The Associated Press (AP), United Press International (UPI), Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), and New York Daily News selected All-Pro players following the 1966 NFL season.
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons were founded on June 30, 1965, and joined the NFL in 1966 as an expansion team, after the NFL offered then-owner Rankin Smith a franchise to keep him from joining the rival American Football League (AFL).
The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Greater Miami area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team plays its home games at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, a northern suburb of Miami. The team is owned by Stephen M. Ross. The Dolphins are the oldest professional sports team in Florida. Of the four AFC East teams, the Dolphins are the only team in the division that was not a charter member of the American Football League (AFL). The Dolphins were also one of the first professional football teams in the southeast, along with the Atlanta Falcons.
Francis Asbury Tarkenton, nicknamed "the Scrambler", is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 18 seasons, primarily with the Minnesota Vikings. He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, where he was recognized as a twice first-team All-SEC, and was selected by the Vikings in the third round of the 1961 NFL draft. After retiring from football, he became a media personality and computer software executive.
Raymond Emmett Berry Jr. is an American former football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a split end for the Baltimore Colts from 1955 to 1967, and after several assistant coaching positions, was head coach of the New England Patriots from 1984 to 1989. With the Colts, Berry led the NFL in receptions and receiving yards three times and in receiving touchdowns twice, and was invited to six Pro Bowls. The Colts won consecutive NFL championships, including the 1958 NFL Championship Game—known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played"—in which Berry caught 12 passes for 178 yards and a touchdown. He retired as the all-time NFL leader in both receptions and receiving yardage.
Edward Leon Budde was an American football guard. He played his entire career for the Kansas City Chiefs in the American Football League (AFL) and the National Football League (NFL).
Paul Dryden Warfield is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) from 1964 to 1977 for the Cleveland Browns and Miami Dolphins, except for a year in the World Football League (WFL) with the Memphis Southmen in 1975. He was known for his speed, fluid moves, grace, and jumping ability. A consistent big-play threat throughout his career, his 20.1 average yards per reception is the highest in NFL history among players with at least 300 receptions.
Clyde Douglas "Bulldog" Turner was an American professional football player and coach in the National Football League (NFL). He was elected, as a player, to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1960 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966. He was also selected in 1969 to the NFL 1940s All-Decade Team.
Melvin Jack Hein, nicknamed "Old Indestructible", was an American football player and coach. In the era of one-platoon football, he played as a center and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1954 and the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 as part of the first class of inductees. He was also named to the National Football League (NFL) 75th, and 100th Anniversary All-Time Teams.
Joseph Paul Schmidt is an American former professional football player and coach. He played as a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions for 13 years from 1953 to 1965. He won two NFL championships with the Lions, and, between 1954 and 1963, he played in ten consecutive Pro Bowl games and was selected each year as a first-team All-Pro player. He was also voted by his fellow NFL players as the NFL's most valuable defensive player in 1960 and 1963, named to the NFL 1950s All-Decade Team, and inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1973.
Thomas Lee Mack is an American former football guard who played for the Los Angeles Rams of the National Football League (NFL). He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1999.
Walter Andrew Kiesling was an American football guard who spent 36 years as a player, coach, and aide with National Football League (NFL) teams. He was posthumously inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1966 and was named to the NFL 1920s All-Decade Team in 1969.
Patrick Lewis Studstill Jr. was an American professional football player who was a wide receiver, punter and return specialist. He played 12 years in the National Football League (NFL) for the Detroit Lions (1961–1967), Los Angeles Rams (1968–1971), and New England Patriots (1972). He led the NFL with 457 punt return yards in 1962. In 1966, he led the league in both receiving yards (1,266) and punting yards (3,259). He also tied an NFL record in 1966 with a 99-yard touchdown reception.
The 1966 Atlanta Falcons season was the franchise's inaugural season in the National Football League (NFL). The Falcons finished in seventh place in the NFL Eastern Conference with a record of 3–11, ahead of only the New York Giants.
The 1966 American Football League draft was held on Saturday, November 27, 1965. The AFL added the Miami Dolphins as an expansion team in 1966 to bring its total to nine franchises for its seventh season. The Dolphins were awarded the first overall pick in the draft, who used it to select running back Jim Grabowski. The only Hall of Famer to come out of this draft was kicker Jan Stenerud, who was picked by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the Red Shirt portion of the draft.
The 1967 Pro Bowl was the seventeenth annual National Football League (NFL) all-star game which featured the outstanding performers from the 1966 season. The game was played on January 22, 1967, in a heavy rainstorm at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California, before a sparse crowd of 15,062. This was the second-lowest attendance in the history of the Pro Bowl, next to the inaugural game in January 1939, also in Los Angeles.