The 1969 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 20th season with the National Football League and their 24th overall in professional football and the last before the 1970 AFL-NFL Merger.
The Browns made it to the 1969 NFL Championship Game, where they fell to the Minnesota Vikings 27–7. The 1969 season would be the last year that Cleveland would win a postseason game until 1986. In addition, that victory over Dallas would also be the last time the Browns won a postseason game on the road until the 2020–21 playoffs. The Browns would also have to wait until 1986 for their next victory in Pittsburgh and sweep of the Steelers. This was also the last season in which the Browns made it to the league championship game, as they have failed to reach the Super Bowl after the merger.
Offseason
NFL draft The following were selected in the 1969 NFL/AFL draft. 1969 Cleveland Browns draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes120Ron JohnsonRunning back Michigan355Al JenkinsGuard Tulsa372Chip GlassTight end Florida State498Freddie SummersDefensive back Wake Forest5124Fair HookerWide receiver Arizona State6145Larry AdamsDefensive tackle Texas Christian University6150Joe RighettiDefensive tackle Waynesburg7176Walt SumnerDefensive back Florida State8202Chuck ReynoldsCenter Tulsa9228Ron KamzelskiDefensive tackle Minnesota10254Greg ShellyGuard Virginia11280Dave JonesWide receiver Kansas State12306Dick DavisRunning back Nebraska13332Tommy BoutwellWide receiver Southern Miss14358Jiggy SmahaDefensive tackle Georgia15384Joel StevensonTight end Georgia Tech16410James LoweFlanker Tuskegee17436Bob OliverDefensive end Abilene Christian
Undrafted free agents
+ 1969 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeJim GuiceQuarterbackEastern KentuckyPaul ScopetskiLinebackerHoly Cross
Personnel Staff/Coaches 1969 Cleveland Browns staff Front office Majority Owner/CEO & President - Art Modell Minority owner/vice president - Al Lerner General manager – Harold Sauerbrei
Coaching Staff Head coach – Blanton Collier Offensive coaches Offensive coordinator – Nick Skorich Offensive line – Fritz Heisler Receivers - Bob Nussbaumer Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator - Howard Brinker Defensive line – Dick Modzelewski Linebackers – Ed Ulinski Special teams Placekickers coach - Lou Groza Strength & Conditioning Athletic trainer - Leo Murphy Equipment manager - Morris Kono
Roster
Preseason On August 30, a crowd of 85,532 fans viewed a doubleheader at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. In the first contest, the Chicago Bears (with All-Pro running back Gale Sayers) played the AFL's Buffalo Bills (with rookie running back O. J. Simpson), while the Cleveland Browns hosted the Green Bay Packers in the second match.Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.439, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007,
Exhibition schedule Week Date Opponent Result Attendance 1 August 10 vs. San Francisco 49ers at Seattle W 24–19 32,219 2 August 16 at Los Angeles Rams W 10–3 54,937 3 August 23 at San Diego Chargers T 19–19 36,005 4 August 30 Green Bay Packers L 17–27 85,532 5 September 6 at Washington Redskins W 20–10 45,994 6 September 13 vs. Minnesota Vikings at Akron L 16–23 28,561
Regular season schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 21 at Philadelphia Eagles W 27–20 1–0 60,658 2 September 28 Washington Redskins W 27–23 2–0 82,581 3 October 5 Detroit Lions L 21–28 2–1 82,933 4 October 12 at New Orleans Saints W 27–17 3–1 71,274 5 October 18 Pittsburgh Steelers W 42–31 4–1 84,078 6 October 26 St. Louis Cardinals T 21–21 4–1–1 81,186 7 November 2 Dallas Cowboys W 42–10 5–1–1 84,850 8 November 9 at Minnesota Vikings L 3–51 5–2–1 47,700 9 November 16 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–3 6–2–1 47,670 10 November 23 New York Giants W 28–17 7–2–1 80,595 11 November 30 at Chicago Bears W 28–24 8–2–1 45,050 12 December 7 Green Bay Packers W 20–7 9–2–1 82,137 13 December 14 at St. Louis Cardinals W 27–21 10–2–1 44,924 14 December 21 at New York Giants L 14–27 10–3–1 62,966
Standings
Playoffs
Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Eastern Conference December 27 at Dallas Cowboys W 38–14 1–0 Cotton Bowl 69,321 Recap NFL Championship January 4, 1970 at Minnesota Vikings L 7–27 1–1 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 Recap
References
External links 1969 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference 1969 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com 1969 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com at DatabaseFootball.com