• The Minneapolis/St Paul franchise pulled out of the AFL, paving the way for a new city. Oakland, Atlanta, and Miami were said to be the primary cities in the running.

• Los Angeles Chargers owner Barron Hilton said the AFL would probably award the franchise in the next three weeks

• In an evening session, the Oakland City Council approved a resolution showing their approval of the city’s pursuing a team and authorized mayor Clifford Rishell to create a “Citizens’ Action Committee” to that end

• City council member Don Mulford, who was a leading representative of a group called the Oakland Boosters, traveled to Los Angeles to meet with Barron Hilton and Frank Leahy to discuss stadium concerns

• Oakland mayor Clifford Rishell, California state assemblyman Don Mulford, and members of the Oakland Chamber of Commerce met to prepare for tomorrow’s meeting with Barron Hilton and other Chargers officials

• Hilton said Oakland was “almost a unanimous choice” for the last AFL franchise

• Hilton also said a decision wouldn’t come until at least the 21st, when the league had its next meeting

• Prospective ownership groups would be required to post $25,000 in earnest money

• Robert Lurie, a San Francisco-based prospective owner, said he’d prefer that a team be based in that city rather than Oakland

• Robert Osborne, an Oakland city council member and area industrialist, said a group made up of “prominent East Bay citizens” headed by insurance magnate George Jacopetti was also interested in backing a team

• Oakland civic leaders, including Mayor Rishell and assemblyman Don Mulford met with Barron Hilton and Frank Leahy of the Los Angeles Chargers to strategize about getting a team for Oakland

• Robert Lurie, member of a wealthy San Francisco family, and Ted Harrer, an Oakland industrialist, were the leading contenders to finance a team

• Oakland city council member and businessman Robert Osborne and insurance magnate George Jacopetti were also trying to put together a group

• The city of Hayward said they were looking into a plan to build a stadium there, though there weren’t many specifics at this point

• Frank Leahy of the Los Angeles Chargers said the league’s other seven teams would surrender some of their players to a pool from which a new franchise could make selections

• Atlanta, Jacksonville, and Miami were all said to be farther along in their planning than Oakland

• Ted Harrer said he wouldn’t be interested in a team unless it played in Oakland right off the bad, while Robert Lurie said he wouldn’t invest in a team unless it began play in Candlestick Park

• Both the Atlanta and Miami factions were reputed to have posted the $25,000 application fee already, while the Oakland effort was bogging down in contradictory requirements among the principals

• Oakland mayor Clifford Rishell spoke with Glenn Seaborg, a chancellor with the University of California, and was told that the use of Memorial Stadium was a matter best taken up with school president Clark Kerr, who was currently in South Africa

• The city of Oakland had approved a measure to put a $15 million bond issue on the ballot in June to pay for the construction of a stadium

• Jack Rector, an auto dealer on the San Francisco Peninsula, had said he was interested in investing in a Bay Area franchise

• Francis Dunn, Chair of the Alameda County Board of Supervisors, suggested that a racetrack at the Alameda County Fairgrounds in Pleasanton could be used as a temporary home for an East Bay team

• Scotty Stirling, in the Tribune, reported that a new and so far, unnamed, group representing San Francisco had thrown their hat in the ring for an AFL franchise

• A group of unnamed people interested in getting an AFL team for Hayward met today to discuss plans

• Yet another unidentified group of investors was reportedly joining the fray to land an AFL team for the Bay Area.

• Insurance man George Jacopetti revealed the existence of the group, consisting of possibly 10 to 12 people, but he apparently wasn’t one of them

• The group wanted to represent Oakland, but was apparently okay with the team playing in San Francisco on a temporary basis

• The picture cleared somewhat as it appeared that a group led by Oakland industrialist Ted Harrer was putting together a consortium of up to 20 people to finance a team that would play in the East Bay from the start

• Harrer was confident that he could work out a deal with the University of California to use their stadium for the 1960 season

• His goal in putting together the consortium was to raise $500,000 to cover the initial costs of running a team, but that none of the money was to be used for stadium construction

• Miami was eliminated from the running for an AFL franchise

• Ted Harrer had reportedly relented on his requirement that a team he invested in would have to play in the East Bay immediately

• Still another group, anonymous for now, had come upon the scene and had conferred with Barron Hilton about applying for a franchise

• According to Hilton, the new group was ready to pony up the $25,000 application fee and would countenance playing in San Francisco on a temporary basis, if necessary

• The AFL said the signing rights to the players drafted by the Minneapolis/St. Paul franchise last fall would be transferred to the new team

• Barron Hilton met with two members of the new, still unidentified group looking to land an AFL franchise, to discuss finances

• The members of the latest group to show interest in landing a team were auto dealers Bill Jackson and Ed Goldie

• Former Stanford great Ernie Nevers was rumored to be the general manager choice of a Jackson/Goldie team

• The Jackson/Goldie group was said to have at least ten other members who were prepared to provide financial backing

• Barron Hilton and Oakland mayor Clifford Rishell were looking into whether the Harrer group could be merged with the Jackson/Goldie group

• The investment group headed by Bill Jackson and Ed Goldie posted a $25,000 application fee with the AFL

• The Jackson/Goldie group met with representatives of the Ted Harrer group to explore a merger, but the talks failed over the inability to select a group leader

• The University of California told Oakland officials that Memorial Stadium would not be available for use by a professional football team

• A third investment group, headed by construction magnates Chet Soda and Charles Harney and Oakland city council member Robert Osborne, announced their interest in pursuing an AFL team

• San Francisco mayor George Christopher expressed concern over the advisability of hosting a second professional football team at a local stadium while acknowledging that the decision was not in his hands

• Ted Harrer announced that his investment group would not attend the AFL’s expansion meeting on the 26th

• Both the Robert Osborne/Chet Soda group and the Bill Jackson/Ed Goldie group indicated they would appear before the league owners in Dallas

• The Oakland group led by Chet Soda and Robert Osborne and an Atlanta group led by businessman Jack Clay made their pitches to the AFL

• No decision was made because the league received late word that a San Francisco group led by George McKeon and Bernard Hagen had requested a hearing, too

• Wayne Valley, an East Bay land developer, was also in Dallas as part of the Soda/Osborne group

• Bill Jackson of the Jackson/Ed Goldie group was in Dallas, but did not make a presentation

• The George McKeon/Bernard Hagen group representing San Francisco made their presentation to the AFL owners

• Bill Jackson announced that his group had withdrawn their application for a franchise

• Scotty Stirling of the Tribune identified other members of the Chet Soda/Robert Osborne, Wayne Valley group: contractor Charles Harney, restaurateur Harvey Binns, stockbroker and former Olympics coxswain Don Blessing, and developers Art Beckett and Ed McGah

• AFL commissioner Joe Foss said the San Francisco bid for a franchise was “definitely out”

• An unofficial report out of Dallas said that initial voting among AFL owners leaned toward Atlanta with a 6-1 margin

• The league’s bylaws required unanimous approval to enact a decision

• Following a strong lobbying effort by Barron Hilton and Frank Leahy of the Los Angeles Chargers, the American Football League awarded its eighth franchise to the group from Oakland.

• The Oakland partnership consisted of eight men: developer Art Beckett, restaurateur Harvey Binns, stockbroker Don Blessing, contractor Charles Harney, developer Ed McGah, manufacturer Robert Osborne, contractor Chet Soda, and developer Wayne Valley.

• Former Navy football coach and Millbrae resident Eddie Erdelatz, currently a candidate for the opening with the University of California position, said he would be interested in coaching the Oakland team.

• The league transferred the signing rights of the Minneapolis/St Paul draft picks to the new team, though a number of the players had been signed by other AFL teams in the meantime.

• Chet Soda said there were two “silent partners” in addition to the eight already identified but that he “(didn’t) want to name them”

• Among the initial names bruited about as early contenders for the Oakland’s team management positions were recently-retired baseballer Jackie Jensen for general manager and former Navy coach Eddie Erdelatz for the head coaching job

• The owners elected Chet Soda to the chair of the board of directors

• The Alameda County Board of Supervisors and the Oakland City Council each passed resolutions petitioning the University of California to permit Oakland’s team to play there on a temporary basis

• The California State Senate passed a resolution “urging” the University of California to permit Oakland’s team to play in Memorial Stadium until a dedicated facility could be built

• The Tribune reported that team hired former University of San Francisco athletic director Jimmy Needles to head up the process of finding suitable applicants for general manager and head coach

• Owner Chet Soda later refuted the Needles story

• The Tribune reported that former Navy coach Eddie Erdlelatz met with one of the team owners and that negotiations were underway to hire him as head coach

• The team announced they had hired prominent local lawyer William Hayes to the post of lead counsel and added another local attorney, Herman Cook, to the legal staff, too

• Former Navy football coach Eddie Erdelatz met again with unnamed members of the team’s ownership group about the head coaching position

• The team named Chet Soda as general manager, possibly on an interim basis, and confirmed him as board chair

• Soda was named to lead a three-man hiring committee that also included Robert Osborne and Wayne Valley

• Soda said that Green Bay Packers assistant coach Phil Bengtson was under consideration for the assistant general manager’s position

• After several days of negotiations, the team hired St Mary’s College graduate and former Navy coach Eddie Erdelatz to be their first head coach.

• The team hired Navy assistant coach and St Mary’s graduate Ernie Jorge to join Eddie Erdelatz’s staff as offensive line coach

• The Examiner reported that the team was considering the hiring of Bud Kerr, the last football coach at the University of San Francisco before that school shut down their football program, to join Eddie Erdelatz’s staff

• The Port of Oakland Commission approved a pair of sites on a conditional basis for the construction of a municipal stadium, including one near the airport in San Leandro and another near the Oakland Auditorium (now the Kaiser Convention Center) on the south end of Lake Merritt

• The team announced that ticket prices for the 1960 season would be $4.50 for single-game tickets and $31.50 for a season ticket package.

• The Oakland City Council approved a plan to undertake a study designed to find a site and prepare an estimated budget for the building of a multi-purpose stadium

• Area “civic and governmental leaders” made a presentation to the University of California’s Board of Regents with the goal of persuading them to allow the team to use Memorial Stadium on a temporary basis

• At the close of the presentation, the board voted against the proposal, 21-3.

• The team announced that co-owner Art Beckett was relinquishing his share of the team

• Beckett’s share was taken up by Roger Lapham, Jr., an insurance executive whose father had been San Francisco’s mayor in the 1940s

• The Hayward City Council approved a measure that would put a stadium bond measure on the ballot in April

• The measure would allow the city to issue $7 million in bonds with the express goal of building a place for Oakland’s team to play

• The Tribune reported that former Stanford star receiver and Oakland High School graduate Chris Burford said he would be interested in playing for Oakland

• Burford, a member of the Dallas Texans, said Oakland’s hiring of Eddie Erdelatz was the big draw

• The team hired San Jose State assistant Marty Feldman to coach the defensive line

• AFL officials met in Oakland to discuss a number of league matters, including plans to stock the Oakland team with players.

• The league officially assigned the contracts of the following players to Oakland: defensive back George Blanch, lineman Clord Boyette, defensive tackle Willie Boykin, end Carmen Cavalli, quarterback Fran Curci, fullback Purcell Daniels, center Jim Otto, end Gene Prebola, quarterback Sam McCord, end Dan Edgington, halfback Abner Haynes, end Don Norton, lineman Bob Parker, and lineman Jim Woodard.

• All of the players had originally been drafted by the defunct Minneapolis/St. Paul franchise, but had signed with other AFL teams in the interim.

• Later in the day, Dallas owner Lamar Hunt insisted that Abner Haynes remain with his team and that Oakland would be compensated with another player or perhaps a choice in next year's draft.

• Head coach Eddie Erdelatz said he had spoken with all the players on the list and that it was “doubtful” that Norton would come to Oakland.

• At the league meeting in Oakland, the AFL announced their plan to stock the Oakland team with players from the other seven teams

• The league would conduct an allocation draft of five rounds, with Oakland selecting one player from each team during each round

• Before the initial round each team would select 11 players that would be immune to selection

• After each round, each team would be permitted to add another 11 players to the protected list

• Oakland head coach Eddie Erdelatz said the team would make its first selections on or around March 20, though they could be permitted to make picks s early as March 12

• Teams were assigned territorial rights for television purposes with Oakland’s territory extending north to the Canadian order, east to Missoula, Montana, and Reno, Nevada, and south to San Luis Obispo

• Oakland general manager Chet Soda said the team would play five preseason games, none of which would be at home

• The team announced it had already received 3,000 applications for season tickets

• The team signed free agent George Washington University quarterback Ed Hino

• In the first specific news of their preseason schedule, the team announced an August 14 game against the New York Titans to be played somewhere in Northern California

• The team announced it had scheduled four of its five preseason games, with tilts against the Chargers, Bills, Titans, and Patriots on the docket

• A fifth game, likely to be against the Texans, had yet to be nailed down

• Head coach Eddie Erdelatz, and assistants Ernie Jorge and Marty Feldman, left town on a trip to scout players in advance of the first round of the allocation draft

• The team had to have their first set of picks submitted by March 22

• The Oakland City Council voted to place a $13.7 million bond issue on the June ballot to fund the construction of a sports stadium

• The Tribune announced a contest to give the team a nickname

• Contestants were required to submit their entries by April 2 and the winner would receive a one-week vacation in Acapulco and a pair of tickets to the home opener

• The team hired former NFL halfback Tommy Kalmanir to join Eddie Erdelatz’s staff as offensive backfield coach

• Al Bansavage, former USC guard whose signing rights had been assigned to Oakland, announced he had signed with the Baltimore Colts

• General manager Chet Soda announced that the team had a “tentative” agreement with the San Francisco Park and Recreation Commission that would allow the team to use Kezar Stadium or Candlestick Park for the 1960 season

• The team announced its colors would be black and orange

• The helmets were to be solid black and the home jerseys would be black with white numerals and orange stripes on the sleeves

• The pants would be white with black and orange stripes down the side

• The team announced its first pick in the allocation draft, center Ben Donnell from the Chargers

• The team announced five choices in the allocation draft: halfback Joe Cannavino from the Bills, guard Jerry Epps from the Titans, halfback Marvin Lasater from the Texans, fullback Billy Lott from the Oilers, and center Bob Nelson from the Patriots

• Eddie Erdelatz said he would not confirm yesterday’s report that the team had acquired center Ben Donnell from the Chargers

• The announcement had been attributed to the league office, not the team, and Commissioner Foss also denied the veracity of the report a day afterward

• The team hired former sportswriter and Santa Clara University news director Gene Perry to the post of publicity director

• The California State Assembly’s Municipal and County Government Committee approved a measure authorizing the use of state-owned tidelands between Lake Merritt and the Oakland Estuary for the construction of a stadium

• The measure, previously approved by the state Senate, would next go to the full state Assembly for a vote

• Head coach Eddie Erdelatz underwent what was termed a “minor nose operation” at St Mary’s Hospital

• The contest to choose the team’s nickname ended at midnight

• The team signed former College of the Pacific halfback Jack Larscheid