San Diego Chargers retired numbers The San Diego Chargers are a professional American football team in the National Football League ( NFL ) based in San Diego , California . The club began play in 1960 as a charter member of the American Football League ( AFL ) , and spent its first season in Los Angeles before moving to San Diego in 1961 . NFL teams assign each of their players a jersey number ranging from 1 through 99 . The Chargers no longer issue three retired number s . As of 2010 , the team ' s policy was to have the Chargers Hall of Fame committee evaluate candidates for a player ' s number to retire after the player has retired from the league after five years . The committee consists of Chargers Executive Vice President A . G . Spanos , Chargers public relations director Bill Johnston , San Diego Hall of Champions founder Bob Breitbard , and the presidents of the San Diego Sports Commission and the Chargers Backers Fan Club . There are few recognized guidelines in sports regarding retiring numbers , and the NFL has no specific league policy . " You have to have enough numbers for players to wear , " said NFL spokesman Greg Aiello . The Chargers have rarely retired numbers . The " San Diego Union - Tribune " wrote , " The [ Chargers ] tend to honor their heritage haphazardly . " Pro Football Hall of Fame offensive tackle Ron Mix in 1969 was the first Charger to have his number retired after he announced he was quitting football . However , he came out of retirement in 1971 to play for the Oakland Raiders . Then - Chargers owner Gene Klein , who hated the Raiders , unretired the number . Dan Fouts had his number 14 retired in 1988 , a year after his retirement . He was the first NFL quarterback to top the 4 , 000 - yard passing mark in three consecutive seasons . He set a then - NFL single - season passing record in 1981 , throwing for a career - high 4 , 802 yards . At the retirement of his number , Fouts asked for " more recognition of former players and a warmer relationship between Charger players and management . I ' d like to see Lance Alworth ' s number retired , too . We ' ve had some great players here . " Alworth ' s number 19 was retired in 2005 , 35 years after he last played for the Chargers and 27 years after he was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . He was still one of the most popular athletes in San Diego history . Nicknamed " Bambi " for his speed and graceful leaping skills , Alworth was a pioneer for the Chargers and the AFL in the 1960s . He was selected All - AFL seven times from 1963 – 1969 , holds the team record for most career yards ( 9 , 584 ) , and averaged more than 50 catches and 1 , 000 yards a year with San Diego . The " Union - Tribune " in 2003 wrote that the Chargers no longer retired numbers , but Chargers president Dean Spanos said Junior Seau might be an exception . " If there ' s going to be another number retired , that ' s the one that ' s going to be retired , " Spanos said . Seau made 12 consecutive Pro Bowl appearances with San Diego . He initially retired from the NFL in a 2006 ceremony with the Chargers , and the team planned to retire his number — as early as 2011 — after his anticipated induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame . However , Seau signed with the New England Patriots four days later , and continued playing until 2009 . Seau ' s number 55 was retired in 2012 posthumously at his memorial . " His play on the field combined with his leadership and charisma became the face of this team for more than a decade . I can ' t think of anyone more deserving of this honor , " said Spanos . McClatchy Newspapers wrote in 2011 that LaDainian Tomlinson was likely to have his number 21 retired by the Chargers once he retires . Bob Wick , the Chargers equipment manager since 2000 , said he tried to keep the numbers of Tomlinson and Charlie Joiner ( No . 18 ) out of circulation , even though they had not been officially retired .