On May 1, 1968 the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams swung a major trade. The Rams dealt QB Bill Munson and a third-round draft choice for 1969 to Detroit for QB Milt Plum, flanker Pat Studstill, HB Tom Watkins, and a ’69 first-round draft pick.
The 26-year-old Munson (pictured above) had played collegiately at Utah
State, where he was only converted to quarterback as a senior. He was chosen by
Los Angeles in the first round of the 1964 NFL draft and, while having an unorthodox
passing style and not a lot of experience at the position, Munson started 18
games in his first two seasons and pushed Roman Gabriel, the top pick in 1962,
for playing time. A knee injury knocked him out of action in 1965 and Head
Coach George Allen committed to Gabriel in 1966 and ’67. Munson played out his
option and was on the verge of becoming a free agent. As part of the trade, he
received a long-term deal from the Lions plus an assurance that he would start.
“We had to give up a lot to get him,” said Detroit Head
Coach Joe Schmidt. “But I definitely felt that we needed a new quarterback and
in my book Munson was the best one available.”
The Lions were in rebuilding mode, having gone 4-7-2 in
Schmidt’s first season as head coach. All told, the team gained just 1826
passing yards. Milt Plum, who split time with Karl Sweetan, was on the downside
in his eleventh NFL season and sixth with the Lions and had thrown just 172
passes in 1967, for 925 yards and four touchdowns while giving up eight interceptions.
No longer a viable starting quarterback in Detroit, for the Rams he fit into
Coach Allen’s plan for an experienced backup who would fit well in a
conservative offense.
Similarly, the other veteran players the Lions gave up
were not suited to a rebuilding project. 29-year-old Pat Studstill was valued
for his punting as well as pass receiving, and had been a Pro Bowl selection in
1966 after catching 67 passes for 1266 yards. But injuries had reduced his
production to 10 catches in ’67. Tom Watkins, 30, was used primarily to return
kicks, although he gained 361 rushing yards in 1967. He had led the NFL in kick
returning with a 34.4-yard average in ’65, but was on the downside of his
career and the Lions had promising new blood at running back.
Munson performed well in an offense that had many new
starters for 1968, including rookie WR Earl McCullouch and TE Charlie Sanders,
although the arrival of another rookie, QB Greg Landry out of Massachusetts,
provided a competitor. Munson ranked seventh in the NFL passing statistics
while throwing for 2311 yards and 15 touchdowns and giving up just eight
interceptions. After getting off to a 3-2-1 start, the Lions lost four straight
games before tying the Saints and ended up at 4-8-2.
Detroit improved to 9-4-1 in 1969, but Munson broke his
throwing hand and missed half of the season. Landry showed off his potential and
the two quarterbacks split the starting job in ’70. While both were good at
throwing the ball, the 6’2”, 210-pound Munson was a classic pocket passer who
was low key and injury prone while Landry was far more mobile and a more
effective leader. Collectively, the two performed well, even if they didn’t go
to the air often, hitting on 56.8 percent of their passes and tossing 19
touchdowns as the Lions went 10-4 and reached the playoffs. But Landry emerged
as the full-time starter in 1971 and Munson tossed just 73 passes over the next
two seasons. He returned to the lineup in 1973 when Landry was injured for half
the year and led the club to four wins in a 6-7-1 season. Gaining the favor of new
Head Coach Rick Forzano, Munson started for most of ’74 and did well enough,
completing 56.8 percent of his passes for 1874 yards and eight TDs while giving
up seven interceptions. He lasted just five games in 1975, with both he and
Landry going down with season-ending knee injuries in the same game, and in ’76
Munson moved on to the expansion Seattle Seahawks, finishing out the remainder
of his long career as a journeyman backup.
Overall with the Lions, Munson completed 716 of 1314 passes (54.5
percent) for 8461 yards and 56 touchdowns while giving up 42 interceptions. The
team went 24-21-3 in his starts.
As for the players the Rams received for Munson, Milt
Plum saw scant action for the Rams, throwing just 12 passes all season behind
the Pro Bowler Gabriel. Tom Watkins saw no action at all, being waived before
the season and finishing his career with one game for Pittsburgh. Pat Studstill
had just seven catches but handled the punting and averaged 39.6 yards on 81
kicks. His punting kept him with the club for four years.
More useful was RB Larry Smith (pictured at right), who the Rams chose with
the eighth overall choice in the first round of the 1969 NFL draft out of
Florida. The 6’3”, 220-pound halfback led the team in rushing as a rookie with
599 yards and also caught 46 passes for another 300 yards. His performance
dropped off thereafter due to chronic injuries, but he lasted for five seasons
in LA before moving on to Washington.
The Lions sent the third round draft pick they received
from the Rams on to the Cardinals four months later in a deal for WR Billy
Gambrell. Gambrell, a five-year pro who was a backup for the Cards, caught 28
passes for 492 yards (17.6 avg.) and seven touchdowns in his only year with
Detroit.
