1968

EVENTS DURING 1968
The year of 1968 was an overall bleak year. The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Senator Robert Kennedy only added to the turmoil in society caused by the war in Vietnam, strained relations with the USSR and riots across the country. the people of the US seriously needed a miracle to reinspire the american spirit. This miracle turned out to be the 1968 New York Jets. They re inspired the American underdog spirit that had diminished over the course of the past few bleak years.

-Anti Vietnam War Protests -The Massacre at Mylai=U.S. soldiers slaughter men, women and children at Mylai -Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated=the leader of the Negro Civil Rights Movement and the author of the "I Have A Dream..." speech was killed by Earl Ray at 6:01 on April 4 at the Lorraine Motel -Senator Robert Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angelos -The Earthquake in Sicily=231 dead, 262 wounded -"The Poor Peoples March"=50,000 people march to Washington on June 19 -First Mcdonald's Big Mac Sold -The popular film "Guess Who is Coming to Dinner"=it shows racial inequality when a well-to-do white woman tells her parents that she is going out with a black man. This movie stirred up racial predjudice because "it was unacceptable" for a black man and white woman to date let alone marry. - Vietnam War: The Tet Offensive begins, as Viet Cong forces launch a series of surprise attacks across South Vietnam. - Border clashes take place between Israel and Jordan. - Gold standard: The Congress of the United States repeals the requirement for a gold reserve to back U.S. currency. - U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act of 1968. - Vietnam War: Student protesters at Columbia University in New York City take over administration buildings and shut down the university -Will Smith was born September 25 -The CBS show "60 minutes" aired for the first time -The First ATM installed in the U.S. -First successful Heart Transplant=Dr. Christian Barnard -Beatles create Apple Records -911 Emergency Telephone Service started in the United States -Nixon won election (some of this Information was from [|www.historycentral.com/20th/1968.html] )

This was a time when most of America was saddened by the assasination of Martin Luther King Jr., Joe Namath and the '68 Jets united the country behind them and went all the way to the Superbowl(lll). They also provided a distraction for the nation from the racial disagreements and political arguments.

More specifically, the '68 Jets led by Namath was no doubt the most successful team in franchise history. This is mostly because of their knockout roster ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/**1968**_**New**_**York**_**Jets**_season - 59k) Most famous however was the quarterback Joe Namath. He was referred to by New Yorkers as Broadway Joe. This is because his behavior made him a pop culture icon. During his college years Namath put up tremendous numbers playing for the Alabama Crimson Tide. He led the Crimson Tide to a National Championship and an overall record of 29-4 over 3 seasons. However, despite his great effort did not recieve any major awards. This changed however when he was drafted to the New York Jets in 1964. That season he was awarded the title of AFL Rookie of the Year.
 * **Quarterbacks*** Tommy Burnett (19)
 * Joe Namath (12)
 * Babe Parilli (15)
 * Running Backs**
 * Emerson Boozer (32)
 * Bill Mathis (31)
 * Matt Snell (41)
 * Wide Receivers**
 * Don Maynard (13)
 * George Sauer, Jr. (83)
 * Tight Ends**
 * Pete Lammons (87) ||  || **Offensive Linemen*** Dave Herman (67)
 * Winston Hill (75)
 * Paul Rochester (72)
 * John Schmitt (52)
 * Bob Talamini (61)
 * Defensive Linemen**
 * Verlon Biggs (88)
 * John Elliot (80)
 * Gerry Philbin (81) ||  || **Linebackers*** Al Atkinson (62)
 * Ralph Baker (51)
 * Paul Crane (56)
 * Larry Grantham (60)
 * Randy Rasmussen (66)
 * Defensive Backs**
 * Bill Baird (46)
 * Earl Christy (45)
 * Cornell Gordon (48)
 * Jim Hudson (22)
 * Johnny Sample (24)
 * Special Teams**
 * Mike D'Amato (47)
 * Curley Johnson (33)
 * Bake Turner (29)
 * Jim Turner (11) ||

As time passed Namath became better and better. In 1967 he became the first professional quarterback to pass over 4,000 yards. 1968 however, was the year that the Jets' hard work would pay off.

During this year the Jets dominated their division only losing 3 games the entire regular season. || 3 ||  0 ||  .786 ||  419 ||  280 ||  ||  7 ||  7 ||  0 ||  .500 ||  303 ||  248 || ||  8 ||  1 ||  .385 ||  276 ||  355 ||  ||  4 ||  10 ||  0 ||  .286 ||  229 ||  406 ||  ||  1 ||  12 ||  1 ||  .077 ||  199 ||  367 || ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/**1968**_**New**_**York**_**Jets**_season - 59k ) ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/**1968**_**New**_**York**_**Jets**_season - 59k ) This preformance catapulted the Jets into the playoffs. On December 29, 1968 the Jets played the Oakland Raiders in the AFL Championship Game at Shea Stadium. This worked tremendously well for the Jets because many of the defensive players exhibited better play in the baseball field dirt at Shea Stadium. They said this was mostly because during a play clouds of dirt would appear crippling the offense's ability to maintain focus and create plays. The Jets offense however was not so effected by this because since it was their home turf they frequently played in these conditions. During the AFL Championship the Jets offense produced magnificent plays. In the game Joe Namath threw three touchdowns, two of which were to Don Maynard, the Jets star wide reciever. This spectacular performance sent the Jets to Super Bowl III
 * New York Jets ||  11
 *  Houston Oilers
 *  Miami Dolphins  ||  5
 *  Boston Patriots
 *  Buffalo Bills
 * ~ Week ||~ Date ||~ Opponent ||~ Result ||~ Game site ||
 * ~ 1 || 1968 -09-15 || Kansas City Chiefs || **W** 20-19 || Municipal Stadium ||
 * ~ 2 || 1968 -09-22 || Boston Patriots || **W** 47-31 || Legion Field ||
 * ~ 3 || 1968 -09-29 || Buffalo Bills || **L** 37-35 || War Memorial Stadium ||
 * ~ 4 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">1968 -<span class="wiki_link_ext">10-05 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">San Diego Chargers || **W** 23-20 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Shea Stadium ||
 * ~ 5 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">1968 -<span class="wiki_link_ext">10-13 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Denver Broncos || **L** 21-13 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Shea Stadium ||
 * ~ 6 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">1968 -<span class="wiki_link_ext">10-20 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Houston Oilers || **W** 20-14 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">The Astrodome ||
 * ~ 7 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">1968 -<span class="wiki_link_ext">10-27 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Boston Patriots || **W** 48-14 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Shea Stadium ||
 * ~ 8 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">1968 -<span class="wiki_link_ext">11-03 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Buffalo Bills || **W** 25-21 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Shea Stadium ||
 * ~ 9 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">1968 -<span class="wiki_link_ext">11-10 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Houston Oilers || **W** 26-7 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Shea Stadium ||
 * ~ 10 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">1968 -<span class="wiki_link_ext">11-17 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Oakland Raiders || **L** 43-32 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Oakland-Alameda Coliseum ||
 * ~ 11 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">1968 -<span class="wiki_link_ext">11-24 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">San Diego Chargers || **W** 37-15 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">San Diego Stadium ||
 * ~ 12 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">1968 -<span class="wiki_link_ext">12-01 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Miami Dolphins || **W** 35-17 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Shea Stadium ||
 * ~ 13 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">1968 -<span class="wiki_link_ext">12-08 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Cincinnati Bengals || **W** 27-14 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Shea Stadium ||
 * ~ 14 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">1968 -<span class="wiki_link_ext">12-15 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Miami Dolphins || **W** 31-7 || <span class="wiki_link_ext">Miami Orange Bowl ||