1961 Cleveland Browns season

NFL team season March 2026 March 2014 1961-Browns-mediaguide.jpg Cleveland Browns 1961 Paul Brown Cleveland Stadium 8–5–1 3rd NFL Eastern Did not qualify Milt Plum, QBJohn Morrow, CBob Gain, DTMike McCormack, RTJim Ray Smith, GJim Brown, FB Browns seasons 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.NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 281 Draft 1961 NFL draft 1961 Cleveland Browns 1 10 Bobby Crespino End Ole Miss yes 2 27 Ed Nutting Offensive tackle Georgia Tech yes 4 55 John Brown Offensive tackle Syracuse yes 5 69 Mike Lucci Linebacker Tennessee yes 6 79 Frank Parker Offensive tackle Oklahoma State yes 7 97 Preston Powell Running back Grambling yes 8 110 Fred Cox Kicker Pittsburgh no yes 8 111 John Frongillo Offensive tackle Baylor no 9 125 Jake Gibbs Quarterback Ole Miss no 10 129 Wayne Wolff Guard Wake Forest no 10 139 Ken Ericson End Syracuse no 11 153 Billy Gault Halfback TCU no yes no Undrafted free agents + 1961 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeDennis PenzaDefensive backSt. Norbert Personnel Staff/Coaches 1961 Cleveland Browns staff Front office Owner/CEO – Art Modell Coaches Head coach – Paul Brown Offensive coaches Running backs – Howard Brinker Offensive guards – Fritz Heisler Offensive tackles – Ed Ulinski Offensive backfield and ends – Paul Bixler  Defensive coaches Defensive line – Dick Evans Linebackers – Ed Ulinski Strength & Conditioning Athletic trainer – Leo Murphy Equipment manager – Morris Kono Roster 1961 Cleveland Browns roster Quarterbacks 18 Len Dawson 16 Milt Plum Running backs 32 Jim Brown 49 Bobby Mitchell 40 Preston Powell 22 Tom Watkins Wide receivers 42 Bobby Crespino 85 Charley Ferguson 88 Rich Kreitling 26 Ray Renfro Tight ends 81 Leon Clarke 86 Gern Nagler Offensive linemen 70 Errol Linden T 74 Mike McCormack T 56 John Morrow C 62 Duane Putnam G 77 Dick Schafrath T 64 Jim Ray Smith G 60 John Wooten G Defensive linemen 83 Johnny Brewer DE 79 Bob Gain DT 82 Jim Houston DE 72 Floyd Peters DT 68 Larry Stephens DT 84 Paul Wiggin DE Linebackers 50 Vince Costello MLB/OLB 35 Galen Fiss OLB 52 Dave Lloyd MLB 34 Walt Michaels OLB Defensive backs 20 Ross Fichtner CB/S 46 Don Fleming SS 24 Bobby Franklin FS 30 Bernie Parrish CB 44 Jim Shofner CB Special teams 38 Sam Baker P 76 Lou Groza K Reserve list 66 Gene Hickerson G (IR) 7px 78 Ed Nutting T (IR) 7px rookies in italics https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cle/1961_roster.htm 1961 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players Pro-Football-Reference.com 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 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 References External links 1961 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com 1961 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com 1961 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com Cleveland Category:Cleveland Browns seasons Cleveland Category:1960s in Cleveland