New York City has always been a hotbed for professional sports and football is no exception. The Giants have been around since 1925, and on several other occasions, the Big Apple had a second team. There was the first New York Yankees football team, which played in 1926 in the original American Football League, followed by two more years in the NFL before shutting down operations.
The second New York Yankees team started play in 1946 in the All-American Football Conference. After three seasons, they merged with the folded Brooklyn Dodgers and lasted one more season before the AAFC was absorbed into the NFL. The Boston Yanks moved to New York in 1949 and changed their name to the Bulldogs for one season before going back to Yanks before folding a year later.
The Titan years
Now we come to the most recent team to start to play in New York. Harry Wismer was a broadcaster who had been part-owner of the Lions and Redskins. After feuding with primary Washington owner George Preston Marshall, especially over the team refusing to sign black players, Wismer jumped at the chance to own a team in the newest American Football League and the New York Titans were born in 1959.
The team played in the largest broadcast market and had Hall of Fame player Sammy Baugh as its first head coach. However, there were quite a few issues. The team played its first few years at the Polo Grounds, which was nearly 50 years old and starting to fall apart. Also, Wismer was volatile and feuded with AFL commissioner Joe Foss, Dallas Texans (later Kansas City Chiefs) owner Lamar Hunt and even Baugh. There were also financial issues, as the other owners had to bail him out on more than one occasion.
Management changes and Super Bowl success
The league eventually took over the franchise and sold it to a syndicate group led by entertainment industry executive David “Sonny” Werblin and oil company founder Leon Hess in 1963. The team was renamed the Jets and former Baltimore Colts leader Wilbur “Weeb” Ewbank was named head coach and general manager. The club began to play in newly opened Shea Stadium the following year.
Despite all the changes, the Jets did not have much early success on the field. They did not have a winning season until an 8-5-1 mark in 1967, but the pieces were starting to come together. The AFL and NFL routinely competed over players, and the Jets drafted fullback Matt Snell with the third pick in the 1964 AFL Draft. Snell chose the Jets over the crosstown rival Giants, who didn’t draft him until the fourth round that year.
The next season, the prize was Alabama quarterback Joe Namath. The Jets drafted him first in the AFL, while the St. Louis Cardinals drafted him 12th on the NFL side. New York’s offer was for twice the money, plus a Lincoln Continental, and the move would pay off soon after.
In 1968, the Jets went 11-3 and won the AFL East behind Namath, three backfield stars in Snell, Emerson Boozer and Bill Mathis, and talented receivers Don Maynard and George Sauer. One of the best games of the season was New York playing in Oakland on November 17. The Jets were up 32-29 with 1:01 left, but the game ran late and NBC decided to switch the East Coast audience to the movie Heidi at 7 p.m. Thankfully, Jets fans missed the Raiders scoring two late touchdowns for a 43-32 win.
New York avenged the loss with a 27-23 win over the Raiders in the AFL Championship Game. The Jets were 18-point underdogs when they faced the NFL representative Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III, but the flamboyant Namath guaranteed victory before the game. After a scoreless first quarter, he led the Jets on a 12-play, 80-yard drive culminating in a Snell touchdown run. Three Jim Turner field goals gave New York a 16-0 lead early in the fourth.
The next Colts drive ended in an interception before they finally scored on a Jerry Hill run with 3:19 left. After recovering an onside kick, Baltimore drove deep into New York territory, but Johnny Unitas threw four straight incompletions and the Jets held on for a 16-7 victory in what is considered the biggest upset in Super Bowl history. Namath threw for 206 yards and was named the game’s Most Valuable Player. Snell ran for 121 yards and Sauer had eight catches for 133 yards.
The Jets went 10-4 in 1969 but fell to the eventual Super Bowl champion Chiefs in the Division round. New York would not make it back to the playoffs for another 12 years.
Dominating defense leads to ’80s success
A devastating defensive line including Marty Lyons, Joe Klecko and sack master Mark Gastineau struck fear in the hearts of opposing passers and a productive offense led by quarterback Richard Todd, running back Freeman McNeill, wide receiver Wesley Walker and tight end Mickey Shuler, led the 1981 squad to a 10-5-1 record.
In the strike-shortened ’82 season, the Jets upset the Bengals and Raiders in the playoffs before falling to the Dolphins 14-0 in the AFC Championship Game. Two years later, Hess bought out the last of his syndicate partners to take over sole ownership of the franchise and moved the team into newly built Giants Stadium.
Defense carried the Jets throughout the decade and, despite moderate success from new coach Joe Walton and quarterback Ken O’Brien, New York was near the bottom of the standings until the late 1990s.
The modern years: Bill, Herm, and Rex
After a 1-15 record in 1996, the Jets brought in former Giants and Patriots head coach Bill Parcells to lead them. New York went 9-7 in his first season, followed by a 12-4 mark and a trip to the playoffs. A home win against the Jaguars brought the Jets to the AFC Championship Game, where Curtis Martin was held in check and Terrell Davis ran wild in Denver’s 23-10 victory.
Hess passed away in 1999 and Parcells left after just three seasons. The team was sold to Robert “Woody” Johnson, chairman of the Johnson & Johnson medical and pharmaceutical company (and future U. S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom).
The Jets went to the playoffs three times under Herman Edwards and once more with Eric Mangini at the helm in the early 2000s. Leading the way was Martin, quarterback Chad Pennington, and receivers Laveranues Coles, Santana Moss, and Wayne Chrebet. Defensive stars included linemen Shaun Ellis, John Abraham, and Jason Ferguson, along with linebackers Mo Lewis, Bryan Thomas, and Marvin Jones.
New York’s latest success came under Rex Ryan, who spent ten years as a coach and coordinator with the dominant Baltimore Ravens defense. The Jets earned a wild-card spot in 2009 and won road playoff games in Cincinnati and San Diego before falling to Indianapolis in the AFC Championship Game. With a new home in MetLife Stadium, the Jets returned to the playoffs the following year after an 11-5 record before knocking off the Colts and the 14-2 Patriots on the road. However, they fell short again, losing 24-19 to the Steelers.
Once again, it was the defense that was the team’s strong suit. Muhammad Wilkerson and Shaun Ellis harassed opposing quarterbacks, David Harris and Calvin Pace were star linebackers and Darrelle Revis kept top receivers on an island in the secondary.
After those back-to-back deep playoff runs, New York has failed to make the playoffs in eight straight seasons. However, things are looking up for the 50th season since the Jets last appeared in the Super Bowl. Quarterback Sam Darnold had a solid rookie season, and he has weapons in running backs Isaiah Crowell and Elijah McGuire, along with wide receiver Quincy Enunwa and tight end Chris Herndon. On defense, Leonard Williams anchors the line, tackle machine Jamal Adams roams the secondary, and starting linebackers Avery Williamson, Darron Lee, and Jordan Jenkins also return.
Darnold was drafted third last year, and new coach Adam Gase needs to find another gem at the same spot in April. While the Jets most likely will not supplant the Patriots atop the AFC East, a smart draft plus some shrewd free agent signings could bring New York back into the wild-card picture.
-By: Kevin Rakas
