1967 Denver Broncos season

1967 Denver Broncos season
OwnerGerald Phipps
General managerLou Saban
Head coachLou Saban
Home fieldBears Stadium
Results
Record3–11
Division place4th AFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1967 Denver Broncos season was the eighth season for the team in the American Football League (AFL). Led by first-year head coach and general manager Lou Saban, the Broncos posted a record of three wins and eleven losses, last in the AFL's Western division. Running back Floyd Little, a first round draft choice (sixth overall), was team captain in his rookie season.[1] After an opening win at home, the Broncos lost nine straight games, then split the last four.

Inter-league play between the AFL and NFL in the exhibition season began this year. In the first matchup on August 5, the Broncos defeated the Detroit Lions 13–7 and became the first AFL team to beat an NFL team.[2][3][4]

Before the season, the Broncos changed from orange helmets to blue helmets.[5]

This was the first season that the Broncos wore their now famous "Orange Crush" uniforms, but the famous D logo on the helmets would not appear until the next season. This would also be the final season that the "Bucking Bronco" logo would appear on the helmets. The team would make slight modifications to the uniforms throughout the years until they were retired 30 years later after the 1996 season. In 2024, the Orange Crush uniforms will return albeit in a slightly different design, retaining the helmet design from the 1997 uniforms (but retiring the 97 uniforms all together), along with the 1977 uniforms as a throwback.

Hired in December 1966, Saban left the University of Maryland after just one season; he had previously been an AFL head coach at Boston and Buffalo, where he won consecutive AFL titles.[6][7][8]

  1. ^ Sports Illustrated, July 26, 2010, The Unexpected Hero by Gary Smith, p.60, Published by Time Inc.
  2. ^ "Broncs stun NFL's Lions in exhibition". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). August 6, 1967. p. 2, sports.
  3. ^ "AFL's Broncos shock Lions, 13-7". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. August 6, 1967. p. 2B.
  4. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p.283
  5. ^ Saccomano, Jim (August 7, 2022). "Sacco Sez: How the orange and blue began". DenverBroncos.com. Retrieved January 29, 2024.
  6. ^ "Denver Broncos offer Lou Saban 10-year contract to coach AFL club". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). Associated Press. December 16, 1966. p. 23.
  7. ^ "Saban leaves Md. for Denver". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. December 17, 1966. p. 11.
  8. ^ Chass, Murray (December 17, 1966). "Lou Saban returning to bottom". Free Lance-Star. (Fredericksburg, Virginia). Associated Press. p. 6.