The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating back to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now known as the Los Angeles Chargers. The Chargers' first home game in San Diego was at Balboa Stadium against the Oakland Raiders on September 17, 1961. Their final game as a San Diego-based club was played at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego at the end of the 2016 season against the Kansas City Chiefs, who defeated them 37–27. First Los Angeles season (1960) In 1959, the team began as the "Los Angeles Chargers" when they entered the American Football League (AFL), joining seven other teams: the Denver Broncos, Dallas Texans, Oakland Raiders, New York Titans, Houston Oilers, Buffalo Bills, and Boston Patriots. The Chargers' first owner was Barron Hilton, the son of Conrad Hilton, founder of the Hilton Hotels corporation. Lamar Hunt, who was instrumental in organizing the AFL, said that he had asked Gene Mako for a suggestion for somebody to start a team in Los Angeles and he recommended Hilton. Hunt said that he visited Hilton for less than an hour and Hilton immediately agreed to start a team. Barron Hilton held a contest to find a name for his team. The prize was a trip to Mexico. A man from Hollywood named Gerald Courtney submitted the name "Chargers" and won. Conrad Hilton said, "I liked [the name] because they were yelling "charge" and sounding the bugle at Dodger Stadium and at USC games". Hunt said he thought Hilton picked the team name from the first batch of letters as publicity for his new charge account business Carte Blanche. The team's first general manager was Frank Leahy, a former University of Notre Dame football coach. The team's first head coach was Sid Gillman from the Los Angeles Rams. His strength lay in offense innovation and he was later honoured in the Hall of Fame. Gillman (87–57–6) signed a contract with the team for three years. When Frank Leahy resigned due to poor health, Gillman became the general manager in addition to his coaching role. The Chargers originally planned to play at the Rose Bowl, but instead signed a lease to play at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The Chargers were to host the first ever AFL