|
 The
1964 AFL All-Star game was
played at Balboa Stadium in
San Diego for the third year
in a row. A small crowd of
20,016 saw the game.
Television covered the
event, which was not blacked
out in the San Diego area.
The coaches were Sid Gillman
of San Diego for the West
and Mike Holovak of Boston
for the East.
The first half was a
quarterbacking clinic put on
by Babe Parilli of the
Boston Patriots. With runs
by Cookie Gilchrist of the
Bills and Larry Garron of
the Pats, the East drove to
the West one in the first
quarter where Gilchrist
carried it over. Boston’s
Gino Cappelletti added a
field goal later in the
quarter. In the second
quarter, the West drove to
the East one yard line, but
the defense stiffened,
pushing the West back to the
eleven. They had to settle
for a 19 yard field goal by
Jim Fraser of Denver.
Parilli then led the East to
two scores. He hit his
Patriots teammate Larry
Garron for 12 yards and a
touchdown and followed that
with a three yard scoring
pass to Bill Mathis of the
New York Jets. The halftime
score was a commanding 24-3
lead for the East.
The West started a comeback
in the third quarter when
Keith Lincoln of the
Chargers executed a
sensational 64 yard
touchdown run. His
teammates, Tobin Rote and
wide receiver Lance Alworth
then teamed up on a 51 pass
play that took the ball to
the East five yard line.
Another Charger, Paul Lowe,
carried the ball in from the
four and the score was 24-17
at the end of three
quarters. At 12:32 left to
play, Cotton Davidson of the
Oakland Raiders assumed the quarterbacking duties.
Davidson had only been
selected to the squad due to
a coin flip. Coach Gilman
needed a back-up to his own
Tobin Rote. Because Oakland
had finished second in the
West, Gilman asked Oakland
coach, Al Davis, to provide
the back-up. Davis tossed a
coin to choose between his
quarterbacks, Davidson and
Tom Flores. Davidson led the
West on a drive and Fraser
connected again on a field
goal, this time from 12
yards, making the score
24-20 in favor of the East.
In the game’s final moments,
Davidson drove the West into
East territory. With :43
left in the game, he hit his
Oakland teammate, Art
Powell, with a 25 yard
touchdown pass. Powell, who
dived for the ball at the
back of the end zone, beat
Buffalo safety Willie West
on the play. The final score
was 27-24.
The offensive MVP honors
went to Lincoln, who
established a rushing record
with 121 yards. His 64 yard
run also tied a record set
by Curtis McClinton the
previous year. Archie Matsos
of Oakland won game
defensive honors. It was the
third straight win for the
AFL West. |
