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.

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Offseason

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. 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. Several weeks later, the Saints also signed Packers running back Jim Taylor. Taylor had felt underpaid and under-appreciated under Lombardi. 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.

NFL draft

Pre-season

The Saints played six pre-season games, finishing with a record of 5-1.
WeekDateKickoff OpponentResultRecordGame SiteAttendance
1Wednesday, August 210:05 p.m.at Los Angeles RamsL 7–160–1Anaheim Stadium26,364
2Saturday, August 128:00 p.m.St. Louis CardinalsW 23–141–1State Fair Stadium 25,500
3Saturday, August 198:00 p.m.Pittsburgh SteelersW 20–172–1Tiger Stadium 35,000
4Saturday, August 2610:30 p.m.at San Francisco 49ersW 24–103–1Civic Stadium 23,348
5Saturday, September 27:00 p.m.at Miami DolphinsW 20–174–1Johnson Hagood Stadium 11,214
6Saturday, September 98:00 p.m.Atlanta FalconsW 27–145–1Tulane Stadium67,486

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.. 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 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

Game summaries

Week 1: vs. Los Angeles Rams