John Brooks has a dozen stories banked from that first Broncos season six decades ago, but this one might his favorite:

“My dad worked for an oil company and I think through his company he bought season tickets,” recalls Brooks, who was 9 years old and living in Aurora when the old AFL — and the Broncos — launched in the fall of 1960.

“My dad told me (that) he called up to get season tickets back in 1960 and the coach (Frank Filchock) actually took him down on the field.

“And (Filchock) asked, ‘Where do you want to sit?’”

Can you picture Broncos coach Vic Fangio, in gray sweats, being asked to spend an afternoon with season-ticket holders, dickering over seat location?

“Tickets were $7.50 then,” Brooks laughs, “and now it’s $160.”

Different world.

Different time.

Same town.

Same love affair.

In honor of the 60th Broncos home opener — Fangio’s 2019 roster will host the coach’s old employers, the Chicago Bears, on Sunday afternoon — The Denver Post spoke recently with fans and former players who were on hand for the franchise’s Rocky Mountain debut, back at what was still called Bears Stadium, against the Raiders, on Oct. 2, 1960. A marriage between town and team that’s seen downs, ups, tears, and unbelievable highs, and through sickness and health, remains as strong as ever …

PREGAME

The Broncos were birthed on an East Coast swing, topping the Patriots in Boston, 13-10, in the first-ever AFL game. They had a 2-1 record during a three-game road swing through New England, Buffalo and New York City.

Brooks: “I was 9 and I was absolutely a sports fanatic already. I was a big fan of the Baltimore Colts, who were (two-time) defending NFL champions, so the whole idea that Denver was going to get a pro team was really exciting to me.”

The Broncos’ initial look — mustard tops, dark brown pants and vertical brown-and-gold stirrups to complete the cringe-worthy ensemble — was the brainchild of the franchise’s first general manager, Dean Griffing, a notorious penny-pincher who acquired them from either Tucson’s Copper Bowl or the old Tucson Rattlers of the defunct Pacific Football Conference, depending on which version of the legend you prefer.

Brooks: “I remember the Broncos uniforms were really kind of ugly. They weren’t as nice as my Little League uniforms.”

FIRST HALF

Running back/returner/kicker Gene Mingo, the Broncos’ do-everything star, connected on a 17-yard field goal to give the hosts a 3-0 lead — the first points ever scored by the Broncos at home.

Mingo: “I was like a kid in a candy store. I was very happy I made the team. Playing and winning the first game in the AFL and then going back here, everybody wanted to know, who ran back this 76-yard punt return (in Boston)? And then when I got to Bears Stadium, you know, coming out of The Corral as they called it — I think they called it The Corral — coming out, stepping onto the field with those striped socks on, everybody laughed at us who wasn’t a Broncos fan. The Broncos people were just happy to have a pro football team.”

THOSE WERE THE DAYS Sunday is the Broncos’ 60th home opener, and the world — and prices — looked very different when the franchise made its home debut on Oct. 2, 1960:

• Gallon of gas: $0.31

• Gallon of milk: $0.49

• Cost of a first-class stamp: $0.04

• Billboard No. 1 pop single: “My Heart Has a Mind of Its Own,” Connie Francis

• No. 1 box-office film: High Time

Sources: 1960sFlashback.com

With Denver leading 10-7 thanks to the first of two Lionel Taylor touchdown catches from quarterback Frank Tripucka, Al Romine picked off Raiders quarterback Babe Parilli at the Denver 26, returning the interception all the way to the 44.

Lionel Taylor: “Since it was a baseball field, they had a little mound in there and you could use that as a wide receiver — you’d run that defensive back up that mound so when he’s backing up, he can’t cover you and you’d break off.”

A pair of Broncos carries and a 25-yard personal-foul call gave the hosts the ball at the Oakland 20 when Tripucka dropped back and lofted a perfect teardrop to Taylor on a split-end screen. The 6-foot-2 wideout followed a caravan of blockers into the end zone to give the hosts a two-score lead.

Taylor: “What you do is push the guy that you’re blocking back toward the quarterback, and then Tripucka just dropped it over his head. I thank God for that screen pass.”

Mingo: “This guy’s hands were as soft as a baby’s behind. He didn’t drop many passes. I can (still) hear him say, ‘Well, if they’re going to hit me that hard, I might as well make them pay by catching the ball.’”

On Oakland’s next offensive series, new Raiders signal-caller Tom Flores was picked off in the flat by Broncos defensive end Bill Yelverton at the visitors’ 20-yard line. Yelverton took it to the house, and the ensuing extra point extended the hosts’ lead to 24-7 at the break.

Taylor: “At Bears Stadium, on the temporary bleachers side, about 2 or 3 in the afternoon, if you were going up toward the north stands, the sun was in your eyes. And I used to love that, because I got used to the stadium and because the defensive backs were looking into the sun.”

HALFTIME: BRONCOS 24, RAIDERS 7

Brooks: “There was always a marching band at halftime. Most of the time, it would be the Englewood High School or Arapahoe High School marching band, some local high school (group) would march around and play, ‘I Feel Pretty.’

“When I was in Little League football, we actually got to play in abbreviated games at Bears Stadium. They used to have this thing called ‘The Football Circus,’ so we would play the width of the football field, so there would be three-four games going on at the same time. I actually got to play on that field when I was in Little League.”

SECOND HALF

The Raiders continued to shoot themselves in whatever feet they had left at the start of the second half. Oakland drove to the Denver 20 only for Flores to fumble the rock away.

Taylor: “(Filchock) was a great offensive coach — at halftime, if we were getting killed, Frank could make adjustments. He had a good head for that, from the offensive side.”

A 2-yard Billy Lott dive cut the Broncos lead to 24-13 before another Raiders miscue allowed the hosts to put the game to bed. The Raiders were on the move when halfback Tony Teresa fumbled the ball back to Denver deep in Broncos territory.

The hosts marched right back the other way on five plays, capped by a 37-yard run up the left boundary by Bob McNamara with 2:31 to go in the period. McNamara broke tackles from at least six Oakland tacklers to extend the cushion to 30-14 before the extra point.

Taylor: “We couldn’t afford a party (laughs). You could cash my paycheck, go to 7-11 to get two bags of groceries and still owe them $15. But I was happy. It gave us a chance to play. That was the big thing.”

FINAL: BRONCOS 31, RAIDERS 14

The Broncos won 31-14, opening their first season with a 3-1 start, putting them atop the AFL West after the season’s first month. Taylor would go on to lead the AFL in receptions (92) and yards per touch (13.1) and was voted to the first All-AFL team at the end of the season. Mingo, despite leading the circuit in points scored (123) and in field-goal percentage (.643), was not.

Mingo: “Everybody tells me that I should’ve been one of the first Broncos to go into the Ring of Fame for what I accomplished. I believe that.”

The sunshine, alas, didn’t last. Wins dried up, and so did the crowds. The Broncos went 1-8-1 — 1-4-1 at home — over their final 10 games to finish 4-9-1 in 1960, last in the West. The club averaged just 6,823 fans over their final two home games at Bears Stadium, a 38-38 tie with Buffalo and a 30-27 loss to New York. After a 3-11 season in 1961, Filchock and Griffing were gone and the vertical-striped socks — burned in a 1962 promotional bonfire — were nothing but ashes and dust.

Taylor: “That south stand was crazy. Anything they’d get, they’d throw it at you. But I never walked out of the south stands where anybody gave me any slack about how poor we played. They stood by us.”

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