How They Got Their Name: New York Jets

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The New York Jets franchise has been around since 1959, when they were an inaugural member of the American Football League (AFL).  The Jets name, however, hasn’t been around quite that long.  When the franchise began their first season of play in 1960, they were known as the New York Titans.  The team was created to be a direct competitor of the NFL’s long established New York Giants.  Titans’ owner Harry Wismer explained his reason for choosing the name by exclaiming, “Titans are bigger and stronger than Giants.”  But the team wasn’t too successful on the field and more importantly, struggled financially.  After just three seasons, the team was sold to a group of investors, led by Sonny Werblin.

Werblin changed the team’s colors from blue and gold, to green and white.  He also secured a new playing field for his recently purchased team, going from the famed Polo Grounds (which needed repair) to the brand new Shea Stadium set to host them and baseball’s New York Mets in 1964.  He saw the name as something that needed to be changed as well, to create a new beginning for the team.  Several reasons led him to choosing the Jets.  He wanted to reflect on the culture of the time, specifically the rise in commercial airline travel and the growth of the space age.  Shea Stadium was, in fact, located right between New York City’s two major airports that witnessed this boom in commercial flights.  And perhaps coincidentally, but fittingly, “Jets” rhymed with their Shea Stadium hosting partners, the Mets.

Garett