1960 Cleveland Browns season

1960 Cleveland Browns season
1960 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Paul Brown
Home field	Cleveland Stadium
Local radio	WGAR
Results
Record	8–3–1
Division place	2nd NFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Lost NFL Playoff Bowl; (vs. Lions) 16–17
	← 1959; Browns seasons; 1961 →;

The 1960 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 11th season with the National Football League. The 1960 Browns compiled an 8–3–1 record, and finished second in the NFL's Eastern Conference, behind the NFL champion Philadelphia Eagles. As runner-up, the Browns qualified for the inaugural third place Playoff Bowl in Miami, but lost 17–16 to the Detroit Lions on January 7.

Personnel[edit]

Roster[edit]

1960 Cleveland Browns roster

Quarterbacks

16 Milt Plum
18 Len Dawson

Running backs

32 Jim Brown FB
36 Jamie Caleb
40 Prentice Gautt
49 Bobby Mitchell WR/HB/KR
22 Tom Watkins HB

Wide receivers

26 Ray Renfro
86 Gern Nagler WR/TE
85 A.D. Williams WR/FL/E
87 Fred Murphy
88 Rich Kreitling

Tight ends

42 Bobby Crespino SE/TE
83 Johnny Brewer
81 Leon Clarke E/FL

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

72 Floyd Peters DT
79 Bob Gain DT
84 Paul Wiggin DE
68 Larry Stephens DL
70 Jim Prestel DT
80 Jim Marshall DT

Linebackers

52 Dave Lloyd MLB
35 Galen Fiss OLB
50 Vince Costello MLB
34 Walt Michaels LLB
82 Jim Houston OLB/DE

Defensive backs

20 Ross Fichtner S
24 Bobby Franklin S
30 Bernie Parrish CB
22 Rich Mostardi CB
44 Jim Shofner CB/PR

Special teams

76 Lou Groza K
38 Sam Baker P
46 Don Fleming DB/LS

rookies in italics

^[1]

Staff/coaches[edit]

1960 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

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 – Dick Evans
Linebackers – Ed Ulinski

Strength & conditioning

Athletic trainer – Leo Murphy
Equipment manager – Morris Kono

Preseason[edit]

Week	Date	Opponent	Time	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	August 13	at Detroit Lions	8:30 p.m. EDT	W 28–14	1–0	Briggs Stadium	24,620
2	August 18	at Pittsburgh Steelers		W 27–24	2–0	Pitt Stadium	16,360
3	August 27	at Los Angeles Rams		L 17–22	2–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	48,175
4	September 3	vs. San Francisco 49ers at Portland		W 26–24	3–1	Multnomah Stadium	25,898
5	September 10	vs. Chicago Bears at Akron		W 16–10	4–1	Rubber Bowl	21,568
6	September 17	Detroit Lions		W 14–10	5–1	Cleveland Stadium	25,911

Pre Season Game Officials

Pre Season
Week	Opponent	Referee	Umpire	Head Linesman	Back Judge	Field Judge
1	at Detroit

Game summaries[edit]

Week P1 (Saturday, August 13, 1960): at Detroit Lions[edit]

Week P1: Cleveland Browns at Detroit Lions

Period	1	2	Total
Browns			0
Lions			0

at Briggs Stadium • Detroit, Michigan

Date: August 13, 1960
Game time: 8:30 pm. EDT
Game attendance: 24,620

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
CLE	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
DET	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	CLE	DET
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							28	14

Time of Game:

Browns	Game Statistics	Lions
	First downs
	Rushes–yards
	Passing yards
	Passes
	Sacked–yards
	Net passing yards
	Total yards
	Return yards
	Punts
	Fumbles–lost
	Penalties–yards

Week P2 (Thursday, August 18, 1960): at Pittsburgh Steelers[edit]

Week P3 (Saturday, August 27, 1960): at Los Angeles Rams[edit]

Week P4 (Saturday, September 3, 1960): vs. San Francisco 49ers[edit]

Week P5 (Saturday, September 10, 1960): vs. Chicago Bears[edit]

Week P6 (Saturday, September 17, 1960): vs. Detroit Lions[edit]

Regular season[edit]

Schedule[edit]

Week	Date	Opponent	Time	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 25	at Philadelphia Eagles	1:30 p.m. EDT	W 41–24	1–0	Franklin Field	56,303
2	October 2	Pittsburgh Steelers	2:00 p.m. EDT	W 28–20	2–0	Cleveland Stadium	67,692
3	October 9	Bye
4	October 16	at Dallas Cowboys	2:30 p.m. EST	W 48–7	3–0	Cotton Bowl	28,500
5	October 23	Philadelphia Eagles	2:00 p.m. EST	L 29–31	3–1	Cleveland Stadium	64,850
6	October 30	at Washington Redskins	2:00 p.m. EST	W 31–10	4–1	Griffith Stadium	32,086
7	November 6	New York Giants	2:00 p.m. EST	L 13–17	4–2	Cleveland Stadium	82,872
8	November 13	St. Louis Cardinals	2:00 p.m. EST	W 28–27	5–2	Cleveland Stadium	49,192
9	November 20	at Pittsburgh Steelers	2:00 p.m. EST	L 10–14	5–3	Forbes Field	35,215
10	November 27	at St. Louis Cardinals	2:00 p.m. EST	T 17–17	5–3–1	Busch Stadium I	26,146
11	December 4	Washington Redskins	2:00 p.m. EST	W 27–16	6–3–1	Cleveland Stadium	35,211
12	December 11	Chicago Bears	2:00 p.m. EST	W 42–0	7–3–1	Cleveland Stadium	38,155
13	December 18	at New York Giants	2:00 p.m. EST	W 48–34	8–3–1	Yankee Stadium	56,517

Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

A bye week was necessary in 1960, as the league expanded to an odd-number (13) of teams (Dallas); one team was idle each week.

Regular Season Game Officials

Regular Season
Week	Opponent	Referee	Umpire	Head Linesman	Back Judge	Field Judge
1	at Philadelphia
2	Pittsburgh	John Pace	James Beiersdorfer	Dan Tehan	Sam Glangreen	Fred Swearingen

Game summaries[edit]

Week 1 (Sunday, September 25, 1960): at Philadelphia Eagles[edit]

Week 1: Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Browns	14	10	7	10	41
Eagles	3	7	0	14	24

at Franklin Field • Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Date: September 25, 1960
Game time: 1:30 pm. EDT
Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C); relative humidity 62%; wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
Game attendance: 56,303
^[2]

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
CLE	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
PHI	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	CLE	PHI
1					Browns	Mitchell 31-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good	7	0
1					Browns	Brown 1-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good	14	0
1					Eagles	21-yard field goal by Walston	14	3
2					Browns	36-yard field goal by Baker	17	3
2					Eagles	McDonald 24-yard touchdown reception from Van Brocklin, Walston kick good	17	10
2					Browns	Plum 1-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good	24	10
3					Browns	Mitchell 30-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good	31	10
4					Browns	15-yard field goal by Baker	34	10
4					Eagles	Walston 10-yard touchdown reception from Van Brocklin, Walston kick good	34	17
4					Browns	Mitchell 11-yard touchdown reception from Plum, Baker kick good	41	17
4					Eagles	Retzlaff 6-yard touchdown reception from Jurgenson, Walston kick good	41	24
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							41	24

Time of Game:

Browns	Game Statistics	Eagles
	First downs
	Rushes–yards
	Passing yards
	Passes
	Sacked–yards
	Net passing yards
	Total yards
	Return yards
	Punts
	Fumbles–lost
	Penalties–yards

Week 2 (Sunday, October 2, 1960): vs. Pittsburgh Steelers[edit]

Week 2: Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	0	7	13	20
Browns	14	7	0	7	28

at Cleveland Stadium • Cleveland, Ohio

Date: October 2, 1960
Game time: 2:00 pm. EDT
Game weather: 64 °F (18 °C); relative humidity 84%; wind 16 miles per hour (26 km/h; 14 kn)
Game attendance: 67,692
Referee: John Pace
^[3]

Team	Category	Player	Statistics
PIT	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving
CLE	Passing
	Rushing
	Receiving

Scoring summary

Quarter	Time	Drive			Team	Scoring information	Score
Quarter	Time	Plays	Yards	TOP	Team	Scoring information	PIT	CLE
1					Browns	Plum 1-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good	0	7
2					Browns	Mitchell 5-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good	0	14
2					Browns	Kreitling 60-yard touchdown reception from Plum, Baker kick good	0	21
3					Steelers	Tracy 40-yard touchdown reception from Van Brocklin, Layne kick good	7	21
4					Steelers	Tracy 1-yard touchdown run, Layne kick no good	13	21
4					Browns	Brown 2-yard touchdown run, Baker kick good	13	28
4					Steelers	Dial 3-yard touchdown reception from Layne, Rechichar kick good	20	28
"TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football.							20	28

Time of Game:

Steelers	Game Statistics	Browns
	First downs
	Rushes–yards
	Passing yards
	Passes
	Sacked–yards
	Net passing yards
	Total yards
	Return yards
	Punts
	Fumbles–lost
	Penalties–yards

Week 4 (Sunday, October 16, 1960): at Dallas Cowboys[edit]

Week 5 (Sunday, October 23, 1960): vs. Philadelphia Eagles[edit]

Week 6 (Sunday, October 30, 1960): at Washington Redskins[edit]

Week 7 (Sunday, November 6, 1960): vs. New York Giants[edit]

Week 8 (Sunday, November 13, 1960): vs. St. Louis Cardinals[edit]

Week 9 (Sunday, November 20, 1960): at Pittsburgh Steelers[edit]

Week 10 (Sunday, November 27, 1960): at St. Louis Cardinals[edit]

Week 11 (Sunday, December 4, 1960): vs. Washington Redskins[edit]

Week 12 (Sunday, December 11, 1960): vs. Chicago Bears[edit]

Week 13 (Sunday, December 18, 1960): at New York Giants[edit]

Standings[edit]

NFL Eastern Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Philadelphia Eagles	10	2	0	.833	8–2	321	246	W1
Cleveland Browns	8	3	1	.727	6–3–1	362	217	W3
New York Giants	6	4	2	.600	5–4–1	271	261	L1
St. Louis Cardinals	6	5	1	.545	4–5–1	288	230	W1
Pittsburgh Steelers	5	6	1	.455	4–5–1	240	275	L1
Washington Redskins	1	9	2	.100	0–8–2	178	309	L8

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Final statistics[edit]

Statistical comparison[edit]

	Cleveland Browns	Opponents
First downs	219	208
First downs rushing	107	92
First downs passing	96	102
First downs penalty	16	14
Total net yards	3974	3806
Avg. Per Game	331.2	317.2
Total Plays	647	724
Avg. Per Play	6.1	5.3
Net yards rushing	1930	1643
Avg. Per Game	160.8	136.9
Rushing attempts	383	405
Net yards passing	2044	2163
Avg. Per Game	170.3	180.3
Times sacked-total yards	37–299	26–209
Gross yards	2343	2370
Passing – Completions/attempts	160?264	163/319
Completion Pct.	60.6	51.1
Interceptions thrown	5	31
Punts-average yardage	55–42.0	46–45.0
Net Punting Avg.	55–38.7	46–40.5
Penalties-total yards	49–534	48–526
Fumbles-lost	20–12	27–14
Touchdowns	47	26
Touchdown rushing	18	10
Touchdown passing	22	15
Touchdown returns	7	1

Boxscore

Quarter-by-quarter
	1	2	3	4	T
Browns	59	150	58	95	362
Opponents	41	60	48	68	217

Individual leaders[edit]

Offense

Defense

Special teams

Postseason[edit]

Round	Date	Opponent	Time	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
Playoff Bowl	January 7, 1961	vs. Detroit Lions	2:00 p.m. EST	L 16–17	0–1	Orange Bowl	34,981

Playoff Game Officials

Playoff
Week	Opponent	Referee	Umpire	Head Linesman	Back Judge	Field Judge	Alternate

Game summaries[edit]

NFL Playoff Bowl (Sunday, January 7, 1961): vs. Detroit Lions[edit]

Awards and records[edit]

Jim Brown, NFL rushing leader, 1,257 yards
Milt Plum, NFL leader, passing yards, (2,297)

Milestones[edit]

Jim Brown, third consecutive 1,000 yard season
Jim Brown, fourth consecutive rushing title

References[edit]

External links[edit]

1960 Cleveland Browns Statistics at jt-sw.com
1960 Cleveland Browns Schedule at jt-sw.com
1960 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com

[1] "1960 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

[2] Pro Football Reference; Cleveland Browns at Philadelphia Eagles – September 25, 1960

[3] Pro Football Reference; Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Browns – October 2, 1960

[1]

[2]

[3]

v t e Cleveland Browns
Founded in 1946 Based in Cleveland, Ohio Headquartered in Berea, Ohio
Franchise	History Players Head coaches Seasons Logos and uniforms First-round draft picks 1999 expansion draft Starting quarterbacks Pro Bowlers Broadcasters
Stadiums	Cleveland Stadium Cleveland Browns Stadium
Key personnel	Owners: Jimmy Haslam Dee Haslam Chief Strategy Officer: Paul DePodesta EVP of Football Ops/GM: Andrew Berry Head coach: Kevin Stefanski
Culture	Art Modell Cleveland sports curse Dawg Pound Doug Dieken The Drew Carey Show Draft Day Hot Tub Time Machine Jeff Shreve Paul Brown Stiffed: The Betrayal of the American Man The Express: The Ernie Davis Story The Fortune Cookie Brownie the Elf
Lore	Bottlegate Kardiac Kids Miracle at the Met Red Right 88 Relocation controversy The Drive The Fumble 0–16
Rivalries	Baltimore Ravens Cincinnati Bengals Pittsburgh Steelers
Playoff appearances (30)	1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1957 1958 1964 1965 1967 1968 1969 1971 1972 1980 1982 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1994 2002 2020 2023
Division championships (12)	1946 1947 1948 1967 1968 1969 1971 1980 1985 1986 1987 1989
Conference championships (11)	1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1957 1964 1965 1968 1969
League championships (8)	AAFC: 1946 1947 1948 1949 NFL: 1950 1954 1955 1964
Retired numbers	14 32 45 46 76
Hall of Fame inductees	Players: Brown, J. DeLamielleure Ford Gatski Graham Groza Hickerson Kelly Lavelli McCormack Mitchell Motley Newsome Thomas Warfield Willis Coach: Brown, P.
Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1950–present) Conference: American Football Conference Division: North Division
Former league affiliation	League: All-America Football Conference (1946–1949)

v t e NFL on Sports Network Incorporated (SNI)
Related programs	NFL on CBS (1959)
Related articles	Carling Beer Hughes Television Network NFL on television (history) 1950s
Seasons	1955 1956 1957 1958 (The Browns' SNI arrangement from 1956 to 1958 was national in scope.) 1959 1960 1961 (For 1960 and 1961 seasons, the Browns-SNI network was reduced to a Midwest regional network.)
Commentators	Ken Coleman Jimmy Dudley Otto Graham Cliff Lewis Curly Morrison Bob Wolff