Falcons Uniform History: Nasty, Angry Harvey Dahl At #73

I'll be honest with you: If not for Harvey Dahl, this would be one of the weaker uniform numbers we've covered in some time. Depending on how strongly you feel about Dahl, that may still be true.

The undisputable part of this story: Dahl was the best Falcon ever to wear #73. The bearded guard with the reputation for being a low-down, dirty, nail-chomping son of a monkey's uncle, Dahl spent but four fleeting seasons in Atlanta, serving as a full-time starter just twice. He made up for that by being a tenacious run blocker, capable pass protector and a dude who Falcons fans more or less universally adored.

Dahl would spend the next three seasons in St. Louis with the Rams, serving as a starting guard but seeing his effectiveness and playing time dwindle due to injuries. He did not play in any games in 2014, sadly.

Tackle Errol Linden had three seasons in Atlanta as a tackle and played reasonably well in all of them, making him the obvious #2 on a very weak list. Ryan Schraeder is the man who currently wears the uniform, and if he can lock down the right tackle job as I expect him to, he'll hopefully compete to be the best #73 when we re-visit this series in five years. Fingers crossed!

A salute to Dahl, then, and on to #74.