A Basic History of the San Diego Chargers Football Team

The San Diego Chargers are a professional football team that plays in the National Football League. The Chargers play in the West Division of the American Football Conference.

The franchise was founded in 1960 as the Los Angeles Chargers. The team's founder and original owner was Barron Hilton who owned the team until 1966. The team moved to San Diego the following year and has played in San Diego since.

From 1960-1969, the Chargers played in the Western Division of the American Football League. In 1970, the team began playing in the AFC West as part of the AFL-NFL merger.

The Chargers have won twelve Division Championships. They won the AFL West in 1960, 1961, 1963, 1964, and 1965, and won the AFC West in 1979-1981, 1992, 1994, 2004, and 2006. The San Diego Chargers won the AFC Championship in 1994, and the AFL Championship in 1963.

During the team's time in Los Angles, the Chargers played at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. In San Diego, the Chargers played in Balboa Stadium from 1961-1966. In 1967, the team began playing in its current location, Qualcomm Stadium. The current stadium was also known as San Diego Stadium from 1968-1980 and Jack Murphy Stadium from 1981-1997.

Seven former members of the San Diego Chargers are currently enshrined in the National Football Hall of Fame. They are Lance Alworth, Dan Fouts, Sid Gillman, Charlie Joiner, Deacon Jones, Ron Mix, and Kellen Winslow.

The San Diego Chargers have retired the jersey numbers of two former players. Those players are Dan Fouts - 14 and Lance Alworth - 19. Dan Fouts played quarterback for the Chargers from 1973-1987. Lance Alworth played wide receiver for the Chargers from 1962-1970.

Some other former stand-out players for the San Diego Chargers include Emil Karas, Jacque MacKinnon, Paul Lowe, and Keith Lincoln.

The current San Diego Chargers team is owned by Alex Spanos. The head coach is Norv Turner, and the general manager is A.J. Smith.

The San Diego Chargers are currently led by their star running back LaDainian Tomlinson. Since the Chargers drafted Tomlinson, he has provided the majority of the Chargers offense, including an outstanding 2006 season that saw him break the all-time single season touchdown record by scoring a total of 31 touchdowns. Tomlinson won the MVP and Offensive Player of the Year Awards for the 2006 season.

The official colors of the San Diego Chargers are navy blue, powder blue, white and gold.