1961 Cleveland Browns (NFL) |
| 3rd place • Eastern Conference • 8-5-1 .615 |
| Head Coach: Paul Brown |
| Paul Bixler | Ends |
| Howard Brinker | Backfield |
| Dick Evans | Defensive Line |
| Fritz Heisler | Guards |
| Eddie Ulinski | Tackles |
| SCORES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Day | Date | Opponent | Score | Location | Venue | Attendance | |||
| Fri | 8/11/1961 | A | Detroit Lions | 7-35 | L | Detroit, MI | Tiger Stadium | 25605 | |
| Sun | 8/20/1961 | A | San Francisco 49ers | 27-24 | W | San Francisco, CA | Kezar Stadium | 38759 | |
| Fri | 8/25/1961 | A | Los Angeles Rams | 34-17 | W | Los Angeles, CA | Memorial Coliseum | 40086 | |
| Sat | 9/2/1961 | H | Pittsburgh Steelers | 38-6 | W | Akron, OH | Rubber Bowl | 27782 | |
| Sat | 9/9/1961 | H | Detroit Lions | 17-35 | L | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 41374 | |
| Sun | 9/17/1961 | A | Philadelphia Eagles | 20-27 | L | Philadelphia, PA | Franklin Field | 60671 | |
| Sun | 9/24/1961 | H | St. Louis Cardinals | 20-17 | W | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 50443 | |
| Sun | 10/1/1961 | H | Dallas Cowboys | 25-7 | W | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 43638 | |
| Sun | 10/8/1961 | H | Washington Redskins | 31-7 | W | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 46186 | |
| Sun | 10/15/1961 | H | Green Bay Packers | 17-49 | L | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 75042 | |
| Sun | 10/22/1961 | A | Pittsburgh Steelers | 30-28 | W | Pittsburgh, PA | Forbes Field | 29266 | |
| Sun | 10/29/1961 | A | St. Louis Cardinals | 21-10 | W | St. Louis, MO | Busch Stadium | 26696 | |
| Sun | 11/5/1961 | H | Pittsburgh Steelers | 13-17 | L | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 62723 | |
| Sun | 11/12/1961 | A | Washington Redskins | 17-6 | W | Washington, DC | D.C. Stadium | 28975 | |
| Sun | 11/19/1961 | H | Philadelphia Eagles | 45-24 | W | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 68399 | |
| Sun | 11/26/1961 | H | New York Giants | 21-37 | L | Cleveland, OH | Cleveland Stadium | 80455 | |
| Sun | 12/3/1961 | A | Dallas Cowboys | 38-17 | W | Dallas, TX | Cotton Bowl | 23500 | |
| Sun | 12/10/1961 | A | Chicago Bears | 14-17 | L | Chicago, IL | Wrigley Field | 38717 | |
| Sun | 12/17/1961 | A | New York Giants | 7-7 | T | New York, NY | Yankee Stadium | 61084 | |
Exhibition game. Playoff game. A=Away game. H=Home game. N=Neutral site game. W=Win. L=Loss. T=Tie. OT=Overtime.
Click on Date to see boxscore.
| ROSTER | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | No | Pos | Ht | Wt | Age | College | GP | GS |
| Sam Baker | 38 | P | 6-2 | 217 | 32 | Oregon State | 14 | 0 |
| Johnny Brewer | 83 | RDE-LDE | 6-4 | 233 | 24 | Mississippi | 14 | 0 |
| Jim Brown | 32 | FB | 6-2 | 228 | 25 | Syracuse | 14 | 14 |
| Leon Clarke | 81 | TE | 6-4 | 232 | 28 | Southern California | 13 | 1 |
| Vince Costello | 50 | RLB-MLB-LLB | 6-0 | 228 | 29 | Ohio University | 14 | 4 |
| Bobby Crespino | 42 | SE | 6-4 | 223 | 23 | Mississippi | 13 | 2 |
| Len Dawson | 18 | QB | 6-0 | 190 | 26 | Purdue | 6 | 1 |
| Charley Ferguson | 85 | FL | 6-5 | 218 | 22 | Tennessee State | 12 | 0 |
| Ross Fichtner | 20 | LCB-RCB | 6-0 | 186 | 23 | Purdue | 13 | 2 |
| Galen Fiss | 35 | LLB | 6-0 | 226 | 30 | Kansas | 13 | 13 |
| Don Fleming | 46 | LS | 6-0 | 188 | 24 | Florida | 14 | 14 |
| Bobby Franklin | 24 | RS | 5-11 | 182 | 25 | Mississippi | 14 | 14 |
| Bob Gain | 79 | LDT | 6-3 | 256 | 32 | Kentucky | 14 | 14 |
| Lou Groza | 76 | K | 6-3 | 240 | 37 | Ohio State | 14 | 0 |
| Jim Houston | 82 | LDE | 6-3 | 239 | 24 | Ohio State | 14 | 14 |
| Rich Kreitling | 88 | SE | 6-2 | 208 | 25 | Auburn; Illinois | 13 | 11 |
| Errol Linden | 70 | LOT | 6-5 | 258 | 24 | Houston | 10 | 0 |
| Dave Lloyd | 52 | MLB | 6-3 | 247 | 25 | Texas Tech; Georgia | 14 | 13 |
| Mike McCormack | 74 | ROT | 6-4 | 246 | 31 | Kansas | 14 | 14 |
| Walt Michaels | 34 | RLB | 6-0 | 231 | 32 | Washington & Lee | 14 | 12 |
| Bobby Mitchell | 49 | HB | 6-0 | 192 | 26 | Illinois | 14 | 12 |
| John Morrow | 56 | C | 6-3 | 244 | 28 | Michigan | 14 | 14 |
| Gern Nagler | 86 | TE-SE | 6-2 | 190 | 29 | Santa Clara | 13 | 13 |
| Ed Nutting | 78 | LOT | 6-4 | 246 | 22 | Georgia Tech | 4 | 1 |
| Bernie Parrish | 30 | LCB | 5-11 | 194 | 25 | Florida | 14 | 13 |
| Floyd Peters | 72 | RDT | 6-3 | 254 | 25 | San Francisco State | 13 | 7 |
| Milt Plum | 16 | QB | 6-1 | 205 | 26 | Penn State | 14 | 13 |
| Preston Powell | 40 | FB | 6-2 | 225 | 25 | Grambling State | 12 | 0 |
| Duane Putnam | 62 | ROG-LOG | 6-0 | 228 | 33 | Pacific | 14 | 0 |
| Ray Renfro | 26 | FL | 6-1 | 190 | 32 | North Texas | 14 | 14 |
| Dick Schafrath | 77 | LOT | 6-3 | 253 | 24 | Ohio State | 13 | 13 |
| Jim Shofner | 44 | RCB | 6-2 | 191 | 26 | Texas Christian | 14 | 13 |
| Jim Ray Smith | 64 | LOG | 6-3 | 241 | 29 | Baylor | 14 | 14 |
| Larry Stephens | 68 | RDT-LDT | 6-4 | 245 | 23 | Texas | 14 | 7 |
| Tommy Watkins | 22 | HB | 6-1 | 195 | 24 | East Los Angeles JC; Iowa State | 10 | 2 |
| Paul Wiggin | 84 | RDE | 6-3 | 245 | 27 | Modesto JC; Stanford | 14 | 14 |
| John Wooten | 60 | ROG | 6-2 | 250 | 25 | Colorado | 14 | 14 |
| DRAFT LIST | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round | Overall | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 10 | Bobby Crespino | E | Mississippi |
| 2 | 27 | Ed Nutting | T | Georgia Tech |
| 4 | 55 | John Brown | T | Syracuse |
| 5 | 69 | Mike Lucci | C | Tennessee |
| 6 | 79 | Frank Parker | T | Oklahoma State |
| 7 | 97 | Preston Powell | B | Grambling State |
| 8 | 110 | Fred Cox | HB | Pittsburgh |
| 8 | 111 | John Frongillo | T | Baylor |
| 9 | 125 | Jake Gibbs | QB | Mississippi |
| 10 | 129 | Wayne Wolff | G | Wake Forest |
| 10 | 139 | Ken Ericson | E | Syracuse |
| 11 | 153 | Billy Gault | B | Texas Christian |
| 12 | 167 | Dick Lage | E | Lenoir-Rhyne |
| 13 | 181 | Jack Wilson | B | Duke |
| 14 | 195 | Phil Lohmann | C | Oklahoma |
| 15 | 209 | Charley Taylor | B | Mississippi |
| 16 | 223 | Roger Shoals | T | Maryland |
| 17 | 237 | Calvin Bird | B | Kentucky |
| 18 | 251 | Ed Morris | T | Indiana |
| 19 | 265 | Bob Minihane | G | Boston University |
| 20 | 279 | Charlie Baker | T | Tennessee |
| SCORING BY QUARTERS | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 91 | 78 | 43 | 107 | 319 |
| Opponents Totals | 41 | 62 | 57 | 110 | 270 |
| TEAM STATS | TOP | 1st Downs | FDR | FDP | FDX | 3rd Down Efficiency | 4th Down Efficiency | PEN | PENY |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team Totals | 246 | 116 | 120 | 10 | / % | / % | 47 | 455 | |
| Opponents Totals | 243 | 87 | 146 | 10 | / % | / % | 38 | 367 |
| SCORING | TD | X1 | X1A | PCT | FG | FGA | PCT | SAF | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lou Groza | 0 | 37 | 38 | 97.4 | 16 | 23 | 69.6 | 0 | 85 |
| Jim Brown | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||
| Bobby Mitchell | 10 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 60 | ||
| Ray Renfro | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | ||
| Rich Kreitling | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| Leon Clarke | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | ||
| Vince Costello | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Bobby Crespino | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Charley Ferguson | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Bobby Franklin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Gern Nagler | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Bernie Parrish | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Milt Plum | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| Tommy Watkins | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| (Team) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 39 | 37 | 39 | 94.9 | 16 | 23 | 69.6 | 0 | 319 |
| Opponents Totals | 34 | 33 | 34 | 97.1 | 11 | 28 | 39.3 | 0 | 270 |
| FIELD GOALS | MADE | ATT | PCT | BL | LG | 1-19 | 20-29 | 30-39 | 40-49 | 50+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lou Groza | 16 | 23 | 69.6 | 1 | 48 | 4/6 | 8/8 | 3/3 | 1/4 | 0/2 |
| Team Totals | 16 | 23 | 69.6 | 1 | 48 | 4/6 | 8/8 | 3/3 | 1/4 | 0/2 |
| Opponents Totals | 11 | 28 | 39.3 | 6/ | 1/ | 4/ | 0/ | 0/ |
| RUSHING | ATT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jim Brown | 305 | 1408 | 4.6 | 38 | 8 |
| Bobby Mitchell | 101 | 548 | 5.4 | 56t | 5 |
| Tommy Watkins | 43 | 209 | 4.9 | 21 | 0 |
| Bobby Franklin | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12t | 1 |
| Preston Powell | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 |
| Rich Kreitling | 0 | 4 | 4L | 0 | |
| Mike McCormack | 0 | 4 | 4L | 0 | |
| Len Dawson | 1 | -10 | -10.0 | -10 | 0 |
| Milt Plum | 24 | -17 | -0.7 | 14 | 1 |
| Team Totals | 476 | 2163 | 4.5 | 56t | 15 |
| Opponents Totals | 411 | 1605 | 3.9 | 47 | 16 |
| PASSING | ATT | COM | PCT | INC | YDS | Y/ATT | Y/COM | LG | TD | TD% | INT | INT% | TS | YL | NYP | RTG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Milt Plum | 302 | 177 | 177 | 115 | 2416 | 8.0 | 13.6 | 77 | 18 | 6.0 | 10 | 3.3 | 145 | 2271 | 90.3 | |
| Len Dawson | 15 | 7 | 7 | 5 | 85 | 5.7 | 12.1 | 17t | 1 | 6.7 | 3 | 20.0 | 19 | 66 | 47.2 | |
| Jim Brown | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 37 | 12.3 | 37.0 | 37t | 1 | 33.3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 37 | 120.8 | |
| Team Totals | 320 | 185 | 185 | 122 | 2538 | 7.9 | 13.7 | 77 | 20 | 6.3 | 13 | 4.1 | 164 | 2374 | 87.2 | |
| Opponents Totals | 358 | 200 | 200 | 138 | 2831 | 7.9 | 14.2 | 88t | 16 | 4.5 | 20 | 5.6 | 305 | 2526 | 73.2 |
| RECEIVING | REC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ray Renfro | 48 | 834 | 17.4 | 57 | 6 |
| Jim Brown | 46 | 459 | 10.0 | 77t | 2 |
| Bobby Mitchell | 32 | 368 | 11.5 | 52t | 3 |
| Rich Kreitling | 21 | 229 | 10.9 | 19 | 3 |
| Gern Nagler | 19 | 241 | 12.7 | 21t | 1 |
| Leon Clarke | 11 | 211 | 19.2 | 41t | 2 |
| Tommy Watkins | 4 | 66 | 16.5 | 35 | 1 |
| Charley Ferguson | 2 | 68 | 34.0 | 60t | 1 |
| Bobby Crespino | 2 | 62 | 31.0 | 49 | 1 |
| Team Totals | 185 | 2538 | 13.7 | 77t | 20 |
| Opponents Totals | 200 | 2831 | 14.2 | 88t | 16 |
| INTERCEPTIONS | INT | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bernie Parrish | 7 | 40 | 5.7 | 15 | 0 |
| Jim Shofner | 5 | 8 | 1.6 | 5 | 0 |
| Don Fleming | 3 | 62 | 20.7 | 41 | 0 |
| Bobby Franklin | 2 | 20 | 10.0 | 20 | 0 |
| Walt Michaels | 2 | 17 | 8.5 | 15 | 0 |
| Galen Fiss | 1 | 13 | 13.0 | 13 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 20 | 160 | 8.0 | 41 | 0 |
| Opponents Totals | 13 | 302 | 23.2 | 50 | 1 |
| PUNTING | NO | YDS | AVG | LG | BL | TB | I20 | RYDS | NYDS | NET |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Baker | 53 | 2296 | 43.3 | 62 | 0 | 5 | 213 | 1983 | 37.4 | |
| Team Totals | 53 | 2296 | 43.3 | 62 | 0 | 5 | 213 | 1983 | 37.4 | |
| Opponents Totals | 54 | 2314 | 42.9 | 68 | 0 | 5 | 283 | 1931 | 35.8 |
| PUNT RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Mitchell | 14 | 2 | 164 | 11.7 | 64t | 1 |
| Jim Shofner | 14 | 6 | 119 | 8.5 | 21 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 28 | 8 | 283 | 10.1 | 64t | 1 |
| Opponents Totals | 27 | 9 | 213 | 7.9 | 47 | 0 |
| KICKOFF RETURNS | NO | FC | YDS | AVG | LG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bobby Mitchell | 16 | 428 | 26.8 | 91t | 1 | |
| Preston Powell | 16 | 321 | 20.1 | 36 | 0 | |
| Tommy Watkins | 9 | 226 | 25.1 | 47 | 0 | |
| Sam Baker | 3 | 57 | 19.0 | 25 | 0 | |
| Jim Brown | 2 | 50 | 25.0 | 26 | 0 | |
| Larry Stephens | 1 | 15 | 15.0 | 15 | 0 | |
| Ross Fichtner | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 11 | 0 | |
| Errol Linden | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 5 | 0 | |
| Johnny Brewer | 1 | 2 | 2.0 | 2 | 0 | |
| Team Totals | 50 | 1115 | 22.3 | 91t | 1 | |
| Opponents Totals | 56 | 1465 | 26.2 | 105t | 1 |
| FUMBLES | NO | LOST | OWN | OPP | REC | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sam Baker | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Brown | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |
| Vince Costello | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 30 | 1 |
| Bobby Crespino | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Galen Fiss | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Don Fleming | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 35 | 0 |
| Bobby Franklin | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Bob Gain | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Lou Groza | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Houston | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Rich Kreitling | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 0 | |
| Dave Lloyd | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Bobby Mitchell | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| John Morrow | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Bernie Parrish | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 34 | 1 |
| Floyd Peters | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| Milt Plum | 9 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | |
| Ray Renfro | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Dick Schafrath | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Tommy Watkins | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Paul Wiggin | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Team Totals | 28 | 20 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 108 | 2 |
| Opponents Totals | 23 | 18 | 5 | 20 | 25 | 2 |
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