Mobile Site You Are Here > Home > Teams > Houston Oilers > 1972 Starters, Roster, & Players
News: Features: Similarity Scores »post
1972 Houston Oilers
Franchise Index: Previous Season / Next Season
Record: 1-13-0, Finished 4th in AFC Central Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 164 points (11.7/g), 25th of 26 in the NFL.
Allowed 380 points (27.1/g), 25th.
Differential of -216 points (-15.4/g), 25th.
Expected W-L: 1.7-12.3.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -9 (-0.6/g), 20th.
Simple Rating System: Total -13.0, Offense: -7.1, Defense: -5.9, SoS: 2.4, versus averages of 0.0.
Coached by
Bill Peterson (1-13-0)
Training Camp: Schreiner Institute (Kerrville, Texas)
Promote your website or business by sponsoring this page for $20 on Pro-Football-Reference.com. Your message will replace this ad.
Starters
ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+),Hide Non-primary Starters
| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | ||||||
| QB | Dan Pastorini | 23 | 1 | 12 | 144 for 299, 1,711 yards, 7 td, 12 int, & 38 rushes for 205 yards and 2 td | Houston Oilers / 1st / 3rd pick / 1971 |
| RB | Paul Robinson | 28 | 4 | 0 | 86 rushes for 355 yards, 3 td, & 14 catches for 112 yards and 0 td | Cincinnati Bengals / 3rd / 82nd pick / 1968 |
| FB | Fred Willis | 25 | 1 | 0 | 92 rushes for 334 yards, 0 td, & 36 catches for 251 yards and 2 td | Cincinnati Bengals / 4th / 93rd pick / 1971 |
| FB | Hoyle Granger | 28 | 6 | 0 | 42 rushes for 175 yards, 0 td, & 15 catches for 74 yards and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 5th / 37th pick / 1966 Baltimore Colts / 4th / 63rd pick / 1966 |
| WR | Ken Burrough | 24 | 2 | 0 | 26 catches for 521 yards, 4 td | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 10th pick / 1970 |
| WR | Charlie Joiner | 25 | 3 | 0 | 16 catches for 306 yards, 2 td, & 2 rushes for 12 yards and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 4th / 93rd pick / 1969 |
| WR | Dave L. Smith | 25 | 2 | 0 | 20 catches for 218 yards, 0 td | Pittsburgh Steelers / 8th / 184th pick / 1970 |
| TE | Alvin Reed | 28 | 5 | 0 | 19 catches for 251 yards, 0 td | |
| LT | Tom Funchess | 28 | 4 | 0 | Boston Patriots / 2nd / 32nd pick / 1968 | |
| LG | Tom Regner | 28 | 5 | 0 | 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 1st / 23rd pick / 1967 |
| C | Calvin Hunt | 25 | 2 | 0 | 2 fumbles recovered | Pittsburgh Steelers / 11th / 261st pick / 1970 |
| RG | Ron Saul | 24 | 2 | 0 | Houston Oilers / 5th / 110th pick / 1970 | |
| RT | Levert Carr | 28 | 3 | 0 | ||
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Pat Holmes | 32 | 6 | 0 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Philadelphia Eagles / 3rd / 40th pick / 1962 |
| RDT | Lee Brooks | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 31st pick / 1970 |
| RDE | Elvin Bethea* | 26 | 4 | 14 | 0 interceptions, 5 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1968 |
| LLB | Floyd Rice | 23 | 1 | 0 | Houston Oilers / 9th / 212th pick / 1971 | |
| MLB | Ron Pritchard | 25 | 3 | 0 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 15th pick / 1969 | |
| MLB | Garland Boyette | 32 | 10 | 0 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | |
| RLB | Phil Croyle | 25 | 1 | 0 | Houston Oilers / 7th / 159th pick / 1971 | |
| RLB | George Webster | 27 | 5 | 0 | 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 1st / 5th pick / 1967 |
| LCB | Willie Alexander | 23 | 1 | 0 | 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 6th / 134th pick / 1971 |
| RCB | Benny Johnson | 24 | 2 | 0 | 1 interception, 2 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 6th / 144th pick / 1970 |
| SS | Ken Houston* | 28 | 5 | 0 | 0 interceptions, 4 fumbles recovered | Houston Oilers / 9th / 214th pick / 1967 |
| FS | John Charles | 28 | 5 | 0 | 2 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Boston Patriots / 1st / 21st pick / 1967 |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Skip Butler | 25 | 1 | 0 | 12 of 19 field goals & 15 of 16 extra points | Green Bay Packers / 4th / 96th pick / 1970 |
| P | Dan Pastorini | 23 | 1 | 12 | 82 punts for a 41.2 average, 1 blocked | Houston Oilers / 1st / 3rd pick / 1971 |
| PR | Ken Houston* | 28 | 5 | 0 | 25 punt returns for a 5.9 average and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 9th / 214th pick / 1967 |
| KR | Willie Rodgers | 23 | Rook | 0 | 17 kick returns for a 19.7 average and 0 td | Houston Oilers / 12th / 290th pick / 1972 |
| No. | Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 88 | Allen Aldridge | 27 | DE | 8 | 0 | 250 | 6-6 | Prairie View | 4/27/1945 | 1 | |
| 19 | Willie Alexander | 23 | DB | 14 | 0 | 194 | 6-2 | Alcorn St. | 9/21/1949 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 6th / 134th pick / 1971 |
| 48 | Bob Atkins | 26 | DB | 14 | 0 | 215 | 6-3 | Grambling St. | 4/2/1946 | 4 | St. Louis Cardinals / 2nd / 42nd pick / 1968 |
| 18 | Ed Baker | 24 | QB | 1 | 0 | 200 | 6-2 | Lafayette | 5/29/1948 | Rook | |
| 81 | Jim Beirne | 26 | WR-TE | 10 | 0 | 206 | 6-2 | Purdue | 10/15/1946 | 4 | Houston Oilers / 4th / 105th pick / 1968 |
| 65 | Elvin Bethea* | 26 | DE | 14 | 14 | 260 | 6-2 | North Carolina A&T | 3/1/1946 | 4 | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 77th pick / 1968 |
| 82 | Ron Billingsley | 27 | DT-DE | 4 | 0 | 290 | 6-8 | Wyoming | 4/6/1945 | 5 | San Diego Chargers / 1st / 14th pick / 1967 |
| 52 | Garland Boyette | 32 | LB-DE | 14 | 0 | 238 | 6-1 | Grambling St. | 3/22/1940 | 10 | |
| 73 | Lee Brooks | 25 | DT | 12 | 0 | 261 | 6-5 | Texas | 12/7/1947 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 2nd / 31st pick / 1970 |
| 00 | Ken Burrough | 24 | WR | 14 | 0 | 215 | 6-3 | Texas Southern | 7/14/1948 | 2 | New Orleans Saints / 1st / 10th pick / 1970 |
| 2 | Skip Butler | 25 | K | 13 | 0 | 201 | 6-1 | Texas-Arlington | 10/21/1947 | 1 | Green Bay Packers / 4th / 96th pick / 1970 |
| 63 | Levert Carr | 28 | T-G-DT | 14 | 0 | 273 | 6-2 | North Central | 6/30/1944 | 3 | |
| 25 | John Charles | 28 | DB | 13 | 0 | 205 | 6-0 | Purdue | 5/9/1944 | 5 | Boston Patriots / 1st / 21st pick / 1967 |
| 26 | Linzy Cole | 24 | WR | 2 | 0 | 172 | 5-11 | TCU | 4/21/1948 | 2 | Chicago Bears / 9th / 210th pick / 1970 |
| 59 | Phil Croyle | 25 | LB | 12 | 0 | 223 | 6-3 | California | 10/30/1947 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 7th / 159th pick / 1971 |
| 20 | Rhett Dawson | 24 | WR | 14 | 0 | 185 | 6-1 | Florida St. | 12/22/1948 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 10th / 240th pick / 1972 |
| 74 | Gene Ferguson | 25 | T-DT | 1 | 0 | 300 | 6-8 | Norfolk St. | 6/5/1947 | 3 | San Diego Chargers / 3rd / 70th pick / 1969 |
| 69 | Solomon Freelon | 21 | G | 14 | 0 | 250 | 6-2 | Grambling St. | 2/19/1951 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 75th pick / 1972 |
| 66 | Tom Funchess | 28 | T | 14 | 0 | 265 | 6-5 | Jackson St. | 9/12/1944 | 4 | Boston Patriots / 2nd / 32nd pick / 1968 |
| 30 | Hoyle Granger | 28 | RB | 13 | 0 | 225 | 6-1 | Mississippi St. | 3/7/1944 | 6 | Houston Oilers / 5th / 37th pick / 1966 Baltimore Colts / 4th / 63rd pick / 1966 |
| 61 | Buzz Highsmith | 29 | G-T-C | 9 | 0 | 247 | 6-3 | Florida A&M | 8/27/1943 | 4 | |
| 79 | Pat Holmes | 32 | DE-DT | 14 | 0 | 255 | 6-5 | Texas Tech | 8/3/1940 | 6 | Philadelphia Eagles / 3rd / 40th pick / 1962 |
| 39 | Robert Holmes | 27 | RB | 6 | 0 | 221 | 5-9 | Southern | 10/5/1945 | 4 | Kansas City Chiefs / 14th / 375th pick / 1968 |
| 29 | Ken Houston* | 28 | DB | 14 | 0 | 197 | 6-3 | Prairie View | 11/12/1944 | 5 | Houston Oilers / 9th / 214th pick / 1967 |
| 51 | Calvin Hunt | 25 | C | 10 | 0 | 245 | 6-3 | Baylor | 12/31/1947 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 11th / 261st pick / 1970 |
| 15 | Al Johnson | 22 | DB-RB | 14 | 0 | 200 | 6-0 | Cincinnati | 6/17/1950 | Rook | |
| 33 | Benny Johnson | 24 | DB | 14 | 0 | 178 | 5-11 | Johnson C. Smith | 6/29/1948 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 6th / 144th pick / 1970 |
| 18 | Charlie Joiner | 25 | WR | 6 | 0 | 188 | 5-11 | Grambling St. | 10/14/1947 | 3 | Houston Oilers / 4th / 93rd pick / 1969 |
| 40 | Lewis Jolley | 23 | RB | 7 | 0 | 210 | 5-11 | North Carolina | 11/15/1949 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 3rd / 56th pick / 1972 |
| 55 | Rich Lewis | 22 | LB | 10 | 0 | 220 | 6-3 | Portland St. | 6/8/1950 | Rook | |
| 67 | Ralph Miller | 24 | G | 6 | 0 | 260 | 6-3 | California Lutheran,Alabama St. | 8/13/1948 | Rook | |
| 22 | Zeke Moore | 29 | DB | 8 | 0 | 198 | 6-3 | Lincoln (MO) | 12/2/1943 | 5 | Houston Oilers / 5th / 127th pick / 1967 |
| 11 | Mark Moseley | 24 | K | 1 | 0 | 202 | 5-11 | Texas A&M,S.F. Austin | 3/12/1948 | 2 | Philadelphia Eagles / 14th / 346th pick / 1970 |
| 50 | Guy Murdock | 22 | C | 14 | 0 | 245 | 6-2 | Michigan | 6/27/1950 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 16th / 396th pick / 1972 |
| 14 | Kent Nix | 28 | QB | 12 | 2 | 195 | 6-2 | TCU | 3/12/1944 | 5 | |
| 7 | Dan Pastorini | 23 | QB | 14 | 12 | 208 | 6-2 | Santa Clara | 5/26/1949 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 3rd pick / 1971 |
| 58 | Ron Pritchard | 25 | LB | 6 | 0 | 235 | 6-1 | Arizona St. | 4/9/1947 | 3 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 15th pick / 1969 |
| 89 | Alvin Reed | 28 | TE | 14 | 0 | 235 | 6-5 | Prairie View | 8/1/1944 | 5 | |
| 60 | Tom Regner | 28 | G | 14 | 0 | 235 | 6-1 | Notre Dame | 4/19/1944 | 5 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 23rd pick / 1967 |
| 85 | Floyd Rice | 23 | LB-TE | 14 | 0 | 223 | 6-3 | Alcorn St. | 8/31/1949 | 1 | Houston Oilers / 9th / 212th pick / 1971 |
| 56 | Guy Roberts | 22 | LB | 7 | 0 | 217 | 6-1 | Maryland | 6/12/1950 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 8th / 187th pick / 1972 |
| 18 | Paul Robinson | 28 | RB | 8 | 0 | 198 | 6-0 | Arizona | 12/19/1944 | 4 | Cincinnati Bengals / 3rd / 82nd pick / 1968 |
| 34 | Willie Rodgers | 23 | RB | 14 | 0 | 210 | 6-0 | Kentucky St. | 2/8/1949 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 12th / 290th pick / 1972 |
| 77 | Council Rudolph | 22 | DE | 12 | 0 | 255 | 6-4 | Kentucky St. | 1/18/1950 | Rook | St. Louis Cardinals / 7th / 160th pick / 1972 |
| 91 | Greg Sampson | 22 | T-DT-DE | 14 | 0 | 265 | 6-6 | Stanford | 10/25/1950 | Rook | Houston Oilers / 1st / 6th pick / 1972 |
| 64 | Ron Saul | 24 | G | 13 | 0 | 255 | 6-2 | Michigan St. | 2/5/1948 | 2 | Houston Oilers / 5th / 110th pick / 1970 |
| 87 | Dave L. Smith | 25 | WR | 8 | 0 | 205 | 6-2 | Waynesburg,Indiana (PA) | 5/18/1947 | 2 | Pittsburgh Steelers / 8th / 184th pick / 1970 |
| 78 | Mike Tilleman | 28 | DT | 14 | 0 | 272 | 6-7 | Montana | 3/30/1944 | 6 | Minnesota Vikings / 12th / 163rd pick / 1965 |
| 42 | Jim Tolbert | 28 | DB | 3 | 0 | 200 | 6-4 | Lincoln (MO) | 3/12/1944 | 6 | San Diego Chargers / 7th / 61st pick / 1966 |
| 32 | Ward Walsh | 25 | RB | 6 | 0 | 213 | 6-0 | Colorado | 11/21/1947 | 1 | |
| 90 | George Webster | 27 | LB | 5 | 0 | 220 | 6-4 | Michigan St. | 11/25/1945 | 5 | Houston Oilers / 1st / 5th pick / 1967 |
| 44 | Fred Willis | 25 | RB | 8 | 0 | 212 | 6-0 | Boston Col. | 12/9/1947 | 1 | Cincinnati Bengals / 4th / 93rd pick / 1971 |
| Team Total | 25.5 | 14 | 225.9 | 6-2.3 | 2.7 |