On April 26, 1972 the Minnesota Vikings traded discontented QB Gary Cuozzo to the St. Louis Cardinals for WR John Gilliam and two draft choices, which were second and fourth picks for 1973.
The 31-year-old Cuozzo had played out his option and was
due to become a free agent on May 1 and had demanded a trade. After being the
primary starter in 1970, he had split time with Norm Snead, who was obtained
from Philadelphia with the hope that he might supplant Cuozzo, and Bob Lee in
’71. While Snead was traded to the Giants three months earlier, it was as part
of the deal that brought QB Fran Tarkenton back to Minnesota – a clear
indication that Cuozzo was not part of the team’s plans.
Undrafted out of Virginia in 1963, Cuozzo had originally
been a backup to Johnny Unitas for four seasons with the Colts. While he didn’t
see much action, he had a five-touchdown passing performance against the
Vikings in 1965 that drew a great deal of favorable attention and the New
Orleans Saints traded a first-round draft pick for him in ’67. Cuozzo was
unable to hold onto the starting job with the first-year team and was dealt to
Minnesota the following year, this time for two first-round picks. He couldn’t
unseat starting QB Joe Kapp, finally taking over when the fiery Kapp left the
club after the 1969 season. Smart (he was Phi Beta Kappa in college) and an
accurate passer, he lacked arm strength and was not nearly the leader that his
predecessor in Minnesota was. Overall
with the Vikings, Cuozzo completed 49.6 percent of his passes for 3552 yards
and 18 touchdowns, giving up 23 interceptions. And while the club was 16-5
during his regular season starts, it had not been able to win in the
postseason.
Head Coach Bob Hollway of the Cardinals indicated that
Cuozzo would be the starting quarterback, ahead of Jim Hart and Pete Beathard,
who both had trouble with consistency. St. Louis was coming off of a 4-9-1
record in 1971, which marked a big drop from the previous year, and quarterback
was an area of concern.
John Gilliam (pictured at top) was 26 and was a teammate of Cuozzo’s with the
Saints in 1967, who had drafted him in the second round. He scored the first
regular season touchdown in franchise history on the opening kickoff of the ’67
season, but the remainder of his tenure with the club was unremarkable and he was
obtained by the Cards in 1969. With his great speed in a better offense, he
broke out in St. Louis, catching 52 passes for 997 yards (19.2 avg.) and nine
TDs in his first year with the club. Gilliam followed up with 45 receptions for
952 yards (21.1 avg.) and five touchdowns in ’70 and was coming off of a 1971
season with 42 catches for 837 yards (19.9 avg.). He led the team in receiving
yards in each of his three seasons and in receptions in the last two. With WR
Bob Grim having been traded to the Giants along with Snead, a spot was open in
the Minnesota lineup for Gilliam.
Cuozzo (pictured above) proved to not be the answer in St. Louis. He
started six games, only one of which resulted in a win for the Cards, while
splitting time with Hart and unheralded Tim Van Galder (Pete Beathard was
traded to the Rams during the preseason). He completed just 43.7 percent of his
passes for 897 yards and five touchdowns while giving up 11 interceptions. It
marked the end of the line for his pro career as he retired to practice
dentistry.
Gilliam had much more success in Minnesota. He caught 47
passes for 1035 yards (22.0 avg.) and seven touchdowns and earned the first of
four straight Pro Bowl selections, matching his number of seasons with the
Vikings (he jumped to the Chicago Winds of the WFL in 1975, but when the team
folded at the end of August after five games he returned to Minnesota in time
for the regular season). He had a total of 165 catches for 3297 yards (20.0
avg.) and 27 TDs for the Vikings and added another 14 receptions for 261 yards
(18.6 avg.) and five scores in the postseason. Gilliam moved on to the Atlanta
Falcons in ’76, where his production dropped off significantly in his
next-to-last year.
The 1973 second round draft choice that Minnesota also
obtained was used to take Jackie Wallace, a defensive back from Arizona, while
the fourth round pick was passed on to Kansas City (who used it to take Emporia
State DE John Lohmeyer). Wallace started at cornerback in place of the injured
Bobby Bryant and also returned kicks before moving on to the Colts, who shifted
him to safety for two years, and eventually the Rams, where he led the league
with 52 punt returns for 618 yards in 1978.
