When you bring up the name Lance in sports, many people think about Lance Armstrong. In San Diego, it should be a different Lance A. that pops into minds. Lance Alworth is a legend here in San Diego and considered the best receiver in football back in his day. He was raised in Mississippi, and earned 15 letters in high school. His sister was a great athlete, too. She was invited to try out for the Olympic team as a sprinter. It was in the Alworth blood.

Like David Winfield, another San Diego legend (and currently San Diego Padres senior advisor), Alworth was offered contracts in a variety of sports. Coming out of high school, both the New York Yankees and Pittsburgh Pirates wanted him. He instead stuck with football and college, going to the University of Arkansas. He ended up leading all colleges in punt return yards in 1960 and ’61. He wasn’t too shabby in the track-and-field department, either. He did the long jump and 100 and 200 yard dash.

Todays great college athletes go for a year or two before jumping ship to make the pros (“one and done” is what they call it). Alworth was a 3-time Academic All-American who got his degree. In the 1962 NFL draft, Alworth was the 8^th pick in the first round by the 49ers. In the American Football League, before it merged with the NFL, he was the first pick of the San Diego Chargers rivals – the Raiders. They handed him over to the Chargers for halfback Bo Roberson.

The Chargers moved Alworth to receiver and the nickname Bambi was born, because of his quickness and graceful runs. The next seven seasons Alworth was an all-pro, making the all-star game consecutively.Even in the ‘60s, Alworth was small by football standards. He stood only 6’ tall, but that didn’t stop him from setting records. He caught at least one pass in every AFL game he played, including a record 96 straight regular-season games, and 105 in a row (including two title games and seven all-star appearances).

In the 1963 championship game (the last time the Chargers won the “big game”), Alworth caught a 48-yard touchdown pass, giving the Chargers the win over the Boston Patriots. It would be 31 years before the Chargers even made another championship (Super Bowl XXIX) game, and that was a 49 - 26 loss to the 49ers.

Alworth was the only player to be named to the AFC All-Time team, and NFL 75^th Anniversary team, and he still holds the record for most games with 200+ yards receiving (five). He was also the only player to average more than 100 yards a game in three straight seasons (from ’64 to ’66).

UPI named him the AFL MVP in 1969, and most experts say he’s the best receiver from the ‘60s. Sports Illustrated called him the best receiver when they put him on the cover. Sporting Newsranked him #31 on the list of 100 greatest football players in 1999 (that was the highest ranking Charger on the list).

When athletes now play past their prime, they can really put up some ugly numbers.Alworth played his last two seasons with the Dallas Cowboys, and in Super Bowl VI, he got a touchdown pass. That was a year before the AFL-NFL merger.

Alworth made both the College and Pro Football Hall of Fame, and was the first Charger to make it in (1977). A few fans weren’t happy that at his induction ceremony he wanted Raiders owner Al Davis to present him. Davis was his position coach with the Chargers and Alworth felt he taught him a lot. He ended his career with 543 receptions, for 10,266 yards and 87 touchdowns. Alworth led the league in receiving three times in his eight seasons.

It was weird when quarterback great Johnny Unitas came to the Chargers for his final season in 1974, he wore the #19 jersey, even though the bolts had already retired it.

The players in the ‘60s didn’t make the kind of money players make now. The salaries ranged from $10,000 to $250,000 a year. The money Alworth made went into a lot of investments that failed. In 1972, Alworth drove past a building with a lot of doors, and wondered what it was. He found out it was a storage facility, which was a new at the time. He had trouble securing a loan to open a storage facilty, but a friend lent him the money. Alworth opened his first All Aboard Mini Storage in 1976, and eventually had 26 through-out California. He’s owned a few other businesses locally, and even holds a patent in Tuna Tubes, which is a device fisherman use to keep tuna alive for up to 10 days. The avid fisherman also won a tournament in Cabo San Lucas.

Former Oilers all-star receiver Charley Hennigan once said “A player comes along once in a lifetime who alone is worth the price of admission. Lance Alworth was that player.”

If they don’t play football this season, maybe we can get our Chargers fix watching old highlights of Bambi on Youtube.