1961 Cleveland Browns season

1961 Cleveland Browns season
Head coachPaul Brown
Home fieldCleveland Stadium
Local radioWGAR
Results
Record8–5–1
Division place3rd NFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify
Pro BowlersMilt Plum, QB
John Morrow, C
Bob Gain, DT
Mike McCormack, RT
Jim Ray Smith, G
Jim Brown, FB

The 1961 Cleveland Browns season marked the team's 12th season in the National Football League (NFL) and was the 16th in franchise history.

Offseason

On March 22, Dave R. Jones sold the Browns to a group headed by Arthur B. Modell.[1]

Exhibition schedule

Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Sources
1 August 11 at Detroit Lions L 7–35 0–1 Tiger Stadium 25,602
2 August 20 at San Francisco 49ers W 27–24 1–1 Kezar Stadium 38,759
3 August 25 at Los Angeles Rams W 34–17 2–1 Los Angeles Coliseum 40,086
4 September 2 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers W 38–6 3–1 Rubber Bowl 27,758
5 September 9 Detroit Lions L 17–35 3–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 41,374

Regular season schedule

Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources
1 September 17 at Philadelphia Eagles L 20–27 0–1 Franklin Field 60,671 Recap
2 September 24 St. Louis Cardinals W 20–17 1–1 Cleveland Stadium 50,443 Recap
3 October 1 Dallas Cowboys W 25–7 2–1 Cleveland Stadium 43,638 Recap
4 October 8 Washington Redskins W 31–7 3–1 Cleveland Stadium 46,186 Recap
5 October 15 Green Bay Packers L 17–49 3–2 Cleveland Stadium 75,042 Recap
6 October 22 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 30–28 4–2 Forbes Field 29,266 Recap
7 October 29 at St. Louis Cardinals W 21–10 5–2 Sportsman's Park 26,696 Recap
8 November 5 Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–17 5–3 Cleveland Stadium 62,723 Recap
9 November 12 at Washington Redskins W 17–6 6–3 D.C. Stadium 28,975 Recap
10 November 19 Philadelphia Eagles W 45–24 7–3 Cleveland Stadium 68,399 Recap
11 November 26 New York Giants L 21–37 7–4 Cleveland Stadium 80,455 Recap
12 December 3 at Dallas Cowboys W 38–17 8–4 Cotton Bowl 23,500 Recap
13 December 10 at Chicago Bears L 14–17 8–5 Wrigley Field 38,717 Recap
14 December 17 at New York Giants T 7–7 8–5–1 Yankee Stadium 61,084 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
New York Giants 10 3 1 .769 9–2–1 368 220 T1
Philadelphia Eagles 10 4 0 .714 8–4 361 297 W1
Cleveland Browns 8 5 1 .615 8–3–1 319 270 T1
St. Louis Cardinals 7 7 0 .500 7–5 279 267 W3
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 8 0 .429 5–7 295 287 L1
Dallas Cowboys 4 9 1 .308 2–9–1 236 380 L4
Washington Redskins 1 12 1 .077 1–10–1 174 392 W1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers 11 3 0 .786 9–3 391 223 W1
Detroit Lions 8 5 1 .615 7–4–1 270 258 L1
Chicago Bears 8 6 0 .571 7–5 326 302 W2
Baltimore Colts 8 6 0 .571 6–6 302 307 W1
San Francisco 49ers 7 6 1 .538 6–5–1 346 272 L1
Los Angeles Rams 4 10 0 .286 3–9 263 333 L1
Minnesota Vikings 3 11 0 .214 3–9 285 407 L2
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Awards and records

  • Jim Brown, NFL rushing leader, 1,408 yards
  • Milt Plum, NFL leader, passing yards, (2416)

Milestones

  • Jim Brown, Fourth Consecutive 1,000 yard season
  • Jim Brown, Fifth Consecutive Rushing Title

Personnel

Roster

1961 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

rookies in italics

[2]

Staff/Coaches

1961 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office

Coaches

Offensive coaches

  Defensive coaches

Strength & Coditioning

  • Athletic trainer – Leo Murphy
  • Equipment manager – Morris Kono

References

  1. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 281
  2. ^ "1961 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.