Established: 1960
Home Field: Giants Stadium – East Rutherford, New Jersey
Owner(s): Woody Johnson
General Manager: Mike Tannenbaum
Head Coach: Rex Ryan

The Jets were established in 1960 as part of the American Football League (AFL). Originally the team was known as the Titans of New York but changed their name to the Jets in 1963. They joined the NFL as part of the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger and now play in the AFC East.

The Jets had a mediocre start, posting .500 records their first two seasons in the AFL. Fans were not overly impressed by the new football team, and by 1962 (after posting a losing 5-9 season) the team’s future did not look good. They were saved from bankruptcy by Sonny Werblin and Leon Hess, which began a period of rebuilding. They hired head coach Weeb Ewbank and in 1965 drafted NFL legend Joe Namath as starting QB.

Namath led the Jets to the top of the AFL, culminating in an appearance in Super Bowl III. This game is one of the most memorable moments in sports history as the Jets faced off against the Baltimore Colts as sever underdogs. Namath guaranteed that the Jets would win after being heckled by a fan during an interview days before the game. Namath lived up to his word as the Jets went on to upset the Colts and take the Super Bowl title. Their win not only made Namath a legend, but also legitimized the AFL, showing that they could definitely compete with NFL teams.

After the merger actually took place in 1970, the team didn’t continue with their success. They suffered throughout the 70s, due in large part to the fact that Namath was continuously plagued with injury. When he did play, his performance was sub standard. In fact, there wasn’t a season that his number of interceptions was lower than his number of touchdown passes. After the 1976 season, Namath was traded to the St Louis Rams. He only played four games before announcing his retirement at the age of 34.

It wasn’t until 1981 that the Jets posted a winning season and made it through to the playoffs. Unfortunately they were eliminated in the first game.  The team continued to improve, posting another winning season in 1982 and another playoff appearance. 1983 saw the team move from Shea Stadium to their current home at Meadowlands. Since, they have continued with mixed success, making eight playoff appearances, but they have yet to get another Super Bowl championship.

Championships

League Championships
Super Bowl: 1968

Conference Championships
None

Division Championships
AFL East: 1968, 1969
AFC East: 1998, 2002

Jets Trivia

• In 1965, QB Joe Namath was signed for a then record $427,000 annual salary.
• Current starting QB Mark Sanchez is the first rookie QB to start off their career with a 3-0 record.
• The Jets 1968 season is often remembered for the ‘Heidi Game’ in which their game against the Oakland Raiders was cut off by the movie Heidi with 1:05 left in the fourth quarter with the Jets leading 32-29. Fans were outraged and bombarded NBC with phone calls demanding that the game be restored. This resulted in many networks revamping their policies to ensure that all sporting events would be played out to their conclusion no matter what.