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1967 New Orleans Saints season

NFL team 1st season From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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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.

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Offseason

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Expansion draft

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

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.

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Personnel

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Staff

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

1967 New Orleans Saints roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams (ST)

Practice squad

Reserve

Rookies in italics
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Pre-season

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

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Regular season

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

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Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Los Angeles Rams

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  • 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)
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Week 2: vs. Washington Redskins

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  • 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)
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Week 3: vs. Cleveland Browns

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  • 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)
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Week 4: at New York Giants

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  • 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)
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Week 5: at Dallas Cowboys

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  • 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)
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Week 6: at San Francisco 49ers

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  • 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)
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Week 7: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

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  • 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)
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Week 8: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

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  • 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)
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Week 9: vs. Dallas Cowboys

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  • 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)
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Week 10: at Philadelphia Eagles

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Week 11: vs. Atlanta Falcons

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  • 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)
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Week 12: at St. Louis Cardinals

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  • 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
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Week 13: at Baltimore Colts

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  • 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)
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Week 14: at Washington Redskins

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Standings

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

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