1967 New Orleans Saints season

The 1967 New Orleans Saints season was the inaugural season for the franchise. The team went 3–11, finishing in last place in the four-team NFL Eastern Conference Capitol Division.

1967 New Orleans Saints season
OwnerJohn Mecom Jr.
General managerBert Rose
Head coachTom Fears
Home fieldTulane Stadium
Results
Record3–11
Division place4th Capitol
League place15th
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersDave Whitsell
AP All-ProsDave Whitsell (2nd team)
Team MVPDave Whitsell
Team ROYDanny Abramowicz

Offseason edit

Expansion draft edit

The Saints made a splash in the expansion draft by selecting Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung. Lombardi was distraught when the Saints selected Hornung in the draft.[1] In later years, Hornung revealed that he spoke to Saints coach Tom Fears prior to the draft. Fears was a former assistant in Green Bay and Fears felt that Hornung would help sell tickets in New Orleans.[1] Several weeks later, the Saints also signed Packers running back Jim Taylor, a native of Baton Rouge and an All-American at LSU. Taylor had felt underpaid and under-appreciated under Lombardi.[2] An examination at the Scripps Clinic in California found the severing of the fifth, sixth, and seventh vertebrae, and damaged nerve roots in the spinal cord of Hornung. It was decided that Hornung would retire and he never played a game for the Saints.[2]

NFL draft edit

The Saints committed a colossal blunder by trading the first overall selection to the Baltimore Colts for Gary Cuozzo, the backup quarterback to Johnny Unitas. Cuozzo began the season as the Saints' starter, but lost the job to expansion draftee Billy Kilmer. Cuozzo was traded to the Minnesota Vikings early in 1968.

Baltimore selected Michigan State All-America defensive end Bubba Smith with the first pick. Smith became a star for the Colts, starting at left end for their Super Bowl III and Super Bowl V teams.

1967 New Orleans Saints draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 1   Selection traded to Baltimore Colts
1 26 Les Kelley  HB Alabama
2 27 Bo Burris  QB-S Houston
2 52 John Gilliam *  FL South Carolina State
2 53 Dave Rowe  OT Penn State
3 54   Selection traded to Baltimore Colts
3 79 Del Williams  C-G Florida State
3 80 Ben Hart  SE Oklahoma
4 81 Ron Widby *  P Tennessee
4 106 Bill Carr  C Florida
4 107 Tom Stangle  E Dayton
5 108 Don McCall  HB Southern California
5 133 John Douglas  DB Texas Southern
6 134 George Harvey  G Kansas
6 159 Bo Wood  LB North Carolina
7 160 Gary Hertzog  G Willamette
7 185 Bob McKelvey  FB-LB Northwestern
8 186 Sam Harris  TE Colorado
8 211 Barry Siler  LB Albion College
9 212 Tim Lavens  TE Idaho
9 237 Eugene Ross  DB Oklahoma
10 238 Charlie Brown  FL-SE Missouri
10 263 Roosevelt Robertson  FL North Carolina College
11 264 Jim Benson  G Florida State
11 288 Bernard Corbin  S Alabama A&M
12 289 Ronnie Pack  G Texas Tech
12 315 John Robinson  FL Tennessee A&I
13 316 Bill Stetz  LB Boston College
13 341 Gary Grossnickle  S Missouri
14 342 Jim Hester  TE North Dakota
14 367 George Stetter  DB Virginia
15 368 John Snow  OT Wake Forest
15 393 Darrell Johnson  RB Lamar Tech
16 394 Marcus Rhoden  FL-SE Mississippi State
16 419 Bruce Cortez  DB Parsons College
17 420 Danny Abramowicz  SE Xavier (Ohio)
17 438 Billy Bob Stewart  FB-LB Southern Methodist Selection acquired from Baltimore Colts
17 445 Jimmy Walker  DB-FL Providence
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel edit

Staff edit

1967 New Orleans Saints staff

Front office

  • President – John Mecom Jr.
  • Executive Vice-President / general manager – Bert Rose
  • Director of Player Personnel – Vic Schwenk
  • Director of Player Relations – George Owen
  • Director of Promotions and Special Events – Bill Smythe
  • Director of Public Relations – Donald Smith
    • Public Relations Assistant – Patricia Cross
    • Public Relations Consultant – Jim Hall
  • Business Manager – Carroll Martin
  • College Scouting –
    • North Central Area Scout – Dave Smith
    • Northeastern Area Scout – Ray Masters
    • South Central Area Scout – Al Tabor
    • Southeastern Area Scout – Henry Lee Parker
    • Western Area Scout – Ray Newman
  • Comptroller – Cyril Nelson
  • Entertainment Director – Tommy Walker
  • Ticket Manager – Henry Simoneaux

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches


Strength and conditioning

  • Trainer – Fred Peterson
    • Assistant trainer – Bill Cuthbertson
  • Equipment manager – Charlie Shepherd
    • Assistant Equipment Manager – Wallace Brown

Roster edit

1967 New Orleans Saints final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Taxi squad
n/a
Rookies in italics
, 0 taxi squad

Pre-season edit

The Saints played six pre-season games, finishing with a record of 5–1.

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 2 at Los Angeles Rams L 7–16 0–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 26,364
2 August 12 St. Louis Cardinals W 23–14 1–1 State Fair Stadium 25,500
3 August 19 Pittsburgh Steelers W 20–17 2–1 Tiger Stadium 35,000
4 August 26 vs. San Francisco 49ers W 24–10 3–1 Civic Stadium 23,348
5 September 2 vs. Miami Dolphins W 20–17 4–1 Johnson Hagood Stadium 11,214
6 September 9 Atlanta Falcons W 27–14 5–1 Tulane Stadium 67,486

Regular season edit

Things couldn't have looked better for the Saints and their inaugural season. A 5–1 preseason record was followed by a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by rookie John Gilliam to begin the 1967 season against the Los Angeles Rams. (There is a rumor in the annals of New Orleans Saints legends that following this play many fans allegedly heard another fan in Tulane Stadium shout out aloud "This is going to be the greatest football team in history!" – thus jinxing the Saints for their first 20 years of existence). Apparently the Rams were not informed of this declaration as they quickly recovered from the opening blow to win 27–13. The first-ever win for the Saints came in week 8 when[3] wide receiver Flea Roberts scored 3 touchdowns in a 31–24 victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. With additional triumphs over Atlanta and Washington the 3 wins for the year matched the most for an expansion team. Former Green Bay great Jim Taylor led the team with 390 yards rushing and 17th round pick rookie Danny Abramowicz from Xavier College led in receiving with 50 grabs for 721 yards and 6 touchdowns. Defensive back Dave Whitshell led the team as well as the NFL in interceptions with 10 steals—still a New Orleans Saint season record.

Schedule edit

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 17 Los Angeles Rams L 13–27 0–1 Tulane Stadium 80,879
2 September 24 Washington Redskins L 10–30 0–2 Tulane Stadium 74,937
3 October 1 Cleveland Browns L 7–42 0–3 Tulane Stadium 77,045
4 October 8 at New York Giants L 21–27 0–4 Yankee Stadium 62,670
5 October 15 at Dallas Cowboys L 10–14 0–5 Cotton Bowl 64,128
6 October 22 at San Francisco 49ers L 13–27 0–6 Kezar Stadium 34,285
7 October 29 Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–14 0–7 Tulane Stadium 68,911
8 November 5 Philadelphia Eagles W 31–24 1–7 Tulane Stadium 59,596
9 November 12 Dallas Cowboys L 10–27 1–8 Tulane Stadium 83,437
10 November 19 at Philadelphia Eagles L 21–48 1–9 Franklin Field 60,751
11 November 26 Atlanta Falcons W 27–24 2–9 Tulane Stadium 83,437
12 December 3 at St. Louis Cardinals L 20–31 2–10 Busch Memorial Stadium 41,171
13 December 10 at Baltimore Colts L 10–30 2–11 Memorial Stadium 60,238
14 December 17 at Washington Redskins W 30–14 3–11 District of Columbia Stadium 50,486
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries edit

Week 1: vs. Los Angeles Rams edit

1 234Total
• Rams 3 1077 27
Saints 7 330 13
  • Date: Sunday, September 17
  • Location: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m. CT
  • Game attendance: 80,879
  • Game weather: 75 °F (24 °C), relative humidity 66%, wind 7 mph (11 km/h)

Week 2: vs. Washington Redskins edit

1 234Total
• Redskins 6 14010 30
Saints 3 700 10
  • Date: Sunday, September 24
  • Location: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m. CT
  • Game attendance: 74,937
  • Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), relative humidity 63%, wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)

Week 3: vs. Cleveland Browns edit

1 234Total
• Browns 7 71414 42
Saints 0 700 7
  • Date: Sunday, October 1
  • Location: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m. CT
  • Game attendance: 77,045
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), relative humidity 68%, wind 8 mph (13 km/h)

Week 4: at New York Giants edit

1 234Total
Saints 7 770 21
Giants 7 767 27
  • Date: Sunday, October 8
  • Location: Yankee Stadium, New York City, New York
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m. ET
  • Game attendance: 62,670
  • Game weather: 55 °F (13 °C), relative humidity 60%, wind 10 mph (16 km/h)

Week 5: at Dallas Cowboys edit

1 234Total
Saints 0 730 10
Cowboys 7 700 14
  • Date: Sunday, October 15
  • Location: Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas
  • Game start: 1:35 p.m. CT
  • Game attendance: 64,128
  • Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), relative humidity 83%, wind 13 mph (21 km/h)

Week 6: at San Francisco 49ers edit

1 234Total
Saints 0 670 13
49ers 3 7710 27
  • Date: Sunday, October 22
  • Location: Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, California
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. PT
  • Game attendance: 34,285
  • Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), relative humidity 87%, wind 11 mph (18 km/h)

Week 7: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers edit

1 234Total
• Steelers 0 0014 14
Saints 3 700 10
  • Date: Sunday, October 29
  • Location: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m. CT
  • Game attendance: 68,911
  • Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C), relative humidity 75%, wind 12 mph (19 km/h)

Week 8: vs. Philadelphia Eagles edit

1 234Total
Eagles 0 10014 24
Saints 7 7107 31
  • Date: Sunday, November 5
  • Location: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Game start: 1:30 p.m. CT
  • Game attendance: 59,596
  • Game weather: 50 °F (10 °C), relative humidity 61%, wind 12 mph (19 km/h)

Week 9: vs. Dallas Cowboys edit

1 234Total
• Cowboys 7 7103 27
Saints 7 030 10
  • Date: Sunday, November 12
  • Location: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. CT
  • Game attendance: 83,437
  • Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C), relative humidity 88%, wind 6 mph (9.7 km/h)

Week 10: at Philadelphia Eagles edit

1 234Total
Saints 0 7014 21
Eagles 3 28107 48

Week 11: vs. Atlanta Falcons edit

1 234Total
Falcons 0 2103 24
Saints 3 7710 27
  • Date: Sunday, November 26
  • Location: Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, Louisiana
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. CT
  • Game attendance: 83,437
  • Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), relative humidity 84%, wind 10 mph (16 km/h)

Week 12: at St. Louis Cardinals edit

1 234Total
Saints 3 377 20
Cardinals 7 01014 31
  • Date: Sunday, December 3
  • Location: Busch Memorial Stadium, St. Louis, Missouri
  • Game start: 1:00 p.m. CT
  • Game attendance: 41,171
  • Game weather: 34 °F (1 °C), relative humidity 87%, wind 16 mph (26 km/h), wind chill 24

Week 13: at Baltimore Colts edit

1 234Total
Saints 0 0100 10
Colts 7 10310 30
  • Date: Sunday, December 10
  • Location: Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland
  • Game start: 2:05 p.m. ET
  • Game attendance: 60,238
  • Game weather: 40 °F (4 °C), relative humidity 78%, wind 14 mph (23 km/h)

Week 14: at Washington Redskins edit

1 234Total
• Saints 0 7914 30
Redskins 0 077 14

Standings edit

NFL Capitol
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Dallas Cowboys 9 5 0 .643 4–2 8–2 342 268 L1
Philadelphia Eagles 6 7 1 .462 3–2–1 5–4–1 351 409 W1
Washington Redskins 5 6 3 .455 2–3–1 4–5–1 347 353 L1
New Orleans Saints 3 11 0 .214 2–4 2–8 233 379 W1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References edit

  1. ^ a b When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p. 407, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
  2. ^ a b When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p. 408, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
  3. ^ "NFL Players | Past & Current NFL Players".

External links edit