Denver Broncos

After 9 straight 4th-place finishes (always in a 4 or 5 team division) the Broncos fired their head coach and hired John Ralston for the 1972 season. They also acquired their first legitimate quarterback (Charley Johnson) in their 13-year history. 

 

The result? They moved all the way up to 3rd place! Denver finished in 3rd or 2nd place in each of Ralston's 5 seasons at the helm, using either Johnson or Steve Ramsey at QB. Not until 1977 would they see 1st place. By then, Red Miller was the coach and Craig Morton was the quarterback. 

 

But back to 1972:

Steve Ramsey rode the Saints’ bench as a rookie in 1970, then started 5 games for the Broncos in each of ’71 and ’72. He played for Denver from 1971-76, but was the primary starting QB only in ’75 and ’76. 

Don Horn was the Packers’ #1 pick in the 1967 draft. After 4 seasons backing up Bart Starr, he played 9 games for the Broncos in 1971 (all starts). With the 1972 acquisition of Charley Johnson, and with Ramsey already on the roster, Horn was pushed to #3 on the depth chart. The record shows he played 2 games for them that season, but he had no stats. Maybe he was a holder for some field goals? 

Possibly the only bright spot for the Broncos was halfback Floyd Little. He was Denver’s #1 pick in the 1967 draft, and played 9 seasons (1967-75), all for the Broncos. A 5-time Pro Bowler, he led the NFL in rushing in 1971 with 1133 yards. He also returned kicks and punts every season. Little was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010. 

Bob Anderson was the Broncos’ #1 pick in the 1970 draft. He was the starting fullback in 1971 and for most of 1972. After backing up in ’73 and playing in the WFL in ’74, he finished his career in 1975 with the Patriots and Redskins. His brother Dick was a safety for the Dolphins. 

Sam Brunelli played for the Broncos from 1966-71, and was their starting left tackle from 1967-70. 

Jim Turner played 7 seasons for the Jets (1964-70) and 9 for the Broncos (1971-79). He made the Pro Bowl in ’68 and ’69, and led the AFL in field goals both seasons. 

Lyle Alzado was the Broncos’ 4th-round pick in 1971 and played his first 8 seasons with Denver. He followed that with 3 seasons for the Browns and his final 4 seasons with the Raiders. He was a starting defensive end in all but 2 seasons: missing all but one game in 1976, and was a starting D-tackle in 1975. 

Bill Thompson was the Broncos’ 3rd-round pick in 1969, and played 13 seasons (1969-81), all for Denver. He started every game during that time, except for missing 5 games in ’70 and 6 games in ’72 due to injuries. He played right cornerback for his first 4 seasons before moving to strong safety for the remainder of his career. He was a 3-time Pro Bowler, including in his final season.

RIP - Jake Scott

Jake Scott, the free safety for the early-1970s Miami Dolphins teams, passed away on November 19, 2020 at age 75.

Scott played in the CFL in 1969, then spent the next 6 seasons as the Dolphins' free safety, starting every game. He was named to the Pro Bowl in 5 of those 6 seasons, and was First Team All-Pro twice. He was also the MVP of Super Bowl VII (vs. the Redskins). 

 

He also played for the Redskins from 1976-78, starting all but 2 games at free safety.  

 

Palm Beach Post obituary 

 

Baltimore Colts

See my opening monologue in this post. 

In 1970 Johnny Unitas started 13 games, the Colts finished 11-2-1 and won the Super Bowl.
In 1971 Unitas and Earl Morrall split the starts, the Colts finished 10-4 and lost the AFC Conference Championship.
In 1972 Unitas and Marty Domres split the starts, and the Colts finished 5-9. They would drop even further in '73 and '74.

Johnny Unitas played 17 seasons for the Colts (1956-72), and was the #1 QB every season except ’68, ’71, and ’72. He led the NFL in passing yards 4 times and TDs 4 times. For 11 consecutive seasons (1957-67) he was a Pro Bowl selection, First-Team All-Pro, or both. He finished his career with the Chargers in 1973, making only 4 starts.

Tom Matte was the Colts’ 1st-round pick in 1961. He played 12 seasons (1961-72), all with the Colts, and was the starting halfback in ’63, ’67, ’68, ’69, and ’71. He was a 2-time Pro Bowl selection, and was First-Team All-Pro in 1969, leading the NFL with 11 rushing TDs.

Norm Bulaich was the Colts’ #1 pick in the 1970 draft. He was the starting fullback in his first 2 seasons, then missed 8 games in 1972. He played the next 2 seasons as the Eagles’ starting fullback, then finished his career with 5 seasons in Miami (1975-79).

Jim O’Brien was the Colts’ 3rd-round pick in 1970, and kicked for 3 seasons in Baltimore, including his last-second field goal that won Super Bowl V in his rookie season. He also started 8 games at wide receiver in 1972. He finished his career with the Lions in 1973.

Bubba Smith was the first-overall pick in the 1967 draft. After riding the bench in his rookie season, he was the Colts’ starting left end from 1968-71, making the Pro Bowl in the last 2 seasons. After missing 1972 with a knee injury, he started 25 games for the Raiders from 1973-74, then finished up as a backup with the Oilers in ’75 and ’76. I’m surprised to see he’s not in the Hall of Fame.

Ted Hendricks was selected by the Colts in the 2nd round of the 1969 draft. He started at outside linebacker from 1969-73, and was named to 3 Pro Bowls. After a season in Green Bay (1975 – Making First-Team All-Pro for the 2nd time), he played outside linebacker for the Raiders in his last 9 seasons, making the Pro Bowl again in his final 4 seasons. He was added to the Hall of Fame in 1990.

Jerry Logan was a 4th-round pick in 1963, and played strong safety for the Colts for his entire 10-year career (1963-72). He was a starter every season but his first, and made 3 Pro Bowls.

Rick Volk was the Colts’ 2nd-round pick in 1967, and was their starting free safety for his first 8 seasons. After playing part-time for the Colts in 1975, he finished up with the Giants and Dolphins from 1976-78.

RIP - Don Shula

Don Shula, who coached the Miami Dolphins to their undefeated 1972 season, passed away on May 4, 2020 at age 90.

The Dolphins appeared in three straight Super Bowls (VI, VII, VIII), winning the last two. They returned to the Super Bowl twice in the early 1980s.

He also coached the Colts to Super Bowl III, only to lose to Joe Namath and the Jets.

In 33 years as a head coach, his teams had a winning record 30 times!

In any "Mount Rushmore" scenario, there's only room for four choices. When it comes to NFL coaches, the seven that stand out are Don Shula, Vince Lombardi, Tom Landry, Chuck Noll, Paul Brown, Bill Walsh, and Bill Belichick.  Three have to be put on the second team, but Shula can't be one of them.

CNN obituary

Hall of Famers

I just posted the Hall of Famers in the 1971 and 1968 Topps sets and 1967 Philly Gum set. Here is the last in my 4-part series: 1972.

There are 53 Hall of Famers in the 1972 set.  I have 47 of them, all shown below.  There are six in the high-numbered 3rd series that I don't have.

I really don't like Topps' decision to print horizontal cards for all the teams whose name was less than 6 letters.

Not shown are Rayfield Wright (Dal), Alan Page (Minn), Dick LeBeau (Det), Tom Mack (LA), Jimmy Johnson (SF), and Winston Hill (NYJ).


Re-cap: 
6 - Chiefs, Cowboys
5 - Raiders
4 - Dolphins, Vikings
3 - Cardinals, Jets, Lions
2 - Bears, Colts, 49ers, Oilers, Rams, Steelers
1 - Bills, Broncos, Browns, Chargers, Falcons, Packers, Redskins
0 - Bengals, Eagles, Giants, Patriots, Saints

This is the 2nd time the Chiefs have led the way.  It's also the 2nd time the Eagles, Giants, Patriots, and Saints were shutout. (And the 3rd time for the Bengals!)