ALL-TIME CHARGER TEAM : Without Further Debate, Here’s the Top 25 . . .

The Chargers this season mark their 25th year in San Diego, which seems a perfect time to select the club’s best 25 players ever.

The high attrition rate of pro football makes for a lot of oldies but goodies. The average career being about four years, it’s easy to become a blast from the past.

In a quarter century, there have been enough all-stars to please the most demanding of critics. So the championships have been in short supply. Walk into any Mission Valley tavern and pose the question, Who is the greatest receiver the Chargers ever had? Kellen Winslow or Lance Alworth? How about John Jefferson? Be ready to spend an hour or more in a hot debate.

And you could move right down the list, position by position, without reaching a consensus, except perhaps at quarterback.

Herewith, a 25-man team of all-stars.

The team was selected by The Times in consultation with former coach Tommy Prothro, retired San Diego sports writer Bob Ortman, and Charger publicist Rick Smith.

There were some noteworthy names omitted from the team, including offensive guard Ed White, center Sam Gruneisen, flanker Gary Garrison, quarterbacks Jack Kemp, John Hadl and Tobin Rote, running back Chuck Muncie and defensive lineman Louie Kelcher. Any or all could have been selected without weakening the lineup.

White, one of the National Football League’s greatest linemen, was not named simply because the bulk of his career was spent with the Minnesota Vikings.

Gruneisen was rated almost dead-even with Don Macek, and Garrison was omitted only because of Charlie Joiner’s overwhelming statistical edge.

Muncie, as Coach Don Coryell has said, could have become one of the NFL’s greatest backs if he had more self-discipline. But this is not an exercise in what-if. We’re dealing with the reality of what players accomplished.

Though the Chargers have counted some illustrious quarterbacks, none have had the longevity or list of records compiled by Dan Fouts, a sure-fire Hall of Famer. Johnny Unitas, who spent the last season of his career in San Diego, was not considered for the all-time team because his record-breaking years came as a Baltimore Colt.

From the standpoint of popularity, few players could challenge Kelcher or Jefferson, heroes of the 1979-81 AFC West championship teams.

The All-Time Chargers Team:

OFFENSE Tight end

Kellen Winslow . . . until injured midway through the 1984 season, he was perhaps the most dominant player in pro football . . . his greatest year was 1981 . . . caught 13 passes and scored 5 touchdowns in game against Raiders . . . had 13 catches for 166 yards against Miami in playoffs and blocked a field goal with :04 remaining to send game into overtime . . . career now in jeopardy as result of last season’s knee injury.

Wide receivers

Charlie Joiner . . . the leading receiver in pro football history with 657 receptions . . . called by Bill Walsh the most intelligent runner of patterns the game has ever seen . . . called by Dan Fouts “my security blanket.” . . . when it’s third down and intermediate yardage, Fouts automatically looks for Joiner . . . will be 38 on Oct. 14 and this may be his final season.

Lance Alworth . . . nicknamed Bambi for his effortless, gliding stride . . . fearless in going for the ball and a great threat after he made the catch . . . probably the team’s biggest hero of the first decade . . . fragile-looking but tough . . . caught 493 passes for Chargers and 542 overall.

Offensive tackles

Russ Washington . . . after being drafted as a defensive tackle, became an all-pro on offense for more than a decade . . . set a club record by appearing in 178 consecutive games and making 148 consecutive starts . . . massive size and an equal amount of ability.

Ron Mix . . . a perfectionist . . . called for only one holding penalty in his career . . . not a great natural athlete and had to work hard to maintain his weight . . . was nicknamed “The Intellectual Assassin,” a name he didn’t particularly like . . . considered AFL’s top offensive lineman.

Offensive guards

Walt Sweeney . . . described as the Dan Fouts of the offensive line because of his ultra-competitive nature . . . fast and brutally strong . . . it was common for him to miss practice during the week and play on Sunday . . . had some classic battles against Merlin Olsen of the Rams . . . played 154 consecutive games . . . Coach Sid Gillman said he was as good a first-round draft pick as the club would ever have, a statement that stood until Kellen Winslow was picked in 1979

Doug Wilkerson . . . retired this summer after 15 superlative, but somewhat unsung seasons . . . one of the best conditioned athletes in Charger history . . . his speed made him a great lead blocker on sweeps . . . was the third oldest NFL player, behind Jan Stenerud and Jeff Van Note, when he retired last month.

Center

Don Macek . . . a super pass blocker and anchor of the line since 1979 . . . was moved to center after playing guard for much of his first three seasons in pro football . . . was the fourth offensive lineman taken in the 1976 draft . . . is strong enough to keep nose tackles away from quarterback Dan Fouts.

Quarterback

Dan Fouts . . . without doubt, the leader of the Chargers during the 1980s and arguably the greatest player in the team’s history . . . if his health permits, he could challenge numerous pro football passing records before retirement . . . has thrown for more yards and touchdowns than any active quarterback . . . his timing on short and medium range passes has become an art form.

Running backs

Keith Lincoln . . . perhaps as competitive as Sweeney . . . a great day in the 1964 championship victory . . . rushed 13 times for 206 yards, caught 7 passes for 128 yards and scored 2 touchdowns in 51-10 win over Boston Patriots . . . Gillman called him football’s finest back for several years.

Paul Lowe . . . the most elusive back in Charger history and the standard against which others are judged . . . his skitterish, high stepping style and tendency to reverse field unexpectedly made him exasperating for blockers and defenders alike . . . holds team career record of 4,963 yards rushing

DEFENSE Ends

Earl Faison . . . teamed with Ernie Ladd to give Chargers one of football’s most feared pairs of defensive linemen for five seasons . . . broke in about the same time as the more heralded Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen . . . Faison and Ladd lacked only the longevity to be considered among pro football’s all-time greats.

Fred Dean . . . there are some who rank him as the greatest pass rusher in pro football history . . . although not overly large, his immense natural strength and quickness are a combination few offensive tackles can handle one-on-one.

Tackles

Ernie Ladd . . . so big, he was impossible for blockers to handle one-on-one . . . set unofficial record for breaking helmets with forearm blows . . . became a pro wrestling sensation after football career . . . a legendary appetite helped him win the Golden West Eating Classic at the Grant Hotel in 1963 . . . 52-inch chest and 20-inch biceps.

Gary Johnson . . . teamed with Dean and Kelcher to form a fearsome pass rush unit dubbed the “Bruise Brothers.” . . . was the club’s all-time sack leader when traded to San Francisco in 1984 . . . led the NFL with 17 1/2 sacks in 1980.

Linebackers

Chuck Allen . . . great nose for the ball . . . highly intelligent middle linebacker . . . an All-AFL selection in early 1960s . . . named Chargers’ most inspirational player twice . . . had five interceptions in 1961 and 1963.

Jeff Staggs . . . big, strong and aggressive . . . a graduate of Point Loma High School and San Diego State University . . . led the team in tackles as a rookie in 1967.

Woody Lowe . . . quiet, but hard-hitting linebacker and team captain . . . started more games than any active defender . . . has set up three wins with late-game interceptions . . . a fifth round draft choice, must be considered one of the club’s best selections.

Cornerbacks

Bob Howard . . . an eight-year starter after being named a second round draft choice . . . made 18 interceptions through 1973.

Mike Williams . . . another eight-year starter who ranked among club interception leaders . . . one of the mainstays of the famous 1975 draft, which was the finest in Charger history.

Safeties

Dick Harris . . . led the Chargers in pass interceptions for the team’s first five years and was an AFL all-star . . . he totalled 28 pass interceptions from 1961 through 1965.

Charlie McNeil . . . set American Football League record for yardage gained on interceptions with 9 catches for 349 yards, an average of 38.8 yards per interception in 1961 . . . was an all-league choice in 1961 before a knee injury slowed him the next two seasons.

Punter

Dennis Partee . . . had a career average of 42.5 yards per kick . . . led league with average of 44.6 in 1969 . . . had a 73-yard punt in 1971 . . . also an outstanding place kicker who set team scoring record of 106 points in 1968 . . . kicked a then-record field goal of 51 yards in 1972 . . . didn’t miss from inside the 30-yard line in 1971 and 72.

Placekicker

Rolf Benirschke . . . picked up on waivers from Oakland in 1977, went on to become NFL’s third most accurate placekicker of all time and team’s leading career scorer . . . is one of most recognizable and popular athletes in the city’s history.

Kick returner

Leslie Duncan . . . long-striding dash man who became a crowd favorite with his electrifying kick returns.

THE ALL-TIME CHARGERS

OFFENSE

Pos. Player Ht. Wt. Years TE Kellen Winslow 6-5 252 1979-85 WR Charlie Joiner 5-11 180 1976-85 WR Lance Alworth 6-0 184 1962-70 OT Ron Mix 6-4 250 1960-69 OT Russ Washington 6-6 290 1968-82 OG Walt Sweeney 6-3 245 1963-73 OG Doug Wilkerson 6-3 253 1971-84 C Don Macek 6-2 260 1976-85 QB Dan Fouts 6-3 205 1973-85 RB Keith Lincoln 6-1 212 1961-66, 68 RB Paul Lowe 6-1 207 1960-68

DEFENSE

Pos. Player Ht. Wt. Years DE Earl Faison 6-5 270 1961-66 DE Fred Dean 6-4 240 1975-81 DT Ernie Ladd 6-9 317 1961-65 DT Gary Johnson 6-3 260 1975-84 LB Chuck Allen 6-0 225 1961-69 LB Woody Lowe 6-0 220 1976-85 LB Jeff Staggs 6-2 240 1966-71 CB Mike Williams 5-10 179 1975-82 CB Bob Howard 6-2 190 1967-74 S Dick Harris 5-11 180 1960-65 S Charlie McNeil 5-11 180 1960-64

SPECIALISTS

Pos. Player Ht. Wt. Years P Dennis Partee 6-2 210 1968-75 K Rolf Benirschke 6-1 184 1977-85 KR Speedy Duncan 5-10 180 1964-70