The Coin Toss That Almost Tore the AFL Apart

Published on July 23rd, 2025 5:37 pm EST
Written By: Dave Manuel


It was 1968. The AFL Western Division was a bloodbath. Raiders. Chiefs. Two titans, one playoff spot.

Both teams finished 12-2. Back then, no tiebreakers. No strength of schedule. No head-to-head rules. Just a coin flip.

Oakland won the toss. Kansas City lost. Simple? Not quite.

The Raiders got home-field advantage. They dominated the Houston Oilers. Then crushed the Chiefs in the AFL title game. That set up a date with the Jets in Super Bowl III.

Kansas City wasn't happy. Lamar Hunt, founder of the AFL and owner of the Chiefs, was furious. Not just at the result, but the process.

The league had scheduled the coin flip before the final games of the regular season. Worse? It wasn't televised. No neutral observers. It happened behind closed doors.

Al Davis, Raiders GM, saw no problem. Hunt saw conspiracy.

The Chiefs filed a formal protest. They pushed for replay, reform, anything. When the AFL denied it, the legal battle began. Hunt and the Chiefs sued the league, seeking damages over the lost playoff shot. They claimed the coin toss deprived them of a legitimate chance at the title - and the money that came with it.

The suit didn't go far. It fizzled quickly. But the embarrassment stuck.

The NFL and AFL soon merged. Tiebreaker rules were rewritten. Coin flips wouldn't decide champions ever again.

One coin toss. One playoff run. One lawsuit. The fallout changed how the league handled its biggest games. For good.