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1968 Baltimore Colts season

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1968 Baltimore Colts season
OwnerCarroll Rosenbloom
General managerHarry Hulmes
Head coachDon Shula
Home fieldMemorial Stadium
Results
Record13–1
Division place1st NFL Coastal
Playoff finishWon Western Conference Championship Game
(vs. Vikings) 24–14
Won NFL Championship
(at Browns) 34–0
Lost Super Bowl III
(vs. Jets) 7–16

The 1968 Baltimore Colts season was the 16th season for the team in the National Football League (NFL). Led by sixth-year head coach Don Shula, they finished the regular season with a record of 13 wins and 1 loss, and won the Western Conference's Coastal division.

The previous season, the Colts finished 11–1–2, tied for the best in the league, but were excluded from the playoffs. They lost a tiebreaker with the Los Angeles Rams for the Coastal Division title in 1967; the other three teams in the NFL postseason, all division winners, had nine wins each.

The Colts finished the 1968 regular season with the team's defense having allowed just 144 points — tying the NFL record for a 14-game season.[1]

In 1968, Baltimore won the Western Conference playoff game with the Minnesota Vikings and the NFL Championship Game in a shutout of the Cleveland Browns, but then lost to the New York Jets of the American Football League in Super Bowl III.[2] Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas had been injured during the pre-season, so Earl Morrall led the offense. He would finish the season as the league leader in touchdown passes with 26. Shula decided to bring Unitas back in during the second half of the Super Bowl, to no avail.

After the upset, instead of championship rings, luxury watches were given to the team as a consolation prize to commemorate their NFL Championship victory over Cleveland.[3]

NFL draft

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Main article: 1968 NFL Draft
Round Pick Player Position School/Club Team
1 23 John Williams Offensive tackle Minnesota
2 50 Bob Grant Linebacker Wake Forest
3 78 Rich O'Hara Wide receiver Northern Arizona
4 107 Jim Duncan Running back Maryland-Eastern Shore
5 126 Paul Elzey Linebacker Toledo
7 188 Anthony Andrews Running back Hampton
8 216 Tommy Davis Guard Tennessee State
9 242 Terry Cole Running back Indiana
10 257 Ocie Austin Free safety Utah State
10 270 Ed Tomlin Running back Hampton
11 296 Bill Pickens Guard Houston
12 324 James Jackson Offensive tackle Jackson State
13 350 Howard Tennebar Offensive tackle Kent State
14 378 Charles Mitchell Tight end Alabama State
15 404 Jeff Beaver Quarterback North Carolina
16 432 Walt Blackledge Wide receiver San Jose State
17 458 Roy Pederson Linebacker State College of Iowa

Personnel

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Staff/Coaches

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1968 Baltimore Colts staff
Front office

Coaching staff

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Roster

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1968 Baltimore Colts roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Reserve None - vacant
Rookies in italics

Regular season

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Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 15 San Francisco 49ers W 27–10 1–0 Memorial Stadium 56,864
2 September 22 at Atlanta Falcons W 28–20 2–0 Atlanta Stadium 50,428
3 September 29 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 41–7 3–0 Pitt Stadium 44,480
4 October 6 Chicago Bears W 28–7 4–0 Memorial Stadium 60,238
5 October 13 at San Francisco 49ers W 42–14 5–0 Kezar Stadium 32,822
6 October 20 Cleveland Browns L 20–30 5–1 Memorial Stadium 60,238
7 October 27 Los Angeles Rams W 27–10 6–1 Memorial Stadium 60,238
8 November 3 at New York Giants W 26–0 7–1 Yankee Stadium 62,973
9 November 10 at Detroit Lions W 27–10 8–1 Tiger Stadium 55,170
10 November 17 St. Louis Cardinals W 27–0 9–1 Memorial Stadium 60,238
11 November 24 Minnesota Vikings W 21–9 10–1 Memorial Stadium 60,238
12 December 1 Atlanta Falcons W 44–0 11–1 Memorial Stadium 60,238
13 December 7 at Green Bay Packers W 16–3 12–1 Lambeau Field 50,861
14 December 15 at Los Angeles Rams W 28–24 13–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 69,397
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Game summaries

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Week 11: vs. Minnesota Vikings

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Minnesota Vikings (6–4) at Baltimore Colts (9–1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 3 339
Colts 7 14 0021

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

  • Date: November 24, 1968
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 50 °F or 10 °C, relative humidity 63%, wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
  • TV: CBS
  • [4]
Game information

This would be the last occasion the Colts hosted the Vikings in the regular season until 2000 in Indianapolis. The intervening gap — following the playoff meeting between the same teams at the same venue — of 31 seasons constitutes the second-longest gap without one team visiting another in NFL history.[a]

Standings

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NFL Coastal
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Baltimore Colts 13 1 0 .929 6–0 10–0 402 144 W8
Los Angeles Rams 10 3 1 .769 3–2–1 6–3–1 312 200 L2
San Francisco 49ers 7 6 1 .538 2–3–1 4–5–1 303 310 W1
Atlanta Falcons 2 12 0 .143 0–6 1–9 170 389 L4
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Post-season

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The team made it to the playoffs as winners of the Coastal division and hosted the Minnesota Vikings of the Central division for the Western Conference title. The Colts took a 21–0 lead and went on to win 24–14.[6] They then traveled to Cleveland to take on the Browns in the NFL Championship Game. Baltimore's only loss of the season came at home to the Browns in October, falling 20–30.[7][8] In late December, the Colts defense was on top of their game as they shut out the Browns 34–0 to gain their third NFL title.[9][10][11] The 1968 Colts were being touted as "the greatest football team in history."

In Super Bowl III, the Colts took on the heavy underdog New York Jets led by quarterback Joe Namath, with the Colts favored by 19+1⁄2 points.[12][13][14] Before the game, former NFL star and coach Norm Van Brocklin ridiculed the AFL, saying "This will be Namath's first professional football game." Three days before the game, Namath was being heckled in Miami and he responded by saying: "We’re going to win Sunday. I guarantee it."[14][15][16] The Jets beat the Colts 16–7 in one of the biggest upsets in American sports history.[2]

Perhaps the biggest effect of the Colts' loss is that the predominant sentiment that the AFL was not strong enough to merge with the NFL was firmly squelched.[17]

Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
Western Conference December 22 Minnesota Vikings W 24–14 1–0 Memorial Stadium 60,238
NFL Championship December 29 at Cleveland Browns W 34–0 2–0 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 80,628
Super Bowl III January 12, 1969 New York Jets L 7–16 2–1 Miami Orange Bowl 75,389

Conference Playoff: vs. Minnesota Vikings

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Minnesota Vikings (8–6) at Baltimore Colts (13–1) – Game summary
Quarter 1 2 34Total
Vikings 0 0 01414
Colts 0 7 14324

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

  • Date: December 22, 1968
  • Game time: 1:00 p.m.
  • Game weather: 33 °F or 0.6 °C, relative humidity 73%, wind 7 miles per hour (11 km/h; 6.1 kn), wind chill 27 °F or −2.8 °C
  • TV: CBS
  • [18]
Game information

Following upon their last regular-season visit to the Colts for 32 years, the Vikings would visit the Colts for the last time in a competition game until 2000 in their first-ever postseason appearance.

Awards

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Tampa Bay did not play at Buffalo until 2009, although the Buccaneers joined the league 33 seasons previously.[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Baltimore Colts" in Al Silverman (ed.), Pro Football Almanac, 1969. New York: McFadden-Bartell Corp., 1969, pp. 60-61.
  2. ^ a b Strickler, George (January 13, 1969). "Jets score Super upset over Colts". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 3.
  3. ^ "The Baltimore Colts 1968 NFL Championship Ring That Wasn't « Sports-Rings.com – Blog". sports-rings.com. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  4. ^ "Minnesota Vikings at Baltimore Colts — November 24th, 1968". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  5. ^ Urena, Ivan (2014). Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. pp. 15–16. ISBN 9780786473519.
  6. ^ Bledsoe, Terry (December 23, 1968). "Kapp, the tough Viking, finds Colts even tougher". Milwaukee Journal. p. 10, part 2.
  7. ^ "Browns prove Colts are human". Toledo Blade. Ohio. Associated Press. October 21, 1968. p. 25.
  8. ^ "Browns hand Colts first loss". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. October 21, 1968. p. 1, part 2.
  9. ^ Strickler, George (December 30, 1968). "Colts crush Browns for NFL title". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 3.
  10. ^ Scholl, Bill (December 30, 1968). "Colts gain revenge, wallop Browns, 34–0, to win National League crown". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. p. 12.
  11. ^ Hannen, John (January 30, 1968). "Colts' Matte returned home to KO Cleveland". Toledo Blade. Ohio. p. 18.
  12. ^ Strickler, George (January 10, 1969). "Colts soar to 21-point favorites". Chicago Tribune. p. 1, section 3.
  13. ^ "Jets' Namath carries hopes for AFL prestige today". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. January 12, 1969. p. 1, sports.
  14. ^ a b "Quarterbacks Super Bowl topics". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. January 11, 1969. p. 13.
  15. ^ Dorman, Larry (January 15, 1989). "A guarantee of greatness". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. Knight-Ridder. p. C1.
  16. ^ Zinser, Lynn (May 25, 2012). "Pregame Talk Is Cheap, but This Vow Resonates". The New York Times. p. B10. Archived from the original on June 22, 2022.
  17. ^ Funk, Ben (January 13, 1969). "Jets make believers out of Colts, NFL". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. p. 3B.
  18. ^ "Divisional Round — Minnesota Vikings at Baltimore Colts — December 22nd, 1968". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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