1972 Pro Bowl
National Football League all-star game
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The 1972 Pro Bowl was the NFL's 22nd annual all-star game which featured the outstanding performers from the 1971 season. The game was played on January 23, 1972, at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.[1][2] The final score was AFC 26, NFC 13.[3][4]
The front of the L.A. Memorial Coliseum | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Date | January 23, 1972 | ||||||||||||||||||
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| Stadium | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, California | ||||||||||||||||||
| Co-MVPs | Jan Stenerud (Kansas City Chiefs, K), Willie Lanier (Kansas City Chiefs, LB) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Ben Dreith | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 53,647 | ||||||||||||||||||
| TV in the United States | |||||||||||||||||||
| Network | NBC | ||||||||||||||||||
| Announcers | Curt Gowdy, Al DeRogatis | ||||||||||||||||||
The Kansas City Chiefs swept the Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards, with placekicker Jan Stenerud named the game's offensive MVP and Willie Lanier selected as the defensive MVP.[5]
This was the last NFL game overall played with the hashmarks (also called the inbound lines) set at 40 feet apart (20 yards from the sidelines); the next season, they were brought in to 18½ feet, the width of the goalposts, where they still stand to this day.[6]
Attendance at the game was 53,647.[7] Don McCafferty of the Baltimore Colts coached the AFC while the NFC was led by the San Francisco 49ers' Dick Nolan.[8] The referee was Ben Dreith.[9]
AFC roster
Offense
| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | 12 Bob Griese, Miami | 16 Len Dawson, Kansas City |
| Running back | 44 Floyd Little, Denver | 36 Norm Bulaich, Baltimore 44 Leroy Kelly, Cleveland |
| Fullback | 39 Larry Csonka, Miami | 44 Marv Hubbard, Oakland |
| Wide receivers | 89 Otis Taylor, Kansas City 42 Paul Warfield, Miami |
25 Fred Biletnikoff, Oakland 27 Gary Garrison, San Diego |
| Tight end | 87 Raymond Chester, Oakland | 89 Milt Morin, Cleveland |
| Offensive tackle | 77 Jim Tyrer, Kansas City 75 Winston Hill, N.Y. Jets |
76 Bob Brown, Oakland 72 Bob Vogel, Baltimore |
| Offensive guard | 66 Larry Little, Miami 78 Walt Sweeney, San Diego |
71 Ed Budde, Kansas City |
| Center | 50 Bill Curry, Baltimore | 00 Jim Otto, Oakland |
Defense
| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive end | 65 Elvin Bethea, Houston 78 Bubba Smith, Baltimore |
84 Bill Stanfill, Miami |
| Defensive tackle | 86 Buck Buchanan, Kansas City 75 Joe Greene, Pittsburgh |
61 Curley Culp, Kansas City |
| Outside linebacker | 78 Bobby Bell, Kansas City 83 Ted Hendricks, Baltimore |
34 Andy Russell, Pittsburgh |
| Inside linebacker | 63 Willie Lanier, Kansas City | 32 Mike Curtis, Baltimore |
| Cornerback | 24 Willie Brown, Oakland 18 Emmitt Thomas, Kansas City |
20 Lemar Parrish, Cincinnati |
| Free safety | 21 Rick Volk, Baltimore | 13 Jake Scott, Miami |
| Strong safety | 29 Ken Houston, Houston | 20 Jerry Logan, Baltimore |
Special teams
| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Punter | 44 Jerrel Wilson, Kansas City | |
| Placekicker | 3 Jan Stenerud, Kansas City | |
| Kick returner | 22 Mercury Morris, Miami | |
NFC roster
Offense
| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Quarterback | 12 Roger Staubach, Dallas | 11 Greg Landry, Detroit |
| Running back | 43 Larry Brown, Washington | 33 Willie Ellison, Los Angeles 22 Vic Washington, San Francisco |
| Fullback | 42 John Brockington, Green Bay | 36 Steve Owens, Detroit |
| Wide receivers | 45 Dick Gordon, Chicago 18 Gene Washington, San Francisco |
27 Bob Grim, Minnesota 80 Roy Jefferson, Washington |
| Tight end | 88 Charlie Sanders, Detroit | 82 Ted Kwalick, San Francisco |
| Offensive tackle | 75 George Kunz, Atlanta 73 Ron Yary, Minnesota |
70 Rayfield Wright, Dallas |
| Offensive guard | 68 Gale Gillingham, Green Bay 76 John Niland, Dallas |
65 Tom Mack, Los Angeles |
| Center | 75 Forrest Blue, San Francisco | 54 Ed Flanagan, Detroit |
Defense
| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Defensive end | 86 Cedrick Hardman, Dallas 87 Claude Humphrey, Atlanta |
81 Carl Eller, Minnesota |
| Defensive tackle | 74 Bob Lilly, San Francisco 88 Alan Page, Minnesota |
74 Merlin Olsen, Los Angeles |
| Outside linebacker | 54 Chuck Howley, Dallas 64 Dave Wilcox, San Francisco |
58 Isiah Robertson, Los Angeles |
| Inside linebacker | 51 Dick Butkus, Chicago | 53 Mike Lucci, Detroit |
| Cornerback | 37 Jimmy Johnson, San Francisco 44 Bruce Taylor, San Francisco |
20 Mel Renfro, Dallas 22 Roger Wehrli, St. Louis |
| Free safety | 28 Bill Bradley, Philadelphia | 22 Paul Krause, Minnesota |
| Strong safety | 34 Cornell Green, Dallas | 20 Jerry Logan, Baltimore |
Special teams
| Position | Starter(s) | Reserve(s) |
|---|---|---|
| Punter | 10 Ron Widby, Dallas | |
| Placekicker | 5 Curt Knight, Washington | |
| Kick returner | 45 Speedy Duncan, Washington | |