1972 San Diego Chargers season

The 1972 San Diego Chargers season was the franchise's third season in the National Football League (NFL), and its 13th overall. The team failed to improve on their 6–8 record in 1971. The Chargers would get off to a poor start, as they were devoured 34-3 in their season opener at San Francisco. After their week 2 win against the Denver Broncos, the Chargers would play to a 17-17 draw with another cross-state rival, the Oakland Raiders. It was San Diego's fourth tie in 3 seasons (they tied 3 times in 1970). Even after they defeated the Baltimore Colts in the week following the tie, the Bolts would stumble the rest of the year, winning only 2 more games en route to a 4-9-1 season. This squad featured several players like Duane Thomas, Tim Rossovich, Dave Costa and John Mackey who were unwanted by most of the other NFL teams.[1]

1972 San Diego Chargers season
Owner	Eugene V. Klein
Head coach	Harland Svare
General manager	Harland Svare
Home field	San Diego Stadium
Results
Record	4–9–1
Division place	4th AFC West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team

Roster

1972 San Diego Chargers final roster

	Quarterbacks 13 Wayne Clark 21 John Hadl Running backs 34 Oscar Dragon 35 Cid Edwards FB 20 Mike Garrett 42 Jesse Taylor 38 Lee White Wide receivers 83 Mike Carter 28 Chuck Dicus 27 Gary Garrison 46 John Sykes 84 Dave Williams Tight ends 81 John Andrews 89 John Mackey 88 Pettis Norman		Offensive linemen 55 Carl Mauck C 76 Terry Owens T 78 Walt Sweeney G 70 Russ Washington T 54 Ralph Wenzel G 63 Doug Wilkerson G 79 Ernie Wright T Defensive linemen 87 Lionel Aldridge DE 64 Dave Costa DT 77 Ron East DT 80 Kevin Hardy DT 75 Deacon Jones DE 68 Gregory Wojcik DT		Linebackers 60 Bob Babich 59 Pete Barnes 50 Lee Roy Caffey 66 Rick Redman 82 Tim Rossovich Defensive backs 40 Joe Beauchamp CB 35 Chuck Detwiler 39 Lenny Dunlap CB 44 Chris Fletcher FS 24 Bob Howard CB 23 Ray Jones 30 Bryant Salter SS Special teams 10 Bill McClard K 29 Dennis Partee P		Reserve lists 25 Jerry LeVias WR (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance
1	September 17, 1972	at San Francisco 49ers	L 34–3	59,438
2	September 24, 1972	Denver Broncos	W 37–14	49,048
3	October 1, 1972	at Oakland Raiders	T 17–17	53,455
4	October 8, 1972	at Baltimore Colts	W 23–20	55,459
5	October 15, 1972	at Miami Dolphins	L 24–10	80,010
6	October 22, 1972	at Detroit Lions	L 34–20	54,371
7	October 29, 1972	Kansas City Chiefs	L 26–14	54,533
8	November 5, 1972	Dallas Cowboys	L 34–28	54,476
9	November 13, 1972	Cleveland Browns	L 21–17	54,205
10	November 19, 1972	at Kansas City Chiefs	W 27–17	79,011
11	November 26, 1972	Houston Oilers	W 34–20	46,289
12	December 3, 1972	Oakland Raiders	L 21–19	54,611
13	December 10, 1972	at Denver Broncos	L 38–13	51,478
14	December 17, 1972	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 24–2	52,873

Standings

AFC West
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Oakland Raiders	10	3	1	.750	3–2–1	7–3–1	365	248	W6
Kansas City Chiefs	8	6	0	.571	4–2	6–5	287	254	W3
Denver Broncos	5	9	0	.357	2–4	4–6	325	350	W2
San Diego Chargers	4	9	1	.321	2–3–1	4–6–1	264	344	L3

Notable events

In their last game for the year, the Chargers became the thirty-third team in the NFL or leagues that merged with the NFL to score only a safety in a full game. This unusual occurrence has been repeated only five times since: by the 1980 Buffalo Bills, the 1983 Minnesota Vikings, the 1993 Cincinnati Bengals, the 2011 Atlanta Falcons (the only team to do so in a playoff game) and the 2013 Jacksonville Jaguars.

References

1. Anderson, Dave. "Sports of The Times: John Mackey's Week," The New York Times, Tuesday, September 19, 1972. Retrieved October 22, 2020