Full Color Football: The History of the American Football League

Bolstered by a generous new TV contract from NBC, the AFL wages war against the NFL by outbidding and even kidnapping top college prospects to join the new league. The arrival of Joe Namath revives a sagging New York franchise, while existing stars Lance Alworth, Willie Brown, Clem Daniels and others set records and increase attendance.

The AFL's quest for respectability takes another hit after the Raiders are soundly beaten in Super Bowl II. In 1968, amid the backdrop of the Vietnam War, the civil rights movement and the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, a league full of rebels and misfits continue to revolt against the establishment.

It's 1969 and anything is possible—the Jets upset the Colts in Super Bowl III, Man walks on the Moon—but the AFL is still considered separate and unequal in the eyes of the NFL. The debate over how the leagues will be realigned is long and contentious. The now predominant figure in all of pro football, Joe Namath, nearly retires under attack from the NFL establishment.