1969 Washington Redskins season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Washington Redskins 1969 7–5–2 2nd NFL Capitol Vince Lombardi Vince Lombardi Edward Bennett Williams Edward Bennett Williams RFK Stadium Did not qualify Redskins seasons The 1969 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 38th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 33rd in Washington, D.C. In his only season with the franchise, the Redskins were led by head coach and general manager Vince Lombardi. The team improved on their 5–9 record from 1968 to finish at 7–5–2, their first winning season in 14 years. This was the final season to feature the lance logo on the helmet, and home games were played at RFK Stadium (formerly D.C. Stadium). Offseason During the week preceding Super Bowl III in January, rumors had circulated that Vince Lombardi had job offers from the Philadelphia Eagles, Boston Patriots, and Washington Redskins.When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p. 452, Simon & Schuster, 1999, 978-0-684-84418-3 The night before the Super Bowl, Lombardi met with Redskins president Edward Bennett Williams for dinner at Tony Sweet's restaurant.When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p. 453, Simon & Schuster, 1999, 978-0-684-84418-3 He agreed to coach the Redskins after Williams offered him complete authority over all personnel and football operations, the position of "Executive Vice President", and a 5% ownership stake.When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss, p. 457, Simon & Schuster, 1999, 978-0-684-84418-3 Following the death of founding owner George Preston Marshall in August, Williams became the majority owner. NFL draft 1969 NFL draft 1969 Washington Redskins draft Round Selection Player Position College246Eugene EppsDefensive backTexas-El Paso362Ed CrossRunning backPine Bluff5114Bill KishmanDefensive backColorado State6139Harold McLintonLinebackerSouthern7166Jeff AndersonRunning backVirginia7173John DidionCenterOregon State8191Larry BrownRunning backKansas State11269Eric NorriDefensive tackleNotre Dame12295Bob ShannonDefensive backTennessee State13322Michael ShookDefensive backNorth Texas14347Rick BrandDefensive tackleVirginia15374Paul RogersTackleVirginia16399Mike WashingtonLinebackerSouthern17426Rich DobbertDefensive endSpringfield (Massachusetts) Vince Lombardi After stepping down as head coach of the Packers following the 1967 NFL season, a restless Lombardi returned to coaching in 1969 with the Washington Redskins, where he broke a string of 14 losing seasons. The 'Skins would finish with a record of 7–5–2, significant for a number of reasons. Lombardi discovered that rookie running back Larry Brown was deaf in one ear, something that had escaped his parents, schoolteachers, and previous coaches. Lombardi had observed Brown's habit of tilting his head in one direction when listening to signals being called, and walked behind him during drills and said "Larry." When Brown did not answer, the coach asked him to take a hearing exam. Brown was fitted with a hearing aid, and with this correction he would enjoy a successful NFL career. Lombardi was the first coach to get quarterback Sonny Jurgensen, one of the league's premier passers but notoriously lax on fitness, into the best condition he could. Sam Huff came out of retirement exclusively to play for Lombardi. He even changed the team's uniform design to reflect that of the Packers, with gold and white trim along the jersey biceps, and later a gold helmet. The foundation Lombardi laid was the groundwork for Washington's early 1970s success under former Los Angeles Rams Coach George Allen. Lombardi had brought a winning attitude to the Nation's Capital, in the same year that the nearby University of Maryland had hired "Lefty" Driesell to coach basketball and the hapless Washington Senators named Ted Williams as manager. It marked a renaissance in sports interest in the Nation's capitol. Lombardi lasted only one season with the Redskins; he was diagnosed with terminal cancer after the 1969 season and died shortly before the 1970 regular season was to start. Roster 1969 Washington Redskins  9 Sonny Jurgensen 13 Frank Ryan American football 16 Gary Beban 20 Gerry Allen 43 Larry Brown running back y 32 Henry Dyer American football 31 Charley Harraway 40 David Kopay 16 Gary Beban 84 Marshall Cropper× 80 Bob Long 47 Walter Roberts American football 42 Charley Taylor 88 Pat Richter 87 Jerry Smith tight end 68 Willie Banks American football G 51 John Didion y C 63 Steve Duich G 67 Dan Grimm G 56 Len Hauss C 65 Vince Promuto G 76 Walt Rock T 62 Ray Schoenke G 74 Jim Snowden T 73 Frank Bosch DT 89 Leo Carroll American football DE 79 Dennis Crane DT 85 John Hoffman defensive end y DE 66 Carl Kammerer DE 60 Dick LeMay no DE× 82 Clark Miller DE 71 Spain Musgrove DT 83 Jim Norton defensive lineman DT 55 Chris Hanburger OLB 70 Sam Huff MLB 86 Marlin McKeever MLB 53 Harold McLinton y OLB 54 Tom Roussel OLB 41 Mike Bass CB 21 Tom Brown safety SS 46 Rickie Harris FS 37 Pat Fischer CB 23 Brig Owens SS 29 Ted Vactor CB 24 Bob Wade no SS  4 Mike Bragg P  3 Charlie Gogolak K×  5 Curt Knight K 26 Bob Brunet RB IR 34 Bill Kishman y no S IR 27 John Love American football WR Military 72 Joe Rutgens DT IR × Taxi Squad only Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 2, 1969 Chicago Bears W 13–7 1–0 RFK Stadium 45,988 2 August 8, 1969 at Buffalo Bills (AFL) L 17–21 1–1 War Memorial Stadium 37,012 3 August 23, 1969 at Atlanta Falcons W 24–7 2–1 Atlanta Stadium 56,990 4 August 30, 1969 vs. Detroit Lions L 20–21 2–2 Tampa Stadium (Tampa, FL) 42,477 5 September 6, 1969 Cleveland Browns L 10–20 2–3 RFK Stadium 45,994 6 September 14, 1969 at Philadelphia Eagles L 17–26 2–4 Franklin Field 35,417 Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 21 at New Orleans Saints W 26–20 1–0 Tulane Stadium 73,147 Recap 2 September 28 at Cleveland Browns L 23–27 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 82,581 Recap 3 October 5 at San Francisco 49ers T 17–17 1–1–1 Kezar Stadium 35,642 Recap 4 October 12 St. Louis Cardinals W 33–17 2–1–1 RFK Stadium 50,481 Recap 5 October 19 New York Giants W 20–14 3–1–1 RFK Stadium 50,352 Recap 6 October 26 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 14–7 4–1–1 Pitt Stadium 46,557 Recap 7 November 2 at Baltimore Colts L 17–41 4–2–1 Memorial Stadium 60,238 Recap 8 November 9 Philadelphia Eagles T 28–28 4–2–2 RFK Stadium 50,502 Recap 9 November 16 Dallas Cowboys L 28–41 4–3–2 RFK Stadium 50,474 Recap 10 November 23 Atlanta Falcons W 27–20 5–3–2 RFK Stadium 50,345 Recap 11 November 30 Los Angeles Rams L 13–24 5–4–2 RFK Stadium 50,352 Recap 12 December 7 at Philadelphia Eagles W 34–29 6–4–2 Franklin Field 60,658 Recap 13 December 14 New Orleans Saints W 17–14 7–4–2 RFK Stadium 50,354 Recap 14 December 21 at Dallas Cowboys L 10–20 7–5–2 Cotton Bowl 56,924 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Season summary Week 9 vs Cowboys Washington Redskins 1969 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Nine: Dallas Cowboys (7–1) at Washington Redskins (4–2–2) November 16, 1969 Cowboys 17 10 7 7 Redskins 7 14 7 0 Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C. 50,474 33 F C Box Score First quarter DAL – Mike Clark 36-yard field goal. Cowboys 3–0. WSH – Jerry Smith 27-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Curt Knight kick). Redskins 7–3. DAL – Lance Rentzel 65-yard pass from Craig Morton (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 10–7. DAL – Larry Cole 41-yard interception return (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 17–7. Second quarter DAL – Calvin Hill 3-yard run (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 24–7. WSH – Charley Taylor 68-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Curt Knight kick). Cowboys 24–14. DAL – Mike Clark 14-yard field goal. Cowboys 27–14. WSH – Jerry Smith 11-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Curt Knight kick). Cowboys 27–21. Third quarter DAL – Calvin Hill 7-yard run (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 34–21. WSH – Jerry Smith 20-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Curt Knight kick). Cowboys 34–28. Fourth quarter DAL – Dan Reeves 4-yard run (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 41–28. Top passers DAL – Craig Morton – 8/17, 156 yards, TD, INT WSH – Sonny Jurgensen – 24/35, 338 yards, 4 TD, 4 INT Top rushers DAL – Calvin Hill – 27 rushes, 150 yards, 2 TD WSH – Larry Brown – 11 rushes, 38 yards Top receivers DAL – Lance Rentzel – 2 receptions, 84 yards, TD WSH – Charley Taylor – 6 receptions, 155 yards, TD President Richard Nixon was in attendance. Week 12 Redskins 7 6 14 7 Eagles 7 9 3 10 December 7 Franklin Field 60,658 Sleet; 32 F; wind 10 mph yes Q1 PHI Keyes 2 yard run (Baker kick) PHI 7–0 Q1 WSH Taylor 12 yard pass from Jurgensen (Knight kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 PHI Jackson 29 yard pass from Snead (Baker kick) PHI 14–7 Q2 PHI Safety, Jurgensen tackled in end zone by Tom PHI 16–7 Q2 WSH Knight 12 yard field goal PHI 16–10 Q2 WSH Knight 43 yard field goal PHI 16–13 Q3 PHI Baker 47 yard field goal PHI 19–13 Q3 WSH Hoffman recovered fumble in end zone (Knight kick) WSH 20–19 Q3 WSH Smith 25 yard pass from Jurgensen (Knight kick) WSH 27–19 Q4 PHI Baker 19 yard field goal WSH 27–22 Q4 WSH Brown 1 yard run (Knight kick) WSH 34–22 Q4 PHI Jackson 10 yard pass from Snead (Baker kick) WSH 34–29 yes Larry Brown 19 Rush, 138 Yds Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-17. Standings References Redskins on Pro Football Reference Washington Category:Washington Redskins seasons Washington Redskins