Man, you won’t believe the rabbit hole I went down today. I was feeling nostalgic and decided to dig into the roster of the 1972 Oakland Raiders. You know, back when they were really something. So, I hit up the internet, thinking it’d be a simple search. Boy, was I wrong!
First off, I typed in “1972 Oakland Raiders roster” into the search bar. Pages and pages of stuff came up, but not exactly what I was looking for. Some sites had bits and pieces, like mentioning Daryle Lamonica as the quarterback and Fred Biletnikoff as the wide receiver. Okay, cool, I knew that already, but I wanted the full roster, you know?
Then I started clicking around, trying to piece things together. I found some sites that had stats and schedules from that season, and even some draft info. It was like a puzzle, but the pieces were scattered everywhere. I even stumbled upon a list of some players with their birth dates, like George Atkinson born on January 4, 1947, and Pete Banaszak born on May 21, 1944. Interesting, but still not the whole picture.
I kept digging, and I found out that the Raiders won the AFC West that year, which was their second time in three seasons. They were coached by John Madden, by the way. But then they lost in the AFC Division Round to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Ugh, that had to sting. Anyway, I also learned that their record was 10-3-1. Not too shabby, right? They scored 191 points and allowed 120 at home, and on the road, they scored 174 and allowed some more.
But the full roster, man, it was elusive! I saw some mentions of Willie Brown, Nemiah Wilson, George Atkinson, and Jack Tatum each seizing 4. I’m guessing those were interceptions or something, but I’m not a hundred percent sure.
So, after a few hours of searching and piecing things together, I finally compiled a decent list. It wasn’t easy, and I’m sure there are still some gaps, but here’s what I got:
My Incomplete 1972 Oakland Raiders Roster:
- Quarterback: Daryle Lamonica
- Running Back: Marv Hubbard, Hewritt Dixon
- Wide Receiver: Fred Biletnikoff
- Others:George Atkinson, Pete Banaszak, George Blanda, Willie Brown, Nemiah Wilson, Jack Tatum.
It’s not perfect, but it’s a start. It’s crazy how hard it is to find this info sometimes. You’d think it’d be readily available, but nope. Anyway, it was a fun trip down memory lane, even if it was a bit of a wild goose chase. If any of you guys have more info on the 1972 Raiders, hit me up! I’m all ears.
