This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 4/28/2019
1960-61 was the sophomore season for both the Houston Oilers and the American Football League. The Oilers started the season slow, resulting in the firing of head coach Lou Rymkus. Wally Lemm was brought in and the Oilers went on to repeat as Eastern Division champs. Over in the Western Division, the Los Angeles Chargers also repeated as division champs, and the two teams once again met in the AFL Championship game. Held on Christmas Eve, 1961, the game proved Houston’s gridiron dominance as they beat the Chargers, 10-3. The aftermath was an on-field fight between Chargers head coach Sid Gillman and field judge John Morrow.
This strikingly attractive gold Wittnauer watch was presented to Oilers offensive line coach Joe Spencer after Houston won their first AFL championship. Spencer would later serve as an assistant coach for Broadway Joe Namath's famed 1968 New York Jets squad that shocked the world in Super Bowl III. The watch is crafted in the early 60’s modern style with stylized lines in place of numbers and a streamlined wave-pattern watch band. The face has been engraved with “HOUSTON OILERS 60-61 A.F.L. CHAMPS JOE SPENCER.” The back has the “14K GOLD FILLED” hallmark and the backside of the band is marked “STAINLESS STEEL BOTTOM CAPS.” Recently serviced and is in fine working order, the watch is manual and needs to be wound to tell time. It shows significant use with some pitting to the backside and moderate wear to the front, all expected from a well-worn presentation watch that is almost 60 years old.