1972 Pro Bowl
The 1972 Pro Bowl was the NFL's 22nd annual all-star game which featured the outstanding performers from the 1971 season. The game was played on January 23, 1972, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California. The final Score was AFC 26, NFC 13. The Kansas City Chiefs swept the Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, with placekicker Jan Stenerud named the game's offensive MVP and Willie Lanier selected as the defensive MVP.[1] This was the last NFL game overall played with the hashmarks (also called the inbound lines) set at 40 feet apart (20 yards from the sidelines); the next season, they were brought in to 181⁄2 feet, the width of the goalposts, where they still stand to this day.[2]
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Date | January 23, 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Stadium | Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, California | ||||||||||||||||||
Co-MVPs | Jan Stenerud (Kansas City Chiefs), Willie Lanier (Kansas City Chiefs) | ||||||||||||||||||
Referee | Ben Dreith | ||||||||||||||||||
Attendance | 53,647 | ||||||||||||||||||
TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||
Announcers | Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis | ||||||||||||||||||
Attendance at the game was 53,647.[3] Don McCafferty of the Baltimore Colts coached the AFC while the NFC was led by the San Francisco 49ers' Dick Nolan.[4] The referee was Ben Dreith.[5]
AFC roster
Offense
Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
---|---|---|
Quarterback | 12 Bob Griese, Miami | 16 Len Dawson, Kansas City |
Running back | 44 Floyd Little, Denver | 36 Norm Bulaich, Baltimore 44 Leroy Kelly, Cleveland |
Fullback | 39 Larry Csonka, Miami | 44 Marv Hubbard, Oakland |
Wide receivers | 89 Otis Taylor, Kansas City 42 Paul Warfield, Miami |
25 Fred Biletnikoff, Oakland 27 Gary Garrison, San Diego |
Tight end | 87 Raymond Chester, Oakland | 89 Milt Morin, Cleveland |
Offensive tackle | 77 Jim Tyrer, Kansas City 75 Winston Hill, N.Y. Jets |
76 Bob Brown, Oakland 72 Bob Vogel, Baltimore |
Offensive guard | 66 Larry Little, Miami 78 Walt Sweeney, San Diego |
71 Ed Budde, Kansas City |
Center | 50 Bill Curry, Baltimore | 00 Jim Otto, Oakland |
Defense
Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
---|---|---|
Defensive end | 65 Elvin Bethea, Houston 78 Bubba Smith, Baltimore |
84 Bill Stanfill, Miami |
Defensive tackle | 86 Buck Buchanan, Kansas City 75 Joe Greene, Pittsburgh |
61 Curley Culp, Kansas City |
Outside linebacker | 78 Bobby Bell, Kansas City 83 Ted Hendricks, Baltimore |
34 Andy Russell, Pittsburgh |
Inside linebacker | 63 Willie Lanier, Kansas City | 32 Mike Curtis, Baltimore |
Cornerback | 24 Willie Brown, Oakland 18 Emmitt Thomas, Kansas City |
20 Lemar Parrish, Cincinnati |
Free safety | 21 Rick Volk, Baltimore | 13 Jake Scott, Miami |
Strong safety | 29 Ken Houston, Houston | 20 Jerry Logan, Baltimore |
Special teams
Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
---|---|---|
Punter | 44 Jerrel Wilson, Kansas City | |
Placekicker | 3 Jan Stenerud, Kansas City | |
Kick returner | 22 Mercury Morris, Miami | |
NFC roster
Offense
Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
---|---|---|
Quarterback | 12 Roger Staubach, Dallas | 11 Greg Landry, Detroit |
Running back | 43 Larry Brown, Washington | 33 Willie Ellison, Los Angeles 22 Vic Washington, San Francisco |
Fullback | 42 John Brockington, Green Bay | 36 Steve Owens, Detroit |
Wide receivers | 45 Dick Gordon, Chicago 18 Gene Washington, San Francisco |
27 Bob Grim, Minnesota 80 Roy Jefferson, Washington |
Tight end | 88 Charlie Sanders, Detroit | 82 Ted Kwalick, San Francisco |
Offensive tackle | 75 George Kunz, Atlanta 73 Ron Yary, Minnesota |
70 Rayfield Wright, Dallas |
Offensive guard | 68 Gale Gillingham, Green Bay 76 John Niland, Dallas |
65 Tom Mack, Los Angeles |
Center | 75 Forrest Blue, San Francisco | 54 Ed Flanagan, Detroit |
Defense
Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
---|---|---|
Defensive end | 86 Cedrick Hardman, Dallas 87 Claude Humphrey, Atlanta |
81 Carl Eller, Minnesota |
Defensive tackle | 74 Bob Lilly, San Francisco 88 Alan Page, Minnesota |
74 Merlin Olsen, Los Angeles |
Outside linebacker | 54 Chuck Howley, Dallas 64 Dave Wilcox, San Francisco |
58 Isiah Robertson, Los Angeles |
Inside linebacker | 51 Dick Butkus, Chicago | 53 Mike Lucci, Detroit |
Cornerback | 37 Jimmy Johnson, San Francisco 44 Bruce Taylor, San Francisco |
20 Mel Renfro, Dallas 22 Roger Wehrli, St. Louis |
Free safety | 28 Bill Bradley, Philadelphia | 22 Paul Krause, Minnesota |
Strong safety | 34 Cornell Green, Dallas | 20 Jerry Logan, Baltimore |
Special teams
Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
---|---|---|
Punter | 10 Ron Widby, Dallas | |
Placekicker | 5 Curt Knight, Washington | |
Kick returner | 45 Speedy Duncan, Washington | |
References
- "'Sten' treats NFC pros rudely, 26–13". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. AP. January 24, 1972. pp. 20, 23. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
- "Owners give offense big seven-yard boost". Rome News-Tribune. Georgia. Associated Press. March 24, 1972. p. 6A.
- "NFL Pro Bowl history". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
- "The 1972 Pro Bowl". Bolding Sports Research. Archived from the original on January 18, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2012.
- "1972 Pro Bowl game book" (PDF). NFL Game Statistics & Information. National Football League. Archived (PDF) from the original on January 30, 2012. Retrieved January 30, 2012.
External links
- "1972 Pro Bowl players". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on January 31, 2012. Retrieved January 31, 2012.