1966 Denver Broncos season

1966 Denver Broncos season
Owner	Gerald Phipps
General manager	James Burris
Head coach	Mac Speedie (0–2) Ray Malavasi (4–8)
Home stadium	Bears Stadium
Results
Record	4–10
Division place	4th AFL Western
Playoffs	Did not qualify
←  1965 Broncos seasons 1967  →

The 1966 Denver Broncos season was the seventh season for the team in the American Football League (AFL). For the second straight season the Broncos posted a record of four wins, and ten losses, ranking last again for the fourth time in the AFL's Western Division. Following the second game of the season, head coach Mac Speedie abruptly resigned, ^[1] and offensive line coach Ray Malavasi was the interim head coach for the remaining twelve games. ^[2]

Denver's offense set a dubious all-time AFL record in 1966 with the fewest total points scored in a season, with 196, or 14 per game. ^[3] The Broncos are the last team in major professional football (AFL or NFL) to go an entire game without picking up a first down, ^[4] which they did in Week One at Houston. ^[5]

This would be the final season that the "Bucking Bronco" logo would appear on the helmets.

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1966 Denver Broncos staff

Front office Team Owner / Chairman of the Board – Gerald Phipps Team President – Allan R Phipps Executive Vice President/General Manager – James H Burris Director of Player Personnel – Fred Gehrke Head coaches Head Coach – Mac Speedie Offensive coaches Offensive Backfield – Bus Mertes Offensive Line – Ray Malavasi (interim Head Coach)

Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Dale Dodrill Defensive Backfield – Marv Matuszak

Roster

1966 Denver Broncos roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 11 Tobin Rote 10 John McCormick 14 Mickey Slaughter 15 Max Choboian 17 Scotty Glacken Running backs (RB) 27 Charley Mitchell HB 28 Abner Haynes HB 26 Darrell Lester FB 33 Wendell Hayes FB 35 Mike Kellogg FB Wide receivers (WR) 31 Eric Crabtree 88 Al Denson 84 Jason Franci Tight ends (TE) 88 Al Denson 89 Max Wettstein 87 Lionel Taylor

Offensive linemen (OL) 68 Sam Brunelli T 79 John Gonzaga T 76 Bob Breitenstein T 64 Jon Hohman G 72 Jerry Sturm RG 77 Bob Young G 74 Lee Bernet RT 70Don SmithG 52 Ray Kubala RT 59 Larry Kaminski C 73 Pat Matson RG Defensive linemen (DL) 77 Bob Young DE 78 Marvin Davis 66Larry Cox 62 Jerry Inman DT 83 Ray Jacobs 61 Bill Keating 80 Dan LaRose 65 George Tarasovic 81 Max Leetzow

Linebackers (LB) 55 Archie Matsos MLB 51 Gene Jeter LB 56 John Bramlett MLB 50 Jerry Hopkins MLB 54 Ronald Sbranti LB 53 Don Gulseth LB Defensive backs (DB) 24 Willie Brown 21 Goldie Sellers 22 Bobby Ply DB 23 Goose Gonsoulin FS 20 Billy Fletcher DB 42 Lonnie Wright SS 43 Bob Richardson 45 Lew Scott DB 49 Glenn Glass DB 46 John Griffin SS 48 Nemiah Wilson Special teams (ST) 7 Gary Kroner K 82 Bob Scarpitto

Rookies in italics

Regular season

Main article: 1966 American Football League season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 3	at Houston Oilers	L 7–45	0–1	Rice Stadium	30,156	Recap
2	Bye
3	September 18	Boston Patriots	L 10–24	0–2	Bears Stadium	25,337	Recap
4	September 25	New York Jets	L 7–16	0–3	Bears Stadium	29,878	Recap
5	October 2	Houston Oilers	W 40–38	1–3	Bears Stadium	27,203	Recap
6	October 8	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–37	1–4	Municipal Stadium	33,929	Recap
7	October 16	at Miami Dolphins	L 7–24	1–5	Miami Orange Bowl	23,393	Recap
8	October 23	Kansas City Chiefs	L 10–56	1–6	Bears Stadium	26,196	Recap
9	October 30	at San Diego Chargers	L 17–24	1–7	Balboa Stadium	25,819	Recap
10	November 6	at Boston Patriots	W 17–10	2–7	Fenway Park	18,154	Recap
11	Bye
12	November 20	Oakland Raiders	L 3–17	2–8	Bears Stadium	26,703	Recap
13	November 27	San Diego Chargers	W 20–17	3–8	Bears Stadium	24,860	Recap
14	December 4	Miami Dolphins	W 17–7	4–8	Bears Stadium	32,592	Recap
15	December 11	at Oakland Raiders	L 10–28	4–9	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	31,765	Recap
16	December 18	at Buffalo Bills	L 21–38	4–10	War Memorial Stadium	40,538	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

^{[5] [6]}

• With the expansion Miami Dolphins joining the AFL in 1966, there were an odd-number (9)
  of teams for two seasons, resulting in multiple bye weeks for each team.

Standings

AFL Western Division
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Kansas City Chiefs	11	2	1	.846	5–1	448	276	W3
Oakland Raiders	8	5	1	.615	4–2	315	288	W1
San Diego Chargers	7	6	1	.538	2–4	335	284	L1
Denver Broncos	4	10	0	.286	1–5	196	381	L2

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL. ^{[7] [8]}

References

1. "Speedie quits AFL's Denver". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. September 19, 1966. p. 4C.
2. "Denver: Malavasi gets job". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). wire reports. September 20, 1966. p. 3B.
3. Pro Football Reference ; Pro-Football-Reference.com: In a single season, from 1960 to 1969, in the AFL, in the regular season, sorted by ascending Points For
4. Pro Football Reference; In a single game, from 1961 to 2018, requiring 1st Downs ≤1, sorted by ascending Date
5. "Oilers bomb Denver, 45-7". Victoria Advocate. (Texas). Associated Press. September 4, 1966. p. 12A.
6. "Chiefs crush Broncs". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. October 9, 1966. p. 4B.
7. "Chargers' tie jolt to Raiders". Oakland Tribune. November 26, 1965. p. 51 – via newspapers.com.
8. "AFL standings". Lompoc Records. December 19, 1966. p. 2-B – via newspapers.com.

External links

• Denver Broncos – 1966 media guide
• 1966 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com
• 1966 Denver Broncos at jt-sw.com