Only a few seconds into the game on Sunday, Sept. 17, 1967, John Gilliam, a rookie running back for the New Orleans Saints who was also on the kickoff receiving squad, fielded a spiraling projectile kicked from the Los Angeles Rams' side of the field.

For whatever else would happen in Gilliam's life, he would best be remembered for the consequences of that moment when the ball bounced into his hands.

Though the sport was football, New Orleans — a city always thought of as being lovable, joyous and perhaps a bit naughty — proved that it could play hardball in competition with other American cities.

There were 80,000 spectators in Tulane Stadium that day to witness the debut of the National Football League's newest franchise — an expansion team that would splash black and "old gold" on the palette of professional sports and that would Americanize Louis XIV's symbol of the fleur-de-lis.

As Gilliam clutched the football and focused on the distant goal line, New Orleans as a city had lots to be proud of, but, like the obstacles that Gilliam would face in the next minute or so, the road would be rugged.

In that number: The day New Orleans landed an NFL team

1967: Saints fans pack Tulane Stadium in Uptown New Orleans during the inaugural season of the Crescent City's NFL team.

Football was not intended to be watched, or played, with the temperature in the 90s as it often was in the Southern autumns. So a businessman in Houston had the idea, and gumption, to build a stadium with a roof on top and air conditioning inside.

New Orleans campaigned for a NFL franchise and promised a domed stadium that would not only be bigger than Houston's Astrodome, it would be "super." One area of American life in which Louisianians were especially proficient was in politics. The state's small but potent congressional delegation promised to help the league work around some of its legal problems, such as those that regulated monopolies, including the NFL.

A New Orleans businessman named Dave Dixon led the campaign to get a team for the city. A willing governor, John McKeithen, corralled the legislative votes to finance a new stadium. In 1966, at a press conference held in the Pontchartrain Hotel, NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle announced that New Orleans had been awarded an NFL franchise. Appropriately, the date was Nov. 1 — All Saints Day.

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1966: All Saints Day on Nov. 1, 1966, at the Pontchartrain Hotel's Patio Room, National Football League commissioner Pete Rozelle announced: "Professional football has voted a professional franchise to the state of h and the city of New Orleans." Applauding the creation of the league's 16th franchise are from left: Sen. Russell B. Long; Rozelle; Kenneth S. "Bud" Adams Jr., owner of the Houston Oilers of the American Football League; Councilman-at-large Maurice E. "Moon" Landrieu; Rep. Hale Bogs; Gov. John J. McKeithen, and Dr. Herbert E. Longenecker, president of Tulane University.

It was not until Dec. 15 that the league determined the owners would be a group headed by Texas oilman John W. Mecom Jr., who would pay $8.5 million for the privilege.

Nearly another month would pass before the new team was officially named the "Saints" on Jan. 9, 1967. Team musical director and famed trumpeter Al Hirt explained that the name came from the jazz number and had "nothing to do with religion."

The name had been put forth at least as early as Aug. 1962 by Dave Dixon in a pledge-card campaign at a pre-season game played here. Mecom sold the team to Tom Benson in 1985 for just over $70 million.

While the promised Superdome was being built, the home games were played in Tulane Stadium until 1974. On opening day, no one in attendance, or the TV audience, anticipated that the Saints' first official league play would be a thriller — certainly not the Rams' defenders.

What unfolded was near impossible, but John Gilliam did not have time to calculate the improbabilities. He just ran.

Galloping Rams, some blocked by airborne Saints crashing into them, could not stop Gilliam as he maneuvered past enemy arms. Those who wanted to bring him down might as well have been trying to wrestle a Category 5 hurricane.

In that number: The day New Orleans landed an NFL team

Sept. 17, 1967: New Orleans Saints kick returner John Gilliam (42) runs past Los Angeles Rams defender Bruce Gossett en route to a 94-yard touchdown on the opening kick of the New Orleans Saints' very first game. An estimated 80,879 fans were on hand at Tulane Stadium to witness the play. The Rams won the game, 27-13.

History would record that first play was an unstoppable 94-yard run for a touchdown. Fans in the stands, already exhausted from the emotion of opening day, found an extra burst of energy as Gilliam crossed the enemy end zone.

Had there been a dome over Tulane Stadium that day, the uproar from within could have blown it off. In their ecstasy, some fans might have wondered if this team in black and gold, a manifestation of the New South, was unstoppable. Was it too early to order Super Bowl tickets?

Yes. Despite their fast start that day, the Saints lost the opener 27-13 and would remain winless until week eight when the smallest Saint, wide receiver Walter "Flea" Roberts, scored three touchdowns for a 31-14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

In that number: The day New Orleans landed an NFL team

Sept. 10, 1967: The New Orleans Saints cheerleaders, along with almost 70,000 fans, root for the black and gold during the team's preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons at Tulane Stadium. The Saints won the game by a score of 24-17 to finish the preseason with a 5-1 record.

Otherwise, the team would not experience its first winning season until 1987, when it reached the playoffs for the first time.

There would be unforgettable moments along the way, such as Tom Dempsey's 63-yard, last-second field goal to defeat the Detroit Lions in 1970. At the time, it was the longest field goal in NFL history.

Then there was the moment in the 2009 NFL championship game, when the winner would go to the Super Bowl. With the game in overtime, kicker Garrett Hartley launched a field goal through the uprights to carry the Saints to victory. In a city known for its Carnival royalty, the crowd was ecstatic as the loudspeakers blared "We are the Champions" by Queen.

John Gilliam played two seasons with the Saints and then had a nomadic career that included stops with the Cardinals, Bears, Falcons and Vikings. While with the Vikings, he played in two Super Bowls and was selected four times for the Pro-Bowl.

In that number: The day New Orleans landed an NFL team

Sept. 5, 1967: New Orleanians crowd into the Saints ticket office in September 1967 to get their tickets for the team's inaugural season. Employees quickly ran out of the tickets they had on hand, prompting ticket manager Henry Simoneaux to raid the vault for more.

(A question though: Imagine if you, or a friend, scored the first touchdown ever for an NFL team. Wouldn't you want to keep the ball? Vintage films show that, as he crossed the goal, he instinctively tossed the ball into the stands.)

Since retiring, Gilliam, who played college football at South Carolina State, has resided in Atlanta but is best remembered for that miraculous moment in New Orleans.

And there were Saints blocking for him along the way.

kick off their this Sunday at the Detroit Lions, and later this year will celebrate 20 years since the infamous .

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Errol Laborde is a producer and panelist on WYES Channel 12's “Informed Sources." Contact him at elabordenola@gmail.com.

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