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Baltimore Bought the No. 1 Pick for a Backup Quarterback

November 4, 2026

For Gary Cuozzo, a quarterback who had backed up Johnny Unitas for four seasons, the expansion New Orleans Saints surrendered the first overall pick in the 1967 draft, their 1967 third-round pick, their 1969 seventh-round pick, and center Bill Curry. The Baltimore Colts turned the first pick into Bubba Smith at No. 1 overall and got six seasons from Curry, a starting center who made the Pro Bowl in 1971 and 1972. The Saints got ten starts and a 3-7 record from Cuozzo in 1967, then traded him to Minnesota for two more first-round picks.7181214

This tree runs four trades across five teams, from March 1967 to January 1973. The root trade's blockbuster score on its tree page is 3,361.14

February 1967 — New Orleans claims a center it will never use

The Saints entered the NFL in 1967, and expansion teams were built through an expansion draft in which existing teams left players unprotected. Vince Lombardi left Bill Curry, a Georgia Tech center who had started Super Bowl I for Green Bay, unprotected, choosing to keep Ken Bowman instead. New Orleans took Curry on February 9.1

Curry never played a game for the Saints. He was traded to Baltimore a month later.1

The request to include Curry in the trade came from Colts head coach Don Shula, who admired Curry's special-teams versatility. Curry was entering his third NFL season, after two seasons in Green Bay.1

March 6, 1967 — the trade

The terms: the Colts sent quarterback Gary Cuozzo, guard Buford "Butch" Allison, and their 1967 seventeenth-round pick to New Orleans. The Saints sent Bill Curry, their 1967 first-rounder, their 1967 third-rounder, and their 1969 seventh-rounder to Baltimore.714

Cuozzo, an undrafted Virginia product who had backed up Johnny Unitas for four seasons, had asked to be traded after the 1966 season, and the Colts had Unitas under center.7

The first overall selection in the draft went to Baltimore, along with the two extra picks and Curry. It is the only time in the Super Bowl era a team has traded a No. 1 overall pick for a veteran quarterback, according to Fantasy Index's trivia column.10

At No. 1 overall the Colts took Michigan State defensive end Bubba Smith, a 6-7, 283-pound two-time All-American who had played on Michigan State's back-to-back national championship teams in 1965 and 1966.2 Smith started at left end in Super Bowls III and V, made back-to-back Pro Bowls in 1970-71, and was named first-team All-Pro in 1971.37 The third-rounder, No. 54 overall, became guard Norman Davis. The 1969 seventh-rounder, No. 163, became Gary Fleming.14 The seventeenth-rounder Baltimore surrendered, No. 438, became Billy Bob Stewart, who was cut early in training camp. Allison was cut at the end of camp.7

Curry became the Colts' starting center. He started Super Bowls III and V, was named a second-team All-Pro in 1969, and made the Pro Bowl in 1971 and 1972.17

September 1967 — the Saints' inaugural season

New Orleans went 3-11 in its first season under head coach Tom Fears. Billy Kilmer, whom the Saints had taken in the expansion draft, started the opener against the Los Angeles Rams — the game John Gilliam opened with a 94-yard kickoff return for a touchdown in front of 80,879 at Tulane Stadium. Cuozzo started 10 of the Saints' 14 games, threw for 1,562 yards with 7 touchdowns, and led the team in passing.1187

By season's end, Cuozzo had lost the starting job back to Kilmer. His one season in New Orleans was ten starts and a 3-7 record as a starter.8127

Smith played five seasons in Baltimore, from 1967 to 1971, and won Super Bowl V with the Colts.3

January 29, 1968 — Cuozzo becomes two more first-round picks

On January 29, 1968, the Saints traded Cuozzo to the Minnesota Vikings for the Vikings' first-round picks in 1968 and 1969. The archive records the picks at No. 7 and No. 17 overall.814

The 1968 pick, No. 7, became Notre Dame defensive tackle Kevin Hardy. Saints personnel director Vic Schwenk told the press that draft season: "I'd say Hardy is as good as (Merlin) Olsen as a college senior," adding that Hardy's repaired back showed no ill effects.4 Hardy never played a down for the Saints — he was shipped to the 49ers as Rozelle-rule compensation when New Orleans signed free agent Dave Parks, then played for Green Bay and San Diego in a four-year career.5

The 1969 pick, No. 17, became Xavier guard John Shinners, the first and only football All-American in his school's history. Shinners spent three seasons in New Orleans and made four starts, all in 1970. He later played in Baltimore and Cincinnati, where he started 10 games in 1974 and all 13 games he played in 1976.9

Cuozzo spent four seasons in Minnesota. He backed up Joe Kapp, then became the starter in 1970 when Kapp held out, led the Vikings to a 12-2 record and the NFC Central title, and started a playoff game against the 49ers.713

April 26, 1972 — Cuozzo to St. Louis

On April 26, 1972, the Vikings traded Cuozzo to the St. Louis Cardinals for wide receiver John Gilliam and two 1973 draft picks — a second-rounder (No. 34) and a fourth-rounder (No. 89).14 The archive resolves those picks to Jackie Wallace and John Lohmeyer.14 Gilliam was the same John Gilliam who had returned the opening kickoff of the Saints' first game; he went on to four productive seasons in Minnesota.1311 In St. Louis, Cuozzo started six games in 1972 in a four-quarterback rotation with Jim Hart, Pete Beathard, and Tim Van Galder. The 1972 season was his last.7

Cuozzo was traded three times in five years, and played for four franchises: Baltimore to New Orleans to Minnesota to St. Louis. His is the longest chain in the tree, running through three of its four trades.14

January 29, 1973 — the end of the Curry line

Nearly six years after the trade that started everything, Baltimore traded Curry too. Owner Carroll Rosenbloom's era had ended, and new owner Bob Irsay had installed GM Joe Thomas. Unitas was benched in 1972. Curry had led what Thomas considered an anti-management clique, and the Colts acquired Fred Hoaglin from Cleveland on January 25, which made Curry expendable.16

On January 29, 1973, the Colts dealt Curry to the Houston Oilers for guard Tom Regner and Denver's 1973 third-round pick (No. 61 overall, later used on running back Bill Olds). Curry learned about the trade from a collect call from Thomas — while standing in Dallas at the Pro Bowl.1

Thomas described the roster turnover to Sports Illustrated: "Take Green Bay. They made the playoffs, but how many of those guys were on their great teams? Two. A team mushrooms together, wins together and fades together." Of Curry specifically, Thomas said: "Cliques aren't good. I was breaking up a nice old nest."6

In Houston he suffered a catastrophic leg injury when Merlin Olsen of the Los Angeles Rams hit him in the back of the leg; the injury essentially ended his playing career, and he retired in August 1975. Curry was NFL Players Association president from 1973 to May 31, 1975,15 and one of the plaintiffs in the Mackey lawsuit in which a federal judge declared that the Rozelle Rule was a violation of antitrust law on December 30, 1975.1

The ledger, six years later

Baltimore paid: a backup quarterback, a guard who was cut in camp, and a seventeenth-round pick who was cut in camp. Baltimore got: the No. 1 overall pick (Bubba Smith, five seasons, a Super Bowl ring, a College Football Hall of Fame career behind him), a third-rounder (Norman Davis), a future seventh-rounder (Gary Fleming), and center Bill Curry. Curry started two Super Bowls and made the Pro Bowl in 1971 and 1972.71314

New Orleans paid: the No. 1 overall pick in its first draft, two more draft picks, and a center it traded before he played. New Orleans got: one season of Gary Cuozzo, and two first-round picks. The picks produced a defensive tackle who never played a game for them (Hardy) and a guard who made four starts in three seasons for them (Shinners).59714

Baltimore's two starters from the root trade, Smith and Curry, both started Super Bowl III, and Super Bowl V in January 1971, for the Colts.173

Explore the full tree in the archive: Bill Curry (1967) trade tree14

Trade terms, teams, and dates verified against the site's trade tree for this deal and cross-checked with the sources below.

Sources

  1. Wikipedia: Bill Curry — expansion draft Feb 9, 1967; traded to Colts Mar 6, 1967; Shula's special-teams request; Second-team All-Pro 1969; Pro Bowls 1971-72; Oilers trade Jan 29, 1973 (Regner + No. 61/Bill Olds); leg injury vs. Merlin Olsen; NFLPA president; retirement Aug 1975
  2. Sports Illustrated / Spartan Nation: Bubba Smith, 31st best college football player ever — 6-7, 283 lbs; All-American 1965-66; #1 overall 1967
  3. Michigan State Athletics: Bubba Smith all-time ranking — five seasons Baltimore 1967-71; Super Bowl V win; Pro Bowls 1970-71; First-Team All-Pro 1971
  4. 247Sports: Kevin Hardy, Notre Dame's Man for All Seasons — No. 7 overall 1968; Schwenk's Olsen comparison
  5. Wikipedia: Kevin Hardy (defensive tackle)) — never played for Saints; Rozelle-rule compensation to 49ers for Dave Parks
  6. Sports Illustrated Vault: "Eleven Days That Shook the Colts" (Feb 12, 1973) — Joe Thomas's roster-turnover quotes; Curry-to-Houston terms
  7. Wikipedia: Gary Cuozzo — undrafted out of Virginia; Unitas's backup 1963-66; asked to be traded Dec 1966; 10 starts for Saints; terms of the 1967 trade; Vikings 1968-71, 12-2 in 1970; traded to Cardinals Apr 1972
  8. Wikipedia: 1967 New Orleans Saints season — 3-11; Cuozzo lost starting job to Kilmer; traded to Vikings early 1968; Saints traded No. 1 overall for Cuozzo
  9. Wikipedia: John Shinners — Xavier guard; 17th overall 1969; Saints 1969-71, Colts 1972, Bengals 1973-77
  10. Fantasy Index: Trivia for October 5, 2026 — only Super Bowl-era No. 1 overall pick traded for a veteran QB
  11. 103.3 The GOAT: 1967 New Orleans Saints season — Kilmer opened the season; Cuozzo led team in passing (1,562 yds, 7 TDs); Gilliam's 94-yard return; 3-11 record
  12. Canal Street Chronicles: History of No. 15 — Cuozzo 3-7 as Saints starter; traded to Vikings after 1967
  13. New Orleans Saints History: Gary Cuozzo — The First Saints Quarterback — Gilliam traded for Cuozzo; Gilliam's four productive Vikings seasons with yearly Pro Bowls
  14. Football Trade Trees: Bill Curry (1967) trade tree — the full four-trade chain, March 1967 to January 1973
  15. Wikipedia: NFL Players Association — presidents list: Bill Curry 1973 – May 31, 1975
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About this article: it was drafted with AI assistance from the Football Trade Trees database and public reporting, then reviewed by a human editor. Spot an error? Email [email protected].