According to various sources, the Chargers owe their name not to any connection to electrical charges but to credit cards. The team’s first owner, Barron Hilton, reportedly was looking to generate interest in credit-card commerce in 1960 when “flashing plastic” was a relatively new option and his company’s Carte Blanche card business was struggling. Of course, a credit card isn’t an exciting image, so the Chargers opted for the team’s now-famous lightning bolt logo. During its first season, the team played in Los Angeles, and at a Santa Monica cocktail party at Hilton’s home, two players – Jack Kemp and Ron Mix – modeled the uniforms with the lightning bolt motif. The team moved to San Diego in 1961.
LENNY IGNELZI/AP
