Right out of the gate, the San Diego Chargers were a championship caliber franchise. As a charter member of the American Football League (AFL) in 1960, in their maiden season as the “Los Angeles Chargers” they won their division and then lost to the Houston Oilers in the first-ever AFL Championship Game. After a move south to San Diego, in the following five seasons the club captured their division an additional four times, lost three more AFL Championship Games but also captured the AFL title in 1963, the city’s first pro football championship.
After the merger with the National Football League (NFL), the Chargers played in one Super Bowl, a 49-26 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX.