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1966 Detroit Lions

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Record: 4-9-1, Finished 6th in NFL West Division
NFL Season Summary

Scored 206 points (14.7/g), 14th of 15 in the NFL.
 Allowed 317 points (22.6/g), 9th.
 Differential of -111 points (-7.9/g), 13th.
 Expected W-L: 3.7-10.3.

 Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -14 (-1.0/g), 13th.

Coached by Harry Gilmer (4-9-1)

1966 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees

Starters

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE · Hide Non-primary Starters
Pos Age Yrs GS Summary of Player Stats Drafted (tm/rnd/yr)
 Offensive Starters Complete Team Stats
QB Karl Sweetan 24 Rook 8 157 for 309, 1,809 yards, 4 td, 14 int, & 34 rushes for 219 yards and 1 td

Detroit Lions / 18th / 249th pick / 1965

QB Milt Plum 31 9 6 82 for 146, 943 yards, 4 td, 13 int, & 12 rushes for 59 yards and 0 td

Cleveland Browns / 2nd / 17th pick / 1957

HB Amos Marsh 27 5 0 134 rushes for 433 yards, 3 td, & 12 catches for 111 yards and 0 td
FB Tom Nowatzke 24 1 0 151 rushes for 512 yards, 6 td, & 54 catches for 316 yards and 1 td

New York Jets / 1st / 4th pick / 1965
Detroit Lions / 1st / 11th pick / 1965

FL Pat Studstill*+ 28 5 0 67 catches for 1,266 yards, 5 td, & 2 rushes for 20 yards and 0 td
SE Gail Cogdill 29 6 0 47 catches for 411 yards, 1 td

Detroit Lions / 6th / 63rd pick / 1960

TE Ron Kramer 31 9 0 37 catches for 432 yards, 0 td

Green Bay Packers / 1st / 4th pick / 1957

LT Daryl Sanders 25 3 14

Detroit Lions / 1st / 12th pick / 1963
Kansas City Chiefs / 4th / 32nd pick / 1963

LG Bob Kowalkowski 23 Rook 0

Detroit Lions / 7th / 95th pick / 1965

C Ed Flanagan 22 1 14

Detroit Lions / 5th / 64th pick / 1965

RG John Gordy 31 9 0 1 fumble recovered

Detroit Lions / 2nd / 24th pick / 1957

RT J.D. Smith 30 7 0

Philadelphia Eagles / 2nd / 15th pick / 1959

 Defensive Starters
LDE Darris McCord 33 11 0 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 36th pick / 1955

LDT Alex Karras 31 8 0 0 interceptions, 4 fumbles recovered

Detroit Lions / 1st / 10th pick / 1958

RDT Roger Brown* 29 6 0

Detroit Lions / 4th / 42nd pick / 1960

RDE Larry Hand 26 1 0

Detroit Lions / 10th / 132nd pick / 1964
New York Jets / 21st / 163rd pick / 1964

LLB Mike Lucci 27 4 0 5 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered

Cleveland Browns / 5th / 69th pick / 1961

MLB Ernie Clark 29 3 0 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered

Detroit Lions / 13th / 180th pick / 1963

RLB Wally Hilgenberg 24 2 6

Detroit Lions / 4th / 48th pick / 1964
Denver Broncos / 8th / 57th pick / 1964

RLB Wayne H. Walker 30 8 5 1 interception, 0 fumbles recovered

Detroit Lions / 4th / 45th pick / 1958

LCB Dick LeBeau* 29 7 0 4 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered

Cleveland Browns / 5th / 58th pick / 1959

RCB Bobby Smith 28 4 0

Los Angeles Rams / 7th / 88th pick / 1961
New York Titans / 26th / 205th pick / 1961

LS Bruce Maher 29 6 0 5 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered

Detroit Lions / 15th / 173rd pick / 1959

RS Bobby Thompson 27 2 0 4 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 38th pick / 1962
Dallas Texans / 12th / 91st pick / 1962

 Special Teams Starters
K Garo Yepremian 22 Rook 0 13 of 22 field goals & 11 of 11 extra points
P Pat Studstill*+ 28 5 0 72 punts for a 41.1 average, 0 blocked
PR Tom Vaughn 23 1 0 18 punt returns for a 9.9 average and 0 td

Detroit Lions / 5th / 57th pick / 1965
Denver Broncos / 11th / 81st pick / 1965

KR Tom Vaughn 23 1 0 23 kick returns for a 25.9 average and 0 td

Detroit Lions / 5th / 57th pick / 1965
Denver Broncos / 11th / 81st pick / 1965

Roster

Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE
Age Pos G GS Wt Ht College/Univ BirthDate Yrs Drafted (tm/rnd/yr)
Mike Alford 23 C 12 0 230 6-3 Auburn 6/19/1943 1

Kansas City Chiefs / 19th / 149th pick / 1965
St. Louis Cardinals / 14th / 194th pick / 1965

Roger Brown* 29 DT 14 0 300 6-5 Md-Eastern Shore 5/1/1937 6

Detroit Lions / 4th / 42nd pick / 1960

Ernie Clark 29 LB 14 0 220 6-1 Michigan State 8/11/1937 3

Detroit Lions / 13th / 180th pick / 1963

Bill Cody 22 LB 1 0 230 6-2 Auburn 8/2/1944 Rook

Detroit Lions / 5th / 67th pick / 1966
New York Jets / 15th / 132nd pick / 1966

Gail Cogdill 29 SE-WR 14 0 200 6-3 Washington State 4/7/1937 6

Detroit Lions / 6th / 63rd pick / 1960

Bobby Felts 24 HB 10 0 202 6-2 Florida A&M 6/26/1942 1

Baltimore Colts / 6th / 71st pick / 1965
Houston Oilers / 13th / 98th pick / 1965

Ed Flanagan 22 C 14 14 245 6-3 Purdue 2/23/1944 1

Detroit Lions / 5th / 64th pick / 1965

Jim Gibbons 30 E-TE 7 0 220 6-2 Iowa 9/26/1936 8

Cleveland Browns / 5th / 61st pick / 1958

John Gordy 31 G-T 14 0 248 6-3 Tennessee 6/17/1935 9

Detroit Lions / 2nd / 24th pick / 1957

Larry Hand 26 DE-DT 14 0 250 6-4 Appalachian State 7/10/1940 1

Detroit Lions / 10th / 132nd pick / 1964
New York Jets / 21st / 163rd pick / 1964

John Henderson 23 WR-FL 13 0 195 6-3 Michigan 3/21/1943 1

Philadelphia Eagles / 5th / 63rd pick / 1965
Buffalo Bills / 17th / 136th pick / 1965

Wally Hilgenberg 24 LB-G 14 6 229 6-3 Iowa 9/19/1942 2

Detroit Lions / 4th / 48th pick / 1964
Denver Broncos / 8th / 57th pick / 1964

Alex Karras 31 DT 14 0 248 6-2 Iowa 7/15/1935 8

Detroit Lions / 1st / 10th pick / 1958

Jim Kearney 23 DB 6 0 206 6-2 Prairie View 1/21/1943 1

Detroit Lions / 11th / 151st pick / 1965

Bob Kowalkowski 23 G 14 0 240 6-3 Virginia 11/5/1943 Rook

Detroit Lions / 7th / 95th pick / 1965

Ron Kramer 31 E-TE 14 0 234 6-3 Michigan 6/24/1935 9

Green Bay Packers / 1st / 4th pick / 1957

Dick LeBeau* 29 DB 14 0 185 6-1 Ohio State 9/9/1937 7

Cleveland Browns / 5th / 58th pick / 1959

Joe Don Looney 24 HB-FB 3 0 230 6-1 Cameron,Oklahoma,TCU,Texas 10/10/1942 2

New York Giants / 1st / 12th pick / 1964
Kansas City Chiefs / 6th / 44th pick / 1964

Mike Lucci 27 LB 13 0 230 6-2 Pittsburgh,Tennessee 12/29/1939 4

Cleveland Browns / 5th / 69th pick / 1961

Bruce Maher 29 DB 14 0 190 5-11 Detroit Mercy 7/25/1937 6

Detroit Lions / 15th / 173rd pick / 1959

Bill Malinchak 22 SE-WR 14 0 200 6-1 Indiana 4/2/1944 Rook

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 39th pick / 1966

Amos Marsh 27 HB-FB 14 0 218 6-0 Oregon State 5/7/1939 5
Jerry Mazzanti 26 DE 13 0 240 6-3 Arkansas 7/13/1940 3

San Diego Chargers / 25th / 194th pick / 1963
Philadelphia Eagles / 16th / 223rd pick / 1962

Darris McCord 33 DE-DT-T 13 0 250 6-4 Tennessee 1/4/1933 11

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 36th pick / 1955

Bruce McLenna 25 HB 9 0 225 6-3 Hillsdale,Michigan 12/23/1941 Rook

Detroit Lions / 9th / 123rd pick / 1965

Tom Myers 23 QB 1 0 188 6-1 Northwestern 8/13/1943 1

Detroit Lions / 4th / 46th pick / 1965
Denver Broncos / 12th / 89th pick / 1965

Tom Nowatzke 24 FB-LB 14 0 230 6-3 Indiana 9/30/1942 1

New York Jets / 1st / 4th pick / 1965
Detroit Lions / 1st / 11th pick / 1965

Milt Plum 31 QB 6 6 205 6-1 Penn State 1/20/1935 9

Cleveland Browns / 2nd / 17th pick / 1957

Wayne Rasmussen 24 DB 14 0 175 6-2 South Dakota State 6/7/1942 2

Detroit Lions / 9th / 117th pick / 1964

Johnnie Robinson 22 DB 14 0 205 6-3 Tennessee State 11/6/1944 Rook

Detroit Lions / 7th / 103rd pick / 1966

Jerry Rush 24 DT 11 0 265 6-4 Michigan State 8/7/1942 1

Boston Patriots / 1st / 7th pick / 1965
Detroit Lions / 2nd / 25th pick / 1965

Daryl Sanders 25 T 14 14 250 6-5 Ohio State 4/24/1941 3

Detroit Lions / 1st / 12th pick / 1963
Kansas City Chiefs / 4th / 32nd pick / 1963

Roger Shoals 28 T 14 0 260 6-4 Maryland 12/13/1938 3

Dallas Texans / 34th / 267th pick / 1962
Cleveland Browns / 16th / 223rd pick / 1961

Lou Slaby 25 LB 13 0 235 6-3 Pittsburgh 12/13/1941 2

Denver Broncos / 4th / 29th pick / 1963
New York Giants / 5th / 69th pick / 1963

Bobby Smith 28 DB 14 0 197 5-11 UCLA 7/5/1938 4

Los Angeles Rams / 7th / 88th pick / 1961
New York Titans / 26th / 205th pick / 1961

J.D. Smith 30 T 14 0 250 6-2 Rice 5/27/1936 7

Philadelphia Eagles / 2nd / 15th pick / 1959

Pat Studstill*+ 28 FL-HB-WR-P 14 0 180 6-0 Houston 6/4/1938 5
Karl Sweetan 24 QB 10 8 203 6-1 Texas A&M,Wake Forest 10/2/1942 Rook

Detroit Lions / 18th / 249th pick / 1965

Bobby Thompson 27 DB 14 0 188 5-11 Arizona 3/30/1939 2

Detroit Lions / 3rd / 38th pick / 1962
Dallas Texans / 12th / 91st pick / 1962

Jim Todd 23 HB 10 0 195 5-11 Ball State 3/2/1943 Rook

Philadelphia Eagles / 9th / 129th pick / 1966

Doug Van Horn 22 G-T 14 0 245 6-3 Ohio State 6/24/1944 Rook

Kansas City Chiefs / 5th / 39th pick / 1966
Detroit Lions / 4th / 55th pick / 1966

Tom Vaughn 23 DB 13 0 190 5-11 Iowa State 2/28/1943 1

Detroit Lions / 5th / 57th pick / 1965
Denver Broncos / 11th / 81st pick / 1965

Wayne H. Walker 30 LB 13 5 225 6-2 Idaho 9/30/1936 8

Detroit Lions / 4th / 45th pick / 1958

Willie Walker 24 WR 9 0 200 6-3 Tennessee State 9/15/1942 Rook

Detroit Lions / 4th / 59th pick / 1966

Garo Yepremian 22 K 9 0 175 5-8 none 6/2/1944 Rook
Team Total 26.0 14 220.6 6-1.9 3.2