Franchise Origins- Pro Football Hall of Famer
Doug Atkins
- Position
- DEDefensive Line
- Number
- #81
- Saints years
- 1967–1969
- NFL career
- 1953–1969
- Era
- Franchise Origins
- Franchise
- New Orleans Saints
Honors
- Pro Football Hall of Fame
- NFL Champion· Chicago Bears
- 8x Pro Bowl
Also played for Cleveland Browns (1953–1954), Chicago Bears (1955–1966).
Why he’s a legend
The legacy
Doug Atkins was 37 years old and had played twelve seasons for the Chicago Bears when the expansion Saints acquired him in 1967. He gave New Orleans three seasons at defensive end, and the franchise’s first roster had a legitimate future Hall of Famer on it. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1982, primarily for what he did in Chicago — but the last chapter was written here.
Why he matters
- Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 1982, after seventeen NFL seasons.
- Eight Pro Bowl selections, and an NFL championship with the 1963 Chicago Bears.
- He was the most accomplished player on the Saints’ original rosters, at an age when most defensive linemen have retired.
- His presence is the clearest marker of what an expansion team was in 1967: a roster of other clubs’ veterans, one of whom happened to be an all-time great.
Defining moment
The expansion roster
1967 season
The 1967 Saints were assembled from players other teams left unprotected. Atkins, a 37-year-old with twelve years in Chicago behind him, was the best of them, and played three more seasons in New Orleans before retiring.
Career statistics
Current through the 1969 season
With the Saints
- Seasons
- 3
- Age on Arrival
- 37
Full NFL career(1953–1969, all teams)
- Seasons
- 17
- Pro Bowls
- 8
Honors & accolades
Championships & enshrinement
- Pro Football Hall of FameClass of 1982
League awards & All-Pro
- NFL Champion· Chicago Bears1963
Selections & records
- 8x Pro BowlAll with Chicago
Career timeline
17 seasons in the NFL, 3 of them in New Orleans.
- 1953Cleveland Browns
- 1954Cleveland Browns
- 1955Chicago Bears
- 1956Chicago Bears
- 1957Chicago Bears
- 1958Chicago Bears
- 1959Chicago Bears
- 1960Chicago Bears
- 1961Chicago Bears
- 1962Chicago Bears
- 1963Chicago Bears
- 1964Chicago Bears
- 1965Chicago Bears
- 1966Chicago Bears
- 1967New Orleans SaintsAcquired by the expansion Saints at 37, after twelve seasons in Chicago
- 1968New Orleans Saints
- 1969New Orleans SaintsRetires after seventeen NFL seasons
Era context
What the league looked like while Doug Atkins played it. Raw totals across eras are not like-for-like.
Franchise Origins
1967–1970
An expansion team, a brass band, and the longest field goal anyone had ever kicked.
- Seasons were 14 games long; a 16-game schedule did not arrive until 1978.
- The Saints played outdoors at Tulane Stadium; the Superdome did not open until 1975.
- Sacks were not an official NFL statistic, so pass-rush production from this era cannot be stated as a career total.
- The AFL-NFL merger was still in progress; New Orleans entered as an NFL expansion club.
Data & sources
Statistics on this profile are current through the 1969 season.
- Sacks were not an official NFL statistic during any part of his career, so no pass-rush total exists for him. His honors are the record.
- He is included as a Pro Football Hall of Famer who played for the Saints, not as a franchise legend; his career was made in Chicago.
