The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team based in San Diego, California. They are currently members of the Western Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The club began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League, and spent its first season in Los Angeles, California before moving to San Diego in 1961.[1] The Chargers play their home games at Qualcomm Stadium. Ever since the Rams and the Raiders left Los Angeles in 1994, the Chargers are currently the only team based in Southern California.
The Chargers are the only team to start a season 0–4 and make the playoffs (1992), and the only team to start a season 4–8 and make the playoffs (2008). In addition, they are one of only 5 NFL teams since 1970 to rank first in overall offense and defense in the same season (2010), but the only team to achieve that feat without making the playoffs.
The Chargers won one AFL title in 1963 and reached the AFL playoffs five times and the AFL Championship four times before joining the NFL (1970) as part of the AFL-NFL Merger.[1] In the 34 years since then, the Chargers have made ten trips to the playoffs and four appearances in the AFC Championship game.[1] At the end of the 1994 season, the Chargers faced the San Francisco 49ers in Super Bowl XXIX and fell 49–26.[1] The Chargers have six players and one coach enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio: wide receiver Lance Alworth (1962-1970), defensive end Fred Dean (1975–1981), quarterback Dan Fouts (1973–1987), head coach/general manager Sid Gillman (1960–1969, 1971), wide receiver Charlie Joiner (1976–1986), offensive lineman Ron Mix (1960–1969) and tight end Kellen Winslow (1979-1987).
