New York Jets

The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. They are members of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The team plays their home games in East Rutherford, New Jersey at Giants Stadium, which is named after another NFL team that plays there, the New York Giants. The Jets officially refer to the venue as "The Meadowlands," a name used on all official NFL and team game notes regarding Jets' home games.

The club's headquarters and training facility are located at at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York on Long Island. They are constructing a new training facility and corporate headquarters in Florham Park, New Jersey.

The team began in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League under the name New York Titans. It was renamed after Sonny Werblin bought the team in 1963. The Jets later joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL Merger.

The Jets hold the distinction of being the first AFL team to defeat an NFL club in an AFL-NFL World Championship Game when they defeated the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl III.

Franchise history

Originally known as the New York Titans, the team played home games at the Polo Grounds. But they had trouble attracting crowds despite fielding respectable teams that finished .500 (7–7) during their first two seasons. After a 5–9 season in 1962, the team's future was in doubt. It was saved from bankruptcy by a group headed by MCA head Sonny Werblin and Leon Hess, who bought the team from Harry Wismer on March 13, 1964.

After Werblin and Hess took over, the team was renamed the New York Jets as they planned to relocate from the Polo Grounds to the New York Mets' Shea Stadium one year later. Shea Stadium lies so close to LaGuardia Airport that the sound of jets roaring overhead was a common sound heard during games played there. The team's colors were also changed from blue and gold to kelly green and white, which also were the colors of Hess' gasoline stations.

Exactly one month after the sale of the team, the Jets hired Weeb Ewbank as head coach. Ewbank had won back-to-back NFL championships in 1958 and 1959 with the Baltimore Colts, and was one of the most respected coaches in the game.

Hess eventually bought out his partners, and retained sole ownership until his death. His estate sold the team to Johnson & Johnson heir Robert Wood Johnson IV in 2000.

Glory years: 1965–1969

In 1965, the Jets signed University of Alabama quarterback Joe Namath, who chose to sign with the Jets over the St. Louis Cardinals, the team that held his NFL rights. Namath's contract was for a then-record $427,000 annual salary. The confluence of signing Namath, as well as the Jets' moving into brand-new Shea Stadium, the Giants' poor performance since 1964, and the AFL's brand-new deal with NBC, helped to make the Jets the hottest football team in New York and one of the most popular teams nationwide. The Jets drew spectators both at home and on the road (in fact, they outdrew their entire 1962 season attendance in their first game at Shea Stadium alone) and, perhaps as much as any other factor, Namath's undisputed success with the Jets led to the landmark merger of the AFL with the NFL, to finally be consummated in 1970.

The Jets improved steadily on the field after Namath's arrival. In 1967, Namath led the Jets to an 8–5–1 record, their best record yet. Namath reached a milestone by passing for 4,007 yards in 1967, a 14-game season, making him the first-ever professional quarterback to pass for 4,000 yards in a season. This was especially remarkable considering that at the time, 3,000 yards passing was considered an excellent year.

In 1968, the Jets would reach the pinnacle of their existence and provide the moment that would indicate the AFL's coming of age. Under Namath's guidance, the Jets rose to the top of the AFL, defeating the Oakland Raiders in a thrilling AFL Championship game, 27-23. The win qualified them to represent their league in a game that was being referred to for the first time as the Super Bowl (and referred to retroactively as Super Bowl III). They were pitted against the champions of the NFL, the Baltimore Colts. At the time, the AFL was considered to be inferior to the NFL, and most people considered the Jets to be considerable underdogs and treated the Jets as such. That would change three nights before the game while Namath was being honored by the Miami Touchdown Club as its Player Of The Year. Namath took exception to a heckling Colts fan and used that moment to lament the lack of respect his team had gotten to that point. He then said "The Jets will win Sunday. I guarantee it." His audacious remark proved correct, as the Jets created one of the greatest upsets in football history by defeating the Colts 16–7. This victory showed that the AFL was capable of competing with the NFL

New York Jets Online