View source for 1969 Cleveland Browns

{{NFL season
 | team           = Cleveland Browns
 | year           = 1969
 | coach          = [[Blanton Collier]]
 | stadium        = [[Cleveland Stadium]]
 | radio          = WHK{{·}} WMMS
 | record         = 10–3–1
 | division_place = 1st [[National Football League|NFL Century]]
 | playoffs       = Lost [[NFL Championship Game, 1969|NFL Championship]]
}}
The '''[[1969 NFL season|1969]] [[Cleveland Browns]] season''' was the team's 20th season with the [[National Football League]] 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]]. The 1969 season would be the last year that Cleveland would win a postseason game until [[1986 Cleveland Browns|1986]].

==Offseason==
===NFL Draft===
The following were selected in the [[1969 NFL Draft]].
{| class="wikitable" 
|-  style="text-align:center; background:#de6108; color:#3e220c;"
| '''Round''' || '''Overall''' || '''Player''' || '''Position''' || '''School/Club Team'''
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|1||20||[[Ron Johnson (running back)|Ron Johnson]]||Running Back|| [[Michigan Wolverines|Michigan]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|3||55||[[Al Jenkins]]||Guard|| [[Tulsa Golden Hurricane|Tulsa]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|3||72||[[Chip Glass]]||Tight End|| [[Florida State Seminoles|Florida State]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|4||98||Freddie Summers||Defensive Back|| [[Washington College|Washington (MD)]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|5||124||[[Fair Hooker]]||Wide Receiver|| [[Arizona State Sun Devils|Arizona State]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|6||145||Larry Adams||Defensive Tackle|| [[TCU Horned Frogs|Texas Christian University]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|6||150||Joe Righetti||Defensive Tackle|| [[Waynesburg Yellow Jackets|Waynesburg]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|7||176||[[Walt Sumner]]||Defensive Back|| [[Florida State Seminoles|Florida State]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|8||202||Chuck Reynolds||Center|| [[Tulsa Golden Hurricanes|Tulsa]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|9||228||Ron Kamzelski||Defensive Tackle|| [[Minnesota Golden Gophers|Minnesota]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|10||254||Greg Shelly||Guard|| [[Virginia Cavaliers|Virginia]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|11||280||Dave Jones||Wide Receiver|| [[Kansas State Wildcats|Kansas State]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|12||306||[[Dick Davis]]||Running Back|| [[Nebraska Cornhuskers|Nebraska]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|13||332||Tommy Boutwell||Wide Receiver|| [[Southern Miss Golden Eagles|Southern Miss]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|14||358||Jiggy Smaha||Defensive Tackle|| [[Georgia Bulldogs|Georgia]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|15||384||Joe Stevenson||Tight End|| [[Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets|Georgia Tech]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|16||410||James Lowe||Flanker|| [[Tuskegee Golden Tigers|Tuskegee]]
|- style="text-align:center;" bgcolor=""
|17||436||[[Bob Oliver]]||Defensive End|| [[Abilene Christian Wildcats|Abilene Christian]]
|}
<ref>http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1969.htm</ref>

===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 played the AFL’s Buffalo Bills, while the Cleveland Browns hosted the Green Bay Packers in the second match.<ref>Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.439, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0</ref>

==Exhibition schedule==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Week
! Date
! Opponent
! Result
! Attendance
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| 1
| August 10, 1969
| vs. [[San Francisco 49ers]] at [[Seattle]]
| W 24–19
| <center>32,219</center>
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| 2
| August 16, 1969
| at [[St. Louis Rams|Los Angeles Rams]]
| W 10–3
| <center>54,937</center>
|- style="background:#fea;"
| 3
| August 23, 1969
| at [[San Diego Chargers]]
| T 19–19
| <center>36,005</center>
|- style="background:#fdd;"
| 4
| August 30, 1969
| [[Green Bay Packers]]
| L 27–17
| <center>85,532</center>
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| 5
| September 6, 1969
| at [[Washington Redskins]]
| W 20–10
| <center>45,994</center>
|- style="background:#fdd;"
| 6
| September 13, 1969
| vs. [[Minnesota Vikings]] at [[Akron, Ohio|Akron]]
| L 23–16
| <center>28,561</center>
|}

==Regular season schedule==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Week
! Date
! Opponent
! Result
! Attendance
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| 1
| September 21, 1969
| at [[Philadelphia Eagles]]
| W 27–20
| <center>60,658</center>
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| 2
| September 28, 1969
| [[Washington Redskins]]
| W 27–23
| <center>82,581</center>
|- style="background:#fdd;"
| 3
| October 5, 1969
| [[Detroit Lions]]
| L 28–21
| <center>82,933</center>
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| 4
| October 12, 1969
| at [[New Orleans Saints]]
| W 27–17
| <center>71,274</center>
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| 5
| October 18, 1969
| [[Pittsburgh Steelers]]
| W 42–31
| <center>84,078</center>
|- style="background:#fea;"
| 6
| October 26, 1969
| [[Arizona Cardinals|St. Louis Cardinals]]
| T 21–21
| <center>81,186</center>
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| 7
| November 2, 1969
| [[Dallas Cowboys]]
| W 42–10
| <center>84,850</center>
|- style="background:#fdd;"
| 8
| November 9, 1969
| at [[Minnesota Vikings]]
| L 51–3
| <center>47,700</center>
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| 9
| November 16, 1969
| at [[Pittsburgh Steelers]]
| W 24–3
| <center>47,670</center>
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| 10
| November 23, 1969
| [[New York Giants]]
| W 28–17
| <center>80,595</center>
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| 11
| November 30, 1969
| at [[Chicago Bears]]
| W 28–24
| <center>45,050</center>
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| 12
| December 7, 1969
| [[Green Bay Packers]]
| W 20–7
| <center>82,137</center>
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| 13
| December 14, 1969
| at [[Arizona Cardinals|St. Louis Cardinals]]
| W 27–21
| <center>44,924</center>
|- style="background:#fdd;"
| 14
| December 21, 1969
| at [[New York Giants]]
| L 27–14
| <center>62,966</center>
|}

===Standings===
{| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%;"
|-
! colspan="8"  style="text-align:center; background:#ffcbcb; vertical-align:middle;"| [[NFL Century Division|NFL Century]]
|-
!
! W
! L
! T
! PCT
! PF
! PA
! STK
|- style="background:#fdd;"
| '''Cleveland Browns'''
| style="text-align:center;"| 10
| style="text-align:center;"| 3
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| .769
| style="text-align:center;"| 351
| style="text-align:center;"| 300
| style="text-align:center;"| L-1
|-
| [[1969 New York Giants season|New York Giants]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 6
| style="text-align:center;"| 8
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| .429
| style="text-align:center;"| 264
| style="text-align:center;"| 298
| style="text-align:center;"| W-3
|-
| [[1969 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season|St. Louis Cardinals]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 4
| style="text-align:center;"| 9
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| .308
| style="text-align:center;"| 314
| style="text-align:center;"| 389
| style="text-align:center;"| L-3
|-
| [[1969 Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh Steelers]]
| style="text-align:center;"| 1
| style="text-align:center;"| 13
| style="text-align:center;"| 0
| style="text-align:center;"| .071
| style="text-align:center;"| 218
| style="text-align:center;"| 404
| style="text-align:center;"| L-13
|}

==Roster==
{{Empty section|date=July 2010}}
==Playoffs==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Week
! Date
! Opponent
! Result
! Attendance
|- style="background:#dfd;"
| Eastern Conference
| December 4, 1969
| at [[Dallas Cowboys]]
| W 38–14
| <center>69,321</center>
|- style="background:#fdd;"
| NFL Championship
| January 4, 1970
| at [[Minnesota Vikings]]
| L 27–7
| <center>47,900</center>
|}
==Personnel==
===Staff/Coaches===
{| class="toccolours" style="text-align: left; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! colspan="7" style="background:#312821; color:white; border:2px solid #de6108; text-align:center;"|'''1969 Cleveland Browns staff'''
|-
| colspan="7" style="text-align:right;"|
|-
|valign="top"|
|  style="font-size:95%; vertical-align:top;"| '''Front Office'''
* Majority Owner/CEO & President - [[Art Modell]]
* Minority Owner/Vice President - [[Al Lerner]]

'''Coaching Staff'''
* Head Coach – [[Blanton Collier]]


'''''Offensive Coaches'''''
* Offensive Coordinator – [[Nick Skorich]]
* Offensive Line – [[Fritz Heisler]]
* Receivers - [[Bob Nussbaumer]]
|width="35"|&nbsp;
|valign="top"|
|  style="font-size:95%; vertical-align:top;"| '''''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
|}

<ref>https://www.profootballarchives.com/1969nflcle.html</ref>

===Roster===
{| class="toccolours" style="text-align: left; border: 2px solid black;"
|-
! colspan="7" style="background:#312821; color:white; border:2px solid #de6108; text-align:center;"|'''1969 Cleveland Browns roster'''
|-
|style="font-size:95%;" valign="top" | '''Quarterbacks'''
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">16</span> [[Bill Nelsen]]
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">17</span> [[Jerry Rhome]]


'''Running backs'''
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">44</span> [[Leroy Kelly]]
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">30</span> ''[[Ron Johnson]]''
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">35</span> ''[[Bo Scott]]''


'''Wide receivers'''
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">86</span> [[Gary Collins]]
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">43</span> ''[[Fair Hooker]]''
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">41</span> [[Dave Jones]]
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">42</span> [[Paul Warfield]]
|style="width:25px;" |
|style="font-size:95%;" valign="top" | '''Offensive linemen'''
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">73</span> [[Monte Clark]] T
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">64</span> [[Jim Copeland]] G
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">65</span> [[John Demarie]] G
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">66</span> [[Gene Hickerson]] G
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">54</span> [[Fred Hoaglin]] C
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">77</span> [[Dick Schafrath]] T


'''Tight ends'''
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">83</span> ''[[Chip Glass]]''
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">89</span> [[Milt Morin]]


'''Defensive linemen'''
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">71</span> [[Walter Johnson]] DT
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">81</span> [[Jack Gregory]] DE
|style="width:25px;" |
|style="font-size:95%;" valign="top" | '''Defensive linemen'''
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">88</span> [[Ron Snidow]] DE
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">70</span> [[Joe Righetti]] DT
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">84</span> [[Marvin Upshaw]] DE


'''Linebackers'''
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">52</span> [[Billy Andrews]]
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">50</span> [[John Garlington]]
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">51</span> [[Dale Lindsey]]
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">56</span> [[Bob Matheson]]


'''Defensive backs'''
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">40</span> [[Erich Barnes]] CB
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">21</span> ''[[Dean Brown]]''
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">28</span> [[Ben Davis]] CB
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">34</span> [[Mike Howell]] S
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">24</span> [[Ernie Kellerman]] S
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">29</span> ''[[Walt Sumner]]'' CB
*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">20</span> [[Freddie Summers]] CB/S
|style="width:25px;" |
|style="font-size:95%;" valign="top" | '''Special teams'''

*<span style="font-family:Arial Black;">12</span> [[Don Cockroft]] K/P


'''Reserve lists'''
*None - vacant


'''Practice squad'''
* None - vacant

*'''Note:''' ''Rookies in italics''
|}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
==External links==
{{Wikipedia-short link}}
* [http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/stats.nsf/Annual/1969-cle 1969 Cleveland Browns Statistics] at jt-sw.com
* [http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1969-cle 1969 Cleveland Browns Schedule] at jt-sw.com
* [http://www.databasefootball.com/teams/teamyear.htm?tm=CLE&lg=nfl&yr=1969 1969 Cleveland Browns] at DatabaseFootball.com  

{{DEFAULTSORT:1969 Cleveland Browns}}

[[Category:1969 National Football League season by team]]
[[Category:Cleveland Browns seasons]]