The

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Greater Los Angeles, Greater Los Angeles area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC W ...

are a professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL) based in the

Los Angeles Area Greater Los Angeles is the most populous metropolitan area in the U.S. state of California, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino County and Riverside County in the east, ...

. The club began play in

1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Janu ...

as a charter member of the

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...

(AFL), and spent its first season in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

before moving to

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

in 1961. They returned to Los Angeles in 2017. The Chargers created their

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 1976. Eligible candidates for the Hall of Fame must have been retired for at least four seasons. Selections are made by a five-member committee chaired by

Dean Spanos Dean Alexander Spanos (born May 26, 1950) is an American businessman who is the owner and chairman of the San Diego / Los Angeles Chargers of the National Football League (NFL). He is the son of Alex Spanos, who purchased majority interest in the ...

, Chargers vice-chairman. As of 1992, other committee members included Bob Breitbard, founder of the

San Diego Hall of Champions The San Diego Hall of Champions was an American multi-sport museum in San Diego, California, until its closure in June 2017. It housed the Breitbard Hall of Fame, San Diego's sports hall of fame, which is now located at Petco Park. Breitbard Hal ...

;

Ron Fowler Ron Lee Fowler (born July 23, 1944) is an American businessman. He was an owner, executive chair and the MLB control person of the San Diego Padres of Major League Baseball (MLB) from 2012 until 2020. He is currently CEO of Liquid Investments Inc. ...

, president of the Greater San Diego Sports Association; Jane Rappoport, president of the Charger Backers; and Bill Johnston, the team's director of public relations. The initial four members—former players Emil Karas, Frank Buncom, Bob Laraba, and

Jacque MacKinnon Jacque Harold MacKinnon (November 10, 1938 – March 6, 1975) was an American professional football player who was a tight end, playing most of his career in the American Football League (AFL) with the San Diego Chargers. He also was a member o ...

—were inducted posthumously in 1976. From 1986 through 1992, there were no new inductions. The ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...

'' wrote in 1992, "The Chargers have not done a good job in recent years of recognizing their former players."

Dan Fouts Daniel Francis Fouts (born June 10, 1951) is an American former professional football quarterback who played for the San Diego Chargers of the National Football League (NFL) throughout his 15-season career (1973–1987). After a relatively und ...

and

Charlie Joiner Charles Joiner Jr. (born October 14, 1947) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver for 18 seasons in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL), primarily with the San Diego Charger ...

were inducted in 1993. "It embarrasses me to go into the Hall of Fame before

Don Coryell Donald David Coryell ( ; October 17, 1924 – July 1, 2010) was an American American football, football coach. He coached in high school, college, and the professional ranks; his most notable NCAA post was with the San Diego State Aztecs footba ...

, because if it wasn't for Don Coryell, I wouldn't be in the Hall of Fame for the Chargers," said Fouts of his former head coach. Coryell was inducted the following year. The Chargers allowed the 2012 inductee to be determined by fans, who selected punter Darren Bennett. The members of the Hall of Fame were honored in San Diego at the Chargers Ring of Honor, viewable above the

visiting team A road game or away game is a sports game where the specified team is not the host and must travel to another venue. Most professional teams represent cities or towns and amateur sports teams often represent academic institutions. Each team h ...

's sideline of

Qualcomm Stadium San Diego Stadium was a multi-purpose stadium in San Diego, California, United States. Opened in 1967 as San Diego Stadium; it was renamed Jack Murphy Stadium for sportswriter Jack Murphy (sportswriter), Jack Murphy from 1981 to 1997. From 1997 t ...

on the press level. It was founded in 2000 as part of the team's season-long celebration of its 40th anniversary. Before its introduction that season, the Chargers and the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

were the only NFL teams without a Ring of Honor. In 2013, the Chargers also inducted their 1963 AFL Championship team into their Ring of Honor; 15 members of that team were already in the team's Hall of Fame.

Key

Hall of Fame inductees

References

{{Los Angeles Chargers American football museums and halls of fame

Los Angeles Chargers Hall of Fame The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL) based in the Los Angeles Area. The club began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League (AFL), and spent its first sea ...

Halls of fame in California Awards established in 1976 1976 establishments in California

Key

Hall of Fame inductees

See also

References