The American Football League (AFL) was a brash, bold, and an innovative league that challenged the established National Football League (NFL) during the 1960s. Founded by Lamar Hunt in 1959, the AFL featured pass-oriented offenses, west coast teams, broadcasting innovations, and offered more opportunities to black players. The AFL successfully merged all their teams with the NFL in 1966, creating the league we know and love today. The following series of weekly articles will shine a light on the AFL’s influential people and critical moments that propelled football into popular culture, making it America’s game.

The San Diego Chargers, led by Sid Gillman, introduced the modern passing game into the AFL and football. The Chargers featured precision passers like Jack Kemp and John Hadl, dual-threat running backs Keith Lincoln and Paul Lowe, and arguably the greatest receiver of his generation Lance ‘Bambi’ Alworth. The Chargers’ electric offense helped them dominate the AFL, appearing in five of the first six league championship games, winning the 1963 AFL title against the Boston Patriots, 51-10. The Chargers’ offensive success would not have been possible without stalwart offensive tackle Ron Mix. 

Ron Mix played football at the University of Southern California (USC). He excelled his senior year, earning First Team All-American, AP First-Team all Pacific Coast, First Team All-Big Five honors, and won the USC Lineman of the Year Award. Mix was also named the Jewish College Athlete of the Year. His collegiate and professional success was primarily due to his weightlifting to increase his athletic prowess. Mix was ahead of his time. He could military press 300 lbs, clean and jerk 325 lbs and bench press 425 lbs. All the lifts listed were markers of a powerful individual for the time. The hard work paid off when he was selected number one overall by the NFL’s Baltimore Colts and AFL’s Los Angeles Chargers. Mix chose the Chargers because they offered him more money than the Colts. In the early days of the AFL, the NFL made a habit of underpaying college recruits because they thought the AFL would not last more than a year or two. 

Mix’s strength and athleticism enabled him to dominate every team he faced, opening huge holes for Lowe and Lincoln, and giving Hadl ample time to find Alworth down the field for a score. Ron Mix is one of the best offensive linemen of all time. Mix played 142 games in his eleven-year career, earning eight All-AFL first-team nods, two All-AFL second teams, and eight AFL-All Star game appearances. During his whole career, Mix was only called for two holding penalties and is “relatively certain” that he had only allowed five sacks (sacks were not recorded as an official stat until 1982). Mix’s superb performance provided the foundation for the Charger’s success in the early to mid-’60s. 

Mix’s offensive line coach called him the “Intellectual Assassin” for his physical and imposing style of play but also for his intellect and off-the-field interests. During his career, Mix was asked about his style and approach to football, his response:” I play the game mechanically. I’m like a guy packing a lunch and going to work. A ditch-digger breaks up clods of dirt, but he doesn’t do it because he hates dirt. He’s just got a job to do. I generally approach football the same way.” Mix saw football as a game, and a means to an end, a way to propel his career post-football. Mix spent his free time reading politics and law, notably Ayn Rand (Anthem and Atlas Shrugged). 

Mix was aware of the cultural and political climate, shown by his willingness to support his black teammates at the 1965 AFL-All Star game. New Orleans, a once heavily segregated city, hosted the game one year removed from the 1964 Civil Rights Act, making public discrimination based on race illegal. New Orleans was slow in reforming its racist behavior, and the black players selected to play were subjected to discrimination from locals, taxi cabs, hotels, and restaurants. Mix was the first white player to join his black teammates in their boycott, causing the other white players to join. The courageous action taken by the AFL’s black all-stars, and the support given by Mix, forced the league to move the All-Star game to tolerant Houston. Later on, Mix stayed true to his desire to be more than a ballplayer and attended night classes at the University of San Diego Law, earning his J.D. degree in 1970. Mix used his knowledge to help form the AFL Player’s Union, securing better working conditions and player benefits. As a lawyer, he continued to help retired athletes reap worker’s compensation benefits.

Ron Mix was an AFL original, being one of only twenty men who played the entire ten years of the AFL. In 1969, Mix was unanimously voted to the AFL-All Time Team by the Pro-Football Hall of Fame and the Chargers Hall of Fame in 1978. One year later, Mix was the second AFL player immortalized into the Pro-Football Hall of Fame, following teammate Lance Alworth. He performed at the highest level on the field and off the field. Ron Mix defied the jock stereotype attributed to pro-athletes at the time, paving the way for the socially conscious athletes we see today.