NFL & AFL 1966

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Eastern Conference
*Dallas Cowboys	14	10	3	1	445	239	.769
Cleveland Browns	14	9	5	0	403	259	.643
Philadelphia Eagles	14	9	5	0	326	340	.643
St. Louis Cardinals	14	8	5	1	264	265	.615
Washington Redskins	14	7	7	0	351	355	.500
Pittsburgh Steelers	14	5	8	1	316	347	.385
Atlanta Falcons	14	3	11	0	204	437	.214
New York Giants	14	1	12	1	263	501	.077
Western Conference
*Green Bay Packers	14	12	2	0	335	163	.857
Baltimore Colts	14	9	5	0	314	226	.643
Los Angeles Rams	14	8	6	0	289	212	.571
San Francisco 49ers	14	6	6	2	320	325	.500
Chicago Bears	14	5	7	2	234	272	.417
Detroit Lions	14	4	9	1	206	317	.308
Minnesota Vikings	14	4	9	1	292	304	.308
AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Eastern Division
*Buffalo Bills	14	9	4	1	358	255	.692
Boston Patriots	14	8	4	2	315	283	.677
New York Jets	14	6	6	2	322	312	.500
Houston Oilers	14	3	11	0	335	396	.214
Miami Dolphins	14	3	11	0	213	362	.214
Western Division
*Kansas City Chiefs	14	11	2	1	448	276	.846
Oakland Raiders	14	8	5	1	315	288	.615
San Diego Chargers	14	7	6	1	335	284	.538
Denver Broncos	14	4	10	0	196	381	.286

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	NFL Championship
1966	Dallas Cowboys	27	Green Bay Packers	34
	AFL Championship
1966	Buffalo Bills	7	Kansas City Chiefs	31
	Super Bowl I		Memorial Colisuem, LA, Ca.
1966	Green Bay Packers (NFL)	35	Kansas City Chiefs (AFL)	10

Tom Furlong, who was born in Co. Offaly, Ireland, played Kicker for the Atlanta Falcons in the NFL preseason 1966 [Ref: 3-4]

NFL & AFL 1967

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Eastern Conference
Capitol Division
*Dallas Cowboys	14	9	5	0	342	268	.643
Philadelphia Eagles	14	6	7	1	351	409	.462
Washington Redskins	14	5	6	3	347	353	.455
New Orleans Saints	14	3	11	0	233	379	.214
Century Division
*Cleveland Browns	14	9	5	0	334	297	.643
New York Giants	14	7	7	0	369	379	.500
St. Louis Cardinals	14	6	7	1	333	356	.462
Pittsburgh Steelers	14	4	9	1	281	320	.308
Western Conference
Coastal Division
*Los Angeles Rams	14	11	1	2	398	196	.917
*Baltimore Colts	14	11	1	2	394	198	.917
San Francisco 49ers	14	7	7	0	273	337	.500
Atlanta Falcons	14	1	12	1	175	422	.077
Central Division
*Green Bay Packers	14	9	4	1	332	209	.692
Chicago Bears	14	7	6	1	239	218	.538
Detroit Lions	14	5	7	2	260	259	.417
Minnesota Vikings	14	3	8	3	233	294	.273
AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Eastern Division
*Houston Oilers	14	9	4	1	258	199	.692
New York Jets	14	8	5	1	371	329	.615
Buffalo Bills	14	4	10	0	237	285	.286
Miami Dolphins	14	4	10	0	219	407	.286
Boston Patriots	14	3	10	1	280	389	.231
Western Division
*Oakland Raiders	14	13	1	0	468	233	.929
Kansas City Chiefs	14	9	5	0	408	254	.643
San Diego Chargers	14	8	5	1	360	352	.615
Denver Broncos	14	3	11	0	256	409	.214

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	NFL Conference Championships
1967	Dallas Cowboys	52	Cleveland Browns	14
1967	Green Bay Packers	28	Los Angeles Rams	7
	NFL Championship
1967	Green Bay Packers	21	Dallas Cowboys	17
	AFL Championship
1967	Oakland Raiders	40	Houston Oilers	7
	Super Bowl II		Orange Bowl, Miami, Fl.
1967	Green Bay Packers (NFL)	33	Oakland Raiders (AFL)	14

NFL & AFL 1968

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Eastern Conference Capitol Division
*Dallas Cowboys	14	12	2	0	431	186	.857
New York Giants	14	7	7	0	294	325	.500
Washington Redskins	14	5	9	0	249	358	.357
Philadelphia Eagles	14	2	12	0	202	351	.143
Eastern Conference Century Division
*Cleveland Browns	14	10	4	0	394	273	.714
St. Louis Cardinals	14	9	4	1	325	289	.692
New Orleans Saints	14	4	9	1	246	327	.308
Pittsburgh Steelers	14	2	11	1	244	397	.154
Western Conference Coastal Division
*Baltimore Colts	14	13	1	0	402	144	.929
Los Angeles Rams	14	10	3	1	312	200	.769
San Francisco 49ers	14	7	6	1	303	310	.538
Atlanta Falcons	14	2	12	0	170	389	.143
Western Conference Central Division
*Minnesota Vikings	14	8	6	0	282	242	.571
Chicago Bears	14	7	7	0	250	233	.500
Green Bay Packers	14	6	7	1	281	227	.462
Detroit Lions	14	4	8	2	207	241	.333
AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Eastern Division
*New York Jets	14	11	3	0	419	280	.786
Houston Oilers	14	7	7	0	303	248	.500
Miami Dolphins	14	5	8	1	276	355	.385
Boston Patriots	14	4	10	0	229	406	.286
Buffalo Bills	14	1	12	1	199	367	.077
Western Division
*Oakland Raiders	14	12	2	0	453	233	.857
*Kansas City Chiefs	14	12	2	0	371	170	.857
San Diego Chargers	14	9	5	0	382	310	.643
Denver Broncos	14	5	9	0	255	404	.357
Cincinnati Bengals	14	3	11	0	215	329	.214

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	NFL Conference Championships
1968	Cleveland Browns	31	Dallas Cowboys	0
1968	Baltimore Colts	24	Minnesota Vikings	14
	NFL Championship
1968	Cleveland Browns	0	Baltimore Colts	34
	AFL Western Division Playoff
1968	Oakland Raiders	41	Kansas City Chiefs	6
	AFL Championship
1968	New York Jets	27	Oakland Raiders	23
	Super Bowl III		Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
1968	New York Jets (AFL)	16	Baltimore Colts (NFL)	7

Adrian Young, LB, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, played Linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1968. [2]

NFL & AFL 1969

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
NATIONAL FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Eastern Conference Capitol Division
*Dallas Cowboys	14	11	2	1	369	223	.846
Washington Redskins	14	7	5	2	307	319	.583
New Orleans Saints	14	5	9	0	311	393	.357
Philadelphia Eagles	14	4	9	1	279	377	.308
Eastern Conference Century Division
*Cleveland Browns	14	10	3	1	351	300	.769
New York Giants	14	6	8	0	264	298	.429
St. Louis Cardinals	14	4	9	1	314	389	.308
Pittsburgh Steelers	14	1	13	0	218	404	.071
Western Conference Coastal Division
*Los Angeles Rams	14	11	3	0	320	243	.786
Baltimore Colts	14	8	5	1	279	268	.615
Atlanta Falcons	14	6	8	0	276	268	.429
San Francisco 49ers	14	4	8	2	277	319	.333
Western Conference Central Division
*Minnesota Vikings	14	12	2	0	379	133	.857
Detroit Lions	14	9	4	1	259	188	.692
Green Bay Packers	14	8	6	0	269	221	.571
Chicago Bears	14	1	13	0	210	339	.071
AMERICAN FOOTBALL LEAGUE
Eastern Division
*New York Jets	14	10	4	0	353	269	.714
Houston Oilers	14	6	6	2	278	279	.500
Boston Patriots	14	4	10	0	266	316	.286
Buffalo Bills	14	4	10	0	230	359	.286
Miami Dolphins	14	3	10	1	233	332	.231
Western Division
*Oakland Raiders	14	12	1	1	371	242	.923
Kansas City Chiefs	14	11	3	0	359	177	.786
San Diego Chargers	14	8	6	0	268	276	.571
Denver Broncos	14	5	8	1	297	344	.385
Cincinnati Bengals	14	4	9	1	280	367	.308

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	NFL Conference Championships
1969	Dallas Cowboys	14	Cleveland Browns	38
1969	Minnesota Vikings	23	Los Angeles Rams	20
	NFL Championship
1969	Minnesota Vikings	27	Cleveland Browns	7
	AFL Divisional Playoffs
1969	New York Jets	6	Kansas City Chiefs	13
1969	Oakland Raiders	56	Houston Oilers	7
	AFL Championship
1969	Oakland Raiders	7	Kansas City Chiefs	17
	Super Bowl IV		Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, La.
1969	Kansas City Chiefs (AFL)	23	Minnesota Vikings (NFL)	7

Adrian Young, LB, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, played Linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1969. [8]

Report

Tom Furlong, who was born in Co. Offaly, Ireland, and had played Inter-County Gaelic Football for his native county, before being banned by the GAA for playing soccer, emigrated to the United States of America, where he overheard coaches for the New York Giants in a bar lamenting about the quality of their kickers. Deciding there was nothing to American Football kicking that a Gaelic Footballer couldn’t do he offered to try out for them, gaining a spot on their practice squad in 1965. He was cut from the squad at the end of the year, but with the help of Irish Community leaders, managed to get a place on expansion team, the Atlanta Falcons, playing for them in preseason before tearing cruciate ligaments, and finishing out the season with the Brooklyn Dodgers of the rival AAA (2nd Level) League the Continental Football League.

In 1968, a new Irish-born star player emerged on the scene, Adrian Young, who was born in Dublin and had emigrated to America with his family while still in school. He took up American Football in Los Angeles, while in High school, and earned a scholarship to the University of Southern California Trojans, where he excelled, playing on the same team as O.J. Simpson. In 1968 he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles, where he spent four and a half seasons, before finishing out his career at the Detroit Lions, Chicago Bears, and then in his last two seasons, in the World Football League a AAA Rival to the NFL, where he played two seasons for The Hawaiians.

The National Football League of the 1960s was slow to take advantage of America’s expansion westwards, the very Conservative owners evening shunning colour TV in the awarding of their TV contracts. The American Football League set up as a rival league in 1960 with eight teams, six of them west of the Mississippi, whereas the NFL only had two teams west of the Mississippi – Los Angeles and San Francisco. The AFL was so successful, at both pulling in fans, and financially, stealing players from under the noses of the NFL, that the two leagues decided to end the war ad merge, with the Super Bowl first played between the two league Champions in 1966. Green Bay Packers won the first two Super Bowls, before the New York Jets won the third in 1968, legitimizing the league in the eyes of doubters, and in 1969, the last year before the full merger, Kansas City Chiefs, became the second AFL team to win the Super Bowl.

Adrian Young Career Statistics

Year	Team	League	No	Position	GP	GS
1968	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	35	LLB	10
1969	PhiladelphiaEagles	NFL	35	LLB	13	1970
1970	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	35	LLB	14
1971	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	35	RLB	2	2
1972	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	35	LB	1	0
1972	Detroit Lions	NFL	51	LB	10	0
1972	Year	NFL			11	0
1973	Chicago Bears	NFL	54	LB	2
1974	The Hawaiians	WFL	61	RLB
1975	The Hawaiians	WFL	65	WLB

Interceptions

Year	Team	League	No.	YDS	AVG	LG	TD
1969	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	1	0	0.0	0	0
1970	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	2	19	9.5	13	0
1974	The Hawaiians	WFL	1	11	11.0	11	0
1975	The Hawaiians	WFL	2	38	19.0	19	0

Fumbles

Year	Team	League	No	Lost	Own	Opp	Rec	Yds	TD
1968	PhiladelphiaEagles	NFL	0	0	0	1	1	11	0
1969	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	0	0	1	2	3	24	0

References

Bibliography

[1] National Football League (2014) “Past Standings 1966-1969” 2014 NFL Record & Fact Book. pp. 393-395.

Sources:

[3] Hannigan, Dara (1987) “Greening of the Gridiron” The Sunday Tribune , 27 July 1987. Sportweek, pg. 10 [Available online at the British Newspaper Archive: https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/ ]

[4] Irish Independent (2014) Tom Furlong and the NFL career that slipped away [Internet] Available from: https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/gaelic-football/offalys-tom-furlong-and-the-nfl-career-that-slipped-away-30549405.html [Accessed 2 April 2020]

[5] Anon. (1966) NFL Exhibition Final Standings El Paso Herald Post. September 5 1966. pg. 19 [Internet] Available from: https://newspaperarchive.com/el-paso-herald-post-sep-05-1966-p-19/ [Accessed 2 April 2020]

[6] Pro Football Archives (2020)1966 Brooklyn Dodgers Continental Football League [Internet] Available from: https://www.profootballarchives.com/1966coflbkn.html [Accessed 2 April 2020]

Images:

[7] Irish Independent (2014) Tom Furlong and the NFL career that slipped away [Internet] Available from: https://www.independent.ie/sport/gaelic-games/25ee2/30549403.ece/AUTOCROP/w1240h700/2014-08-31_spo_3142175_I1.JPG [Accessed 2 April 2020]

Websites

[8] Pro Football Archives (2019) Adrian Young [Internet] Available from: https://www.profootballarchives.com/playery/youn00400.html [Accessed 12 October 2019]

[9] O’Callaghan, Eoin (2020) “Hollywood, the NFL and OJ – the remarkable tale of the Dublin kid who lived the American dream” The 42 Sunday, February 2, 2020. [Internet] Available from: https://www.the42.ie/adrian-young-nfl-4987121-Feb2020/ [Accessed 5 February 2020]

[10] Pro Football Archives (2020)ADRIAN YOUNG [Internet] Available from:http://www.profootballarchives.com/playery/youn00400.html [Accessed 12 October 2019]

Images

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Bart Barden.

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 31 December 2020

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and World Gridiron Archive 2020

You may quote this document in part provided that proper acknowledgement is given to the authors. All Rights Resereved.

NFL 1970

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
AFC Eastern Division
*Baltimore Colts	14	11	2	1	321	234	.846
*Miami Dolphins	14	10	4	0	297	228	.714
New York Jets	14	4	10	0	255	286	.286
Buffalo Bills	14	3	10	1	204	337	.231
Boston Patriots	14	2	12	0	149	361	.143
AFC Central Division
*Cincinnati Bengals	14	8	6	0	312	255	.571
Cleveland Browns	14	7	7	0	286	265	.500
Pittsburgh Steelers	14	5	9	0	210	272	.357
Houston Oilers	14	3	10	1	217	352	.231
AFC Western Division
*Oakland Raiders	14	8	4	2	300	293	.667
Kansas City Chiefs	14	7	5	2	272	244	.583
San Diego Chargers	14	5	6	3	282	278	.455
Denver Broncos	14	5	9	1	253	264	.385
NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
NFC Eastern Division
*Dallas Cowboys	14	10	4	0	299	271	.714
New York Giants	14	9	5	0	301	270	.643
St. Louis Cardinals	14	8	5	1	325	228	.615
Washington Redskins	14	6	8	0	297	314	.429
Philadelphia Eagles	14	3	10	1	241	332	.231
NFC Central Division
*Minnesota Vikings	14	12	2	0	335	143	.857
*Detroit Lions	14	10	4	0	347	202	.714
Green Bay Packers	14	6	8	0	196	293	.429
Chicago Bears	14	6	8	0	256	261	.429
NFC Western Division
*San Francisco 49ers	14	10	3	1	352	267	.769
Los Angeles Rams	14	9	4	1	325	202	.692
Atlanta Falcons	14	4	8	2	206	261	.333
New Orleans Saints	14	2	11	1	172	347	.154

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	AFC Divisional Playoffs
1970	Baltimore Colts	17	Cincinnati Bengals	0
1970	Oakland Raiders	21	Miami Dolphins	14
	AFC Championship
1970	Baltimore Colts	27	Oakland Raiders	17
	NFC Divisional Playoffs
1970	Dallas Cowboys	5	Detroit Lions	0
1970	Minnesota Vikings	14	San Francisco 49ers	17
	NFC Championship
1970	San Francisco 49ers	10	Dallas Cowboys	17
	Super Bowl V		Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida
1970	Baltimore Colts (AFC)	16	Dallas Cowboys (NFC)	13

Adrian Young, LB, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, played Linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1970. [2]

NFL 1971

	P	W	L	`T	PF	PA	Pct
AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
AFC Eastern Division
*Miami Dolphins	14	10	3	1	315	174	.769
*Baltimore Colts	14	10	4	0	313	140	.714
New England Patriots	14	6	8	0	238	325	.429
New York Jets	14	6	8	0	212	299	.429
Buffalo Bills	14	1	13	0	184	394	.071
AFC Central Division
*Cleveland Browns	14	9	5	0	285	273	.643
Pittsburgh Steelers	14	6	8	0	246	292	.429
Houston Oilers	14	4	9	1	251	330	.308
Cleveland Browns	14	4	10	0	284	265	.286
AFC Western Division
*Kansas City Chiefs	14	10	3	1	302	208	.789
Oakland Raiders	14	8	4	2	344	278	.667
San Diego Chargers	14	6	8	0	311	341	.429
Denver Broncos	14	4	9	1	203	275	.308
NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
NFC Eastern Division
*Dallas Cowboys	14	11	3	0	406	222	.786
*Washington Redskins	14	9	4	1	276	190	.692
Philadelphia Eagles	14	6	7	1	221	302	.462
St. Louis Cardinals	14	4	9	1	231	279	.308
New York Giants	14	4	10	0	228	362	.286
NFC Central Division
*Minnesota Vikings	14	11	3	0	245	139	.786
Detroit Lions	14	7	6	1	341	286	.538
Chicago Bears	14	6	8	0	185	276	.429
Green Bay Packers	14	4	8	2	274	298	.333
NFC Western Division
*San Francisco 49ers	14	9	5	0	300	216	.643
Los Angeles Rams	14	8	5	1	313	260	.615
Atlanta Falcons	14	7	6	1	274	277	.538
New Orleans Saints	14	4	8	2	266	347	.333

Adrian Young, LB, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, played Linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles in 1971. [2]

NFL 1972

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
AFC Eastern Division
*Miami Dolphins	14	14	0	0	385	171	1.000
New York Jets	14	7	7	0	367	324	.500
Baltimore Colts	14	5	9	0	235	252	.357
Buffalo Bills	14	4	9	1	257	377	.321
New England Patriots	14	3	11	0	192	446	.214
AFC Central Division
*Pittsburgh Steelers	14	11	3	0	343	175	.786
*Cleveland Browns	14	10	4	0	268	249	.714
Cincinnati Bengals	14	8	6	0	299	229	.571
Houston Oilers	14	1	13	0	164	380	.071
AFC Western Division
*Oakland Raiders	14	10	3	1	365	248	.750
Kansas City Chiefs	14	8	6	0	287	254	.571
Denver Broncos	14	5	9	0	325	350	.357
San Diego Chargers	14	4	9	1	264	344	.321
NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
NFC Eastern Division
*Washington Redskins	14	11	3	0	336	218	.786
*Dallas Cowboys	14	10	4	0	319	240	.714
New York Giants	14	8	6	0	331	247	.571
St. Louis Cardinals	14	4	9	1	193	303	.321
Philadelphia Eagles	14	2	11	1	145	352	.179
NFC Central Division
*Green Bay Packers	14	10	4	0	304	226	.714
Detroit Lions	14	8	5	1	339	290	.607
Minnesota Vikings	14	7	7	0	301	252	.500
Chicago Bears	14	4	9	1	225	275	.321
NFC Western Division
*San Francisco 49ers	14	8	5	1	353	249	.607
Atlanta Falcons	14	7	7	0	269	274	.500
Los Angeles Rams	14	6	7	1	291	286	.464
New Orleans Saints	14	2	11	1	215	361	.179

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	AFC Divisional Playoffs
1972	Pittsburgh Steelers	13	Oakland Raiders	7
1972	Miami Dolphins	20	Cleveland Browns	14
	AFC Championship
1972	Pittsburgh Steelers	17	Miami Dolphins	21
	NFC Divisional Playoffs
1972	San Francisco 49ers	28	Dallas Cowboys	30
1972	Washington Redskins	16	Green Bay Packers	3
	NFC Championship
1972	Washington Redskins	26	Dallas Cowboys	3
	Super Bowl VII		Memorial Colisseum, LA, Ca.
1972	Miami Dolphins (AFC)	14	Washington Redskins	7

Adrian Young, LB, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, played Linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles and Detroit Lions in 1972. [2]

NFL 1973

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
AFC Eastern Division
*Miami Dolphins	14	12	2	0	343	150	.857
Buffalo Bills	14	9	5	0	259	230	.643
New England Patriots	14	5	9	0	258	300	.357
New York Jets	14	4	10	0	240	306	.286
Baltimore Colts	14	4	10	0	226	341	.286
AFC Central Division
*Cincinnati Bengals	14	10	4	0	286	231	.714
*Pittsburgh Steelers	14	10	4	0	347	210	.714
Cleveland Browns	14	7	5	2	234	255	.571
Houston Oilers	14	1	13	0	199	447	.071
AFC Western Division
*Oakland Raiders	14	9	4	1	292	175	.679
Kansas City Chiefs	14	7	5	2	231	192	.571
Denver Broncos	14	7	5	2	354	296	.571
San Diego Chargers	14	2	11	1	188	386	.179
NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
NFC Eastern Division
*Dallas Cowboys	14	10	4	0	382	203	.714
*Washington Redskins	14	10	4	0	325	198	.714
Philadelphia Eagles	14	5	8	1	310	393	.393
St. Louis Cardinals	14	4	9	1	286	365	.321
New York Giants	14	2	11	1	226	362	.179
NFC Central Division
*Minnesota Vikings	14	12	2	0	296	168	.857
Detroit Lions	14	6	7	1	271	247	.464
Green Bay Packers	14	5	7	2	202	259	.429
Chicago Bears	14	3	11	0	195	334	.214
NFC Western Division
*Los Angeles Rams	14	12	2	0	388	178	.857
Atlanta Falcons	14	9	5	0	318	224	.643
San Francisco 49ers	14	5	9	0	262	319	.357
New Orleans Saints	14	5	9	0	163	312	.357

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	AFC Divisional Playoffs
1973	Oakland Raiders	33	Pittsburgh Steelers	14
1973	Miani Dolphins	34	Cincinnati Bengals	16
	AFC Championship
1973	Miami Dolphins	27	Oakland Raiders	10
	NFC Divisional Playoffs
1973	Minnesota Vikings	27	Washington Redskins	20
1973	Dallas Cowboys	27	Los Angeles Rams	16
	NFC Championship
1973	Dallas Cowboys	10	Minnesota Vikings	27
	Super Bowl VIII		Rice Stadium, Houston, Texas
1973	Miami (AFC)	24	Minnesota Vikings (NFC)	7

Adrian Young, LB, who was born in Dublin, Ireland, played Linebacker for the Chicago Bears in 1973. [2]

NFL 1974

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
Eastern Division
*Miami Dolphins	14	11	3	0	327	216	.786
*Buffalo Bills	14	9	5	0	264	244	.643
New York Jets	14	7	7	0	279	300	.500
New England Patriots	14	7	7	0	348	289	.500
Baltimore Colts	14	2	12	0	190	329	.143
Central Division
*Pittsburgh Steelers	14	10	3	1	305	189	.750
Houston Oilers	14	7	7	0	236	282	.500
Cincinnati Bengals	14	7	7	0	283	259	.500
Cleveland Browns	14	4	10	0	251	344	.286
Western Division
*Oakland Raiders	14	12	2	0	355	228	.857
Denver Broncos	14	7	6	1	302	294	.536
Kansas City Chiefs	14	5	9	0	233	293	.357
San Diego Chargers	14	5	9	0	212	285	.357
NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
Eastern Division
*St. Louis Cardinals	14	10	4	0	285	218	.714
*Washington Redskins	14	10	4	0	320	196	.714
Dallas Cowboys	14	8	6	0	297	235	.571
Philadelphia Eagles	14	7	7	0	242	217	.500
New York Giants	14	2	12	0	195	299	.143
Central Division
*Minnesota Vikings	14	10	4	0	310	195	.714
Detroit Lions	14	7	7	0	256	270	.500
Green Bay Packers	14	6	8	0	210	206	.429
Chicago Bears	14	4	10	0	152	279	.286
Western Division
*Los Angeles Rams	14	10	4	0	263	181	.714
San Francisco 49ers	14	6	8	0	226	236	.429
New Orleans Saints	14	5	9	0	166	263	.357
Atlanta Falcons	14	3	11	0	111	271	.214

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	AFC Divisional Playoffs
1974	Oakland Raiders	28	Miami Dolphins	26
1974	Pittsburgh Steelers	32	Buffalo Bills	14
	AFC Championship
1974	Oakland Raiders	13	Pittsburgh Steelers	24
	NFC Divisional Playoffs
1974	Minnesota Vikings	30	St. Louis Cardinals	14
1974	Los Angeles Rams	19	Washington Redskins	10
	NFC Championship
1974	Minnesota Vikings	14	Los Angeles Rams	10
	Super Bowl IX		Tulane Stadium, New Orleans, La.
1974	Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC)	16	Minnesota Vikings (NFC)	6

Fr. John Duggan, who was born in Glenmore, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland, was appointed Chaplain to the Pittsburgh Steelers for their first Super Bowl Championship winning team in 1974. [Ref: 6]

NFL 1975

	P	W	L	T	PF	PA	Pct
AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
Eastern Division
*Baltimore Colts	14	10	4	0	395	269	.714
Miami Dolphins	14	10	4	0	357	222	.714
Buffalo Bills	14	8	6	0	420	355	.571
New York Jets	14	3	11	0	258	433	.214
New England Patriots	14	3	11	0	258	358	.214
Central Division
*Pittsburgh Steelers	14	12	2	0	373	162	.857
*Cincinnati Bengals	14	11	3	0	340	246	.786
Houston Oilers	14	10	4	0	293	226	.714
Cleveland Browns	14	3	11	0	218	372	.214
Western Division
*Oakland Raiders	14	11	3	0	375	255	.786
Denver Broncos	14	6	8	0	254	307	.429
Kansas City Chiefs	14	5	9	0	282	341	.357
San Diego Chargers	14	2	12	0	189	345	.143
NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
Eastern Division
*St. Louis Cardinals	14	11	3	0	356	276	.786
*Dallas Cowboys	14	10	4	0	350	268	.714
Washington Redskins	14	8	6	0	325	276	.571
New York Giants	14	5	9	0	216	306	.357
Philadelphia Eagles	14	4	10	0	225	302	.286
Central Division
*Minnesota Vikings	14	12	2	0	377	180	.857
Detroit Lions	14	7	7	0	245	262	.500
Chicago Bears	14	4	10	0	191	379	.286
Green Bay Packers	14	4	10	0	226	285	.286
Western Division
*Los Angeles Rams	14	12	2	0	312	135	.857
San Francisco 49ers	14	5	9	0	255	286	.357
Atlanta Falcons	14	4	10	0	240	278	.286
New Orleans Saints	14	2	12	0	165	360	.143

Date	Home Team		Away Team
	AFC Divisional Playoffs
1975	Pittsburgh Steelers	28	Baltimore Colts	10
1975	Oakland Raiders	31	Cincinnati Bengals	28
	AFC Championship
1975	Pittsburgh Steelers	16	Oakland Raiders	10
	NFC Divisional Playoffs
1975	Los Angeles Rams	35	St. Louis Cardinals	23
1975	Minnesota Vikings	14	Dallas Cowboys	17
	NFC Championship
1975	Los Angeles Rams	7	Dallas Cowboys	37
	Super Bowl X		Orange Bowl, Miami, Fl.
1975	Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC)	21	Dallas Cowboys (NFC)	17

Adrian Young Report

Adrian Young, who was born in Dublin, played Linebacker for the Philadelphia Eagles from 1968 to 1972, when he was trade mid-season to the Detroit Lions. In 1973 he was traded again to the Chicago Bears, before finishing out his career at The Hawaiians of the World Football League, a AAA (2nd Level) Rival League to the National Football League from 1974 to 1975.

The National Football League had merged with the American Football League in 1970, after three years of playing the first Super Bowls between the two rival leagues. The Super Bowl continued to be played between the two Conferences, as the AFL and NFL were now known, and in 1970 was won by Baltimore Colts 16-13 over Dallas Cowboys. The 1971 title was won by Dallas Cowboys who defeated Miami Dolphins 24-3, and then the Dolphins completed a perfect season, going 14-0 during the Regular Season, before triumphing over Washington in the Super Bowl 14-7, thus becoming the only team in modern NFL history to go through a season undefeated. They repeated in 1973, beating Minnesota 24-7, before Pittsburgh Steelers, also won back-to-back Championships, winning their first Super Bowl in 1974 (16-6, Minnesota again the unlucky team), and in 1975 beating the Dallas Cowboys 21-17.

In 1976 the NFL expanded to 28 teams with the addition of the Seattle Seahawks, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, prving themselves ahead of their time with the two new teams, making up for what was seen as being too slow to take advantage of colour TV and America’s expansion westwards in the 1960s: The NFL shunned the National Broadcasting Corporation in the early 1960s, awarding TV contracts to stations that continued to broadcast in black and white, while the American Football League put 6 of its tams in new markets also shunned by the NFL: Dallas and Houston in Texas, Kansas City and Denver in the “Wild West” and Oakland and San Diego in Califonia. Prior to this the NFL only had teams west of the Mississippi in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Adrian Young Career Statistics

Year	Team	League	No	Position	GP	GS
1968	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	35	LLB	10
1969	PhiladelphiaEagles	NFL	35	LLB	13	1970
1970	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	35	LLB	14
1971	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	35	RLB	2	2
1972	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	35	LB	1	0
1972	Detroit Lions	NFL	51	LB	10	0
1972	Year	NFL			11	0
1973	Chicago Bears	NFL	54	LB	2
1974	The Hawaiians	WFL	61	RLB
1975	The Hawaiians	WFL	65	WLB

Interceptions

Year	Team	League	No.	YDS	AVG	LG	TD
1969	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	1	0	0.0	0	0
1970	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	2	19	9.5	13	0
1974	The Hawaiians	WFL	1	11	11.0	11	0
1975	The Hawaiians	WFL	2	38	19.0	19	0

Fumbles

Year	Team	League	No	Lost	Own	Opp	Rec	Yds	TD
1968	PhiladelphiaEagles	NFL	0	0	0	1	1	11	0
1969	Philadelphia Eagles	NFL	0	0	1	2	3	24	0

Fr. John Duggan Report

REPORT

Fr. John Duggan, born in Glenmore, Co. Kilkenny, Ireland and formerly of St. Kieran’s College in Kilkenny, went on study leave to the United States of America in 1972, where he came into contact with the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League. He was informally appointed Chaplain of the team and is credited with influencing them in their first ever Super Bowl win in 1974 when they defeated Minnesota Vikings of the NFC 16-6 in Super Bowl IX. The Pittsburgh Steelers went on to win the Super Bowl again in 1975, triumphing 21-17 versus the Dallas Cowboys in Super Bowl X. He returned to Johnstown some time before August 1977.

References

Bibliography

[1] National Football League (2014) “Past Standings 1970-1975” 2014 NFL Record & Fact Book. pp. 391-395.

Websites

[2] Bob Braunwart, The Coffin Corner, Pro Football Researchers Association (1988) WFL by Team Records [Internet] Available from: http://profootballresearchers.com/archives/Website_Files/Coffin_Corner/10-03-337.pdf [Accessed 9 October 2018]

[3] Pro Football Archives (2019) Adrian Young [Internet] Available from: https://www.profootballarchives.com/playery/youn00400.html [Accessed 12 October 2019]

[4] O’Callaghan, Eoin (2020) “Hollywood, the NFL and OJ – the remarkable tale of the Dublin kid who lived the American dream” The 42 Sunday, February 2, 2020. [Internet] Available from: https://www.the42.ie/adrian-young-nfl-4987121-Feb2020/ [Accessed 5 February 2020]

[5] Pro Football Archives (2020) ADRIAN YOUNG [Internet] Available from:http://www.profootballarchives.com/playery/youn00400.html [Accessed 12 October 2019]

NEWSPAPER ARTICLES

[6] Anon. (1977) “Johnstown Priest’s influence on American Team” Tipperary Star, Saturday, August 6, 1977. pg. 6

Images

[10] NASL Jersey (2016) Adrian Young, Philadelphia Eagles 1972 [Internet] Available from: https://www.nasljerseys.com/images/2016/Eagles%2072%20Home%20Adrian%20Young,%20Topps%202.jpg [Accessed 2 April 2020]

[11] NASL Jersey (2016) Adrian Young in action for the Philadelphia Eagles a versus the New York Giants Preseason 1971 [Internet] Available from: https://www.nasljerseys.com/images/2013Images/2013WFL/NFL/Eagles%2070%20Road%20Back%20Nate%20Ramsey%20(24),%20Adrian%20Young%20(35),%20Giants.jpg [Accessed 9 April 2020]

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Tim Leadingham

About this document

Researched, compiled and written by Enda Mulcahy for the

Eirball | Irish North American and World Sports Archive

Last Updated: 14 July 2021

(c) Copyright Enda Mulcahy and Eirball 2020-2021

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