This Chargers trivia quiz has 60 free questions with answers and covers the whole franchise, not just one city. It starts in 1960 with a hotel heir's AFL team playing to empty seats in the Los Angeles Coliseum, follows the move down the coast to Balboa Stadium and the only league title in team history, then runs through Air Coryell, the Epic in Miami and the Freezer Bowl, Junior Seau and Super Bowl XXIX, the LaDainian Tomlinson and Philip Rivers years, and finally the return to Los Angeles, SoFi Stadium, Justin Herbert and Jim Harbaugh. The early questions are the ones any Bolts fan can get: the logo, the powder blues, the retired numbers. The later ones ask about a 1966 sale price, a two-penalty offensive tackle, a wind chill reading and a Kent State basketball run, and are meant for people who can name the kicker who won the Epic in Miami. Every answer has been checked against a reference source, and each question shows its explanation and citation once you have answered. Play the full set for a shareable score, then send it to the friend who still says San Diego.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What shape has been the Chargers' logo, in one color or another, since the team debuted in 1960?
A lightning bolt
The arc-shaped bolt has survived every uniform overhaul, including the 2020 redesign that dropped navy blue from the palette entirely.
Q 02Which stadium became the Chargers' home when it opened in 2020?
SoFi Stadium
They share the Inglewood building with the Rams, one of only two NFL stadiums housing two teams at once.
Q 03In which league did the Chargers begin play in 1960?
The AFL
They were one of the eight charter franchises of the upstart league, which merged with the NFL a decade later.
Q 04Which hotel heir was the Chargers' original owner?
Barron Hilton
He paid a $25,000 franchise fee and later sold his majority stake for $10 million, then a record for any pro sports team.
Q 05According to the general manager who picked it, the name 'Chargers' was inspired by what?
Fans yelling 'Charge!' to a bugle
The owner denied any link to his Carte Blanche credit card business; a fan had nominated the name in a contest.
Q 06Where did the Chargers play their lone 1960 season in Los Angeles?
The LA Coliseum
The original plan was the Rose Bowl, but home crowds under 10,000 in the enormous Coliseum sent the team south after one year.
Q 07Before choosing San Diego in January 1961, which city did the Chargers consider moving to?
Atlanta
Seattle was the other candidate; both cities would wait years for their own franchises.
Q 08Where did the Chargers play their home games from 1961 to 1966, their first years in San Diego?
Balboa Stadium
The 1914 stadium beside San Diego High School was expanded to 34,000 seats for the team, and The Beatles played there in 1965.
Q 09Who was the Chargers' first head coach, hired away from the Los Angeles Rams?
Sid Gillman
He is credited with pioneering the deep vertical passing game and was the first coach to study game film obsessively.
Q 10By what score did the Chargers win the 1963 AFL Championship Game, their only league title?
51–10
The rout of Boston came at home on January 5, 1964, and the coach reportedly wanted a shot at the NFL champion Bears afterward.
Q 11Which Chargers back was MVP of the 1963 AFL title game after rushing for 206 yards on just 13 carries?
Keith Lincoln
He also led the team with 123 receiving yards and completed a 20-yard pass, accounting for 349 yards of offense.
Q 12Which Chargers receiver was nicknamed 'Bambi' by teammates?
Lance Alworth
The baby face and deer-like stride carried him to 96 straight games with a catch and, in 1978, a place as the first AFL player in the Hall of Fame.
Q 13How many holding penalties was Chargers tackle Ron Mix called for in ten seasons?
Two
Nicknamed 'The Intellectual Assassin,' he later earned a law degree and practiced as an attorney.
Q 21What was the final score of the Epic in Miami, won by the Chargers in overtime on January 2, 1982?
41–38
The Chargers led 24–0 after the first quarter and still needed nearly 14 minutes of overtime to finish it.
Q 22Which Chargers kicker won the Epic in Miami with a 29-yard field goal in overtime?
Rolf Benirschke
The winner came after 13 minutes and 52 seconds of overtime, and he had missed an earlier chance to end it.
Q 23What was the reported wind chill at the 'Freezer Bowl' AFC Championship in Cincinnati?
−59 °F
The air temperature was −9 °F, and by wind chill it remains the coldest game in NFL history.
Q 14For how much was the Chargers franchise sold to a group led by Gene Klein in 1966?
$10 million
The buyer group was 21 business executives; the price was a record for a pro sports franchise at the time.
Q 15In what year did the Chargers move into the newly built San Diego Stadium in Mission Valley?
1967
The building later became Jack Murphy Stadium, then Qualcomm Stadium, and hosted three Super Bowls before its 2021 demolition.
Q 16San Diego Stadium was renamed in 1981 to honor Jack Murphy. What was Murphy's job?
Sportswriter
The name lasted until 1997, when Qualcomm bought the naming rights.
Q 17What was the nickname of the pass-heavy offense the Chargers unleashed starting in 1978?
Air Coryell
The scheme powered an NFL-record six straight seasons leading the league in passing yards, from 1978 to 1983.
Q 18Before the NFL, the Chargers' 1978–86 head coach won 100-plus games at which college?
San Diego State
His Aztecs staffs included two future Hall of Fame head coaches, John Madden and Joe Gibbs.
Q 19Which Chargers quarterback was the first with three straight 4,000-yard NFL passing seasons?
Dan Fouts
His 4,802 yards in 1981 was an NFL record, and his father spent more than 20 years as a 49ers broadcaster.
Q 20Which Chargers tight end caught 13 passes and blocked a field goal in the 1981 'Epic in Miami'?
Kellen Winslow
The image of him being helped off the field by two teammates afterward became one of the NFL's enduring photographs.
Q 24What rule did the NFL adopt after the Raiders' 1978 'Holy Roller' win over the Chargers?
Only the fumbler may advance a late fumble
The Raiders' quarterback later admitted he flipped the ball forward on purpose before it was batted into the end zone.
Q 25Which Chargers receiver retired in 1986 with the most receptions and receiving yards of any NFL wide receiver?
Charlie Joiner
Bill Walsh called him the most intelligent and calculating receiver the game had known; his No. 18 was retired by the team.
Q 26Alex Spanos bought a majority stake in the Chargers in 1984. In which California city was he born?
Stockton
The son of Greek immigrants started out selling sandwiches to farm workers and built the largest apartment developer in the country.
Q 27Which linebacker's No. 55 is retired by the Chargers?
Junior Seau
The San Diego native went to 12 straight Pro Bowls and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 2015, three years after his death.
Q 28Which head coach, hired in 1992, took the Chargers to their only Super Bowl?
Bobby Ross
His 1994 team went 11–5, then upset the Steelers 17–13 in Pittsburgh in the AFC Championship.
Q 29Which quarterback, acquired in a trade with Washington, led the Chargers to Super Bowl XXIX?
Stan Humphries
The 1994 Chargers were 18.5-point underdogs, the second-biggest spread in Super Bowl history at the time.
Q 30What was the final score of Super Bowl XXIX, the Chargers' loss to the 49ers in January 1995?
49–26
Steve Young threw a Super Bowl-record six touchdown passes and was named MVP.