FAME
BRONCOS
OFFENSIVE
SHANNON
JOHN Broncos career: 1983-1998 Enshrined: 2004
TERRELL DAVIS RUNNING BACK Broncos career: 1995–2001 Enshrined: 2017
