New Orleans Saints Debut In NFL

On August 2, 1967, that the New Orleans Saints played their first ever pre-season game.  The Saints lost to the Los Angeles Rams 16-7 in the first professional football game ever held at Anaheim Stadium.

The Saints first season in the NFL started off with a bang as John Gilliam took the opening kick-off of the year and returned it 94 yards for a touchdown.  However, the Saints would go on to lose the game and finished the season with a 3-11 record, which surprisingly was the most ever wins by a team in their expansion year.  New Orleans had been one of the worst franchises in the league for quite awhile, but all that changed a few seasons ago.

The New Orleans Saints had a magical 2009 season, in which they started the year 13-0, on their way to the no. 1 seed in the NFC.  They smashed the Cardinals 45-14 in the divisional round and beat the Vikings 31-28 to reach the Super Bowl.  The Colts entered the Superbowl as the favorite, but that didn’t stop the Saints from winning it all for the franchise’s first ever Vince Lombardi Trophy.

Since their spectacular win in 2009, the Saints organization has been in ‘hotwater’ regarding bounties and coaching issues with over the last two seasons, and as recently as the 2011 NFC Divisional Playoff game against the 49ers here in San Francisco.