1966 Cleveland Browns season

NFL team season March 2014 March 2026 Cleveland Browns 1966 Blanton Collier Harold Sauerbrei Cleveland Stadium 9–5 T–2nd NFL Eastern Did not qualify Browns seasons LB Johnny BrewerFL Gary CollinsFB Ernie GreenRG Gene HickersonHB Leroy KellyQB Frank RyanLT Dick SchafrathLG John Wooten HB Leroy Kelly 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 Notes114Milt MorinTight End Massachusetts229Rick NortonQuarterback Kentucky461Pete DurankoDefensive End Notre Dame574Randy SchultzRunning Back Northern Iowa578Dan FulfordEnd Auburn690Jim BattleTackle Saginaw Valley693Fred HoaglinCenter Pittsburgh7109Leroy CarterFlanker Grambling8123Tom TalagaEnd Notre Dame9139Jack GregoryDefensive End Delta St.10153Monte LedbetterWide Receiver Northwestern St. (LA)11169Tony FireTackle Bowling Green11183Rich CzapTackle Nebraska13199Jim BoudreauxTackle Louisiana Tech14213Pete LammonsTight End Texas15229Bob EllisDefensive End Massachusetts16243David RayKicker Alabama17259Gene ModzelewskiTackle New Mexico St.18273Charley HarrawayRunning Back San Jose St.19289Karl SingerTackle Purdue20303Joe PetroDefensive Back Temple https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1966.htm dead https://web.archive.org/web/20071221231817/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1966.htm 2007-12-21 1966 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com Pro-Football-Reference.com 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 Browns 7 0 10 21 Redskins 14 0 0 0 September 11 D.C. Stadium, Washington, D.C. 65 F; wind 8 mph yes Q1 WSH Taylor 5 yard run (Gogolak kick) WSH 7–0 Q1 WSH Taylor 34 yard pass from Jurgensen (Gogolak kick) WSH 14–0 Q1 CLE Kelly 29 yard run (Groza kick) WSH 14–7 Q3 CLE Collins 20 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick) Tie 14–14 Q3 CLE Groza 35 yard field goal CLE 17–14 Q4 CLE Warfield 16 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick) CLE 24–14 Q4 CLE Green 1 yard run (Groza kick) CLE 31–14 Q4 CLE Collins 5 yard pass from Ryan (Groza kick) CLE 38–14 yes Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2014-Sep-15. Week 4 at New York Giants Week Four: Cleveland Browns (1-2) at New York Giants (0-2-1) Cleveland Browns 1966 2; text-align:center 0 0 0 14 7 7 0 7 Giants Browns Yankee Stadium, New York City October 2 52 °F °C Box Score First quarter Cleveland – Milt Morin 20-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Groza kick), Browns 7–0. Second quarter Cleveland – Leroy Kelly 3-yard rush (Groza kick), Browns 14–0. New York– Homer Jones 17-yard pass from Gary Wood (Gogolak kick), Browns 14–7. Third quarter Fourth quarter Cleveland – Ernie Green 14-yard rush (Groza kick), Browns 21–7. Cleveland – Paul Warfield 9-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Groza kick), Browns 28–7. 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 Cleveland Browns 2;text-align:center; autocollapse Week 6: Cleveland Browns at Atlanta Falcons – Game summary October 30 1:30 p.m. EST Browns 14 7 7 21 Falcons 0 10 0 7 Atlanta Stadium, Atlanta, GA 57,235 58 F, relative humidity 62%, round (wind) 10 mph CBS Frank Glieber (play–by–play) and Warren Lahr (color commentator) (second half) 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 CLE – Leroy Kelly 14 carr, 98 yds, 1 TD ATL – Junior Coffey 17 carr, 117 yds 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 Cleveland Browns 1966 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Nine: Cleveland Browns (5–2) at Pittsburgh Steelers (1–5–1) November 6 Browns 0 6 0 0 Steelers 0 3 3 10 Pitt Stadium, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 36,690 35 F C Box Score left Cleveland Browns Browns Pittsburgh Steelers Steelers Frank Ryan 19/37, 228 Yds, TD, 5 INT Leroy Kelly 19 Rush, 82 Yds Gary Collins 7 Rec, 93 Yds, TD Ron Smith 11/19, 151 Yds, TD Willie Asbury 17 Rush, 94 Yds Gary Ballman 7 Rec, 88 Yds, TD CLE PIT collapsed 2 Browns RecTD Gary Collins Frank Ryan 24 no good run/pass good/failed/incomplete 6 0 2 Steelers FG 28 Mike Clark 6 3 2 Steelers FG 25 Mike Clark 6 6 3 Steelers RecTD Gary Ballman Ron Smith 8 good Mike Clark run/pass good/failed/incomplete 6 13 4 Steelers FG 42 Mike Clark 6 16 6 16 Week 12 at Cowboys 1966 Dallas Cowboys season Cleveland Browns 1966 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Twelve: Cleveland Browns (7–3) at Dallas Cowboys (7–2–1) November 24 Thursday Browns 0 14 0 0 Cowboys 6 7 6 7 Cotton Bowl, Dallas, Texas 80,259 Box Score 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 CLE – Leroy Kelly 1-yard run (Lou Groza kick). Browns 7-6. Drive: DAL – Dan Reeves 6-yard pass from Don Meredith (Danny Villanueva kick). Cowboys 13-7. Drive: CLE – Ernie Green 16-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Lou Groza kick). Browns 14-13. Drive: 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 CLE – Leroy Kelly – 15 rushes, 115 yards, TD DAL – Don Perkins – 23 rushes, 111 yards, TD 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) Cleveland Browns 1966 2; text-align:center 14 6 21 3 14 17 7 7 Browns Giants Cleveland Stadium, Cleveland December 4 18 °F °C Box Score 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 New York – Gary Wood 16-yard rush (Gogolak kick), Giants 21–7. Cleveland – Gary Collins 3-yard pass from Frank Ryan (Groza kick), Giants 21–14. New York – Joe Morrison 33-yard pass from Gary Wood (Gogolak kick), Giants 28–14. New York – Pete Gogolak 26-yard field goal, Giants 31–14. Third quarter New York – Pete Gogolak 13-yard field goal, Giants 34–14. Cleveland – Leroy Kelly 3-yard rush (Groza kick), Giants 34–21. New York – Pete Gogolak 38-yard field goal, Giants 37–21. Cleveland – Leroy Kelly 2-yard rush (Groza kick), Giants 37–28. 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 Giants – Allen Jacobs: 26 car, 94 yds Browns – Leroy Kelly: 13 car, 126 yds. 3 TD Top receivers Giants – Joe Morrison: 5 rec, 75 yds. 1 TD Browns – Gary Collins: 5 rec, 120 yds. 1 TD Standings Personnel Roster 1966 Cleveland Browns roster Quarterbacks 11 Jim Ninowski 13 Frank Ryan American football 15 Gary Lane gridiron football y Running backs 31 Charley Harraway y 33 Randy Schultz 36 Nick Pietrosante 44 Leroy Kelly 48 Ernie Green Wide receivers 27 Walter Roberts American football 42 Paul Warfield 85 Clifton McNeil 86 Gary Collins P American football Tight ends 41 Ralph Smith American football 89 Milt Morin Offensive linemen 54 Fred Hoaglin C 60 John Wooten G 61 Joe Isbell G 66 Gene Hickerson G 70 John Brown T offensive tackle 73 Monte Clark T 77 Dick Schafrath T Defensive linemen 69 Jim Kanicki DT 71 Walter Johnson DT defensive tackle 74 Dick Modzelewski DT 78 Frank Parker DT American football 79 Jim Battle DE 80 Bill Glass DE 84 Paul Wiggin DE Linebackers 35 Galen Fiss OLB 50 Vince Costello MLB 51 Dale Lindsey MLB 67 Sid Williams OLB 82 Jim Houston OLB 83 Johnny Brewer OLB Defensive backs 20 Ross Fichtner SS 22 Bobby Franklin CB/S American football 24 Ernie Kellermann FS 34 Mike Howell CB 40 Erich Barnes CB Special teams 76 Lou Groza K Taxi squad 23 Olie Cordill y American football, born 1943 S 16 Archie Roberts American football QB Reserve list 49 Walter Beach CB IR 56 John Morrow C American football IR rookies in italics https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cle/1966_roster.htm 1966 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players Pro-Football-Reference.com Staff/coaches 1966 Cleveland Browns staff Front office Majority owner/CEO & president – Art Modell Minority owner – Al Lerner General manager – Harold Sauerbrei Coaches Head coach – Blanton Collier Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/Running Backs - Dub Jones Offensive guards – Fritz Heisler Offensive tackles – Ed Ulinski Offensive backfield and ends – Bob Nussbaumer  Defensive coaches Defensive line – Nick Skorich Linebackers – Ed Ulinski Strength & conditioning Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy Equipment Manager - Morris Kono 1966 Cleveland Browns (NFL) - Pro Football Archives References 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 Cleveland Category:Cleveland Browns seasons Cleveland Browns Category:1960s in Cleveland