1975 Denver Broncos season

The 1975 Denver Broncos season was the team's 16th year in professional football and its sixth with the National Football League (NFL). Led by fourth-year head coach and general manager John Ralston, the Broncos were 6–8, second in the AFC West,[1] but five games behind the Oakland Raiders, who clinched in late November.

1975 Denver Broncos season
Head coach	John Ralston
General manager	John Ralston
Owner	Gerald Phipps
Home field	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	6–8
Division place	2nd AFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

Denver opened the season with two wins at home, against the Chiefs and Packers,[2] but won only four of their last twelve games. In their sixteen years of existence, the Broncos had yet to reach the postseason.

Offseason

NFL Draft

Main article: 1975 NFL Draft

1975 Denver Broncos draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
1	17	Louis Wright *	CB	San Jose State
2	43	Charles Smith	DE	North Carolina Central
3	54	Mike Franckowiak	FB	Central Michigan
3	69	Drew Mahalic	LB	Notre Dame
4	84	Steve Taylor	DB	Georgia
4	95	Rick Upchurch *	WR	Minnesota
5	107	Stan Rogers	T	Maryland
5	121	Rubin Carter	DT	Miami (FL)
8	199	Steve Foley	DB	Tulane
9	225	Rousell Williams	DB	Arizona
10	240	Hank Englehardt	C	Pacific
10	251	Steve Haggerty	WR	UNLV
12	303	Harry Walters	LB	Maryland
13	329	Eric Penick	RB	Notre Dame
14	355	Jerry Arnold	G	Oklahoma
15	381	Ken Shelton	TE	Virginia
16	409	Bubba Bridges	DT	Colorado
17	433	Lester Sherman	RB	Albany State
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Personnel

Staff

1975 Denver Broncos staff

	Front office Chairman of the Board – Gerald Phipps President – Allan Phipps Vice President/General Manager – John Ralston Assistant General Manager/Director of Player Personnel – Fred Gehrke Director of Scouting – Carroll Hardy Head coaches Head Coach – John Ralston Offensive coaches Offensive Coordinator/Offensive Backfield – Max Coley Wide Receivers – Kay Dalton Offensive Line – Jerry Frei			Defensive coaches Defensive Coordinator – Joe Collier Defensive Line – Doc Urich Linebackers – Myrel Moore Defensive Backs/Secondary – Bob Gambold

Roster

1975 Denver Broncos roster

	Quarterbacks 16 John Hufnagel 12 Charley Johnson 10 Steve Ramsey Running backs 24 Otis Armstrong 31 Mike Franckowiak 23 Al Haywood 44 Floyd Little 22 Fran Lynch 30 Oliver Ross Wide receivers 82 Jack Dolbin 22 Steve Haggerty 25 Haven Moses 80 Rick Upchurch Tight ends 81 Bob Adams 87 Boyd Brown 88 Riley Odoms		Offensive linemen 74 Mike Current T 60 Paul Howard G 61 Tommy Lyons G 50 Bobby Maples C 71 Claudie Minor T 78 Marv Montgomery T 73 Stan Rogers T 67 Carl Schaukowitch G 64 Mike Schnitker G Defensive linemen 77 Lyle Alzado DE 68 Rubin Carter DT 79 Barney Chavous DE 63 John Grant DT 70 Paul Smith DE		Linebackers 52 Randy Gradishar 58 Tom Graham MLB 57 Tom Jackson OLB 56 Ray May OLB 66 Jim O'Malley 59 Joe Rizzo Defensive backs 26 Calvin Jones CB 21 Randy Poltl 46 John Rowser FS 45 Jeff Severson 48 Earlie Thomas CB 36 Bill Thompson FS 20 Louis Wright CB Special teams 15 Jim Turner K 42 Billy Van Heusen P/WR		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

Source:

Regular season

Main article: 1975 NFL season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Game site	Attendance
1	September 21	Kansas City Chiefs	W 37–33	1–0	Mile High Stadium	51,858
2	September 29	Green Bay Packers	W 23–13	2–0	Mile High Stadium	52,621
3	October 5	at Buffalo Bills	L 14–38	2–1	Rich Stadium	79,864
4	October 12	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 9–20	2–2	Three Rivers Stadium	49,169
5	October 19	Cleveland Browns	W 16–15	3–2	Mile High Stadium	52,590
6	October 26	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 13–26	3–3	Arrowhead Stadium	70,043
7	November 2	Oakland Raiders	L 17–42	3–4	Mile High Stadium	52,505
8	November 9	Cincinnati Bengals	L 16–17	3–5	Mile High Stadium	49,919
9	November 16	at San Diego Chargers	W 27–17	4–5	San Diego Stadium	26,048
10	November 23	at Atlanta Falcons	L 21–35	4–6	Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium	28,686
11	November 30	San Diego Chargers	W 13–10^OT	5–6	Mile High Stadium	44,982
12	December 8	at Oakland Raiders	L 10–17	5–7	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	51,075
13	December 14	Philadelphia Eagles	W 25–10	6–7	Mile High Stadium	36,860
14	December 20	at Miami Dolphins	L 13–14	6–8	Orange Bowl	43,064

• Monday night (September 29, December 8)[2][3] Saturday (December 20)[1]

Game summaries

Week 2

1 2 3 4 Total Packers 0 0 0 13 13 • Broncos 0 6 7 10 23 Date: September 29 Location: Mile High Stadium, Denver, Colorado Game start: 7:00 p.m. MDT Game attendance: 52,621 Game weather: 57 °F (14 °C); wind 11 mph (18 km/h) Television network: ABC

Scoring summary 2 DEN Jim Turner 35 yard field goal DEN 3–0 2 DEN Jim Turner 39 yard field goal DEN 6–0 3 DEN Jack Dolbin 10 yard pass from Steve Ramsey (Jim Turner kick) DEN 13–0 4 GB Willard Harrell 4 yard pass from John Hadl (kick failed) DEN 13–6 4 DEN Jim Turner 32 yard field goal DEN 16–6 4 GB John Brockington 1 yard run (Dave Pureifory kick) DEN 16–13 4 DEN Randy Gradishar 44 yard interception return (Jim Turner kick) DEN 23–13

[4]

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Oakland Raiders^(2)	11	3	0	.786	5–1	8–3	375	255	W1
Denver Broncos	6	8	0	.429	3–3	4–7	254	307	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	5	9	0	.357	3–3	3–8	282	341	L4
San Diego Chargers	2	12	0	.143	1–5	2–9	189	345	L1

References

1. "Dolphins retain slim playoff hopes". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 21, 1975. p. 3B.
2. "Broncos' Ramsey steals show". Deseret News. (Salt Lake City, Utah). UPI. September 30, 1975. p. 2C.
3. "Raiders spend all night in Bronco backfield". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 9, 1975. p. 3C.
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-Dec-10.

External links

• Denver Broncos – 1975 media guide
• 1975 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com