Sept. 8, 1963 - Veteran quarterback Tobin Rote and halfback Paul Lowe combined to lead the San Diego Chargers to a 14-10 American Football League victory over the Buffalo Bills today in the season’s opener for both clubs at Balboa Stadium. (Pictured below, San Diego’s Ernie Ladd closes in on Bills quarterback Jack Kemp.) Lowe broke a tight 7-3 game open with 1:33 left in the third quarter with a 48-yard run on a pitchout. Forced inside, Lowe squirmed out of the grasps of two Buffalo defenders and raced Willlie West to the goal line. West shoved him out of bounds, but an inch too late. Rote hit on 18 of 30 passes for 260 yards. San Diego marched 52 yards in eight plays for the first score, despite two 15-yard penalties. Rote passes set up Bob Jackson’s 1-yard plunge for the score. Buffalo closed the gap to 14-0 midway in the last quarter, marching 90 yards in 12 plays. Keys plays were a 35-yard pass from Kemp to Ernie Warlick and a 25-yard run by Kemp followed by a lateral to Fred Brown for seven more yards. Brown cracked over from the 4 for the score. The Bills’ attack was hampered by a first-quarter injury to all-league fullback Cookie Gilchrist. He was replaced by rookie George Saimes for the rest of the game.
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