By Steve Brand
If five former San Diego Chargers standouts could have two wishes, it’s clear what they’d be.
One would be for the team to capture its first Super Bowl title.
Two would be for former coach Don Coryell to be enshrined into the National Football League Hall of Fame.
Paul Lowe, Chuck Muncie, Willie Buchanon, Gary Garrison and Wes Chandler entertained a Sports@Lunch gathering Monday at the San Diego Hall of Champions with revealing stories from the past and their hopes for the near future.
Note: The camera was nudged at the beginning, which is why you can not see Paul Lowe and Chuck Muncie. The camera corrects about halfway through.
“They’re talented enough to win (the Super Bowl) this season but are they willing to put it on the line all the time, not just some of the time?” said Chandler, the former wide receiver who said being reunited with Muncie after playing together in New Orleans was like being spared the death sentence.
He and the others were part of 50 former Chargers greats honored this past week on the 50th anniversary celebration. They attended Sunday’s 43-14 win over the Kansas City Chiefs and came away impressed–both with the Chargers on the field and with the collection of players voted to the All-Time team.
“This is a different team from a month ago,” said Buchanon, the former San Diego State, Green Bay Packers and Chargers player. “You could sense they were ready to play Sunday; heck, I wanted to put the pads on.”
But the five saved their largest praise for Coryell, the coach that each of them felt changed their careers.
“When I was coming out of high school, he camped at my house for three days,” said Garrison, who got to play for Coryell both in college and professionally. “He was so inspirational he made you feel you HAD to go there. My parents told me after I signed that I had made the right decision.
“With Coryell it was ‘throw the ball, throw the ball, throw the ball.’ “
Chandler was more direct: “Don Coryell is a Hall of Fame coach.”
All five savored their days with the Chargers with Lowe being able to describe the difference between his first year with the team in Los Angeles compared to when they moved south.
“In Los Angeles, it was the Rams,” he recalled. “We even moved the home side (of the Coliseum) so we could hear the fans because there were so few of them. But when we came to San Diego, we knew had a home. We were wanted, accepted.”
Most of the others played for different teams, yet clearly had a special place in their hearts for the Chargers, especially after this week when there was a downtown Block Party in which the 50 were feted along with many of the current Chargers.
“The greatest thing was getting back with people you haven’t seen in 30 or 40 years,” said Garrison.
How good were they?
“Other teams have players in the Hall of Fame,” said Muncie, “but there is no match for the greatness of these guys. And, looking ahead with guys like Philip Rivers, there is more to come.”
Posted on November 30, 2009 by Christian Deleon
