1969 Cincinnati Bengals

1969 Cincinnati Bengals season
Head Coach	Paul Brown
Home Field	Nippert Stadium
Results
Record	4–9–1
Place	5th AFL West
Playoff Finish	did not qualify
Timeline
Previous Season	Next Season
1968	1970

The 1969 Cincinnati Bengals season was the team's second year in professional football.

Paul Brown drafted quarterback Greg Cook of the Univ. of Cincinnati in the first round.

The same draft also produced linebacker Bill Bergey.

The Bengals jumped out to a 3–0 record, but finished 4–9–1 in their final season at Nippert Stadium, before moving to their brand new facility the following season.

The Nov. 9, 1969 Bengals vs. Oilers game at the Astrodome in Houston is unique in club history. It's the only game nobody won. Cincinnati played its only regular-season tie that afternoon, catching the Oilers at 31–31 on K Horst Muhlmann's 18-yard field goal with 0:22 left in the fourth quarter. Regular-season overtime was not in the rule book at that time.

The oldest season record in Bengals history, and the only one still standing from the Nippert Stadium years, is QB Greg Cook's average of 9.41 yards gained per passing attempt in 1969. The only other average of more than nine yards was 9.21 by QB Boomer Esiason in 1988.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1969 Cincinnati Bengals Draft
Round	Pick #	Overall	Name	Position	College
1	5	5	Greg Cook	Quarterback	Cincinnati
2	5	31	Bill Bergey	Linebacker	Arkansas State
3	5	57	Louis "Speedy" Thomas	Wide Receiver	Utah
4	5	83	Clem Turner	Running Back	Cincinnati
5	5	109	Guy Dennis	Guard	Florida
6	5	135	Ken Riley	Defensive Back	Florida A&M
7	5	161	Royce Berry	Defensive End	Houston
8	5	187	Tim Buhanan	Linebacker	Hawaii
9	5	213	Mike Stripling	Running Back	Tulsa
10	5	239	Steve Howell	Tight End	Ohio State
11	5	265	Mark Stewart	Defensive Back	Georgia
12	5	291	Lonnie Paige	Defensive Tackle	North Carolina College
13	5	316	Chuck Benson	Wide Receiver	Southern Illinois
14	5	343	Mike Wilson	Offensive Tackle	Dayton
15	5	369	Bill Shoemaker	Kicker	Stanford
16	5	395	Bill Schmidt	Linebacker	Missouri
17	5	421	Terry Story	Offensive Tackle	Georgia Tech

Regular season

Season standings

Qualified for playoffs

1969 AFL Western Division standings
Team	W	L	T	PCT	PF	PA
*Oakland Raiders	12	1	1	.923	377	242
Kansas City Chiefs	11	3	0	.786	359	177
San Diego Chargers	8	6	0	.571	288	276
Denver Broncos	5	8	1	.385	297	344
Cincinnati Bengals	4	9	1	.308	280	367

Season schedule

1969 Cincinnati Bengals schedule
Date	Opponent	Result	Attendance	Stadium
September 14	Miami Dolphins	W 27–21	25,335	Nippert Stadium
September 21	San Diego Chargers	W 34–20	26,243	Nippert Stadium
September 28	Kansas City Chiefs	W 24–19	27,812	Nippert Stadium
October 4	at San Diego Chargers	L 14–21	52,748	San Diego Stadium
October 12	New York Jets	L 7–21	27,927	Nippert Stadium
October 19	Denver Broncos	L 23–30	27,920	Nippert Stadium
October 26	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 22–42	50,934	Municipal Stadium
November 2	Oakland Raiders	W 31–17	27,927	Nippert Stadium
November 9	at Houston Oilers	T 31–31	45,298	Astrodome
November 16	Boston Patriots	L 14–25	25,913	Nippert Stadium
November 23	at New York Jets	L 7–40	62,128	Shea Stadium
November 30	at Buffalo Bills	L 13–16	35,122	War Memorial Stadium
December 7	at Oakland Raiders	L 17–37	54,427	Oakland Coliseum
December 14	at Denver Broncos	L 16–27	42,198	Mile High Stadium

Team Stats

1969 Cincinnati Bengals Team Stats
TEAM STATS	Bengals	Opponents
TOTAL FIRST DOWNS	172	278
Rushing	66	135
Passing	95	130
Penalty	11	13
TOTAL NET YARDS	3868	5337
Avg Per Game	276.3	381.2
Total Plays	728	935
Avg. Per Play	5.3	5.7
NET YARDS RUSHING	1523	2651
Avg. Per Game	167.5	189.4
Total Rushes	363	523
NET YARDS PASSING	2345	2686
Avg. Per Game	167.5	191.9
Sacked Yards Lost	57–375	16–180
Gross Yards	2720	2866
Att. Completions	308–163	396–205
Completion Pct.	52.9	51.8
Intercepted	15	21
PUNTS-AVERAGE	85–38.8	55–41.4
PENALTIES-YARDS	50–556	72–824
FUMBLES-BALL LOST	30–25	19–16
TOUCHDOWNS	33	42
Rushing	10	13
Passing	22	24
Returns	1	5

Score by Periods	1	2	3	4	Tot
Bengals	48	92	72	68	280
Opponents	78	130	68	91	367

Team leaders

• Passing: Greg Cook (197 Att, 106 Comp, 1854 Yds, 53.8 Pct, 15 TD, 11 Int, 88.3 Rating)
• Rushing: Jess Phillips (118 Att, 578 Yds, 4.9 Avg, 83 Long, 3 TD)
• Receiving: Eric Crabtree (40 Rec, 855 Yds, 21.4 Avg, 73 Long, 7 TD)
• Scoring: Horst Muhlmann, 80 points (16 FG; 32 PAT)

Personnel

Staff/Coaches

1969 Cincinnati Bengals staff
	Front Office Owner/CEO/General Manager - Paul Brown Director of Player Personnel - Pete Brown President - John Sawyer Coaching Staff Head Coach – Paul Brown Offensive Coaches Offensive Line – Bill Johnson Offensive Backs - Jack Donaldson Receivers/Offensive Ends - Bill Walsh			Defensive Coaches Defensive Line - Chuck Studley Defensive Coordinator / Defensive Backs – Tom Bass Linebackers – Vince Costello

Final roster

1969 Cincinnati Bengals roster
Quarterbacks 12 Greg Cook 15 John Stofa 14 Sam Wyche Running Backs 18 Paul Robinson WR/PR/KR 19 Essex Johnson WR 30 Jess Phillips 40 Ron Lamb FB 43 Clem Turner Wide Receivers 10 Eric Crabtree 17 Speedy Thomas 24 Tommie Smith 25 Chip Myers 26 Jack Gehrke Tight Ends 88 Bruce Coslet 84 Bob Trumpy		Offensive Linemen 54 Bob Johnson C 63 Guy Dennis G 64 Justin Canale G 68 Dave Middendorf G 72 Howard Fest G 73 Pat Matson G 74 Ernie Park G/T 75 Ernie Wright T 67 Mike Wilson G 77 Frank Peters T Defensive Linemen 70 Andy Rice DT 79 Steve Chomyszak DT 83 Bill Staley DT 82 Royce Berry DE 89 Harry Gunner DE 85 Martin Baccaglio DE		Linebackers 51 Ken Avery OLB 52 Tim Buchanan MLB 53 Bill Peterson OLB 57 Ed Harmon OLB 58 Al Beauchamp OLB 66 Bill Bergey MLB Defensive Backs 13 Ken Riley CB 20 Bobby Hunt S 23 Al Coleman S 28 John Guillory S 29 Jim Johnson CB 31 Fletcher Smith CB 33 Jim Williams DB 47 Charlie King CB Special Teams 11 Dale Livingston P 16 Horst Muhlmann K 41 Terry Swanson P Rookies in italics

Postseason

Playoffs
Date	Opponent	W-L	Score	ATT.	Stadium

Awards and records

AFL Coach of the Year

• Paul Brown

AFL Passing Title

• Greg Cook

AFL Defensive Rookie of the Year

• Bill Bergey

AFL Pro Bowl Selections

• RB Paul Robinson
• TE Bob Trumpy

References

http://www.bengals.com/team/history/1969.asp