1959 Cleveland Browns season

NFL team season January 2025 March 2026 1959-Browns-mediaguide.jpg Cleveland Browns 1959 Dave R. Jones Paul Brown Paul Brown Cleveland Stadium 7–5 T–2nd NFL Eastern Did not qualify Art Hunter, CLou Groza, LT/KBob Gain, DEWalt Michaels, LBJim Ray Smith, GJim Brown, FB Browns seasons The 1959 Cleveland Browns season marked the team's tenth year in the National Football League (NFL) and 14th season overall. Future Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown rushed for 1,329 yards, leading the league for the third straight year, and 14 touchdowns. Quarterback Milt Plum, who was drafted by the Browns in the 1957 draft, made his mark at the position. The Browns had been looking for a replacement for Otto Graham ever since the Hall of Famer retired—for the second time—following the 1955 season. They finally found him when Plum, a second-round draft pick in 1957, threw for 14 touchdowns with just six interceptions. However, the Browns would finish just 7–5 in 1959, the second in what would turn out to be a string of six straight seasons in which the Browns had decent to very good teams without qualifying for the postseason. The 7–5 record was also the second worst record since head coach Paul Brown's tenure with the team. Preseason Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Sources 1 August 11 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 20–34 0–1 Forbes Field 27,432 Jimmy Miller, "Steelers Find That Fullback: Krutko Looks Like Answer to Parker's Problem," Pittsburgh Sun-Telegraph, August 12, 1959, p. 22. 2 August 22 vs. Detroit Lions L 3–9 0–2 Rubber Bowl (Akron, Ohio) 22,654 3 August 30 at San Francisco 49ers L 14–17 0–3 Kezar Stadium 24,737 Ed Jacoubowsky, "49ers Hit Road After Win," Redwood City Tribune, August 31, 1959, p. 6. 4 September 5 at Los Angeles Rams W 27–24 1–3 LA Memorial Coliseum 55,883 5 September 13 at Detroit Lions L 28–31 1–4 Briggs Stadium 33,435 George Puscas, "Shakes of '57: Lions 31, Browns 28: Rote Hits Johnson for Pair, We Wipe Out 28–17 Deficit," Detroit Free Press, September 14, 1959, pp. 41, 44. 6 September 19 Chicago Bears W 33–31 2–4 Cleveland Stadium 25,316 Chuck Heaton, "Browns Win in Final Seconds, 33–31: Trip Bears on Groza's Long Boot," Cleveland Plain Dealer, September 20, 1959, pp. 1C, 8C. Note: September 19: Night game. Regular season In 1959 the Browns offered seats at four price levels. Reserved seats were available at $4.50, $3.50, and $2.50, depending on location, and general admission seats were available for a league-low price of $1.50.E.J. O'Malley, "Purchasing NFL Tickets: A Guide to Ticket Information," Sports Forecast, vol. 2, no. 2. Chicago: E.J. O'Malley Publishing Co., 1959; p. 78. Reserve season tickets for the six game home slate cost $27, $21, and $15, respectively. Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 26 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 7–17 0–1 Forbes Field 33,844 Recap 2 October 4 at Chicago Cardinals W 34–7 1–1 Soldier Field 19,935 Recap 3 October 11 New York Giants L 6–10 1–2 Cleveland Stadium 65,534 Recap 4 October 18 Chicago Cardinals W 17–7 2–2 Cleveland Stadium 46,422 Recap 5 October 25 Washington Redskins W 34–7 3–2 Cleveland Stadium 42,732 Recap 6 November 1 at Baltimore Colts W 38–31 4–2 Memorial Stadium 57,557 Recap 7 November 8 Philadelphia Eagles W 28–7 5–2 Cleveland Stadium 58,275 Recap 8 November 15 at Washington Redskins W 31–17 6–2 Griffith Stadium 32,266 Recap 9 November 22 Pittsburgh Steelers L 20–21 6–3 Cleveland Stadium 68,563 Recap 10 November 29 San Francisco 49ers L 20–21 6–4 Cleveland Stadium 56,854 Recap 11 December 6 at New York Giants L 7–48 6–5 Yankee Stadium 68,436 Recap 12 December 13 at Philadelphia Eagles W 28–21 7–5 Franklin Field 45,952 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Saturday night game: Sept. 26. Standings thumb|right|260px|Program for the November 29 game against the visiting San Francisco 49ers. Personnel thumb|center|750px|Team photo of the 1959 Cleveland Browns. Roster 1959 Cleveland Browns roster Quarterbacks 16 Milt Plum 18 Bob Ptacek 15 Jim Ninowski Running backs 45 Leroy Bolden 32 Jim Brown 49 Bobby Mitchell 36 Ed Modzelewski 26 Ray Renfro Receivers 40 Preston Carpenter 82 Frank Clarke 86 Billy Howton 88 Rich Kreitling Offensive linemen 77 Willie Davis T/DE 76 Lou Groza T/K 66 Gene Hickerson G 56 Art Hunter C 74 Mike McCormack T 65 Chuck Noll G/OLB 70 Fran O'Brien T 64 Jim Ray Smith G 60 John Wooten G Defensive linemen 79 Bob Gain DE 78 Willie McClung DT 73 Floyd Peters DT 80 Dick Schafrath DE 84 Paul Wiggin DE 75 Sid Youngelman DT Linebackers 50 Vince Costello MLB 35 Galen Fiss OLB 52 Dave Lloyd MLB/C 34 Walt Michaels OLB Defensive backs 22 Ken Konz S 24 Warren Lahr S 30 Bernie Parrish CB 44 Jim Shofner CB/P 42 Junior Wren S/P Reserve list Jim Wulff CB/S (Military) rookies in italics https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/cle/1959_roster.htm 1959 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players Pro-Football-Reference.com Staff/coaches 1959 Cleveland Browns staff Front office Majority owner/CEO & president – Dave R. Jones Minority owner/vice president – Ellis Ryan Minority owner/vice president – Homer Marshman Minority owner/vice president – Saul Silberman Coaches Head coach – Paul Brown Assistant head coach – Dick Gallagher Offensive coaches Quarterbacks/running backs - Howard Brinker Offensive guards – Fritz Heisler Offensive tackles – Ed Ulinski Offensive backfield and ends – Paul Bixler  Defensive coaches Defensive line – Fritz Heisler & Ed Ulinski Linebackers – Ed Ulinski Strength & conditioning Athletic trainer – Leo Murphy Equipment manager – Morris Kono References 35em External links 1959 Cleveland Browns at Pro Football Reference (profootballreference.com) 1959 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com 1959 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com 1959 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com Season summary and stats at Cleveland Browns.com Cleveland Category:Cleveland Browns seasons Cleveland Browns