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.

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.When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p. 407, Simon & Schuster, 1999, 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, a native of Baton Rouge and an All-American at LSU. Taylor had felt underpaid and under-appreciated under Lombardi.When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p. 408, Simon & Schuster, 1999, 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

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. After the season, Cuozzo was traded to the Minnesota Vikings in early 1968.

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

Undrafted free agents

+ 1967 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeLarry MeteviaCenterGrambling State

Personnel

Staff

Roster

Pre-season The Saints played six pre-season games, finishing with a record of 5–1. Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 at Los Angeles Rams L 7–16 0–1 Anaheim Stadium 26,364 2 St. Louis Cardinals W 23–14 1–1 State Fair Stadium 25,500 3 Pittsburgh Steelers W 20–17 2–1 Tiger Stadium 35,000 4 vs. San Francisco 49ers W 24–10 3–1 Civic Stadium 23,348 5 vs. Miami Dolphins W 20–17 4–1 Johnson Hagood Stadium 11,214 6 Atlanta Falcons W 27–14 5–1 Tulane Stadium 67,486

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. (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 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 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

Week 1: vs. Los Angeles Rams

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Week 2: vs. Washington Redskins

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Week 3: vs. Cleveland Browns

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Week 4: at New York Giants

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Week 5: at Dallas Cowboys

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Week 6: at San Francisco 49ers

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Week 7: vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

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Week 8: vs. Philadelphia Eagles

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Week 9: vs. Dallas Cowboys

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Week 10: at Philadelphia Eagles

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Week 11: vs. Atlanta Falcons

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Week 12: at St. Louis Cardinals

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Week 13: at Baltimore Colts

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Week 14: at Washington Redskins

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Standings

References

External links New Orleans Saints History Saints on Pro Football Reference