Los Angeles Chargers Team History
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Los Angeles Chargers Team Formation
The San Diego Chargers were established with seven other American Football League teams in 1959. In 1960, the Chargers began AFL play in Los Angeles. The Chargers’ original owner was hotel heir Barron Hilton, son of Hilton Hotels founder Conrad Hilton.
According to the official site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Barron Hilton agreed after his general manager, Frank Leahy, picked the Chargers name when he purchased an AFL franchise for Los Angeles: “I liked it because they were yelling ‘charge’ and sounding the bugle at Dodgers Stadium and at USC games.”
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No Stadium – Move back to Los Angeles
Spanos announced the relocation in a letter to Chargers fans posted to the team’s official site on January 12, 2017. Revealing a new marketing logo with the announcement, the team will play as the Los Angeles Chargers starting in the 2017 season at StubHub Center in Carson, California, despite the fact that the stadium seats well below the 50,000 minimum that the NFL set even for temporary homes following the 1970 merger. There had been speculation that the team may rebrand itself similar to how the Houston Oilers ultimately became the Tennessee Titans in 1999. Unlike the situation between the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens, the Oilers’ rebranding was done by the team’s choice and not by court order. The Chargers, however, announced they had no immediate plans to rebrand after the relocation.