By Anthony Holden
CBS SportsLine Historian

There had been a cache of players who came to prominence during the first five years of the AFL, but there was a certain ingredient missing: Star power.

Players such as George Blanda, Len Dawson, Jack Kemp, Cookie Gilchrist, Ernie Ladd, Keith Lincoln, Lance Alworth, Abner Haynes and Billy Cannon just to name a few, played the game wonderfully, and they helped the league battle its inferiority complex by proving that quality football did not exist solely in the NFL.

San Diego QB John Hadl led the league's best offense. (AP)

With no disrespect intended to any of the above, they just didn't sell seats in and of themselves.

Joe Namath sold seats. And when New York Jets owner Sonny Werblin signed Namath to a then-record $400,000 contract which turned the football world upside down, suddenly the AFL was a product that not only football fans, but sports fans, had to pay attention to.

Namath was a star, not only on the field, but also off it, and he was exactly the type of personality the league needed. It also helped that he would be playing for the Jets, giving the AFL a major presence in the world's largest media market. Some have called Namath the most important player in AFL history, and they would be correct.

Yet despite Namath taking over the quarterbacking chores from Mike Taliaferro early in the season, the Jets were still a few players away from making waves in the Eastern Division. They started the season 0-5-1, and even an upset of eventual champion Buffalo on the final day of the season could only salvage a 5-8-1 record.

Still, there was reason to be excited in New York. With Namath pitching to Don Maynard, Bake Turner and George Sauer, and Matt Snell running behind an improving offensive line anchored by Winston Hill and Dave Herman, the Jets were on the move and it wouldn't be long before they were making football history near the end of the decade.

The Bills won the East with ease as a 10-3-1 record was five games better than New York. Buffalo won despite the fact that coach Lou Saban had traded away star fullback Cookie Gilchrist, leaving the running game in the hands of Wray Carlton and Billy Joe, the man who came from Denver in the Gilchrist deal. Making matters more stressful, Kemp lost his two primary receiving targets -- Elbert Dubenion and Glenn Bass -- to season-ending knee injuries early in the year.

The Bills scored only 29 offensive touchdowns, but they were bailed out by kicker Pete Gogolak who made a league-high 28 field goals, and by a dominating defense that led the AFL in fewest yards allowed per rush (3.1) and fewest points (226) and created a mind-boggling 57 turnovers.

Age began creeping up on the Patriots and Boston was winless in its first seven games, ultimately finishing with a 4-8-2 mark. Babe Parilli also suffered a tough year throwing 26 interceptions while highly-touted rookie running back Jim Nance had trouble keeping his weight down and rushed for only 321 yards, yet he led the Patriots.

The demise of the Oilers -- the league's dominant team during the first three years -- continued as Houston slipped to last place with a 4-10 record. George Blanda threw a horrendous 30 interceptions and his completion percentage dipped to 42 percent. Things were even worse on defense as the Oilers allowed 429 points and 2,683 rushing yards.

In the West, it was San Diego rising to the top for the third year in a row and fifth time in six years, but despite statistics that would indicate otherwise, this was clearly the Chargers' toughest road to hoe.

They finished 9-2-3 and just squeaked past Oakland, which was 8-5-1. The difference between the teams turned out to be San Diego's season sweep of the Raiders, winning 17-6 in Week 2 and 24-14 in the season finale.

Offensively the Chargers were a hit as John Hadl took over the quarterback position from retired Tobin Rote and led the league in passing yards with 2,798; Lance Alworth caught 69 passes and led the league in yards (1,602) and TD receptions (14); and Paul Lowe led the league in rushing with 1,121 yards.

On defense, San Diego allowed 227 points, just one more than league-leader Buffalo, and the Chargers gave up league-lows in rushing yards (1,084) and passing yards (2,480).

Oakland went undefeated in its last five games of 1964, and the Raiders were back on track in '65 as they started the year 4-2-1. The problem for Oakland was that it beat up on the weak teams but couldn't get past the league's hierarchy, losing to San Diego and Buffalo in all four games they played.

Clem Daniels rushed for 884 yards, Art Powell caught 52 passes for 800 yards, and the defense allowed just 239 points, but the Raiders weren't able to make the big plays when they needed them most.

Kansas City was perhaps the most disappointing team of the year, a star-studded outfit that dropped to 7-5-2, and suffered through the tragedy of Mack Lee Hill who died on the operating table midway through the season while undergoing knee surgery.

Len Dawson led the league with 21 TD passes and a 53 percent completion rate, while Chris Burford caught 47 passes for 575 yards to lead six Chiefs with at least 20 receptions. Defensively, despite players such as Buck Buchanan, Bobby Bell, Johnny Robinson, Jerry Mays and Fred Williamson, the Chiefs gave up 285 points and lost high-scoring games to Oakland, Houston and Buffalo.

The woeful Broncos continued their losing ways under Mac Speedie, winning just four games despite the hard running of Gilchrist (954 yards) and Lionel Taylor's league-best 85 pass receptions. Denver used three quarterbacks without any success, and its defense was torched for 392 points and 244 first downs.