Houston Oilers

1972 was not a good time for the Houston Oilers. After finishing 4-9-1 in 1971, they dropped to 1-13 in 1972, their only win coming against the Jets in week 3. They would repeat their 1-13 performance in 1973.

#156 Dan Pastorini - Pastorini was the Oilers' #1 pick (3rd overall) in the 1971 draft. Other quarterbacks drafted in 1971 were Jim Plunkett (#1 overall), Archie Manning (#2 overall), Lynn Dickey (the Oilers' 3rd-round pick), Ken Anderson, and Joe Theismann (drafted by Miami, but played in the CFL). Pastorini also punted for the Oilers. After 9 seasons with the Oilers, Dan would play 1 season each with the Raiders, Rams, and Eagles.


#103 Robert Holmes - Holmes played 3 1/2 seasons with the Chiefs before coming to Houston in mid-1971. After the 1972 season, he would move on to the Chargers, before returning for a final season with the Oilers in 1975.


#26 Ken Burrough - After his rookie season with the Saints in 1970, Burrough played 11 seasons with the Oilers, and led the league in receiving yards (1063) in 1975. He's one of 2 players to wear double-zero back in the day (Oakland's Jim Otto was the other).


#244 Charlie Joiner - The Oilers' other starting wide receiver was their 4th pick in the 1969 draft. Midway through the 1972 season he was dealt to the Bengals. Charlie did his real damage as a member of the San Diego Chargers from 1976 to 1986.


#313 Jim Beirne - Three wide receivers with football cards? That is a luxury! Beirne was a 4th-round pick in 1968, and except for 1974 with the Chargers, he played his entire career (1968-76) with the Oilers.


#52 Bobby Maples - Bobby was drafted by the Oilers in 1965. After playing outside linebacker in his rookie season, he switched to center in 1966.

#202 Garland Boyette - Boyette played 2 seasons with the Cardinals and 2 seasons with the CFL's Montreal Alouettes before coming to the Oilers in 1966. After playing defensive end in 1966, he switched to middle linebacker in 1967, and finished his career with the Oilers in 1972.

#78 Ken Houston - One of the best safeties in NFL history, Houston played strong safety for the Oilers (1967-72) and the Redskins (1973-80). He was a 12-time Pro Bowler, and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1986.


#176 John Charles - John played for the AFL's Boston Patriots from 1967-69, then spent one season with the Vikings before joining the Oilers in 1971. He was their starting free safety in 1971 and 1972, then spent his final 2 seasons as a backup.


Also check out the 1968 Oilers.


Next time: Philadelphia Eagles
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Washington Redskins

Here are the Washington Redskins cards for 1972. I like these early 1970s' jerseys much better than the dark red jerseys of the 1960s. They incorporate the yellow arm stripes also used by the Packers and Steelers.

When George Allen took over as head coach in 1971, he brought in a pile of veterans, many from the Rams (his former team). This strategy worked, because the Redskins went from 6-8 (4th in NFC East) in 1970 to the Super Bowl in 1972.

Except for Jurgensen, Brown, Taylor, Knight, and Fischer, all of these players joined the Redskins in 1971.


#195 Sonny Jurgensen - Jurgensen played his first 7 seasons with the Eagles (1957-1963), then was swapped to the Redskins for QB Norm Snead. He was the Redskins' #1 quarterback from 1964 to 1970, before injuries limited his playing time in 1971. He played with Washington until retiring following the 1974 season, but never regained his starter's job back from Bill Kilmer.


#18 Bill Kilmer - A rookie in 1961, Kilmer was with the 49ers for 6 seasons, backing up John Brodie. During his rookie season, he was mostly used as a running back. He also missed the 1963 and 1965 seasons due to injuries. The Saints selected him in the 1967 expansion draft, and he became their starting QB for 4 seasons before joining the Redskins in 1971.


#95 Larry Brown - Brown played his entire career (1969-76) with the Redskins, and was one of the NFL's top backs during his first 5 seasons.

#334 Charley Taylor - Taylor was the Redskins' #1 pick (3rd overall) in 1964. He played his entire career (1964-77) with the Redskins. A halfback for his first 2 seasons, he switched to split end in 1966 and led the NFL in receptions that year (72) and also in 1967 (70). An 8-time Pro Bowler, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984.


#142 Roy Jefferson - Roy played 5 seasons with the Steelers (1965-69) before moving to the Colts for 1 season. He joined the Redskins in 1971, and finished his career there in 1976. Back in the day, I thought these yellow helmets were either the Redskins' "practice" or "away" helmets, but it's probably just Topps' lack of a license. Still, it seems too good to be an airbrush job.


#51 Curt Knight - Curt led the league with 114 points in 1971. He had a short NFL career (1969-73, all with Washington).


#72 Verlon Biggs - Biggs was one of the 2 ends Allen acquired in 1971 to shore up the defensive line. He previously played for the Jets from 1965 to 1970, appearing in Super Bowl III. He played 4 seasons with the Redskins.

#168 Ron McDole - McDole played for the Cardinals in 1961 and the Oilers in 1962 before settling in with the Buffalo Bills for 8 seasons (1963-70). Ron joined the Redskins in 1971 and stayed through the 1978 season. He was a fixture at left defensive end every season for the Bills and Redskins.


#243 Myron Pottios - Pottios was a middle linebacker with the Steelers (1961-65) and Rams (1966-70) before joining the Redskins in 1971. He was the starter in '71 and '72, and retired following the 1973 season.

Jack Pardee - Pardee was the Rams' starting left linebacker from 1957-1970, and spent his final 2 seasons as the Redskins' left linebacker.

#217 Pat Fischer - Pat played his first 7 seasons with the Cardinals before joining the Redskins in 1968. Excluding his final 1977 season, Fischer only missed 3 games during his Redskins tenure.


Also check out the 1968 Redskins.

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