The Denver Broncos have some of the most loyal and rowdy fans of any NFL team. Games played on the road against the Broncos at Mile High Stadium have always been looked at as some of the tougher contests to win. Quarterback John Elway put the team on the map and remains a fan favorite to this day. Here are seven things you don’t know about the Denver Broncos.
1. Though the Broncos’ first season in the league was 1960, they would not experience their first winning year until 1973.
2. The Denver Broncos were the only original AFL team to have not played in an AFL Championship Game.
3. The original Broncos uniforms included mustard yellow jerseys, brown pants, and verticaly striped socks. These were so hated by fans that two years later when the team changed their uniforms there was a public bonfire featuring the burning of the socks.
4. The first two former Denver Broncos to be inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame were more closely associated with other franchises; Willie Brown with the Raiders and Tony Dorsett with the Cowboys.
5. The original starting quarterback for the Broncos in their first year of play in 1960 was Frank Tripucka. Tripucka had an interesting career in that before playing for the Broncos he had pro football head coaching experience in the Canadian Football League.
6. In the Broncos first twenty one years in pro football they went through eight different head coaches, in the twenty eight seasons from 1981-2008 they only went through three.
7. In a 1983 game against the Seattle Seahawks, legendary Broncos linebacker Randy Gradishar had one of the statistically best all around games of his career when he recorded an interception, a fumble recover, a sack and a tackle for a loss.
When it comes to teams that began in the AFL and have made the transition to the NFL, few can measure up to the success that the Broncos have had. This is really interesting in the fact that while in the AFL, they were one of the least successful teams in the league. The Broncos strength is in their fans and the stability of their coaching staff, and that shouldn’t be changing any time soon.