1968 Baltimore Colts Season

1968 Baltimore Colts season
1968 Baltimore Colts season
Owner	Carroll Rosenbloom
General manager	Harry Hulmes
Head coach	Don Shula
Home field	Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	13–1
Division place	1st NFL Coastal
Playoff finish	Won Western Conference Championship Game; (vs. Vikings) 24–14; Won NFL Championship; (at Browns) 34–0; Lost Super Bowl III; (vs. Jets) 7–16
	← 1967; Colts seasons; 1969 →;

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' record was 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.

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. 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.

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

Staff/Coaches

1968 Baltimore Colts staff

Front office

Owner/president and treasurer – Carroll Rosenbloom
General manager – Harry Hulmes

Coaching staff

Head coach – Don Shula

Offensive coaches

Receivers/offensive ends – Dick Bielski
Offensive backs – Don McCafferty
Offensive line coach – John Sandusky

Defensive coaches

Defensive coordinator/defensive line – Bill Arnsparger
Defensive backfield – Chuck Noll
Linebackers coach – Don Shula

Roster

**1968 Baltimore Colts roster**

	Quarterbacks 15 Earl Morrall 19 Johnny Unitas 16 Jim Ward Running backs 2 Timmy Brown 34 Terry Cole 45 Jerry Hill 41 Tom Matte 26 Preston Pearson Wide receivers 80 Gail Cogdill 25 Alex Hawkins 28 Jimmy Orr 27 Ray Perkins 87 Willie Richardson Tight ends 88 John Mackey 84 Tom Mitchell		Offensive linemen 73 Sam Ball T 50 Bill Curry C 61 Cornelius Johnson G 62 Glenn Ressler G 71 Dan Sullivan G 52 Dick Szymanski C 72 Bob Vogel T 65 John Williams G Defensive linemen 81 Ordell Braase DE 85 Roy Hilton DE 76 Fred Miller DT 74 Billy Ray Smith DT 78 Bubba Smith DE		Linebackers 32 Mike Curtis 53 Dennis Gaubatz 51 Bob Grant 55 Ron Porter 66 Don Shinnick Defensive backs 37 Ocie Austin S 40 Bobby Boyd CB 20 Jerry Logan S 43 Lenny Lyles CB 47 Charlie Stukes CB 21 Rick Volk S Special teams 49 David Lee P 79 Lou Michaels K		Reserve lists None - vacant Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

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

Week 11: vs. Minnesota Vikings

Minnesota Vikings (6–4) at Baltimore Colts (9–1) – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	3	3	3	9
Colts	7	14	0	0	21

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

Game information

First quarter

BAL — Terry Cole 1-yard rush (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 7–0

Second quarter

BAL — Willie Richardson 39-yard pass from Earl Morrall (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 14–0
BAL — Tom Mitchell 18-yard pass from Earl Morrall (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 21–0
MIN — Fred Cox 43-yard field goal. Colts 21–3

Third quarter

MIN — Fred Cox 36-yard field goal. Colts 21–6

Fourth quarter

MIN — Fred Cox 31-yard field goal. Colts 21–9

Top passers

BAL — Earl Morrall — 17/24, 259 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
MIN — Gary Cuozzo — 12/18, 141 yards

Top rushers

BAL — Terry Cole — 20 rushes, 71 yards, TD
MIN — Clinton Jones — 10 rushes, 53 yards

Top receivers

BAL — Willie Richardson — 6 receptions, 150 yards, TD
MIN — John Beasley — 6 receptions, 79 yards

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.

Standings

NFL Coastal
view talk edit	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

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. 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. 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. 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. 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." The Jets beat the Colts 16–7 in one of the biggest upsets in American sports history.

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.

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

Minnesota Vikings (8–6) at Baltimore Colts (13–1) – Game summary

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	0	0	14	14
Colts	0	7	14	3	24