1962 Denver Broncos season

The 1962 Denver Broncos season was the third season for the team in the American Football League (AFL). They finished with their best record of the decade with seven wins and seven losses, finishing second in the AFL's Western Division. The Broncos started the season strong with a record of 6–1, but went in reverse in the second half of the season with a 1–6 record. Despite this, head coach Jack Faulkner was named AFL Coach of the Year.

1962 Denver Broncos season
Owner	Gerald Phipps
General manager	Jack Faulkner
Head coach	Jack Faulkner
Home stadium	Bears Stadium
Results
Record	7–7
Division place	2nd AFL Western
Playoffs	Did not qualify
← 1961 Broncos seasons 1963 →

The 1962 season was the year in which Denver switched to their orange and blue color scheme, abandoning the brown and mustard yellow color scheme of the franchise's first two seasons. Orange and blue have been used as the team's primary colors ever since.^[1][2][3]

Offseason

Main article: 1962 American Football League draft

1962 AFL Draft

1962 Denver Broncos draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	2	Merlin Olsen †	DT	Utah State	Selected with 4th pick in 1962 NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams
2	10	Jerry Hillebrand	LB	Colorado
3	18	Charles Holmes	RB	Maryland Eastern Shore
4	26	John Furman	QB	Texas-El Paso
7	50	John McGeever	DB	Auburn
8	58	Elbert Harris	RB	Southeastern Louisiana
9	66	Larry Jepson	C	Furman
10	74	Gale Weidner	QB	Colorado
11	82	Mike Kline	OG	Oregon State
13	98	Bob Cegelski	C	Montana State
14	106	Sonny Gibbs	QB	Texas Christian
15	114	Bill Louden	OG	Benedictine (KS)
16	122	Gary Ballman	WR	Michigan State
17	130	Jerry Tarr	WR	Oregon
18	138	Pete Schenck	DB	Washington State
20	154	Mike Martin	OT	Washington State
21	162	Jim Perkins	OT	Colorado
22	170	Don Kasso	RB	Oregon State
23	178	Ken Tureaud	RB	Michigan
24	186	Neil Thomas	OG	Hillsdale
25	194	Dave Edwards	LB	Auburn
26	202	Jim Roberts	OT	Mississippi
27	210	Andy Von Sonn	LB	UCLA
28	218	Paul Holmes	OT	Georgia
29	226	Lynn Hoyem	OG	Long Beach State
30	234	Walt Mince	DB	Maryland State
31	242	Bill Williamson	OT	Bakersfield JC (CA)
32	250	Vester Flanagan	OT	Humboldt State
33	258	Duane Allen	TE	Santa Ana JC (CA)
34	266	Steve Stonebreaker	LB	Detroit Mercy
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

^[4]

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1962 Denver Broncos staff

Front office Chairman of the Board – Gerald Phipps President – Calvin W Kunz Jr Vice President – Earl R Howsam Director of Player Personnel – Ray Malavasi Head coaches General manager/Head Coach – Jack Faulkner Offensive coaches Offensive Ends – Mac Speedie Offensive Line – Jim Martin

Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Dale Dodrill Defensive Backfield – Gary Glick

Roster

1962 Denver Broncos roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 16 Dick Wood 17 George Shaw 18 John McCormick 14 Hunter Enis Running backs (RB) 36 James Stinnette FB 3 Billy Joe 34 Donnie Stone 0 Johnny Olzewski FB 35 Bo Dickinson FB Wide receivers (WR) 41 Jerry Tarr HB /WR 42 Al Frazier HB /FL 82 Bob Scarpitto P / WR Tight ends (TE) 88 Gene Prebola TE 87 Lionel Taylor

Offensive linemen (OL) 71 Jim Perkins T 65 John Denvir LG 60 Ken Adamson G 52 Jim Barton C 72 Jerry Sturm LT /LG 67 Bob McCullough G 75 Eldon Danenhauer T Defensive linemen (DL) 73 Ike Lassiter 66 John Cash 85 Larry Jordan DE 64 Bud McFadin 83 Don Joyce DE 74 Gordy Holz 61 Chuck Gavin

Linebackers (LB) 68 Tom Erlandson 68 Bill Roehnelt 62 Jerry Stalcup 54 Wahoo McDaniel MLB 55 Jim Fraser Defensive backs (DB) 47 John McGeever 33 Justin Rowland 45 Jim McMillin 46 Bob Zeman SS 23 Goose Gonsoulin FS 43 Chuck Marshall DB 20 Jim Minter CB Special teams (ST) 21 Gene Mingo P / HB 51 Jim Fraser

Practice squad None - N/A Reserve None - N/A 42 Active, 0 Inactive, 0 Practice Squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 7	San Diego Chargers	W 30–21	1–0	University of Denver Stadium	28,000	Recap
2	September 15	at Buffalo Bills	W 23–20	2–0	War Memorial Stadium	30,577	Recap
3	September 21	Boston Patriots	L 16–41	2–1	Boston University Field	21,038	Recap
4	September 30	at New York Titans	W 32–10	3–1	Polo Grounds	17,213	Recap
5	October 5	Oakland Raiders	W 44–7	4–1	Bears Stadium	22,452	Recap
6	October 14	at Oakland Raiders	W 23–6	5–1	Frank Youell Field	7,000	Recap
7	October 21	Houston Oilers	W 20–10	6–1	Bears Stadium	34,496	Recap
8	October 28	Buffalo Bills	L 38–45	6–2	Bears Stadium	26,051	Recap
9	November 4	at San Diego Chargers	W 23–20	7–2	Balboa Stadium	20,827	Recap
10	November 11	Boston Patriots	L 29–33	7–3	Bears Stadium	28,187	Recap
11	November 18	Dallas Texans	L 3–24	7–4	Bears Stadium	23,523	Recap
12	November 22	New York Titans	L 45–46	7–5	Bears Stadium	15,776	Recap
13	December 2	at Houston Oilers	L 17–34	7–6	Jeppesen Stadium	30,650	Recap
14	December 9	at Dallas Texans	L 10–17	7–7	Cotton Bowl	19,137	Recap
15	Bye
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFL Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Texans	11	3	0	.786	5–1	389	233	W2
Denver Broncos	7	7	0	.500	4–2	353	334	L5
San Diego Chargers	4	10	0	.286	3–3	314	392	L2
Oakland Raiders	1	13	0	.071	0–6	213	370	W1

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