The city of New Orleans, Louisiana, was awarded an NFL franchise on November 1, 1966. In December John W. Mecom, Jr. became the majority shareholder and thus president of the team; later that month Tom Fears was named head coach. In January the team was named “Saints” due to its birthday on the Roman Catholic Church‘s All Saints Day–a fitting nickname for a team in the largely Catholic New Orleans area. The team’s original stadium was Tulane Stadium, which could seat more than 80,000 fans. The team was placed in the Capitol Division of the NFL’s Eastern Conference; their division foes were the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Redskins The team started off well, with a 5-1 pre-season record; then, on the first play of the regular season, wide receiver John Gilliam returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. However, this was not enough for the Saints and they lost their regular season opener to the Los Angeles Rams 27-13. Their first win came on November 5 as they defeated the Eagles 31-24. That would be one of the Saints’ only triumphs in their inaugural campaign; they ended the season 3-11, the second-worst mark in the league and three-and-a-half games behind their nearest Capitol Division rivals, Washington.

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