I looked at the NFL 1960s All-Decade Team last week. It's only fair to look at the terrific football players from the young, little league that took the 40-year old league to task for nearly all of 1960s. Here's the All-Time AFL Team.
Quarterback
Joe Namath
Running back
Clem Daniels
Paul Lowe
Flanker
Lance Alworth
Split End
Don Maynard
Tight end
Fred Arbanas
Tackle
Ron Mix
Jim Tyrer
Guard
Ed Budde
Billy Shaw
Center
Jim Otto
Defensive end
Jerry Mays
Gerry Philbin
Defensive tackle
Houston Antwine
Tom Sestak
Outside linebackers
Bobby Bell
George Webster
Middle Linebacker
Nick Bouniconti
Cornerback
Willie Brown
Dave Grayson
Safety
Johnny Robinson
George Saimes
Kicker
George Blanda
Punter
Jerrell Wilson
There's no doubting Joe Namath's prominence in the AFL or his role in the history of professional football but I have a difficult time seeing him as the All-Time AFL quarterback over Len Dawson. Buck Buchanan's absence as one of the defensive tackles is a surprise. Tom Sestak and Houston Antwine were excellent players but Buchanan is in the Hall of Fame for a reason. Old-time Buffalo Bills fans would put Sestak in Canton with Buchanan. They'd put George Saimes in as well. Johnny Robinson is one of the best football players not in the Hall of Fame.
Cookie Gilchrist was the All-Time AFL second team running back. No offense to Paul Lowe or Clem Daniels but Gilchrist should have been first team. In his six-year AFL career Gilchrist really only played four complete seasons. Three with the Buffalo Bills. One with the Denver Broncos. He was the Jim Brown of the AFL. Big, powerful, fast. He was probably the most dominant offensive player in the league during those four seasons. He was the AFL's Player of the Year in 1962. He could have won it the next three years as well. He played the first six years of his professional football career in the Canadian Football League. If he'd been in the NFL for his entire career he'd probably be in the Hall of Fame. It's a real shame that he's not better remembered.
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