1961 Cleveland Browns season
Encyclopedia
The 1961
Cleveland Browns
season was the team's 12th season with the National Football League
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1961 NFL season
The 1961 NFL season was the 42nd regular season of the National Football League. The league expanded to 14 teams with the addition of the Minnesota Vikings, after the team's owners declined to be charter members of the new American Football League. The schedule was also expanded from 12 games per...
Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns
The Cleveland Browns are a professional football team based in Cleveland, Ohio. They are currently members of the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
season was the team's 12th season with the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
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Offseason
On March 22, Dave R. Jones sold the Browns to a group headed by Arthur B. ModellArt Modell
Arthur B. Modell is an American businessman, entrepreneur and former National Football League team owner. He owned the Cleveland Browns franchise from 1961–1995 and the Baltimore Ravens franchise from 1996–2004. Modell is the grandson of the late Morris Modell who founded the northeast...
Exhibition schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | August 11, 1961 | at Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... |
L 35–7 |
| 2 | August 20, 1961 | San Francisco 49ers San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and... > W 27–24 |
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| 3 | August 25, 1961 | at Los Angeles Rams St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,... |
W 34–17 |
| 4 | September 2, 1961 | vs. Pittsburgh Steelers Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC... at Akron Akron, Ohio Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan... |
W 38–6 |
| 5 | September 9, 1961 | Detroit Lions Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... |
L 35–17 |
Regular season schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 17, 1961 | at Philadelphia Eagles 1961 Philadelphia Eagles season -Off Season:As since 1951 the Eagles hold training camp at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania.-NFL Draft:The 1961 NFL Draft and the 1961 AFL Draft were 2 separate drafts and players could end up being drafted by both leagues.-Player Selections:... |
L 27–20 |
| 2 | September 24, 1961 | St. Louis Cardinals 1961 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season The 1961 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 42nd season the team was in the league and their second in St. Louis. The team improved on their previous output of 6-5-1, winning seven games. Despite the improvement, they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season... |
W 20–17 |
| 3 | October 1, 1961 | Dallas Cowboys 1961 Dallas Cowboys season The 1961 Dallas Cowboys season was their second in the National Football League. The team finished with 4 wins, 9 losses, and 1 tie, placing them 6th in the Eastern Conference.-Offseason:... |
W 25–7 |
| 4 | October 8, 1961 | Washington Redskins 1961 Washington Redskins season The 1961 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 1-9-2 record from 1960. However, their 1-12-1 performance during the season placed the Redskins in last-place in the NFL Eastern Conference... |
W 31–7 |
| 5 | October 15, 1961 | Green Bay Packers 1961 Green Bay Packers season -Regular season:Despite being named NFL MVP, Paul Hornung was briefly lost to the military. In response to the construction of the Berlin Wall, the United States Department of Defense activated thousands of reservists. Two dozen football players were activated, including Paul Hornung, Boyd Dowler... |
L 49–17 |
| 6 | October 22, 1961 | at Pittsburgh Steelers 1961 Pittsburgh Steelers season -Schedule:- Week 1 : Dallas Cowboys :at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas* Game time:* Game weather:* Game attendance: 23,500* Referee:* TV announcers:Scoring Drives:... |
W 30–28 |
| 7 | October 29, 1961 | St. Louis Cardinals 1961 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season The 1961 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 42nd season the team was in the league and their second in St. Louis. The team improved on their previous output of 6-5-1, winning seven games. Despite the improvement, they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season... |
W 21–10 |
| 8 | November 5, 1961 | Pittsburgh Steelers 1961 Pittsburgh Steelers season -Schedule:- Week 1 : Dallas Cowboys :at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas* Game time:* Game weather:* Game attendance: 23,500* Referee:* TV announcers:Scoring Drives:... |
L 17–13 |
| 9 | November 12, 1961 | at Washington Redskins 1961 Washington Redskins season The 1961 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 1-9-2 record from 1960. However, their 1-12-1 performance during the season placed the Redskins in last-place in the NFL Eastern Conference... |
W 17–6 |
| 10 | November 19, 1961 | Philadelphia Eagles 1961 Philadelphia Eagles season -Off Season:As since 1951 the Eagles hold training camp at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania.-NFL Draft:The 1961 NFL Draft and the 1961 AFL Draft were 2 separate drafts and players could end up being drafted by both leagues.-Player Selections:... |
W 45–24 |
| 11 | November 26, 1961 | New York Giants 1961 New York Giants season The 1961 New York Giants season was the 37th season for the club in the National Football League. After relinquishing the NFL East title the previous season, the Giants reclaimed the title with a 10–3–1 record, only to lose to the Vince Lombardi-coached Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship... |
L 37–21 |
| 12 | December 3, 1961 | at Dallas Cowboys 1961 Dallas Cowboys season The 1961 Dallas Cowboys season was their second in the National Football League. The team finished with 4 wins, 9 losses, and 1 tie, placing them 6th in the Eastern Conference.-Offseason:... |
W 38–17 |
| 13 | December 10, 1961 | at Chicago Bears 1961 Chicago Bears season The 1961 Chicago Bears season was their 42nd regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted an 8-6 record under George Halas, which was an improvement over the 5-6-1 record of the previous season.-Offseason:... |
L 17–14 |
| 14 | December 17, 1961 | at New York Giants 1961 New York Giants season The 1961 New York Giants season was the 37th season for the club in the National Football League. After relinquishing the NFL East title the previous season, the Giants reclaimed the title with a 10–3–1 record, only to lose to the Vince Lombardi-coached Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship... |
T 7–7 |
Standings
| NFL Eastern Eastern and Western Divisions (NFL) 1933-69 The Eastern and Western Divisions of the National Football League, renamed the American and National Conferences in 1950 and then the Eastern and Western Conferences in 1953, were organized as a result of the disputed NFL championship of 1932... |
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA | STK | |
| New York Giants 1961 New York Giants season The 1961 New York Giants season was the 37th season for the club in the National Football League. After relinquishing the NFL East title the previous season, the Giants reclaimed the title with a 10–3–1 record, only to lose to the Vince Lombardi-coached Green Bay Packers in the NFL Championship... |
10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 368 | 220 | T-1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles 1961 Philadelphia Eagles season -Off Season:As since 1951 the Eagles hold training camp at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania.-NFL Draft:The 1961 NFL Draft and the 1961 AFL Draft were 2 separate drafts and players could end up being drafted by both leagues.-Player Selections:... |
10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 361 | 297 | W-1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 319 | 270 | T-1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals 1961 St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) season The 1961 St. Louis Cardinals season was the 42nd season the team was in the league and their second in St. Louis. The team improved on their previous output of 6-5-1, winning seven games. Despite the improvement, they failed to qualify for the playoffs for the 13th consecutive season... |
7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 279 | 267 | W-3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers 1961 Pittsburgh Steelers season -Schedule:- Week 1 : Dallas Cowboys :at Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas* Game time:* Game weather:* Game attendance: 23,500* Referee:* TV announcers:Scoring Drives:... |
6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 295 | 287 | L-1 |
| Dallas Cowboys 1961 Dallas Cowboys season The 1961 Dallas Cowboys season was their second in the National Football League. The team finished with 4 wins, 9 losses, and 1 tie, placing them 6th in the Eastern Conference.-Offseason:... |
4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 236 | 380 | L-4 |
| Washington Redskins 1961 Washington Redskins season The 1961 Washington Redskins began with the team trying to improve on their 1-9-2 record from 1960. However, their 1-12-1 performance during the season placed the Redskins in last-place in the NFL Eastern Conference... |
1 | 12 | 1 | .077 | 174 | 392 | W-1 |
Awards and records
- Jim Brown, NFL Rushing Leader, 1,408 yards
- Milt PlumMilt PlumMilton Ross Plum was an American football quarterback who played for the Cleveland Browns , Detroit Lions , Los Angeles Rams and New York Giants of the National Football League.-Career:...
, NFL Leader, Passing Yards, (2416)
Milestones
- Jim Brown, Fourth Consecutive 1,000 yard season
- Jim Brown, Fifth Consecutive Rushing Title