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The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The club joined the NFL in 1976 as an expansion team, along with the Seattle Seahawks, and played its first season in the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Prior to the 1977 season, Tampa Bay switched conferences and divisions with Seattle, becoming a member of the NFC Central division. The Seahawks eventually rejoined the NFC in 2002, leaving the Buccaneers as the only NFL team not to play in their original conference. As a result of the league's realignment prior to the 2002 season, the Buccaneers joined three former NFC West teams to form the NFC South. The club is owned by the Glazer family and plays its home games at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
Hugh Franklin Culverhouse, Sr. was an American businessman, attorney, and sports franchise owner. Culverhouse is best known for having been the longtime owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He was a successful tax lawyer, and his real estate investments made him wealthy. His work brought him into contact with National Football League team owners, and his failed purchase of the Los Angeles Rams placed him in line to become the owner of the fledgling Buccaneer franchise. He owned the team from its inception until his death.
James William Plunkett is an American former football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. He achieved his greatest success during his final eight seasons with the Raiders franchise, whom he led to two Super Bowl wins.
David John Casper nicknamed "the Ghost", is an American former professional football tight end who played in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Oakland Raiders. Casper has been inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame (2012) and the Pro Football Hall of Fame (2002).
Ronald Wolf is an American former football executive who was a general manager (GM) of the National Football League (NFL)'s Green Bay Packers. Wolf is widely credited with bringing success to a Packers franchise that had rarely won during the two decades prior to Wolf joining the organization. He also played a significant role in personnel operations with the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders from 1963 to 1975 and again from 1978 to 1990. He joined Green Bay's front office in November 1991 from a personnel director's job with the New York Jets. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in August 2015.
John Harvey McKay was an American football coach. He was the head coach at the University of Southern California (USC) from 1960 to 1975 and of the National Football League's Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1976 to 1984. In sixteen seasons at USC, McKay compiled a record of 127–40–8 (.749) and won nine AAWU/Pac-8 conference titles. His teams made eight appearances in the Rose Bowl, with five wins. Four of his squads captured national titles.
Marc Douglas Wilson is an American former professional football quarterback who played for 10 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Oakland / Los Angeles Raiders. He played college football for the BYU Cougars, where he won the Sammy Baugh Trophy. Selected by the Raiders in the first round of the 1980 NFL Draft, Wilson spent seven seasons with the team. In his final two seasons, he was a member of the New England Patriots. Wilson was inducted to College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.
Richard James McKay is an American football executive who is the CEO of the Atlanta Falcons of the National Football League (NFL). Prior to joining the Falcons, he was the general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers from 1994 to 2003 and was a part of their Super Bowl XXXVII-winning season.
Richard Marlon Wood is an American former professional football played who was a linebacker for the New York Jets and Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the USC Trojans, earning All-American honors. Wood was the team captain and leading tackler of the Buccaneers' early teams, coached by John McKay.
The 1976 NFL draft was an annual player selection meeting held April 8–9, 1976, at the Roosevelt Hotel in New York City, New York.
Larry Lavern Ball is a former American football linebacker.
Matthew Douglas Stinchcomb is an American former professional football player who was an offensive lineman for seven seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs, earning All-American honors. He was a first-round pick in the 1999 NFL Draft, and played professionally for the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the NFL.
The 1976 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's first season in the National Football League (NFL). The Buccaneers played their home games at Tampa Stadium and their inaugural head coach was John McKay. The Buccaneers gained infamy as the first team to play an entire 14-game season without winning or tying a single game. It remains one of only four winless seasons since the merger. The Buccaneers did not score until their third game and did not score a touchdown until their fourth. They lost by more than a touchdown eleven times. Colorful, maverick former USC coach McKay, whose wisecracking remarks occasionally agitated fans and the league, led the team. The only bright spot was future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Lee Roy Selmon, who made his rookie debut in an injury-plagued season.
The 1977 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's 2nd season in the National Football League, the 2nd playing their home games at Tampa Stadium and the 2nd under head coach John McKay. After one lone season in the AFC, it was the franchise's first season in the NFC, competing in the Central division. It continued the losing streak that encompassed the entire 1976 season, and extended it to 26 games, second only to the Chicago Cardinals who lost a total of 29 games in a row from 1942 to 1945. Fear of becoming the Buccaneers’ first victim provided motivation to opposing teams. It took nearly two seasons for the Buccaneers to achieve their first franchise victory, a 33–14 win over the New Orleans Saints in the second-to-last game of the year. The next week, the Bucs earned their first home victory, over the St. Louis Cardinals.
The 1978 Tampa Bay Buccaneers season was the franchise's third season in the National Football League the third playing their home games at Tampa Stadium and the third under head coach John McKay. As their two 1977 victories had been in the last two games of the season, they entered the 1978 season with the longest active winning streak in the NFC Central.
Randy R. Hedberg is an American football coach and a former player. He is the associate head coach and quarterbacks coach at North Dakota State University. Hedberg played as a quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) in 1977. He was the head football coach at Minot State University, his alma mater, from 1982 to 1989 and St. Cloud State University from 1999 to 2007, compiling a career college football record of 92–74–2.
Parnell Dickinson is an American former professional football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for one season. Over the course of his career, he played in eight games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, completed 15 of 39 passes for 210 yards, threw one touchdown and five interceptions, and finished his career with a passer rating of 25.5.
John Kenneth McKay is a former American football player, trial attorney, and executive with positions at the Alliance of American Football (AAF) and the University of Southern California. As a professional athlete, McKay played wide receiver for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) from 1976 to 1978.
Charles Douglas Davis is an American former professional football player who was a running back for the Cincinnati Bengals and Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Colorado Buffaloes and was selected in the second round of the 1974 NFL draft.
Richard Jennings attended Coolidge High School in Washington, D.C., was a college football player at the University of Maryland, College Park, and a professional football player for the Oakland Raiders, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and the San Francisco 49ers. In 1976, he was drafted by the Raiders, but was claimed by the Buccaneers off waivers. Claimed by the Bucs on a Tuesday and waived again that Thursday, his two days set the record for the shortest time spent with the club. He then returned to the Raiders, and averaged 26.1 yards on 16 kick returns for the eventual Super Bowl XI champions before suffering a knee injury that required season-ending surgery. In the 1977 offseason, he passed through the Raiders, Green Bay Packers, and New Orleans Saints organizations, being waived by each, before being again claimed by the Buccaneers. After being waived a second time by the Buccaneers without ever playing a single down, Jennings played with the 49ers, and with the Raiders for a third stint. After the NFL, Jennings served as Sacramento School Board Member, and runs the Center for Fathers and Families, an organization that assists fatherless families. He has also counseled troubled NBA player Ron Artest.
References
- ↑ Martz, Ron. "Excessive violence hurts NFL's image". St. Petersburg Times. October 6, 1977
- ↑ Martz, Ron. "Bay Bucs sign ex-Raider quarterback Blount". St. Petersburg Times. September 7, 1977
- ↑ "Blount to be inducted into Tulsa Hall of Fame". 11 October 2021.