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NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced on Nov. 1, 1966, that the league would award an expansion franchise to the city of New Orleans. Of course, the day is also All Saints Day, a Christian solemnity heavily honored in the Catholic influenced Louisiana. Throw in Louis Armstrong’s “When the Saints Go Marching In,” and how could you call the new franchise anything else?
The Saints’ first shot to play on their franchise’s founding date was 1970, the first year of the AFL-NFL merger. At Tulane Stadium, the Los Angeles Rams spoiled the Saints’ birthday 30-17.