Denver Broncos · Franchise era 1 of 7
The difficult AFL beginning: the Denver Broncos story
Franchise era
1960—1972
The difficult AFL beginning
Denver Broncos
The story in one sentence
Denver survived years of losing because Little and an intensely loyal fan base made the franchise worth building.
A loyal city waits for its first winning season
Floyd Little, Lionel Taylor and Goose Gonsoulin gave the era its recognizable core.
Its ending created the conditions for the orange crush.
Timeline
How it unfolded
The foundation
The franchise context
Denver grew from an overlooked AFL club into a region-wide institution through the Orange Crush, John Elway's five Super Bowls and Peyton Manning's record-setting final act.
1960—1972
The difficult AFL beginning
Denver survived years of losing because Little and an intensely loyal fan base made the franchise worth building.
After 1972
What came next
A swarming defense and a roaring home crowd transformed the Broncos, culminating in the franchise's first Super Bowl trip after the 1977 season.
The core