1969 Denver Broncos season

American football team season December 2013 February 2026 Denver Broncos 1969 5–8–1 4th AFL West Lou Saban Lou Saban Gerald Phipps Mile High Stadium Did not qualify Broncos seasons The 1969 Denver Broncos season was the team's tenth season as a franchise, and their final season in the American Football League (AFL) before the league merged with the National Football League (NFL). Led by third-year head coach and general manager Lou Saban, the Broncos were 5–8–1, fourth place in the AFL West for the seventh straight season. Denver opened with two victories at home, but were winless in their previous five games entering the season finale; they avoided the division cellar with a home win over Cincinnati in the final AFL game for both.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_-YRAAAAIBAJ&pg=7273%2C4919002 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press AFL closes its 'career' December 15, 1969 14 Of the original eight franchises, Denver was the only one to never play in the AFL postseason and the only one to never post a winning record. Six of the teams won league titles; the other exception was Boston, who won their sole division title via a tiebreaker game in 1963. The Broncos posted their first winning record in 1973 and made their first postseason in 1977, advancing to Super Bowl XII. Offseason NFL draft 1969 NFL/AFL draft 1969 Denver Broncos 2 36 Grady Cavness DB UTEP yes 3 61 Bill Thompson DB Maryland State yes yes 4 84 Mike Schnitker LB Colorado yes 4 88 Edward Hayes DB Morgan State 5 113 Frank Quayle RB Virginia 6 131 Wandy Williams RB Hofstra yes 6 140 Mike Coleman RB Tampa 7 165 Al Giffin TE Auburn 9 217 Henry Jones RB Grambling State 10 244 Jim Smith DB Utah State 11 270 Alan Pastrana QB Maryland yes 12 296 Wes Plummer DB Arizona State 13 321 John Sias LB Georgia Tech 14 348 Garry Crane LB Arkansas State 15 373 Errol Kahoun G Miami (OH) 16 400 Billy Woods DB North Texas State 17 425 Buster O'Brien QB Richmond Undrafted free agents + 1969 Undrafted Free Agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeGeorge BurrellDefensive backPennKen CriterLinebackerWisconsin Personnel Staff / Coaches 1969 Denver Broncos Team Owner / Chairman of the Board – Gerald Phipps Team President – Allan R Phipps Director of Player Personnel – Fred Gehrke General Manager/Head Coach – Lou Saban Offensive Backfield – Hunter Enis Offensive Receivers – Sam Rutigliano Offensive Line – Whitey Dovell Defensive Line – Stan Jones Defensive Linebackers – Dick MacPherson Defensive Backfield – Joe Collier Roster 1969 Denver Broncos 14 Pete Liske 12 Alan Pastrana y 13 Steve Tensi 25 Ted Alflen y 35 Henry Jones running back y no 44 Floyd Little 22 Fran Lynch 26 Frank Quayle y 39 Tom Smiley 29 Wandy Williams y 89 John Embree American football y 88 Al Denson American football 84 Mike Haffner American football 42 Billy Van Heusen P 85 Tom Beer 80 Tom Buckman y 82 Dave Pivec 56 Jay Bachman C/G 72 Sam Brunelli T 74 Mike Current T 71 Wallace Dickey T 67 George Goeddeke G 65 Wally Highsmith G/C 59 Larry Kaminski C 64 Mike Schnitker y G 60 Bob Young offensive lineman G 73 Walt Barnes defensive lineman DT 63 Dave Costa DT 55 Pete Duranko DE 62 Jerry Inman DT 87 Rich Jackson DE 75 Rex Mirich DT 70 Paul Smith defensive end DT/DE 76 Gary Crane y no OLB 78 Ken Criter y MLB 50 Carl Cunningham OLB 57 John Huard MLB 54 Chip Myrtle OLB 58 Frank Richter American football OLB 41 George Burrell American football y FS 40 Grady Cavness y CB 20 Charlie Greer SS 34 Gus Hollomon SS/P 43 Pete Jaquess CB/S 47 Jimmy Smith defensive back, born 1945 y FS 36 Bill Thompson American football y CB  3 Bobby Howfield K 52 Fred Forsberg American football LB IR 64 George Gaiser G IR -- Paul Latzke C IR 27 Tom Oberg S IR -- Dick Davis running back y Source: Regular season 1969 American Football League season Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 14 Boston Patriots W 35–7 1–0 Mile High Stadium 43,482 Recap 2 September 21 New York Jets W 21–19 2–0 Mile High Stadium 50,583 Recap 3 September 28 at Buffalo Bills L 28–41 2–1 War Memorial Stadium 40,302 Recap 4 October 5 Kansas City Chiefs L 13–26 2–2 Mile High Stadium 50,564 Recap 5 October 12 Oakland Raiders L 14–24 2–3 Mile High Stadium 49,511 Recap 6 October 19 at Cincinnati Bengals W 30–23 3–3 Nippert Stadium 27,920 Recap 7 October 26 at Houston Oilers L 21–24 3–4 Astrodome 45,348 Recap 8 November 2 San Diego Chargers W 13–0 4–4 Mile High Stadium 45,511 Recap 9 November 9 at Oakland Raiders L 10–41 4–5 Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum 54,416 Recap 10 November 16 Houston Oilers T 20–20 4–5–1 Mile High Stadium 45,002 Recap 11 November 23 at San Diego Chargers L 24–45 4–6–1 San Diego Stadium 34,664 Recap 12 November 27 at Kansas City Chiefs L 17–31 4–7–1 Municipal Stadium 48,773 Recap 13 December 7 at Miami Dolphins L 24–27 4–8–1 Miami Orange Bowl 25,332 Recap 14 December 14 Cincinnati Bengals W 27–16 5–8–1 Mile High Stadium 42,198 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Y0pJAAAAIBAJ&pg=615%2C6025497 Youngstown Vindicator Ohio UPI Jeansonne John Dawson hurts knee again in Kansas City's 31-17 win over Denver November 28, 1969 20 Standings References External links Denver Broncos – 1969 media guide 1969 Denver Broncos season at jt-sw.com 1969 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com Category:Denver Broncos seasons Denver Broncos Category:1969 in sports in Colorado Category:Long stubs with short prose