Dec. 19, 1963 - Tobin Rote of the San Diego Chargers, a restless man who has played in three pro leagues, was named the most valuable player in the American Football League for 1963. With Rote passing, the Chargers can clinch the Western Division title Sunday if they beat the Denver Broncos. The 35-year-old former Green Bay, Detroit, and Toronto quarterback won the award by a large margin. He collected 15 of the 24 votes cast by an Associated Press panel of sportswriters and broadcasters. Lance Alworth, the San Diego flanker back who received many of Rote’s passes, was the runner-up with four votes. Clem Daniels, the Oakland Raider running back, got two. Archie Matsos, the Oakland middle linebacker, got the other one. Rote won the honor despite a late-season attack of bursitis that affected his throwing. With one game left, the quarterback has 163 completions in 270 attempts for 2,401 yards and 19 touchdowns. In 1950, Rote broke into the NFL at Green Bay. That was the year Y.A. Tittle played his first NFL ball with Baltimore after two years in the All-America Conference. In 1957, Tobin took over at quarterback for the Detroit Lions after Bobby Layne suffered a broken leg in a late-season game, and Rote let the Lions to a 59-14 rout of the Cleveland Browns in the NFL title game. The former Rice star moved to Toronto in 1960 after playing out his option in the NFL. He played out his option in Canada too, where he was reportedly getting $32,000, and came to San Diego this season at $30,000.
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