50 New Orleans Saints Seasons: 1969

The New Orleans Saints completed their 50th season in the NFL at the conclusion of the 2016 campaign.

All summer long, we’ll spotlight each and every season that the team has played.

Yesterday, we took a look back at the 1968 season.

Today, we go back to 1969.

As was traditionally the case over the first 20 years of the franchise, Saints fans had high hopes heading into the 1969 season.

Some of those high hopes were justified, after the team compiled an overall record of 4-9-1 in 1968, the best record ever for a second-year expansion team.

Those hopes were quickly halted however, as the Saints lost their first six games of the season, before cracking the win column for the first time in week 7, with a 51-42 triumph over the St. Louis Cardinals.

In that win over the Cardinals, Saints quarterback Billy Kilmer and Cardinal quarterback Charley Johnson combined for a total of 12 touchdown passes, with Kilmer throwing 6 himself, while passing for 345 yards.

The Saints finished the season strong, going 5-3 over their final 8 games, to end the season at 5-9.

That record was good enough for a third-place finish in the Capitol Division, behind the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins.

On a positive note, the Saints improved their record for a third-consecutive year, and moved their all-time record to 12-29-1, which was an NFL record for a third-year expansion team.

Kilmer had a solid season for the Saints, ranking 8th in the league in passing, tossing for 2,532 yards, to go along with 20 touchdowns.

On the ground, Andy Livingston and Tony Baker combined for 1,403 rushing yards, while receiver Danny Abramowicz set a team record with 73 catches.

Special teams-wise, kicker Tom Dempsey scored 99 points, and was named to the Pro Bowl.

1969 wasn't a great year, but it certainly appeared as though head coach Tom Fears had them headed in the right direction.

Below, enjoy Saints highlights from 1969, along with a couple of Saints songs from the same year that you might have forgotten about, or even knew existed.