Th' denver broncos ur an american fitba gang based in denver, colorado. Th' broncos compete in th' oor country fitba division (nfl) as a member dancin o' th' league's american fitba conference (afc) wast division. Th' broncos began speil in 1960 as a charter member o' th' american fitba division (afl) 'n' joined th' nfl as pairt o' th' merger in 1970. Th' broncos ur owned by th' clap bowlen trust. Th' broncos hae played at sports authority field at mile heich sin 2001, efter previously playing at mile heich stadium fae 1960 tae 2000.

The broncos wur barely competitive while thair 10-year run in th' afl 'n' thair foremaist seven years in th' nfl. Thay didnae hae a winnin' seezin 'til 1973. Four years efter, in 1977, thay made th' playoffs fur th' foremaist time in franchise history 'n' advanced tae super bowl xii. Sin 1975, th' broncos hae become yin o' th' nfl's mair went well teams, huvin suffered ainlie six losing records in 40 seasons.[6] thay hae won eight afc championships, three super bowl championships, share th' record fur maist super bowl whit they look like wi' th' dallas cowboys, freish englain patriots, 'n' pittsburgh steelers, 'n' hae four players in th' pro fitba loaby o' fame: john elway, floyd wee, gary zimmerman 'n' shannon sharpe.

1960–69: AFL Era

the denver broncos wur founded oan augist 14, 1959, whin minor division baseball gaffer boab howsam wis gied an american fitba division charter franchise.[7] th' broncos won th' first-ever afl gam ower th' boston patriots 13–10, oan september nine, 1960. Oan augist 5, 1967, thay became th' first-ever afl gang tae defeat an nfl gang, wi' a 13–7 win ower th' detroit lions in a preseason game.[7] however, th' broncos wur nae went well in th' 1960s, compiling a record o' 39–97–4 in th' league.[8]

denver cam claise tae losing tis franchise in 1965, 'til a local ownership group teuk control 'n' rebuilt th' team.[9] th' team's foremaist superstar, "franchise" floyd wee, wis instrumental in keeping th' gang in denver, due tae his signing in 1967 as weel as his pro bowl efforts oan 'n' aff th' field. Th' broncos wur th' ainlie original afl gang that ne'er played in th' title gam, as weel as th' ainlie original afl gang ne'er tae hae a winnin' seezin while a member o' th' afl while th' upstart league's 10-year history.[10]

1970–82: "orange crush"

in 1972, th' broncos hired former stanford university coach john ralston as thair heid coach. In 1973, he wis th' upi's afc coach o' th' year, efter denver achieved tis foremaist winnin' seezin at 7–5–2. In five seasons wi' th' broncos, ralston showed th' gang tae winnin' seasons three times. Though ralston finished th' 1976 seezin wi' a 9–5 record, th' gang, as wis th' trial in ralston’s afore winnin' seasons, aye missed th' playoffs. Follaein th' seezin, loads prominent players publicly voiced thair discontent wi' ralston, whilk soon led tae his resignation.[11]

red miller, a long-time assistant coach wis hired 'n' alang wi' th' orange crush defense (a whit dis yer pals call ye? originating in th' earlie '70s, an' a' th' brand o' th' weel-kent orange-flavored soft drink) 'n' aging quarterback craig morton, teuk th' broncos tae whit wis then a record-setting 12–2 regular seezin record 'n' thair foremaist playoff appearance in 1977, 'n' ultimately foremaist super bowl, in whilk thay wur gubbed by th' dallas cowboys, 27–10.[12]

in 1981, broncos' gaffer gerald phipps, wha hud purchased th' gang in may 1961 fae th' original gaffer boab howsam, sold th' gang tae canadian financier edgar kaiser, jr, grandson o' shipbuilding industrialist hendrie j. Kaiser.[13] in 1984, th' gang wis purchased by clap bowlen, wha placed gang ownership intae a fowk trust sometime afore 2004 'n' remained in day-to-day control 'til his battle wi' alzheimer's disease forced him tae cede th' gang tae joe ellis in 2014.[4][5][14]

1983–98: john elway era

dan reeves became th' youngest heid coach in th' nfl whin he joined th' broncos in 1981 as vice president 'n' heid coach. Quarterback john elway, wha played college fitba at stanford, arrived in 1983 via a trade. Originally drafted by th' baltimore colts as th' foremaist pick o' th' draft, elway proclaimed that he wid shun fitba in favor o' baseball (he wis drafted by th' freish york yankees tae speil center field 'n' wis an' a' a pit up prospect), unless he wis traded tae a selected list o' ither teams, whilk included th' broncos.[15] prior tae elway, th' broncos hud ower 24 different starting quarterbacks in tis 23 seasons tae that point.[16]

reeves 'n' elway showed th' broncos tae six post-season whit they look like, five afc wast divisional titles, three afc championships 'n' three super bowl whit they look like (super bowl xxi, xxii 'n' xxiv) while thair 12-year span th'gither. Th' broncos lost super bowl xxi tae th' freish york giants, 39–20; super bowl xxii tae th' washington redskins, 42–10; 'n' super bowl xxiv tae th' san francisco 49ers, 55–10; th' latter hampden roar remains th' maist lopsided scoring differential in super bowl history. Th' lest year o' th' reeves-elway auld days wur marked by feuding, due tae reeves taking oan play-calling duties efter ousting elway's favorite offensive coordinator mike shanahan efter th' 1991 seezin, as weel as reeves drafting quarterback tommy maddox oot o' ucla instead o' gaun wi' a wide receiver tae hulp elway. Reeves wis fired efter th' 1992 seezin 'n' replaced by his protégé 'n' mukker wade phillips, wha hud bin servin` as th' broncos' defensive coordinator.[17][18][19] phillips wis fired efter a mediocre 1994 seezin, in whilk the high heid yins felt he lost control o' th' team.

In 1995, mike shanahan, wha hud formerly served under reeves as th' broncos' offensive coordinator, returned as heid coach. Shanahan drafted rookie running back terrell davis. In 1996, th' broncos wur th' tap seed in th' afc wi' a 13–3 record, dominating maist o' th' teams that year. Th' fifth-seeded jacksonville jaguars, however, pure upset th' broncos 30–27 in th' divisional round o' th' playoffs, the end th' broncos' 1996 run.[11]

during th' 1997 seezin, elway 'n' davis helped guide th' broncos tae thair foremaist super bowl win, a 31–24 win ower th' defending champion green bay packers in super bowl xxxii. Though elway completed ainlie 13 o' 22 passes, throwing yin interception 'n' na touchdowns (he did, however, hae a rushing touchdown), davis rushed fur 157 yards 'n' a super bowl–record three touchdowns tae earn th' super bowl maist valuable player award — this while overcomin` a severe migraine headache that caused him blurred vision.[20] th' broncos repeated as super bowl champions th' follaein seezin, defeating th' atlanta falcons (led by elway's longtime heid coach dan reeves) in super bowl xxxiii, 34–19. Elway wis cried super bowl mvp, completing 18 o' 29 passes fur 336 yards, wi' an 80-yard touchdown tae wide receiver rod smith 'n' yin interception.[19]