1967 Cleveland Browns season

NFL team season March 2014 March 2026 Cleveland Browns 1967 Blanton Collier Harold Sauerbrei Cleveland Stadium 9–5 1st NFL Century Lost Eastern Conference Championship Game(at Cowboys) 14–52Lost NFL Playoff Bowl(vs. Rams) 6–30 Walter Johnson, DTPaul Wiggin, DEDick Schafrath, LTErnie Green, FBBill Glass, DELeroy Kelly, HBGene Hickerson, G Browns seasons The 1967 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 18th season with the National Football League. The Browns were back in the playoffs after a one-year absence. They finished 9–5, the same as in 1966, but this time, it was good enough for them to get in as they won the Century Division championship in the first year of play after the NFL split the Eastern and Western conferences into two divisions each. The division race was not close, as the Browns finished two games ahead of the runner-up New York Giants (7–7), their old arch rival in the 1950s and early 1960s. Running Back Leroy Kelly went over 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight time, getting 1,205 to go along with 11 touchdowns, while Ernie Green, now out of the shadow of Jim Brown, went over 700 yards for the second year in a row, getting 710. Quarterback Frank Ryan, the architect of the 27–0 1964 NFL title game victory over the Baltimore Colts, was in his last full season as a starter. He had 20 TD passes and 16 interceptions. But Ryan, with his body, especially his shoulder, beat up, gave way to Bill Nelsen early the next year. The 52–14 playoff loss to Dallas in the Eastern Conference title contest caused Browns head coach Blanton Collier to re-shape his team at other positions as well, as new players were brought in to replace some of the fading stars who had carried the club for years. For instance, this was the last season for Hall of Fame place-kicker Lou Groza, who retired for the second time – this time for good – after making 11 of 23 field-goal tries. Groza, the last member of the original Browns from the team's inception in 1946, would retire after 21 seasons. Groza was replaced the next season by Don Cockroft. Offseason NFL draft The following were selected in the 1967 NFL/AFL draft. 1967 Cleveland Browns draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes118Bob MathesonLinebacker Duke246Larry ConjarRunning Back Notre Dame355Don CockroftKicker Adams State372Eppie BarneyFlanker Iowa State483Carl WardDefensive Back Michigan498Joe TaffoniTackle Tennessee-Martin6152John DemarieGuard LSU7177Bill HouseTackle Youngstown State8205Bill DevrowDefensive Back Southern Mississippi9230Cecil DowdyLinebacker Alabama10255Jim CopelandCenter Virginia11282Bill SabatinoDefensive Tackle Colorado12308Charlie FowlerGuard Houston13333Billy AndrewsLinebacker Southeastern Louisiana14360Floyd RogersTackle Clemson15386Dennis WilliamsonDefensive Back Wisconsin-Whitewater16411Don WilliamsEnd Akron17439Ben DavisDefensive Back Defiancehttps://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1967.htm 1967 NFL Draft Listing - Pro-Football-Reference.com March 29, 2018 May 13, 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100513023352/http://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1967.htm dead Exhibition schedule Week Date Opponent Result Attendance 1 August 5 vs. Philadelphia Eagles at Canton L 13–28 17,500 2 August 13 at San Francisco 49ers L 14–42 27,482 3 August 19 at Los Angeles Rams L 17–24 36,942 4 August 25 at Atlanta Falcons L 31–34 52,240 5 September 2 Green Bay Packers L 21–30 84,236 6 September 10 at Minnesota Vikings W 42–14 40,012 There was a doubleheader on September 2, 1967 Falcons vs Vikings and Packers vs Browns. Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Attendance 1 September 17 Dallas Cowboys L 14–21 0–1 81,039 2 September 24 at Detroit Lions L 14–31 0–2 57,383 3 October 1 at New Orleans Saints W 42–7 1–2 77,045 4 October 7 Pittsburgh Steelers W 21–10 2–2 82,949 5 October 15 St. Louis Cardinals W 20–16 3–2 77,813 6 October 22 Chicago Bears W 24–0 4–2 83,183 7 October 29 at New York Giants L 34–38 4–3 62,903 8 November 5 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 34–14 5–3 47,131 9 November 12 at Green Bay Packers L 7–55 5–4 50,074 10 November 19 Minnesota Vikings W 14–10 6–4 68,431 11 November 26 Washington Redskins W 42–37 7–4 72,798 12 December 3 New York Giants W 24–14 8–4 78,594 13 December 10 at St. Louis Cardinals W 20–16 9–4 47,782 14 December 17 at Philadelphia Eagles L 24–28 9–5 60,658 Game summaries Week 13 The Browns clinch their first Century Division title with a 20-16 victory at St. Louis. One touchdown comes on an 18-yard interception return by linebacker Jim Houston and the game ends when St. Louis tight end Jackie Smith catches a 41-yard pass and is dragged down at the Cleveland 18 yard line. Week 14 Browns 7 3 0 14 Eagles 0 7 7 14 December 17 Franklin Field Playoffs 1969 NFL playoffs Round Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Eastern Conference December 24 at Dallas Cowboys L 14–52 0–1 Cotton Bowl 70,786 Recap Playoff Bowl January 7 Los Angeles Rams L 6–30 0–2 Miami Orange Bowl 37,102 Standings Personnel Roster 1967 Cleveland Browns roster Quarterbacks 13 Frank Ryan 15 Gary Lane 18 Dick Shiner Running backs 31 Charley Harraway 35 Larry Conjar 36 Nick Pietrosante 44 Leroy Kelly 48 Ernie Green Wide receivers 42 Paul Warfield 85 Clifton McNeil 86 Gary Collins P 87 Eppie Barney Tight ends 41 Ralph Smith 89 Milt Morin Offensive linemen 54 Fred Hoaglin C 55 John Demarie T 60 John Wooten G 62 Joe Taffoni G/T 64 Jim Copeland C/G 66 Gene Hickerson G 73 Monte Clark T 77 Dick Schafrath T Defensive linemen 69 Jim Kanicki DT 71 Walter Johnson DT 78 Frank Parker DT 80 Bill Glass DE 81 Jack Gregory DE 84 Paul Wiggin DE Linebackers 51 Dale Lindsey MLB 52 Billy Andrews OLB 56 Bob Matheson MLB 82 Jim Houston OLB 83 Johnny Brewer OLB Defensive backs 20 Ross Fichtner FS 24 Ernie Kellermann SS 27 Carl Ward CB/S 28 Ben Davis CB 34 Mike Howell CB 40 Erich Barnes CB Special teams 76 Lou Groza KTaxi Squad 12 Don Cockroft K/P 88 Ron Duncan TE 43 Ron Green WR 74 Bill Sabatino DT rookies in italics https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cle/1967_roster.htm 1967 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players - Pro-Football-Reference.com Staff/Coaches 1967 Cleveland Browns staff Front office Majority Owner/CEO & President - Art Modell Minority owner – Al Lerner General manager – Harold Sauerbrei Coaching staff 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 https://www.profootballarchives.com/1967nflcle.html 1967 Cleveland Browns (NFL) - Pro Football Archives References External links 1967 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference 1967 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com 1967 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com 1967 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com Season summary and results at Cleveland Browns.com Cleveland Category:Cleveland Browns seasons Cleveland Browns Category:1960s in Cleveland