Crazy story: The Chargers almost traded for John Elway in 1983

In a piece on ESPN.com, longtime NFL coach Al Saunders — formerly of the Chargers — noted that the team almost traded for John Elway in 1983…

Would you believe it if I told you that John Elway was once very nearly a division rival and dare I say enemy of the Denver Broncos?

According to Al Saunders in a piece on ESPN.com ranking the top 10 quarterbacks to ever play, the San Diego Chargers tried to move up and get Elway and even thought it was a done deal. He recalls:

"I was a young coach in San Diego, about 34 years old. Don Coryell calls Ernie Zampese and I into the office and says he wants to fly us up to San Jose to have dinner with Jack Elway, John’s dad. Jack was coaching at San Jose State at the time, and John was playing at Stanford. Don says, ‘We are going to make a trade, and we are going to select John as our quarterback.’ So, Ernie and I flew up there. We had dinner two nights before the draft with Jack Elway at Original Joe’s restaurant in San Jose. Boy, we’re drinking wine, we’re eating spaghetti, we’re just having a great time. Ernie and I are so excited. We get on the plane, and we see Don when we get back. “Coach, everything is great, Jack is real excited, this thing is going to work.” The next day, Baltimore works out that deal with Denver and we didn’t get him.Al Saunders, ESPN.com"

Talk about a stunner.

What would have happened had the Colts not decided to trade Elway to the Broncos? Can you even imagine Elway wearing a powder blue uniform?

The thought is repulsive.

This is a very intriguing story, however. The situation Elway was in back in 1983 was about as rare as it gets. That year was absolutely loaded at the quarterback position, featuring players like Dan Marino and Jim Kelly.

There were six Hall of Fame players selected in the first round of that draft, and the Chargers held the 5th overall selection as their highest among three first round picks.

Their top selection, Billy Ray Smith, went on to become a very solid player in the league. Their second selection, running back Gary Anderson, played in the USFL for a couple of seasons after not coming to terms on a contract, but he eventually made a Pro Bowl with the Chargers in 1986. Their third and final first round selection was Gill Byrd, a cornerback who became a team legend and is still coaching in the NFL today.

It wasn’t all bad for the Chargers that year, but they didn’t pull off the trade for John Elway, who has proven to be more than a generational talent at the quarterback position — he’s an all-time great.

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Not only did Elway dominate on the field and haunt the Chargers there (21-10 all-time record against San Diego) he has now proven almost unbeatable for the Chargers as a general manager for the Broncos.

The inability to close the deal for the Chargers back in 1983 has proven to be one of the greatest strokes of luck in Denver Broncos history.