Ask Steve Sabol
3:30 PM - 4:00 PM ETSteve Sabol
15 comments
NFL Films president Steve Sabol stopped in for a live chat on Thursday, January 7, to take your questions.
The latest from NFL Films is Full Color Football: The History of the American Football League, which debuts on NFL Network, Friday, January 8 at 8 p.m. ET . The five-part documentary series features new introductions by John Madden as he gives his insights into what made the AFL a special league.
Video: Preview of 'Full Color Football'
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Steve Sabol, NFL Films
Good afternoon, all. On behalf of Paul Camarata, who produced Full Color Football, we hope you enjoy the show that begins tomorrow on NFL Network. It's a really unique series because much of this footage has never been seen before. It's a piece of history that has been neglected for much of the past 50 years, with the anniversary og the start of the AFL we're excited to bring it back into the public eye. -
Kory Hitchens, Luke AFB, AZ
6:34 PM ET
How did the idea of FULL COLOR football come about?
Steve Sabol, NFL Films
Kory, the 50th anniversary of the founding of the AFL did it. We wanted to come up with a four or five part miniseries for Showtime. This just fit. It was footage and a part of history we had never researched or spent time with. It was a labor of love for Paul and Dave Plaut, who co-produced it. -
Frank Ciamarra, Buffalo, NY
6:36 PM ET
Who are few of the Buffalo Bills players that stood out to you? Does anyone remember Cookie Gilchrist & was he really as good as they say?
Steve Sabol, NFL Films
Frank, Jack Kemp would be one. Cookie Gilchrist another. A lot of good stories about Cookie in the show. He was the AFL's version of Jim Brown. The other I would think of is Mike Stratton, a LB whose crushing tackle in the 1964 championship game against the Chargers was a turning point in that game. He knocked out Keith Lincoln. -
NFL.com,
This is Paul, if I can just add to that: Steve mentioned some of the little elements we came across. In show two of the series, The bills are really spotlighted. There's a LB named Harry Jacobs, who was wired for sound back then -- a real rarity compared to today. We featured Harry and Marty Schottenheimer -- they were two LBs who helped those Bills teams win two titles in the AFL. -
Sean Boardman, Westbrook, CT
6:40 PM ET
Steve, I have heard former players complain about how bad the conditions were at Buffalo's old War Memorial Stadium, both on the field and in the locker rooms. What are your memories of that stadium from the AFL?
Steve Sabol, NFL Films
Hi Sean, what I remember was in the press box where NFL Films had to shoot from there was no toilet -- you had to pee in a bucket. The whole stadium, what I rmemeber most was the odor. It was a bizarre combination of urine and pirogues. -
Heather Humeniuk, Owatonna, MN
6:42 PM ET
Who was your favorite player to watch in the AFL?
Steve Sabol, NFL Films
Heather, for me it would be Dickie Post. He was a little running back for the Chargers. He could change direction like a fish. He was especially effective on little outlet passes where he had room to run. He was one of the most thrilling broken-field runners I've ever seen, but his career only lasted four or five years. -
NFL.com,
This is Paul... I'll take a guy named Paul Lowe. He became the all-time leading rusher in the AFL. What I liked is that he came from the mail room -- literally. He was in the mail room for the Hilton Hotel company. Barron Hilton founded the Chargers and got Lowe to join the team out of the mail rtoom and he became one of the AFL's greatest players of all time. -
Joe Gennarelli, Tampa, FL
6:45 PM ET
Steve, I know you were busy with the NFL all through the 1960's, but looking back, is there one AFL game in particular you wish you could have attended?
Steve Sabol, NFL Films
Thanks, Joe. One game I would have like to attend was the 1963 AFL championship between the Chargers and Boston Patriots. That was the game when Keith Lincoln gained a record 329 yards from scrimmage. The chargers won the game 51-10. His performance was so memorable that there was an article the following day in the San Diego Tribune and the writer said: When history classes in the future say what did Lincoln do, they'll say he gained 329 yards against Boston in 1964.
As a footbnote, i believe that 1963 Chargers team with Lincoln, Lowe, Tobin Rote, Lance Alworth, Ron Mix... if they played the NFL champion Chicago Bears from that year, that Chargers team could well have beaten the NFL's Bears. -
Scott, Marion, IN
6:49 PM ET
What was your favorite AFL uniform? I have to say I really like the Boston Patriots. The helmet was really well done.
Steve Sabol, NFL Films
Scott, I don't like the old Patriots logo. It looked like the guy was squatting down to move his bowels, and the Bills' buffalo looked like he was standing there waiting to get shot. In my opinion, the best uniform was the Chargers. If the football gods have any sense of justice, the Chargers will be in the Super Bowl this year -- and they will get to wear their powder-blue uniforms to honor the anniversary, -
NFL.com,
This is Paul... My vote goes to the original Broncos uniform. They were one of the most spectacular failures of all time. So ugly that the team had to burn them in effigy. Those original mustard and brown uniforms with the vertical striped socks were so bad they were memorable. The sock are in the Hall of Fame, just for their ugliness. -
Anthony, Orlando, FL
6:53 PM ET
What were the main sources of the AFL footage? I would assume much of that was lost to history...
Steve Sabol, NFL Films
I'll let Paul take that one... -
NFL.com,
The elements we used were the result of a treasure hunt both from our NFL Films vault -- we found and transferred film we had never seen before -- as well as a search from the original eight franchises dating back to 1960, as well as the Bengals and Dolphins who came into the league in the mid-60s. And the local TV stations and newspapers... we mined all that they had -- film, newspaper headlines, photos, anything we could find to help tell the story. -
Megan Schimek, Pine Island, MN
6:56 PM ET
Good Afternoon Steve! The AFL had a huge influence on the professional coaches, as many coaches who have or do coach in the NFL had roots in the AFL. What's your take on this immense coaching tree?
Steve Sabol, NFL Films
Well, that begin with Sid Gillman, who coaches the San Diego Chargers. He was the father of the modern passing game. He believed that you could spread the field not only vertically but horizontally. The Raiders' vertical game began with Gillman, and don Coryell was influenced by Sid Gilman. The other AFL coach with far-reaching effect was Bill Walsh, who developed the West Coast offense when he worked for Paul Brown with the Bengals. So two of the most influential passing philosophies began in the AFL.
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Steve Sabol, NFL Films
The AFL was to the pro passing game what Egypt was to civilization. -
Steve Sabol, NFL Films
Thanks again for taking the time today. Paul just became a father and he's off to change some diapers. In the meantime, hope you all get to watch Full Color Football on NFL Network starting tomorrow.
We are very proud of how it turned out, and I'm confident you will enjoy it!
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