The Greatest Teams: 1961 Houston Oilers

"Houston has the Oilers, the greatest football team;
We take the ball from goal to goal like no one's ever seen.
We're in the air, we're on the ground...always in control;
And when you say 'the Oilers', you're talking Super Bowl."

The Tennessee Titans have a long and storied history, particularly because they used to be another franchise completely: the Houston Oilers. Although the Oilers never did quite make it to the Super Bowl as "Luv Ya Blue" attests, their legacy still lives on in NFL lore. Several recent Titans franchises certainly deserved consideration here, including the 1999 Tennessee team that made it to Super Bowl XXXIV(where they lost to the St. Louis Rams, 23-16). However, the early Oilers teams of the American Football League were very dominant in their own right, especially the 1961 team. And, just for clarification purposes, the Oilers of the AFL are still a part of NFL history, since AFL history and records have been incorporated into the NFL after the merger.

At quarterback, the Oilers boasted the "Grand Old Man" in George Blanda, who was 34 and still exhibiting Pro Bowl seasons. Blanda, who previously played in Chicago before starting in Houston in 1960, was both the team's quarterback and kicker, and feat not unusual for the day. As quarterback, he led the young AFL in passing yardage, passing touchdowns, and passer rating during the 1961 season. These numbers were supported by Houston's All-Pro halfback Billy Cannon, who led the league in rushing yardage. Cannon, the 1959 Heisman winner, was fiercely recruited by both the NFL and AFL (he was selected by the NFL's Los Angeles Rams with the first pick in the 1960 Draft), which resulted in a court decision that ultimately ruled in the AFL's favor. Cannon looked like he was certainly on his way to being the star he was in college at LSU. At receiver, both Bill Groman and Charley Hennigan had 1,000 yard seasons, with Groman scoring 18 touchdowns and Hennigan scoring 12. Left tackle Al Jamison and center Bob Schmidt merited Pro Bowl seasons, 2 out of 13 players on the team to do so.

On defense, veteran Ed Husmann anchored the four man defensive front, powered by a linebacking core of Doug Cline, Dennit Morris, and Mike Dukes. The secondary helped vault the Oilers to second in the league in pass defense, with star corner Tony Banfield recording 8 picks, fourth best in the league. Safety Jim Norton did one better, recording 9 interceptions, but unfortunately did not get All-Pro consideration.

The Oilers started off the season by creaming the Oakland Raiders 55-0 before losing their next three games and tying one to the Boston Patriots. The Oilers would quickly rebound after that, destroying the Dallas Texans in their next game, 38-7, before going on a 9 game win streak en route to their second straight AFL Championship Game appearance. A George Blanda to Billy Cannon touchdown pass would be all this difference in a somewhat sloppy 10-3 win against the San Diego Chargers. The Oilers quickly established themselves in the early AFL as a dominant powerhouse, a feat that could only be matched by the Oilers in the late 70s, early 90s, and the Titans of the early 2000s. Although the Oilers are now but a fun look back into football's past, the 1961 team shall live on as one of the best Oilers/Titans teams ever to grace the gridiron.