- 1960
- 1983
- 1996
- 1997
- 2001
- 2012
- 2015
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Denver Broncos Team Formation
In the summer of 1959, Bob Howsam, owner of minor league baseball’s Denver Bears, had a problem. He’d expanded Bears Stadium to 34,000 after Denver was named a charter member of the Continental League, a proposed third major league. However, the league died when the established major leagues granted expansion franchises to two of its cities (New York and Houston) ... -
Trade for Elway
Quarterback John Elway arrived in 1983. Originally drafted by the Baltimore Colts as the first pick of the draft, Elway proclaimed that he would shun football in favor of baseball (he was drafted by the New York Yankees to play center field) unless he was traded to one of a selected list of other teams, which included Denver. During the ... -
Super Bowl XXXII Winner 1997
Super Bowl XXXII was an American football game between the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Green Bay Packers and the American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos to decide the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1997 season. The Broncos defeated the Packers by the score of 31–24. The game was played on January 25, 1998, at Qualcomm Stadium ... -
Super Bowl XXXIII Winner 1997
During the 1997 season, Elway and Davis helped guide the Broncos to their first Super Bowl victory, a 31–24 win over the defending champion Green Bay Packers in Super Bowl XXXII. Although Elway completed only 13 of 22 passes, throwing one interception and no touchdowns (he did, however, have a rushing touchdown), Davis rushed for 157 yards and a Super ... -
John Elway as Executive
Following the 2010 season, Joe Ellis was promoted from Chief Operating Officer to team president, while John Elway returned to the organization as the team’s Executive Vice President of Football Operations. -
Arrival of Peyton Manning
On March 20, 2012, the Broncos and quarterback Peyton Manning reached an agreement on a 5-year contract worth $96 million. The following day, the Broncos traded Tim Tebow and a seventh-round draft selection to the New York Jets in exchange for fourth- and sixth-round draft selections. Shortly after acquiring Manning, the Broncos also signed tight ends Joel Dreessen and Jacob ... -
Super Bowl 50 Winner 2015
Super Bowl 50 was an American football game to determine the champion of the National Football League (NFL) for the 2015 season. The American Football Conference (AFC) champion Denver Broncos defeated the National Football Conference (NFC) champion Carolina Panthers 24–10 to earn their third Super Bowl title. The Broncos took an early lead in Super Bowl 50 and never trailed. ...
History of the Broncos
The Denver Broncos are one of the most iconic teams in the NFL. Founded in 1960, they have a long and storied history that has seen them win three Super Bowls, six AFC Championships, and numerous division titles. The team is currently owned by Pat Bowlen, who purchased it from Edgar Kaiser Jr., for $78 million dollars in 1984.
In their early years as an American Football League (AFL) franchise, the Broncos were led by legendary head coach Lou Saban and quarterback Frank Tripucka to two AFL Championships before joining forces with the National Football League (NFL) during its merger with rival league AFL prior to 1970 season. During this time period under Coach John Ralston’s leadership, the team won back-to-back Division titles but failed to make much noise on a national level until 1977 when Red Miller was hired as Head Coach. Under his guidance, Quarterback Craig Morton lead them through an impressive 12–2 regular season record which resulted in the first-ever Super Bowl appearance against Dallas Cowboys where they lost 27–10.
After several seasons of struggle due to bad draft picks & coaching changes, Dan Reeves took over as Head Coach & General Manager at the start of the 1981 Season which marked the beginning of a new era for the Denver Bronco's football program. The addition of star players like John Elway & Gary Zimmerman along with talented veterans including Steve Atwater and Karl Mecklenburg helped set up a foundation for success that followed throughout the 90's decade leading up to the 3rd super bowl victory after the 1998 Season under Mike Shanahan leadership.
Since then there have been various coaches coming in & out but overall performance remained consistent throughout the 2000s resulting in 6 more playoff appearances between 2003 - 2015 including 4th Superbowl victory after the 2015 season under Gary Kubiak's coaching tenure ending the drought since the last championship 18 years ago! As current owners look forward to future competitiveness within the highly competitive NFL landscape; Denver broncos will continue striving towards excellence just like the past 60+ years!
Established
1960
City
Denver
League History
1970 - Present / National Football League
1960 - 1969 / American Football League
Team History
1960 - Present / Denver Broncos
Nickname
Broncos - A “bronco” is an unbroken or untamed horse, and it is a reference to Denver’s Wild West heritage. The Broncos nickname came about by being the winning entry of a name the new team contest that the new Denver AFL franchise had in early 1960. The winner out of only 162 entries was by Ward M. Vining. There was a previous pro team in Denver with the same name an Independent minor league baseball club in the 1920s named the Denver Broncos.
Championship
Super Bowl 3
2016, 1999, 1998
Stadium
2019 - Present / Empower Field at Mile High
2016 - 2019 / Broncos Stadium at Mile High
2011 - 2016 / Sports Authority Field at Mile High
2001 - 2010 / Invesco Field at Mile High
1960 - 2000 / Mile High Stadium
Owner
1984 - Present / Pat Bowlen Trust
1981 - 1984 / Edgar Kaiser
1961 - 1981 / Gerald Phipps
1960 - 1961 / Bob Howsam
To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.
Retired Number
7 / John Elway
18 / Frank Tripucka
18 / Peyton Manning
44 / Floyd Little
*Blue is this team’s history
