Test Your Knowledge: Saints trivia challenge

With the holiday season upon us, I thought that this time would be ideal to amuse and impress your friends. Be the talk of office parties, at the coffee shop or anywhere you can show off your in-depth knowledge of New Orleans Saints and NFL history.

If you get more than half of these right without cheating (answers below), then you can consider yourself a very knowledgeable Who Dat fan.

1- What year did the Saints, albeit briefly, wear helmets other than the traditional color of old gold?
2- When was instant replay introduced to the NFL?
3- What season did the NFL adopt “bye week” concept?
4- How many home grown Greater New Orleans area prep players have donned the Black and Gold of the Saints?
5- Which jersey number has been worn by more Saints players than any other all time?
6- Which jersey numbers have been worn by only one player each?
7- Why are the Saints’ colors Black and Gold?
8- When did the Saintsations begin their existence?
9- How many left handed throwing QB’s have played for the Saints?
10- How many Heisman Trophy winners have been on the Saints roster in franchise history?
11- The Saints were involved in the very first game played outside the boundaries of the United States. Who was their opponent?
12- Who comprised the original radio broadcast team for the Saints in 1967?
12- Who was later known as Mr. Wonderful after he was drafted by the Saints?
14- Oldest player to ever wear the Saints uniform?
15- How many Louisiana born QB’s have suited up for the Black and Gold?
16- Who was the first Saints player in franchise history to earn a spot in the Pro Bowl?
17- Which individual who played for the Saints was the first player in franchise history to be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame?
18- Which Saints’ draft choice led the NCAA in scoring as a basketball All-American?
19- Which former Saints’ player was in the Olympics?
Bonus- In which season did the Boston Patriots change their name to the New England Patriots?

1- Saints’ owner John Mecom, Jr. wanted a new look for the 1969 Saints but forgot to check with the League office. He failed to register a new black helmet look. The NFL line of merchandise represented the Saints’ gold headgear. At that time, the NFL had a farm league where players could be trimmed similar to a MLB minor league system. That farm team was the Richmond Roadrunners, coached by soon to be New Orleans head coach J.D. Roberts (1970). After the team wore the helmets for the preseason only in ’69, Mecom sent the entire shipment to Richmond. The team had their normal gold headgear for the season opener against the Washington Redskins.

2- Instant replay went through experimentation in 1976. It was then tested in the ’78 NFL Hall of Fame preseason matchup in Canton between the Dolphins and Eagles. Alas, Sept. 7, 1986 was when official instant replay took flight in the Bears- Browns game. Only 10% of reviewed calls were reversed in year one.

3- The NFL adopted the bye week concept in 1990.

4- Thirty two home grown Greater Metro area New Orleans players have suited up for the New Orleans Saints as of today.

5- Jersey No. 86 has been worn by 31 players during franchise history all time. No. 80 has been worn by 26 players, No. 89 by 21 players and No. 21 by 20. Numbers 51 and 88 were occupied by 19 Saints players.

6- Jersey numbers 0 and 00 were only worn by one player each. Safety Obert Logan wore jersey #0 in 1967 and receiver Ken Burrough #00 in 1970. Of course, the No. 8 was donned by Archie Manning (1971-’75 and ’77-’82).

7- The Saints were originally going to wear on Mardi Gras colors purple, gold and green. But owner John Mecom, Jr. was in the oil business and decided to keep the gold but added black in reference to oil as “Black Gold.”

8- The Saintsations took flight in 1987. The team’s cheering squad was originally known as Mademoiselles in 1968, then the Mam’selles from 1969-’71, the Bonnes Ames from 1975-’77 and the Angels in 1978. The Saintsations were originally called the Louisiannes.

9- The team has had five left handed throwing quarterbacks: Bobby Douglas (1976-’77). Snake Stabler (’82-’84), Doug Nussmeier (’94-’97), Tyler Palko (2007-’08) and Mark Brunell (2008-’09).

10- Eight players who have won the Heisman Trophy have played for New Orleans: Paul Hornung (1956; technically untrue since he didn’t play for the team due to injury and retired in 1967), George Rogers (1980), Mark Ingram (2009), Danny Wuerffel (1996), Jameis Winston (2013), Ricky Williams (1998), Earl Campbell (1977) and Reggie Bush (2005, vacated).

11- The Saints faced off against the Philadelphia Eagles on August 5, 1978 in Mexico City.

12- Al Wester served as the original play-by-play announcer for the team from 1967-’70. He called John Gilliam’s famous kick return against the Rams, as well as Tom Dempsey’s record 63 yard field goal on Nov. 1, 1970. Maury Magill was the color analyst for the first two seasons in 1967-’68. He spent 44 years at WWL 870 radio beginning in 1961.

13- Mr. Wonderful was Paul Orndorff, grabbed in the 12th round of the 1973 draft. He didn’t make the squad after being a fullback at the University of Tampa, scoring 21 touchdowns and over 2,000 all purpose yards. Orndorrf later went onto wrestling fame in the WWE, sharing the ring with many including Hulk Hogan as a tag team partner.

14- Place kicker Jon Carney, who played 23 NFL seasons, was 46 years old as a Saints kicker. Drew Brees was 42 years old in 2020 and former defensive end Doug Atkins caused havoc on NFL quarterbacks until age 39.

15- Four Louisiana bred signal callers have suited up for the Saints: Bobby Hebert (1985-’89, ’91-’92), Jake Delhomme (1998-’02), John Fourcade (1987-’90) and Tommy Hodson (1995-’96).

16- Dave Whitsell was the very first Saintz player to earn a spot in the 1967 Pro Bowl, after leading the league with 10 interceptions that season. the cornerback played from 1967-’69 in the Crescent City.

17- Jim Taylor only played one season with the Saints (1967) but the legendary fullback technically qualifies as the very first Saints player to enter the Hall of Fame. The LSU great spent nine seasons in Green Bay, winning four NFL championships and making five Pro Bowls. In 1962, Taylor set a then-NFL record with 19 touchdowns and paced the league that season with 1,474 rushing yards in a 14-game season.

18- Former Providence guard Jimmy Walker was the 17th round pick of the 1967 Saints. He never dressed out with the team but the 6-foot-3 sharpshooter averaged 30 points per game as an All-American. He was also a first round pick of the Detroit Pistons, spending nine seasons in the NBA and making a pair of All-Star teams. He averaged 16.7 points per game throughout his NBA career. Walker was also the father of former NBA star Jalen Rose.

19- A 1975 1st round draft pick, wide receiver Larry Burton out of Purdue represented the U.S. in the 1972 Olympics, finishing 4fourth in the 200 meters. He once held a world record with a 5.9i-second time in the 60 yard dash. He spent three seasons with the Saints, catching 35 passes for 615 yards and four touchdowns.

Bonus- The Boston Patriots became the New England Patriots in 1971 when the franchise moved to their new stadium in Foxboro.