1972 Baltimore Colts season

Last updated

1972 Baltimore Colts season
Owner Robert Irsay
General manager Joe Thomas
Head coach Don McCafferty (1–4)
John Sandusky (4–5)
(interim)
Home field Memorial Stadium
Results
Record5–9
Division place3rd AFC East
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro Bowlers C Bill Curry
LB Ted Hendricks
KR Bruce Laird

The 1972 Baltimore Colts season was the 20th season for the team in the National Football League. They finished with 5 wins and 9 losses, third in the AFC East.

Contents

Robert Irsay, who had recently taken over the Los Angeles Rams, traded ownership of the NFL franchises with Colts' owner Carroll Rosenbloom, with players and coaching staffs remaining intact. [1] [2] [3] Rosenbloom had previously wanted to move the Colts to Tampa, but was turned down by the league. [4]

However, the Colts were getting older and started 1–4 before third-year head coach Don McCafferty was fired by new general manager Joe Thomas. [5] [6] [7] [8] In their final nine games under interim head coach John Sandusky, Baltimore won four to finish at 5–9, [9] their first losing mark in sixteen seasons. The entire coaching staff was let go after the season concluded. [10] [11] [12]

Offseason

NFL draft

1972 Baltimore Colts draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
122 Tom Drougas   Offensive tackle Oregon
246 Jack Mildren   Quarterback Oklahoma
247 Glenn Doughty   Wide receiver Michigan
248 Lydell Mitchell  *  Running back Penn State
4104 Eric Allen   Wide receiver Michigan State Played for the Toronto Argonauts from 1972 to 1975
5115 Don Croft   Defensive tackle UTEP
6152 Bruce Laird  *  Safety American International
7169 John Sykes   Running back Morgan State
8191Al Qualls  Linebacker Oklahoma
8204Van Brownson  Quarterback Nebraska
9215Gary Hambell  Defensive tackle Dayton
10256Dave Shilling  Running back Oregon State
11282 Fred DeBernardi   Defensive end UTEP
12308Gary Theiler  Tight end Tennessee
13334 Herb Washington   Wide receiver Michigan State
14359John Morris  Center Missouri Valley
15386Robin Parkhouse  Linebacker Alabama
16412 Gary Wichard   Quarterback C.W. Post
17438 Stan White   Linebacker Ohio State
      Made roster    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

[14]

Personnel

Staff/coaches

1972 Baltimore Colts staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Roster

1972 Baltimore Colts roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists


Practice squad



Rookies in italics

Regular season

The season began ominously for the Colts when they were defeated at home on opening day by the St. Louis Cardinals and their journeyman quarterback, Tim Van Galder. In week two, Johnny Unitas threw for 376 yards and three touchdowns, but it was far from enough as Joe Namath threw for 496 yards and six touchdowns to power the New York Jets to a 44–34 victory at Memorial Stadium, the Jets' first victory over the Colts since Super Bowl III.

In October, the Colts' season reached its nadir when it was shut out twice at home in a three-week stretch by the Dallas Cowboys, who undoubtedly wanted revenge for their loss to Baltimore in Super Bowl V, and the Miami Dolphins, who were on their way to a 17–0 season and their first Super Bowl championship under former Colts coach Don Shula.

Unitas, age 39, made his final appearance in Baltimore in the fourth quarter of a 35–7 victory over Buffalo on December 3, and threw a 63-yard completion for his 287th career touchdown pass. [15] [16] Two weeks later, he played his final game as a Colt, with a completion and an interception. [9]

For the third consecutive year, the Colts played their season finale at the Orange Bowl in Miami. Only this time, it was not in the postseason, but a humbling 16–0 shutout to the Dolphins in Week 14 in a game which was nowhere near as close as the final score. [9] Baltimore ended the 1970 season with a win over the Cowboys in Super Bowl V, and ended the 1971 season with a loss to the Dolphins in the AFC Championship game.

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 17 St. Louis Cardinals L 3–100–1 Memorial Stadium 53,562 Recap
2September 24 New York Jets L 34–440–2Memorial Stadium56,626 Recap
3October 1at Buffalo Bills W 17–01–2 War Memorial Stadium 46,206 Recap
4October 8 San Diego Chargers L 20–231–3Memorial Stadium55,459 Recap
5October 15 Dallas Cowboys L 0–211–4Memorial Stadium58,992 Recap
6October 22at New York Jets L 20–241–5 Shea Stadium 62,948 Recap
7October 29 Miami Dolphins L 0–231–6Memorial Stadium60,000 Recap
8November 6at New England Patriots W 24–172–6 Schaefer Stadium 60,999 Recap
9November 12at San Francisco 49ers L 21–242–7 Candlestick Park 61,214 Recap
10November 19at Cincinnati Bengals W 20–193–7 Riverfront Stadium 49,512 Recap
11November 26 New England Patriots W 31–04–7Memorial Stadium54,907 Recap
12December 3 Buffalo Bills W 35–75–7Memorial Stadium55,390 Recap
13December 10at Kansas City Chiefs L 10–245–8 Arrowhead Stadium 44,175 Recap
14December 16at Miami Dolphins L 0–165–9 Orange Bowl 80,010 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFC East
WLTPCTDIVCONFPFPASTK
Miami Dolphins 14001.0008–011–0385171W14
New York Jets 770.5006–26–5367324L2
Baltimore Colts 590.3574–45–6235252L2
Buffalo Bills 491.3212–62–9257377W1
New England Patriots 3110.2140–80–11192446L1

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 "Colts owner trades club for Rams". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. July 14, 1972. p. 1, part 2.[ permanent dead link ]
  2. 1 2 "Colts' owner now sole owner of Rams". The Bulletin. (Bend, Oregon). UPI. July 14, 1972. p. 12.
  3. 1 2 Maule, Tex (August 14, 1972). "Nay on the neighs, yea on the baas". Sports Illustrated. p. 67.
  4. ↑ Snyder, Cameron C. (February 17, 1976). "Viking Talks in N.Y. Do Not Surprise Thomas". The Baltimore Sun . p. C7.
  5. ↑ "Colts pick Sandusky as coach". Milwaukee Sentinel . Associated Press. October 17, 1972. p. 2, part 2.[ permanent dead link ]
  6. ↑ "Colt players meet secretly on McCafferty dismissal". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. October 17, 1972. p. 16, part 2.[ permanent dead link ]
  7. ↑ "Curry criticizes McCafferty firing". Free Lance-Star. (Fredericksburg, Virginia). Associated Press. October 17, 1972. p. 6.
  8. ↑ "Colts players unhappy; rap coach's firing". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. October 18, 1972. p. 36.
  9. 1 2 3 "Miami succeeds, but Morris fails". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 17, 1972. p. 2D.
  10. ↑ "Thomas fires entire Colt coaching staff". Bangor Daily News. (Maine). UPI. December 21, 1972. p. 26.
  11. ↑ "Coach Sandusky ousted by Colts". Nashua Telegraph. (New Hampshire). Associated Press. December 21, 1972. p. 23.
  12. ↑ "Mass firing starts Colt housecleaning". Free Lance-Star. (Fredericksburg, Virginia). Associated Press. December 21, 1972. p. 8.
  13. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book. New York City: Workman Publishing Co. p. 283. ISBN   0-7611-2480-2.
  14. ↑ "1972 Baltimore Colts Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved January 17, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Domres stars as Colts whip Bills". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. December 4, 1972. p. 3, part 2.
  16. ↑ "287th TD pass". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). (AP wirephoto). December 4, 1972. p. 25.
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