William G. Helis Jr., Herman Lay, John W. Mecom Jr., Louis J. Roussel Jr., Jack Sanders, and Edgar B. Stern Jr. were the six bidders for the franchise. On December 15, oilman Mecom became the majority shareholder and thus president of the team with his winning bid of $8.5 million; later that month, Tom Fears was named head coach. The team was named "Saints" due to its birthday on the Roman Catholic Church's All Saints Day—a fitting nickname for a team in the largely Catholic New Orleans area. The name was announced on January 9, 1967. The team's original stadium was Tulane Stadium, which could seat more than 80,000 fans. The team was placed in the Capitol Division of the NFL's Eastern Conference; their division foes were the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles, and Washington Redskins. The team started off well, with a 5–1 preseason record; then, on the first play of the 1967 regular season, wide receiver John Gilliam returned the opening kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown. However, this was not enough for the Saints, and they lost their regular season opener to the Los Angeles Rams, 13–27. Their first win came on November 5 as they defeated the Eagles 31–24. That would be one of the Saints' only triumphs in their inaugural campaign; they ended the season 3–11, the second-worst mark in the league and games behind Washington in the divisional race. At the time, however, the Saints' three wins tied for the most ever for an expansion team's inaugural season.