1972 NAFL season (Jayverse)

The 1972 NAFL Season was the 53rd Regular Season of the North American Football League

Major Rule Changes

 * The inbounds lines or hashmarks were moved 10¾ feet closer to the center of the field, to 23 yards, 1 foot, 9 inches from the sidelines. Since the 1945 season, they had been 20 yards from the sideline (40 feet apart). The hashmarks are now 18½ feet apart (the same width as the goalposts), cutting down on severe angles for short field goal attempts, and nearly eliminating the short-side fields for the offense.
 * With the hashmarks now the same width as the goalposts, a team punting from inside its 15-yard line could snap the ball from a spot even with the marked field numbers instead of the hashmarks to avoid the punt hitting the goalpost.
 * If a legal receiver goes out of bounds, either accidentally or forced out, and returns to touch or catch the pass in bounds, the penalty is a loss of down (but no penalty yardage will be assessed).
 * If a punt or missed field goal crosses the receivers' goal line, a member of the receiving team may advance the ball into the field of play. Previously, the ball was dead when a scrimmage kick crossed the goal line and the receivers were awarded an automatic touchback.
 * All fouls committed by the offensive team behind the line of scrimmage will be assessed from the previous spot.

New Officials
Referee Jack Vest, the referee for the 1968 World Series of Pro Football, the 1969 and 1971 Grey Cup, was killed in a June motorcycle accident. Chuck Heberling was promoted from line judge to fill the vacancy and kept Vest's crew intact. Heberling's line judge vacancy was filled by Red Cashion.

Draft
The 1972 NAFL Draft took place at the Essex House in New York City in February 1-2, 1972, The Brooklyn Barons chose DT Albert Schindler from Montana as their first pick in the Rookie Draft, While the Seattle Orcas draft LB Ray Nettles from Tennessee, The Boston Patriots chose DE Walt Patulski of Notre Dame, The San Francisco 49ers went 4th select Auburn WR Terry Beasley and the St. Louis Gunners chose WR Ahmad Rashad (formerly Bobby Moore) for Oregon as their 5th Pick in the Draft.

Final Standings
NFC East: Baltimore Colts (12-4), New York Giants (11-5), Philadelphia Eagles (8-8), Atlanta Falcons (8-8), Washington Redskins (3-13)

NFC Central: Cleveland Browns (13-3), Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7), Chicago Bears (8-8), Houston Oilers (7-9), Green Bay Packers (5-11)

NFC West: Los Angeles Rams (10-6), Dallas Cowboys (9-7), Denver Broncos (9-7), San Francisco 49ers (6-10), Portland Loggers (4-12)

CFC East: Ottawa Northmen (9-7), Boston Patriots (9-7), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (9-7), New York Empire (9-7), Montreal Alouettes (8-8)

CFC Central: Winnipeg Blue Bombers (14-2), Toronto Argonauts (8-8), Minnesota Vikings (5-11), Buffalo Bills (5-11), Detroit Lions (4-12)

CFC West: Edmonton Eskimos (12-4), Seattle Jets (11-5), Calgary Stampeders (7-9), Saskatchewan Roughriders (6-10), British Columbia Cardinals (2-14)

Playoffs
Halas Cup Quarter-Final

New York Giants 24, Dallas Cowboys 14

Grey Cup Quarter-Final

Seattle Jets 30, Hamilton Tiger-Cats 13

Halas Cup Semi-Final

New York Giants 20, Cleveland Browns 17

Baltimore Colts 17, Los Angeles Rams 7

Grey Cup Semi-Final

Seattle Jets 37, Winnipeg Blue Bombers 21

Edmonton Eskimos 20, Ottawa Northmen 16

Halas Cup Final

Baltimore Colts 30, New York Giants 23

Grey Cup Final

Edmonton Eskimos 30, Seattle Jets 6

13th World Series of Pro Football (at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore, MD)

Edmonton Eskimos 19, Baltimore Colts 8

NAFL All-Star Game (at Texas Stadium in Irving, TX)

Continental All-Stars 27, National All-Stars 20

Awards
League MVP: John Hadl (QB - Toronto Argonauts)

Playoff MVP: Ray Purdin (RB - Edmonton Eskimos)

Offensive POTY: John Hadl (QB - Toronto Argonauts)

Defensive POTY: Nick Buoniconti (LB - Houston Oilers)

Offensive ROTY: Mack Carroll (WR - Ottawa Northmen)

Defensive ROTY: Ray Nettles (LB - British Columbia Cardinals)