The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) Western Division in the National Football League (NFL). The Broncos began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League and joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL Merger.

1960–1998

The Denver Broncos were founded on August 14, 1959, when minor league baseball owner Bob Howsam was awarded an American Football League charter franchise. The Broncos won the first-ever American Football League game over the Boston Patriots, 13–10, on September 9, 1960. On August 5, 1967, they became the first ever AFL team to defeat an NFL team after beating the Detroit Lions, 13–7, in a preseason game. Except for the incomparable "Franchise" Floyd Little, the Broncos first superstar who, due to his signing in 1967 and his Pro Bowl efforts on and off the field, was instrumental in keeping the team in Denver, the team struggled without a top-flight quarterback. Overall they were not successful in the 1960s, compiling a record of a record of 39–97–4 in the league.

Denver has reached the Super Bowl six times, winning it in the 1997 and 1998 seasons. It is odd to remember a time, then, when Denver was the lowliest of teams, managing its first winning season in 1973 after thirteen years of futility. As such, they were the only original AFL team never to have played in the title game during the upstart league's 10-year history. Denver, in fact, came close to losing its franchise in 1965, but a local ownership group took control that year and began to build the team.

Rookie coach Red Miller, along with the Orange Crush Defense (a nickname originating in the early '70's, also the name of a popular soda pop) and aging quarterback Craig Morton, promptly took the Broncos to their first playoff appearance in 1977 (and ultimately first Super Bowl, where they were defeated by the Dallas Cowboys, 27–10).

Quarterback John Elway arrived in 1983. Originally drafted by the Baltimore Colts as the first pick of the draft, Elway proclaimed that he would shun football in favor of baseball (he was drafted by the New York Yankees to play center field and was also a pitching prospect), unless he was traded to a selected list of other teams, which included Denver. Prior to Elway, Denver had over 24 different starting quarterbacks in its 23 seasons to that point. Elway would remain the quarterback through five Super Bowls, as he and the Broncos won two of them. He would also end his career as the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIII, his last NFL game. The Broncos lost Super Bowl XXI to the New York Giants, 39–20; Super Bowl XXII to the Washington Redskins, 42–10; and Super Bowl XXIV to the San Francisco 49ers, 55–10, the most lopsided scoring differential in Super Bowl history.