| August 01, 2004 | « Previous Story | HOME | Next Story » | Posted at 10:57 AM |
After the emotional and historic road win at Boston giving the Bills their first ever divisional crown, the 12-2 Buffalo Bills would host the AFL championship game the day after Christmas, 1964. San Diego was a club that had lost 3 of their final 4 games, including a Thanksgiving day loss at the final gun to the Bills. Buffalo swept the season series and finished with 4 more wins than the Chargers. The Chargers were already in a hole without the services of future Hall of Fame WR Lance Allworth, who had a hyper-extended knee from the previous week.
The game was also an opportunity for quarterback Jack Kemp to make some “payback” to the organization that he led to two championship appearances in 1960 and 1961. Half-way through the 1962 season Kemp injured his hand. Charger coach Sid Gillman tried to sneak Kemp through waivers when he was plucked by a savvy Lou Saban. Even though he compiled a 25-8 record at the helm of the Chargers, Gillman shrugged off the loss and downplayed the abilities of Kemp. It was a move he would later regret. 40,242 were on hand to witness the game in a chilly War Memorial Stadium.
The Chargers stunned the Bills on their first drive, cutting through the league’s top rated defense like a hot knife through butter. RB Keith Lincoln broke off a 38-yard run on the game’s first play. By the 5th play of the drive, the Chargers were on the board with a 7-0 lead. QB Tobin Rote hit TE Dave Kocourek for 26 yards with only 3:11 expired from the game.
On San Diego’s second possession following a Buffalo punt, the tide dramatically turned. Tobin Rote floated a swing pass to Keith Lincoln, who turned and stretched out to try and haul in the catch. With a hit that will live in the annals of professional football history, Bills LB Mike Stratton hit Lincoln with such force every fan in the stands could here the impact. Lincoln was obliterated on the play, folding into a crumpled heap on the field- with a number of broken ribs. The Charger offense- which struck for 80 yards on the first five plays- would gain a mere 179 the rest of the game.
Kemp took the reigns of the offense at the Buffalo 36. He pushed the team to the Charger 3 yard line. Charger DE Ernie Ladd was hit with a 15-yard face mask penalty helping the drive. Kemp also found Glenn Bass open for a 20 yard completion, followed up with an 11-yard strike to TE Ernie Warlick. The Chargers stiffened their resistance at the 3, forcing Pete Gogolak to hit a 12-yard FG.
The Chargers Leslie Duncan took the ensuing kickoff 5yards deep from his endzone and put together an electrifying 70-yard return. The Chargers wasted this opportunity to seize a commanding lead. Bills CB Charley Warner came up with another big interception on the season, picking off Tobin Rote in the endzone killing the drive. Buffalo would also squander a scoring opportunity of their own. Cookie Gilchrist broke a 32-yard run behind a Billy Shaw block. The Drive again would stall in the Charger red zone. Due to the deafening crowd noise, a miscommunication between place-kick holder Daryle Lamonica and his team mates. Key players Ernie Warlick and John Tracey failed to pick up the audible, so when Lamonica picked up the snap- he had no one to throw to. He was tackled just short of a first down on the broken play. The first quarter would end with a 7-3 Charger advantage.
Buffalo’s defense answered the call in the second. They forced the Charger offense to punt and the Bills offense took control of the game. With great field position at their own 44, the Bills would put together an 8-play drive capped off with a Wray Carlton 4 yard TD run. The drive was aided by Kemp’s 18-yard completion to Elbert Dubenion, and an incredible 15-yard completion to Carlton while Kemp was wrapped up for a near-sack. Carlton stretched the Ball over from 3 yards out to give the Bills a 10-7 lead that they would not relinquish.
Buffalo would put up another score just before the half. Cookie Gilchrist had another monster gain of 39 yards as he rumbled through the Charger defense. Kemp added a 12 –yard scramble to the San Diego 3. On third and goal, Kemp was a victim of the slick field conditions and slipped to the turf back at the 10. Pete Gogolak nailed the FG and gave the Bills a 13-7 lead. Mike Stratton again came up with a big play to end the half. A scrambling Tobin Rote tried to toss a pass out of bounds while under pressure, but Stratton came up with a big interception to end the half.
The third quarter was a showcase for the Bills defense, holding the Chargers without scoring. Gilchrist and Carlton spent the second half pounding the Charger defense wearing them down with a conservative ball-control approach. Between the two, they would combine for 34 attempts and amass 192 total yards. Gilchrist was forced from the game at the end of the thirsd nursing some bruised ribs of his own after his contribution of 122 carries on 16 attempts.
When the Charger defense would hold their ground and force a Buffalo punt, another former Charger castoff would kill them. Punter Paul MaGuire had a career game, averaging almost 47 yards on 5 punts, coffin-cornering 2 of them inside the San Diego 10 yard line. For the entire second half, they were pinned down with awful field position.
Early in the 4th, and sitting on only a 7 point lead, Kemp broke the game open with a perfectly executed play-action pass. On the first play from the Buffalo 48, he found the speedy Glenn Bass on a 15 yard slant. Catching the ball at the 35, he broke the grasp of a Charger defender and burst down to the one yard line. Jack Kemp kept it himself 2 lays later and pushed the Bills ahead with the insurance score.
The Chargers refused to go quietly. Les Duncan had his second big kick return on the day, with a 49 yard return to mid-field. With John Hadl at the controls the Chargers fought all the way to the Buffalo 5 yard line. But San Diego was denied without scoring. The Bills went on to kill the clock and claim their first championship.
For Gilchrist, it was his last game in a Buffalo uniform. While his final performance was one of his best all season, the damage was done with his antics during the November game against Boston in which he sat out the second half. Outspoken to the point of causing friction between himself, the coaching staff, ownership, and even other players- he would be shipped out 5 weeks later to the Denver Broncos in exchange for FB Billy Joe, the 1963 AFL Rookie of the Year. For the rest of the team, it was just the beginning.
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