1966 Atlanta Falcons season
Encyclopedia
The 1966
Atlanta Falcons
season was the Falcon's inaugural season.
running back Jim Taylor. There were tensions in Green Bay because the Packers first round pick, Jim Grabowski
would be groomed to take over for Taylor. The signing of Grabowski upset Taylor but he stated he would leave Green Bay once his contract expired, therefore the Falcons could not acquire the running back.
before a crowd of 26,072 at Atlanta Stadium. The Falcons would lose against the Eagles and would lose their first nine games in the regular season before finally getting their first franchise win on the road against the New York Giants
, 27-16. Former Giant Ernie Wheelwright
scored two TD's receiving and ran for 51 more yards as QB
Randy Johnson
hit for a trio of TD's. Their first ever home victory was against the St. Louis Cardinals
, 16-10 to a crowd of 57,169. The Falcons ended their inaugural season at 3-11, yet Tommy Nobis
won the NFL Rookie of the Year Award
and became the first Falcon named to the Pro Bowl.
1966 NFL season
The 1966 NFL season was the 47th regular season of the National Football League, and the season after which was played Super Bowl I, though it was called the AFL-NFL World Championship Game. The league expanded to 15 teams with the addition of the Atlanta Falcons, thus an odd number of teams...
Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
season was the Falcon's inaugural season.
Offseason
The Falcons attempted to acquire Green Bay PackersGreen Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...
running back Jim Taylor. There were tensions in Green Bay because the Packers first round pick, Jim Grabowski
Jim Grabowski
James S.Grabowski is a former American football player and broadcaster. Grabowski played collegiately at the University of Illinois and professionally for the Green Bay Packers and the Chicago Bears, and served as an analyst on University of Illinois football radio broadcasts for nearly 30 years,...
would be groomed to take over for Taylor. The signing of Grabowski upset Taylor but he stated he would leave Green Bay once his contract expired, therefore the Falcons could not acquire the running back.
NFL Draft
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | School |
| 1 | ||||
Regular season
The Falcons played their first game (preseason) on August 1, 1966 against the Philadelphia EaglesPhiladelphia Eagles
The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
before a crowd of 26,072 at Atlanta Stadium. The Falcons would lose against the Eagles and would lose their first nine games in the regular season before finally getting their first franchise win on the road against the New York Giants
New York Giants
The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, 27-16. Former Giant Ernie Wheelwright
Ernie Wheelwright (running back)
-Biography:Ernest Lamour 'Wheels' Wheelwright was born in Columbus, Ohio on November 28, 1939 and attended Southern Illinois University. He had several careers but is chiefly remembered as an American Football player who played as a running back for the New York Giants, Atlanta Falcons and the New...
scored two TD's receiving and ran for 51 more yards as QB
Quarterback
Quarterback is a position in American and Canadian football. Quarterbacks are members of the offensive team and line up directly behind the offensive line...
Randy Johnson
Randy Johnson (American football)
Randolph Klaus "Randy" Johnson was an American football player. He was the starting quarterback for the Atlanta Falcons in their inaugural season of 1966. In 1974 he played with The Hawaiians of the World Football League.Johnson graduated from Sam Houston High School in San Antonio, Texas in 1962...
hit for a trio of TD's. Their first ever home victory was against the St. Louis Cardinals
Arizona Cardinals
The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, 16-10 to a crowd of 57,169. The Falcons ended their inaugural season at 3-11, yet Tommy Nobis
Tommy Nobis
Thomas Henry Nobis, Jr. is a former American football player. He attended Thomas Jefferson High School where he was an all-state offensive end and middle linebacker...
won the NFL Rookie of the Year Award
NFL Rookie of the Year Award
Since 1967, the Associated Press has given two annual Rookie of the Year Awards to National Football League players: one for an offensive player and one for a defensive player. These two are often regarded as the "official" awards...
and became the first Falcon named to the Pro Bowl.
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 11, 1966 | Los Angeles Rams St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,... |
L 19-14 | |
| 2 | September 18, 1966 | at Philadelphia Eagles Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 23-10 | |
| 3 | September 25, 1966 | at Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... |
L 28-10 | |
| 4 | October 2, 1966 | Dallas Cowboys Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas... |
L 47-14 | |
| 5 | October 9, 1966 | at Washington Redskins Washington Redskins The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,... |
L 33-20 | |
| 6 | October 16, 1966 | San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and... |
L 44-7 | |
| 7 | October 23, 1966 | at Green Bay Packers Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions... |
L 56-3 | |
| 8 | October 30, 1966 | Cleveland Browns Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 49-7 | |
| 10 | November 13, 1966 | Baltimore Colts History of the Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls.... |
L 19-7 | |
| 11 | November 20, 1966 | at New York Giants New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in East Rutherford, New Jersey, representing the New York City metropolitan area. The Giants are currently members of the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 27-16 | |
| 12 | November 27, 1966 | at Chicago Bears Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
L 23-6 | |
| 13 | December 4, 1966 | at Minnesota Vikings Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Vikings joined the National Football League as an expansion team in 1960... |
W 20-13 | |
| 14 | December 11, 1966 | St. Louis Cardinals Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League... |
W 16-10 | |
| 15 | December 18, 1966 | Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... |
L 57-33 | |
Standings
| NFL Eastern Eastern and Western Divisions (NFL) 1933-69 The Eastern and Western Divisions of the National Football League, renamed the American and National Conferences in 1950 and then the Eastern and Western Conferences in 1953, were organized as a result of the disputed NFL championship of 1932... |
|||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| Dallas Cowboys 1966 Dallas Cowboys season The 1966 Dallas Cowboys season was the seventh for the franchise in the National Football League. It involved the 10–3–1 Cowboys qualifying for the NFL post-season for the second time in franchise history, by winning the NFL Eastern Conference title, before losing the NFL Championship Game to the... |
10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 445 | 239 | W-1 |
| Cleveland Browns 1966 Cleveland Browns season The 1966 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 17th season with the National Football League.-NFL Draft:The following were selected in the 1966 NFL Draft.-Exhibition schedule:-Regular season schedule:-Standings:-References:... |
9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 403 | 259 | W-1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles 1966 Philadelphia Eagles season -NFL Draft:The 1966 NFL Draft and the 1966 AFL DraftThe 1966 National Football League Draft was held on November 27, 1965. It was the last draft in which the NFL and the AFL drafted their players separate of one another. As a result, many players selected by teams from both leagues would choose to... |
9 | 5 | 0 | .643 | 326 | 340 | W-1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals 1966 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season The 1966 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 47th season the team was in the league, and the seventh in St. Louis. The team moved its home games from the old Busch Stadium to the new Busch Stadium in downtown St. Louis, and bettered their 1965 record of 5-9, winning eight games... |
8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 264 | 265 | L-3 |
| Washington Redskins 1966 Washington Redskins season The 1966 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 6-8 record from 1965. The Washington Redskins attempted to make Vince Lombardi their new head coach, but Lombardi refused their offer and the Redskins had to settle for Otto Graham... |
7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 351 | 355 | L-1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers 1966 Pittsburgh Steelers season -Schedule:- Week 1 : New York Giants :at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania* Game time:* Game weather:* Game attendance: 37,693* Referee:* TV announcers:Scoring Drives:... |
5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 316 | 347 | W-2 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 204 | 437 | L-1 |
| New York Giants 1966 New York Giants season The 1966 New York Giants season was the 42nd season for the club in the National Football League. The Giants finished in last place in the Eastern Conference with a 1–12–1 record, the worst in franchise history.... |
1 | 12 | 1 | .077 | 263 | 501 | L-8 |