On this week’s NFL schedule of games, the Indianapolis Colts play St. Louis, and a game played in 1967 between these two franchises is the Thursday Throwback feature for this week. Of course, in 1967, Indianapolis had no NFL team, and the professional team in St. Louis was the Cardinals. The Colts were located in Baltimore back then, and the current St. Louis team, the Rams, were based across the country in Los Angeles. Even though the two teams were on opposite coasts, a quirky temporary re-alignment by the NFL that year placed them in the same division, and led to an odd season-ending game between the teams, an ending not seen before then and not possible today under the current league system. The NFL and rival AFL had agreed to a merger in 1966, establishing a common draft of players among both leagues starting right away, and a formation of one league, the NFL, with all the teams from both leagues playing under one commissioner, Pete Rozelle, beginning with the 1970 season. The two leagues, beginning in that 1970 season, would be split into the National and American Conferences.
The old, established NFL decided to freshen up their look for the three remaining “waiting period” seasons by re-aligning into four divisions that weren’t necessarily geographically friendly – the Century, Capitol, Central and Coastal divisions. The Colts and Rams were placed in the Coastal division, and each team played its’ division rivals twice per year. In 1967, with the league still playing a 14 game schedule, the Colts and Rams were both powerful franchises. They played to a 24-24 tie in Baltimore in their first meeting (there was no regular season overtime in those days), and were slated to play again on the season’s final Sunday. Amazingly, both clubs entered that final showdown undefeated, with matching 11-0-2 records. Because there was no “wild card” playoff format at the time, it meant that the winner of that regular season finale showdown would win the Coastal crown, and the loser was out in the cold, even though the other three division champs had all won only 9 games apiece. So the ultimate showdown “winner-take-all” battle took place on December 17, at the Los Angeles Coliseum. The hometown Rams defended their turf in style, routing Don Shula’s Colts 34-10 to win the division. Ram quarterback Roman Gabriel threw three touchdown passes and clearly outplayed his more heralded opponent, John Unitas, who was harassed by the Rams’ “Fearsome Foursome” defensive line, led by Deacon Jones and Merlin Olsen, all day long. Unitas was intercepted twice and sacked four times (unofficially since sacks were not an official statistic then). The celebration in Los Angeles was short-lived. The Rams lost to Green Bay in the playoffs the next week, with the Packers advancing to the NFL championship against Dallas in what would become the “Ice Bowl”.
Ram DE Deacon Jones harasses Baltimore’s John Unitas