San Diego Chargers 50th Anniversary Team

The San Diego Chargers (now Los Angeles) announced their 50th anniversary team in 2009 to honor the top players and coaches in the history of the National Football League team. The Chargers were founded in 1959 as part of the American Football League.^[1] The anniversary team included 53 players and coaches selected from 103 nominees.^[2][3][4] The Chargers originally stated that only 50 members would be selected;^[4] the group is still sometimes referred to as the 50 Greatest Chargers.^[5][6] Online voting by fans accounted for 50 percent of the voting results; votes from Chargers Hall of Famers and five members of the local media made up for the other 50 percent. Over 400,000 votes were cast online. Dan Fouts and LaDainian Tomlinson received the first and second most votes, respectively.^[3][7] The team features eight Pro Football Hall of Fame members and 11 players that were active on the 2009 Chargers team.^[8][9]

Key

Key

*	Member of Pro Football Hall of Fame
Years	Years with the Chargers

Offense

Position	Player	Years	Ref
QB	Dan Fouts*	1973–1987	[7]
	John Hadl	1962–1972	[2]
	Stan Humphries	1992–1997	[2]
	Philip Rivers	2004–2019	[2]
RB	Keith Lincoln	1961–1966, 1968	[2]
	Paul Lowe	1960–1968	[2]
	Natrone Means	1993–1995, 1998–1999	[2]
	Chuck Muncie	1980–1984	[2]
	LaDainian Tomlinson*	2001–2009	[10]
WR	Lance Alworth*	1962–1970	[2]
	Wes Chandler	1981–1987	[2]
	Gary Garrison	1966–1976	[2]
	John Jefferson	1978–1980	[2]
	Charlie Joiner*	1976–1986	[2]
TE	Antonio Gates	2003–2018	[2]
	Kellen Winslow*	1979–1987	[2]
T	Ron Mix*	1960–1969	[2]
	Russ Washington	1968–1982	[2]
	Ernie Wright	1960–1967, 1972	[2]
G	Kris Dielman	2003–2011	[5]
	Walt Sweeney	1963–1970	[2]
	Ed White	1978–1985	[2]
	Doug Wilkerson	1971–1984	[2]
C	Nick Hardwick	2004–2014	[2]
	Don Macek	1976–1989	[2]

Defense

Position	Player	Years	Ref
DE	Fred Dean*	1975–1981	[2]
	Earl Faison	1961–1966	[2]
	Leslie O'Neal	1986–1995	[2]
DT	Gary Johnson	1975–1984	[2]
	Louie Kelcher	1975–1983	[2]
	Ernie Ladd	1961–1965	[2]
	Jamal Williams	1998–2009	[2]
LB	Chuck Allen	1961–1969	[2]
	Woodrow Lowe	1976–1986	[2]
	Shawne Merriman	2005–2010	[2]
	Junior Seau*	1990–2002	[2][6]
	Billy Ray Smith	1983–1992	[2]
DB	Willie Buchanon	1979–1982	[2]
	Gill Byrd	1983–1992	[2]
	Rodney Harrison	1994–2002	[2]
	Quentin Jammer	2002–2012	[2]
	Charlie McNeil	1960–1964	[2]

Special teams

Position	Players	Years	Ref
K	Rolf Benirschke	1977–1986	[2]
	John Carney	1990–2000	[2]
KR	Speedy Duncan	1964–1970	[2]
	Darren Sproles	2005–2010	[2]
P	Darren Bennett	1995–2003	[2]
	Mike Scifres	2003–2015	[2]
ST	Hank Bauer	1977–1982	[2]
	Kassim Osgood	2003–2009	[2]

Coaches

Coach	Years	Ref
Don Coryell*	1978–1986	[11]
Sid Gillman*	1960–1971	[2]
Bobby Ross	1992–1996	[2]

See also

• San Diego Chargers 40th Anniversary Team
• Los Angeles Chargers Hall of Fame

References

1. "Celebration announced for 50th season of Chargers football". Chargers.com. The San Diego Chargers. Archived from the original on January 17, 2012.
2. "Chargers 50th anniversary team". The Press-Enterprise. November 17, 2009. Archived from the original on December 18, 2009.
3. Canepa, Nick (November 16, 2009). "Greatest Chargers list rings true". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on January 14, 2010.
4. "Fans to select 50 greatest Chargers". Chargers.com. The San Diego Chargers. Archived from the original on January 27, 2012.
5. Davis, Nate (March 1, 2012). "Chargers Pro Bowl LG Kris Dielman retires". USA Today. Archived from the original on March 4, 2012.
6. Wilson, Aaron (August 24, 2011). "Chargers to induct Junior Seau to team Hall of Fame". Scout.com. Archived from the original on May 13, 2012.
7. Bigelow, Bill (November 28, 2009). "Fouts chosen as all-time 'Greatest Charger'". The Bulletin. Archived from the original on February 3, 2015.
8. Williamson, Bill (November 17, 2009). "Chargers announce their all-time team". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on April 10, 2010.
9. "Fouts, Tomlinson top vote-getters for All-Time Greatest Chargers". Chargers.com. Archived from the original on May 16, 2013.
10. Williamson, Bill (February 22, 2010). "Chargers put out classy statement on LT". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on March 26, 2010.
11. Williamson, Bill (July 1, 2010). "Coryell should be in the Hall of Fame". ESPN.com. Archived from the original on July 3, 2010.