1963 New York Jets season

1963 New York Jets season
1963 New York Jets season
Owner	Sonny Werblin
Head coach	Weeb Ewbank
Home field	Polo Grounds
Results
Record	5–8–1
Division place	4th AFL East
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
	← 1962 (Titans); Jets seasons; 1964 →;

The 1963 New York Jets season was the fourth season for the team in the American Football League (AFL) and the first under the moniker Jets,^[1] which followed a change in ownership.^[2]^[3]^[4] The season began with the team trying to improve on their 5–9 record from 1962 under new head coach Weeb Ewbank. Playing their final season at the Polo Grounds in Upper Manhattan, the Jets finished at 5–8–1 in 1963; they relocated to Shea Stadium in the borough of Queens the following season.

In rebranding itself as the Jets, the club abandoned its navy-blue and gold uniforms in favor of kelly green and white. The jerseys had opposite-colored sleeves with thick stripes on the shoulders and cuffs, above and below the TV numerals. The pants were white with two parallel green stripes on each side. The new helmets were white with a single green stripe down the center; the logo on each side was a silhouette of a jet airplane in green, with the word "JETS" in thick white sans-serif italics along the fuselage.

Ewbank had led the NFL's Baltimore Colts for nine seasons (1954–62), including consecutive league titles in 1958 and 1959. Fired in January 1963,^[5]^[6]^[7] he was hired by the Jets in mid-April.^[1]

Roster

**1963 New York Jets roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 2 Ed Chlebek 17 Galen Hall 18 Johnny Green 19 Dick Wood Running backs (RB) 2 Billy Atkins 20 Bill Perkins 31 Bill Mathis Wide receivers (WR) 13 Don Maynard 29 Bake Turner 45 Dick Christy 84 Ken Gregory E Tight ends (TE) 85 Gene Heeter 30 Mark Smolinski 89 Dee Mackey		Offensive linemen (OL) 52 Mike Hudock C 61 Dan Ficca LG 62 Sid Fournet RG 63 Bob Butler G 63 Roy Hord G 64 Pete Perreault G/T 75 Winston Hill LT 78 Jack Klotz T 79 Sherman Plunkett RT Defensive linemen (DL) 72 Chuck Janerette 73 Paul Rochester DT 73 George Strugar DT 82 Ed Cooke DE/LB 86 Bob Watters DE 87 LaVerne Torczon 88 Bob McAdams DT		Linebackers (LB) 56 Ted Bates 57 Dave Yohn 60 Larry Grantham 34 Walt Michaels 56 Roger Ellis 67 Jim Price OLB Defensive backs (DB) 19 Bill Wood 25 Marshall Starks S 26 Dave West 26 Tony Stricker 40 Dainard Paulson DB 42 Clyde Washington Special teams 77 Dick Guesman 33 Curley Johnson				Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 8	at Boston Patriots	L 14–38	0–1	Alumni Stadium	24,120	Recap
2	Bye
3	September 22	Houston Oilers	W 24–17	1–1	Polo Grounds	9,336	Recap
4	September 28	Oakland Raiders	W 10–7	2–1	Polo Grounds	17,100	Recap
5	October 5	Boston Patriots	W 31–24	3–1	Polo Grounds	16,769	Recap
6	October 13	at San Diego Chargers	L 20–24	3–2	Balboa Stadium	27,189	Recap
7	October 20	at Oakland Raiders	L 26–49	3–3	Frank Youell Field	15,557	Recap
8	October 26	Denver Broncos	T 35–35	3–3–1	Polo Grounds	22,553	Recap
9	November 2	San Diego Chargers	L 7–53	3–4–1	Polo Grounds	20,798	Recap
10	November 10	at Houston Oilers	L 27–31	3–5–1	Jeppesen Stadium	23,619	Recap
11	November 17	at Denver Broncos	W 14–9	4–5–1	Bears Stadium	14,247	Recap
	November 24	Games postponed to December 22
12	December 1	Kansas City Chiefs	W 17–0	5–5–1	Polo Grounds	18,824	Recap
13	December 8	at Buffalo Bills	L 14–45	5–6–1	War Memorial Stadium	20,222	Recap
14	December 14	Buffalo Bills	L 10–19	5–7–1	Polo Grounds	6,526	Recap
15	December 22	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 0–48	5–8–1	Municipal Stadium	12,202	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFL Eastern Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Boston Patriots	7	6	1	.538	4–2	327	257	L1
Buffalo Bills	7	6	1	.538	3–3	304	291	W2
Houston Oilers	6	8	0	.429	3–3	302	372	L4
New York Jets	5	8	1	.385	2–4	249	399	L3

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.

References

^ ^a ^b "Jets name Ewbank as new coach". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 16, 1963. p. 18.
^ "Harry Wismer is out of new football loop". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. March 16, 1963. p. 8.
^ "Wismer bows out of Titan picture; won't get money". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. March 17, 1963. p. 59.
^ "Sonny Werblin sells share of New York Jets". Toledo Blace. (Ohio). Associated Press. May 22, 1968. p. 69.
^ "Ewbank to resign as Baltimore coach". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 8, 1963. p. 15.
^ "Colts fire Ewbank, pick Shula". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 8, 1963. p. 29.
^ "Colts' grid shift boss' own idea". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 9, 1963. p. 16.

External links

1963 team stats

This article relating to an American football season is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[jnehc-1] "Jets name Ewbank as new coach". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. April 16, 1963. p. 18.

[hwiotpfl-2] "Harry Wismer is out of new football loop". Lawrence Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. March 16, 1963. p. 8.

[wbootpre-3] "Wismer bows out of Titan picture; won't get money". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). UPI. March 17, 1963. p. 59.

[swsshtb-4] "Sonny Werblin sells share of New York Jets". Toledo Blace. (Ohio). Associated Press. May 22, 1968. p. 69.

[ewtores-5] "Ewbank to resign as Baltimore coach". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 8, 1963. p. 15.

[freshu-6] "Colts fire Ewbank, pick Shula". Pittsburgh Press. UPI. January 8, 1963. p. 29.

[cgshftr-7] "Colts' grid shift boss' own idea". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 9, 1963. p. 16.

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