Formation and Early Years
The Denver Broncos started in the American Football League in 1960. The Broncos are a Denver-based team that competes in the NFL as a member of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) Western division. Their headquarters are in Dove Valley, Colorado, with home games played at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado.
A “bronco” is an untamed horse that has a reference to Denver’s Wild West heritage. The NFL team got its name in 1960 via a name-the-team contest. More than 500 entries were sent, with the winning entry coming from Colorado resident Ward Vining who won the top prize of two season tickets.
Evolution of Uniforms and Team Colors
The Denver Broncos have had a few different uniform designs and colors since their debut in 1960 when they were in the AFL. The Denver Broncos throwback jerseys and uniforms began as yellow and brown which many fans thought suited the team's wild western origin.
In 1962, their uniform evolved to a new color scheme featuring orange as their main color. The uniform also included a white bronco on the helmet as well as white pants and orange football socks. This color scheme stuck around until 1965 with the addition of blue detailing.
In 1967, the helmets changed to royal blue and white, and the Denver Broncos jerseys had less blue and more orange. With these particular uniform designs, the Denver Broncos compiled a record of 22-60-2 through the season of 1967.
With a few alterations to the shades of orange and blue, these colors have been used continuously since then. The logo changed to the “big D” and was added to the helmets in 1968. It stayed that way until the 1990s.
Milestones and Achievements
The Denver Broncos joined the NFL as part of the AFL-NFL merger in 1970 with the rest of the AFL teams. They were barely competitive during their time in the AFL and the first seven years in the NFL. Their first winning season wasn't until 1973. In the 1976 season, they became famous for the “orange crush” defense due to their predominantly orange uniform. This was the NFL Denver Broncos’ 3-4 defense which became known as one of the top defenses of its time.
Super Bowl Appearances and Championships
The team qualified for their first playoffs in 1977 and eventually advanced to Super Bowl XII in January 1978. Unfortunately, the Broncos lost the championship game to the Dallas Cowboys 27-10. This era of orange, white, and blue Broncos uniforms brought the team to a record of 251-194-2.
Since 1975, the Broncos have become one of the NFL's most successful teams, with only 11 losing seasons. They have since won eight AFC Championships and three Super Bowl championships. However, they also share the NFL record for most Super Bowl losses of five, the same as the New England Patriots.
The first of back-to-back Super Bowl wins in 1998 were played in re-designed navy and orange uniforms which have the new (and current) logo. They debuted these uniforms in September 1997 against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Shop Hall of Fame Throwback Jerseys
The Denver Broncos have eight team members in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Legends John Elway, Floyd Little, Shannon Sharpe, Gary Zimmerman, Terrell Davis, Champ Bailey, Steve Atwater, and late club owner Pat Bowlen.
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