HOUSTON — Heading out of town for training camp is nothing new for professional football teams.
But the Houston Oilers’ voyage in 1961 was a little different than most trips.
Here’s the good, the bad and the unbelievable.
The good
Houston was the defending American Football League champion and owner Bud Adams decided to reward his players by holding preseason camp in Hawaii. It was the first time a training camp has been held outside the continental United States.
The bad
Once the players reached the island, they contracted "Hawaii-itis" or "palm tree fever."
“The boys aren’t thinking football,” complained head coach Lou Rymkus to the Associated Press.
To them, he said, it was just “a big vacation.”
The unbelievable
The head coach wasn’t allowed to cut anyone during the trip. Bud Adams refused to fork over any more money to fly players to or from Hawaii, The Dallas Morning News reported in 1997.
Rymkus publicly criticized Adams for the trip as well as not signing enough rookies. The Oilers started the season 1-3-1 and Rymkus was fired.
Was that the end?
No.
Under new coach Wally Lemm, the Oilers won 10 straight games and another AFL Championship.
That team did not get a trip to Hawaii.