Dr.Ken

HELMET HUT NEWS/REFLECTIONS March 2010:

MEN IN BLACK

By Dr. Ken

When the New Orleans Saints were given an NFL franchise on November 1^st, 1966, few realized that this $8 million entry to professional football came only after a New Orleans ownership group could not previously purchase the Oakland Raiders for the comparatively cheap price of $400,000.00 just three years before. As the Saints signed local talent, or at least players who had southern or Louisiana connections like Green Bay Packers great Jim Taylor and number one draft choice Les Kelley out of Alabama, their fan base immediately exploded. Despite my strong relationship with the New York Giants, I was one who hoped that this new underdog collection would do well, especially with Taylor as one of my all time favorite players. Unfortunately, it became obvious once the season began that Taylor was literally on his last legs after years of pounding and that his 130 carries as a Saint would be his last. It was also quickly obvious that the Saints weren’t very good and in the next few seasons, their personnel department would prove to be among the worst. The one thing the Saints were strong at from their inception however, was merchandising sales.

Jim Taylor in gold helmet totes the ball in the Saints inaugural 1967 season

Many forget that Tulane University was a long time Southeastern Conference participant with a very loyal following. Their contests with rival LSU routinely filled Tulane Stadium and that the rabid LSU faithful were just as devoted to the Saints. In this football hotbed, retail outlets for Saints merchandise were established almost immediately after the announcement welcoming the expansion team into the league. From their inception New Orleans was among the top grossing teams for merchandise sales with official outlets opening in New Orleans and other Louisiana cities. The venerated D.H. Holmes, later purchased by retail giant Dillard’s, and Maison Blanche department store chains handled much of the Saints initial merchandise sales and it was literally a boon to the local economy. Having the long established D.H. Holmes as their distributor, perhaps the most respected retail store name in the south, as the official Saints merchandiser, also granted immediate legitimacy upon the team, so well respected was the store’s reputation. Their season ticket sales were also among the league’s leaders and they set an NFL record when 20,000 tickets were gobbled up on the first day they were offered to the public. Many of the established NFL franchises were envious as New Orleans’ first year sales of pennants, bobble-head dolls, and apparel dwarfed the annual numbers of some of the NFL’s leaders.

Unfortunately, the team that began their NFL play with an exemplary 5-1 pre-season mark limped home with a three win season in their debut though they were given credit for their ability to hit with authority, often play hard, and respond well to their coaching staff. If nothing else, their popularity soared. Their uniforms were considered among the nicest looking in the NFL or AFL and despite improving to only four victories in their second season, their merchandise continued to fly off of the shelves of the regional stores that were named as “official Saints outfitters.” Team owner John Mecom believed that a change was necessary to foster a winning attitude, thus for the 1969 season, the beautiful gold helmet with the identifiable black fleur de lis on each side was retired in favor of a black shell with gold fleur de lis decals. Unfortunately, no one in the Saints organization had approached the NFL office with the projected change. With an entire line of official Saints items being marketed with gold helmets and what had always been their gold motif as the base color, there was no way that the NFL was going to allow the use of the new black headgear. Putting politics and the usual civic matters on the back burner, the Saints fans were in full support of the NFL decision, often flooding the “letters to the editor” department of local newspapers with their complaints. While Mecom took the attitude that he could in fact dictate the uniform change, the fans’ response made it clear that the “men in black” look was not a popular one.