1969 Detroit Lions season

NFL team season August 2023 March 2026 Detroit Lions 1969 9–4–1 2nd NFL Central Joe Schmidt Tiger Stadium Did not qualify Lions seasons The 1969 Detroit Lions season was the 40th season in franchise history. They enjoyed their best season in seven years, and their first winning campaign since 1964, by finishing in second place in the NFL Central Division with a solid 9–4–1 record led by a stingy defense that only allowed 188 total points on the season. However, the Lions still failed to qualify for the postseason, for the 12th straight season.Detroit Lions season history at Sports E-Cyclopedia The Lions were the only team to lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers, doing so in week 1 of the season. Pittsburgh lost their remaining 13 games. The loss to the Steelers proved costly to the Lions, as it served as a big blow to their playoff hopes. Offseason NFL draft 1969 NFL/AFL draft 1969 Detroit Lions 2 34 Altie Taylor RB Utah State yes 2 47 Jim Yarbrough TE Florida from Los Angeles yes 3 59 Larry Walton WR Arizona State from New Orleans yes 8 190 Jim Carr OT Jackson State no 9 216 Rocky Rasley G Oregon State yes 10 242 Bob Bergum DE Wisconsin-Platteville no 11 268 Ron Walker DE Morris Brown no 12 294 Bob Hadlock DT George Fox (Ore.) no 13 320 Wilson Bowie RB USC no 14 346 George Hoey WR Michigan no 15 372 Fred Gough LB Texas-Arlington no 16 398 Ken Spain DE Houston no 16 407 John Stahl G Fresno State no 17 424 Gary Steele TE Army no no Notes Detroit traded its first-round selection (8th) and QB Milt Plum, P/WR Pat Studstill and RB Tommy Watkins to Los Angeles in exchange for QB Bill Munson and the Rams' third-round selection (73rd). Detroit traded DT Roger Brown to Los Angeles in exchange for the Rams' second-round selection (47th) and first- and third-round selections in 1968. Detroit traded QB Karl Sweetan to New Orleans in exchange for the Saints' third-round selection (59th). Detroit traded its third-round selection (60th), fourth-round selection in 1970 and S Bruce Maher to N.Y. Giants in exchange for RB Bill Triplett and LB Bill Swain. Detroit traded the third-round selection received from the Rams (73rd) to St. Louis in exchange for WR Billy Gambrell. Detroit traded its fourth-round selection (86th) and third-round selection (65th) in 1968 to San Francisco in exchange for RB David Kopay. Detroit traded its sixth- and seventh-round selections (138th) and (164th) to Atlanta in exchange for DT Chuck Sieminski and LB Andy Bowling. Personnel Staff / coaches 1969 Detroit Lions Owner - William Clay Ford, Sr. Vice president / general manager - Russ Thomas Executive vice president - Edwin J. Anderson Treasurer - Newton S. Peters Publicity director / business manager - Lyall Smith Assistant publicity director - Elliott Trumbull Equipment manager - Roy Marklem Assistant equipment manager - Charles "Rip" Collins Head coach – Joe Schmidt Offensive coordinator / backs - Bill McPeak Offensive line - Chuck Knox Wide receivers - Johnny North Defensive coordinator / secondary - Jim David Defensive line / linebackers - Jim Martin Trainer - Kent Falb Assistant trainer - Dave Smith https://archive.org/details/lions-1969-media-guide-detroit-c/page/n3/mode/2up 1969 Detroit Lions official guide July 23, 2026https://www.profootballarchives.com/1969nfldet.html#gsc.tab=0 1969 Detroit Lions ProFootballArchives.com July 23, 2026 Final roster 1969 Detroit Lions roster Quarterbacks 14 Greg Barton American football 11 Greg Landry 19 Bill Munson Running backs 35 Tom Nowatzke 42 Altie Taylor y 38 Bill Triplett 30 Larry Watkins y 32 Gene Wren no Wide receivers 81 Bill Malinchak 25 Earl McCullouch 49 Larry Walton y 89 John Wright wide receiver Tight ends 87 Craig Cotton y 88 Charlie Sanders Offensive linemen 52 Bill Cottrell C 54 Ed Flanagan American football C 76 Rocky Freitas T 68 Frank Gallagher American football G 67 Rocky Rasley y G 73 Roger Shoals T 63 Chuck Walton G 75 Jim Yarbrough y T offensive lineman Defensive linemen 72 Dan Goich DE/DT 74 Larry Hand DE 71 Alex Karras DT 70 Denis Moore American football DT/DE 84 Joe Robb DE 82 Jerry Rush DT Linebackers 53 Mike Lucci MLB 62 Ed Mooney OLB 50 Paul Naumoff OLB 55 Wayne Walker linebacker OLB 51 Bill Swain MLB Defensive backs 20 Lem Barney CB/P 44 Dick LeBeau CB 47 Wayne Rasmussen SS 48 Tom Vaughn American football FS 28 Mike Weger SS 45 Bobby Williams defensive back CB Special teams 12 Errol Mann K Reserve lists -- Wilson Bowie y no RB IR -- Solomon Brannan CB IR 15 Jerry DePoyster K/P Military 40 Nick Eddy RB IR 24 Mel Farr RB IR 66 Bob Kowalkowski G IR 23 Phil Odle WR IR  1 Garo Yepremian K Military Taxi squad -- Bob Bergum y no DE -- Fred Gough y no LB 26 George Hoey y CB 57 Terry Miller linebacker LB rookies in italics Regular season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 21 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–16 0–1 Pitt Stadium 51,360 2 September 28 New York Giants W 24–0 1–1 Tiger Stadium 54,358 3 October 5 at Cleveland Browns W 28–21 2–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 82,833 4 October 12 Green Bay Packers L 17–28 2–2 Tiger Stadium 58,384 5 October 19 Chicago Bears W 13–7 3–2 Tiger Stadium 54,732 6 October 26 at Minnesota Vikings L 10–24 3–3 Metropolitan Stadium 47,900 7 November 2 at San Francisco 49ers W 26–14 4–3 Kezar Stadium 35,100 8 November 9 Atlanta Falcons W 27–21 5–3 Tiger Stadium 53,242 9 November 16 St. Louis Cardinals W 20–0 6–3 Tiger Stadium 51,749 10 November 23 at Green Bay Packers W 16–10 7–3 Lambeau Field 50,861 11 November 27 Minnesota Vikings L 0–27 7–4 Tiger Stadium 57,906 12 December 7 at Baltimore Colts T 17–17 7–4–1 Memorial Stadium 60,238 13 December 14 Los Angeles Rams W 28–0 8–4–1 Tiger Stadium 53,256 14 December 21 at Chicago Bears W 20–3 9–4–1 Wrigley Field 41,879 Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Season summary Week 11 vs Vikings Detroit Lions 1969 2; text-align:center collapsed Week Eleven: Minnesota Vikings (9–1) at Detroit Lions (7–3) November 27 Thursday Vikings 7 3 7 10 Lions 0 0 0 0 Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan 57,906 Snow, 36 F C Box Score First quarter MIN – Dave Osborn 1-yard run (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 7–0. Drive: Second quarter MIN – Fred Cox 41-yard field goal. Vikings 10–0. Drive: Third quarter MIN – Oscar Reed 6-yard pass from Joe Kapp (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 17–0. Drive: Fourth quarter MIN – Alan Page 15-yard interception return on a lateral (Fred Cox kick). Vikings 24–0. MIN – Fred Cox 38-yard field goal. Vikings 27–0. Drive: Top passers MIN – Joe Kapp – 7/12, 61 yards, TD, INT DET – Greg Landry – 12/25, 93 yards, 2 INT Top rushers MIN – Dave Osborn – 15 rushes, 36 yards, TD DET – Nick Eddy – 11 rushes, 26 yards Top receivers MIN – Dave Osborn – 2 receptions, 27 yards DET – Charlie Sanders – 3 receptions, 47 yards Muddy field Largest crowd for Thanksgiving game in Detroit history Standings References Detroit Lions on Pro Football Reference Detroit Lions on jt-sw.com Detroit Lions on The Football Database Detroit Lions Category:Detroit Lions seasons Detroit Lions Category:1969 in Detroit