1966 Cleveland Browns season

NFL team season

The 1966 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 17th season with the National Football League. They finished just 9–5, their worst record since 1962, and failed to make the playoffs for the first time since 1963.

Season summary

Save for a devastating 16–6 upset loss to a Pittsburgh Steelers team that would finish just 5–8–1, the Browns offense scored points in bunches. In later years, Browns players from that era said the 1966 team had the best offense—even better than the one in 1964, when the club won the NFL championship—and there's evidence to support that contention. The flurry of points started in the opener when the Browns blew out the Washington Redskins 38–14. It continued in a stretch of five straight games in which they lost 34–28 to the St. Louis Cardinals, beat the New York Giants 28–7, routed the Steelers 41–10, turned back the Dallas Cowboys 30–21 and crushed the expansion Atlanta Falcons 49–17.

Then, as they were finishing the season, the Browns outscored the Giants 49–40 and walloped the Cardinals 38–10.

The Browns scored 403 points in all, averaging a healthy 28.8 per contest. Even in the game that eventually did in their playoff chances—a 33–21 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles in the next-to-last week—they were able to score a decent number of points. Quarterback Frank Ryan was as good – or better – than he was in any of his previous three seasons as the full-time starter, including 1964, when he helped lead the Browns to the NFL championship. He threw for a career-high 2,974 yards and had better than a 2-to-1 ratio of touchdown passes (29) to interceptions (14). He also posted his second-best quarterback rating at 88.2.

NFL draft

The following were selected in the 1966 NFL Draft.

1966 Cleveland Browns Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
1 14 Milt Morin Tight End Massachusetts
2 29 Rick Norton Quarterback Kentucky
4 61 Pete Duranko Defensive End Notre Dame
5 74 Randy Schultz Running Back Northern Iowa
5 78 Dan Fulford End Auburn
6 90 Jim Battle Tackle Saginaw Valley
6 93 Fred Hoaglin Center Pittsburgh
7 109 Leroy Carter Flanker Grambling
8 123 Tom Talaga End Notre Dame
9 139 Jack Gregory Defensive End Delta St.
10 153 Monte Ledbetter Wide Receiver Northwestern St. (LA)
11 169 Tony Fire Tackle Bowling Green
11 183 Rich Czap Tackle Nebraska
13 199 Jim Boudreaux Tackle Louisiana Tech
14 213 Pete Lammons Tight End Texas
15 229 Bob Ellis Defensive End Massachusetts
16 243 David Ray Kicker Alabama
17 259 Gene Modzelewski Tackle New Mexico St.
18 273 Charley Harraway Running Back San Jose St.
19 289 Karl Singer Tackle Purdue
20 303 Joe Petro Defensive Back Temple

[1]

Exhibition schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 August 6 at Los Angeles Rams L 6–16 63,285
2 August 14 at San Francisco 49ers W 28–17 27,867
3 August 20 at Atlanta Falcons W 42–3 48,548
4 August 26 Baltimore Colts L 17–24 83,418
5 September 3 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
  (at Birmingham) 		W 13–10 23,590

There was a doubleheader on August 26, 1966 Redskins vs Vikings and Colts vs Browns.

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance
1 September 11 at Washington Redskins W 38–14 1–0 48,643
2 September 18 Green Bay Packers L 20–21 1–1 83,943
3 September 25 St. Louis Cardinals L 28–34 1–2 74,814
4 October 2 at New York Giants W 28–7 2–2 62,916
5 October 8 Pittsburgh Steelers W 41–10 3–2 82,687
6 October 16 Bye
7 October 23 Dallas Cowboys W 30–21 4–2 84,721
8 October 30 at Atlanta Falcons W 49–17 5–2 57,235
9 November 6 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 6–16 5–3 39,690
10 November 13 Philadelphia Eagles W 27–7 6–3 77,698
11 November 20 Washington Redskins W 14–3 7–3 78,466
12 November 24 at Dallas Cowboys L 14–26 7–4 75,504
13 December 4 New York Giants W 49–40 8–4 61,651
14 December 11 at Philadelphia Eagles L 21–33 8–5 58,074
15 December 17 at St. Louis Cardinals W 38–10 9–5 47,721
  • A bye week was necessary in 1966, as the league expanded to an odd-number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.

Game summaries

Week 1

1 234Total
• Browns 7 01021 38
Redskins 14 000 14
Scoring summary
Q1WSHTaylor 5 yard run (Gogolak kick)WSH 7–0
Q1WSHTaylor 34 yard pass from Jurgensen (Gogolak kick)WSH 14–0
Q1CLEKelly 29 yard run (Groza kick)WSH 14–7
Q3CLECollins 20 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick)Tie 14–14
Q3CLEGroza 35 yard field goalCLE 17–14
Q4CLEWarfield 16 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick)CLE 24–14
Q4CLEGreen 1 yard run (Groza kick)CLE 31–14
Q4CLECollins 5 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick)CLE 38–14

[2]

Week 4 at New York Giants

Week Four: Cleveland Browns (1-2) at New York Giants (0-2-1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Browns 7 7 01428
Giants 0 7 007

at Yankee Stadium, New York City

  • Date: October 2
  • Game weather: 52 °F (11 °C)
  • Box Score
Game information

First Quarter

  • Cleveland – Milt Morin 20-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Groza kick), Browns 7–0.

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

Top Passers

  • Browns – Frank Ryan: 14/24, 171 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
  • Giants – Earl Morrall: 10/23, 177 yds, 3 INT

Top rushers

  • Browns – Leroy Kelly: 20 car, 138 yds. 1 TD
  • Giants – Dan Lewis: 9 car, 24 yds,

Top receivers

  • Browns – Gary Collins: 4 rec, 88 yds.
  • Giants – Homer Jones: 4 rec, 88 yds. 1 TD

Week 6: at Atlanta Falcons

Week 6: Cleveland Browns at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary
Period 1 2 34Total
Browns 14 7 72149
Falcons 0 10 0717

at Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, GA

  • Date: October 30
  • Game time: 1:30 p.m. EST
  • Game weather: 58 °F (14 °C), relative humidity 62%, round (wind) 10 mph
  • Game attendance: 57,235
  • TV announcers (CBS): Frank Glieber (play–by–play) and Warren Lahr (color commentator) (second half)
  • [1]
Game information
First Quarter
  • CLE – Kelly 70 yard rush (Groza kick)
    Browns 7, Falcons 0
  • CLE – Warfield 36 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick)
    Browns 14, Falcons 0
Second Quarter
  • ATL – Wheelwright 1 yard rush (Kirouac kick)
    Browns 14, Falcons 7
  • CLE – Collins 17 yard pass from Ryan (Houston pass from Ninowski)
    Browns 21, Falcons 7
  • ATL – Kirouac 23 yard field goal
    Browns 21, Falcons 10
Third Quarter
  • CLE – Green 6 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick)
    Browns 28, Falcons 10
Fourth Quarter
  • CLE – Kelly 30 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick)
    Browns 35, Falcons 10
  • ATL – Hawkins 22 yard pass from Johnson (Kirouac kick)
    Browns 35, Falcons 17
  • CLE – McNeil 44 yard pass from Ninowski (Groza kick)
    Browns 42, Falcons 17
  • CLE – Smith 15 yard pass from Ninowski (Groza kick)
    Browns 49, Falcons 17
Top passers
  • CLE – Frank Ryan 13/21, 223 yds, 4 TD, 1 INT
  • ATL – Randy Johnson 14/25, 158 yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Top rushers
Top receivers
  • CLE – Gary Collins 4 rec, 48 yds, 1 TD
  • ATL – Vern Burke 5 rec, 60 yds
Turnovers
  • CLE – 1
  • ATL – 3

Week 9 at Pittsburgh Steelers

Week Nine: Cleveland Browns (5–2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (1–5–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Browns 0 6 006
Steelers 0 3 31016

at Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

  • Date: November 6
  • Game weather: 35 °F (2 °C)
  • Game attendance: 36,690
  • Box Score
Team Category Player Statistics
Browns Passing Frank Ryan 19/37, 228 Yds, TD, 5 INT
Rushing Leroy Kelly 19 Rush, 82 Yds
Receiving Gary Collins 7 Rec, 93 Yds, TD
Steelers Passing Ron Smith 11/19, 151 Yds, TD
Rushing Willie Asbury 17 Rush, 94 Yds
Receiving Gary Ballman 7 Rec, 88 Yds, TD
Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score
Plays Yards TOP CLE PIT
2 Browns Gary Collins 24-yard touchdown reception from Frank Ryan, kick no good 6 0
2 Steelers 28-yard field goal by Mike Clark 6 3
2 Steelers 25-yard field goal by Mike Clark 6 6
3 Steelers Gary Ballman 8-yard touchdown reception from Ron Smith, Mike Clark kick good 6 13
4 Steelers 42-yard field goal by Mike Clark 6 16
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 6 16

Week 12 at Cowboys

Week Twelve: Cleveland Browns (7–3) at Dallas Cowboys (7–2–1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Browns 0 14 0014
Cowboys 6 7 6726

at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas

  • Date: November 24
  • Game attendance: 80,259
  • Box Score
Game information

First quarter

  • DAL – Danny Villanueva 11-yard field goal. Cowboys 3-0. Drive:
  • DAL – Danny Villanueva 31-yard field goal. Cowboys 6-0. Drive:

Second quarter

Third quarter

  • DAL – Danny Villanueva 12-yard field goal. Cowboys 16-14. Drive:
  • DAL – Danny Villanueva 13-yard field goal. Cowboys 19-14. Drive:

Fourth quarter

  • DAL – Don Perkins 9-yard run (Danny Villanueva kick). Cowboys 26-14. Drive:
Top passers
  • CLE – Frank Ryan – 12/26, 190 yards, TD
  • DAL – Don Meredith – 16/24, 131 yards, TD
Top rushers

Receiving

  • CLE – Gary Collins – 5 receptions, 92 yards
  • DAL – Bob Hayes – 6 receptions, 54 yards

Week 13 vs New York Giants

Week Thirteen: Cleveland Browns (7-4) vs New York Giants (1-9-1)
Period 1 2 34Total
Giants 14 17 6340
Browns 7 7 142149

at Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland

  • Date: December 4
  • Game weather: 18 °F (−8 °C)
  • Box Score
Game information

First Quarter

  • New York – Clarence Childs 90-yard kickoff return (Gogolak kick), Giants 7–0.
  • New York – Gary Wood 5-yard rush (Gogolak kick), Giants 14–0.
  • Cleveland – Leroy Kelly 1-yard rush (Groza kick), Giants 14–7.

Second Quarter

Third Quarter

Fourth Quarter

  • New York – Pete Gogolak 16-yard field goal, Giants 40–28.
  • Cleveland – Ralph Smith 19-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Groza kick), Giants 40–35.
  • Cleveland – Ernie Green 31-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Groza kick), Browns 42–40.
  • Cleveland – Bill Glass 13-yard fumble return (Groza kick), Browns 49–40.

Top Passers

  • Giants – Gary Wood: 9/18, 120 yds, 1 TD
  • Browns – Frank Ryan: 16/27, 326 yds, 3 TD, 3 INT

Top rushers

Top receivers

  • Giants – Joe Morrison: 5 rec, 75 yds. 1 TD
  • Browns – Gary Collins: 5 rec, 120 yds. 1 TD


Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
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 W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Dallas Cowboys 10 3 1 .769 9–3–1 445 239 W1
Philadelphia Eagles 9 5 0 .643 8–5 326 340 W4
Cleveland Browns 9 5 0 .643 9–4 403 259 W1
St. Louis Cardinals 8 5 1 .615 7–5–1 264 265 L3
Washington Redskins 7 7 0 .500 7–6 351 355 L1
Pittsburgh Steelers 5 8 1 .385 4–8–1 316 347 W2
Atlanta Falcons 3 11 0 .214 2–5 204 437 L1
New York Giants 1 12 1 .077 1–11–1 263 501 L8

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Personnel

Roster

1966 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen


Defensive linemen


Linebackers


Defensive backs

Special teams

rookies in italics

[3]

Staff/coaches

1966 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office

Coaches

Offensive coaches

  Defensive coaches

Strength & conditioning

  • Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy
  • Equipment Manager - Morris Kono

[4]

References

  1. ^ "1966 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on December 21, 2007.
  2. ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-15.
  3. ^ "1966 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
  4. ^ 1966 Cleveland Browns (NFL) - Pro Football Archives

External links

  • 1966 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference
  • 1966 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
  • 1966 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
  • 1966 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com
  • Season summary and stats at Cleveland Browns.com
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Cleveland Browns
  • Founded in 1946
  • Based in Cleveland, Ohio
  • Headquartered in Berea, Ohio
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