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1965 Cleveland Browns season

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1965 Cleveland Browns season
General managerHarold Sauerbrei
Head coachBlanton Collier
Home fieldCleveland Stadium
Local radioWERE
Results
Record11–3
Division place1st NFL Eastern
Playoff finishLost NFL Championship
(at Packers) 12–23

The 1965 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 16th season with the National Football League. With an NFL-best 11–3 mark, the 1965 team finished just a shade better than the year before (10–3–1) and, just as they had in 1964, the Browns returned to the NFL Championship Game; however, this time, they lost 23–12 to the Green Bay Packers in the last title contest held before the advent of the Super Bowl. It would be the first of three straight NFL crowns for the Packers, who went on to win the first two Super Bowls as well.

With his partner at wide receiver, 1964 rookie sensation Paul Warfield, missing almost all of the season with a broken collarbone, Gary Collins stepped up and led the Browns with 10 touchdown receptions, just less than half of the team's total of 23.

Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown, in what would turn out to be his final year before his unexpected retirement in the offseason, rushed for 1,544 yards, 98 more than the year before, and exceeded his TD total by 10, scoring 17 times. Quarterback Frank Ryan, who had thrown 25 TD passes in both 1963 and 1964, had just 18 in 1965 with 13 interceptions. His yardage was down considerably, too, to 1,751, as was his rating (75.3).

The Browns had a stretch in which they won nine of ten games, something the 1964 team did not come close to matching. And whereas the 1964 team needed to capture its regular-season finale to clinch the Eastern Conference title, the 1965 Browns claimed the championship with several weeks left, which explains why they were clobbered 42–7 in the next-to-last game by a Los Angeles Rams team that finished last in the Western Conference at 4–10; The Browns rested many of their starters and were just trying to get out of that game with no injuries.

Thus, the Browns could have very easily been 12–2. However, there was no such explanation for the Browns' only other one-sided loss, a 49–13 home decision to the St. Louis Cardinals. Although the Cards finished tied with the Philadelphia Eagles for next-to-last place in the East at 5–9, they were arguably the Browns' fiercest rival throughout the entire 1960s.

Offseason

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NFL draft

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1965 Cleveland Browns Draft
Round Selection Player Position College Notes
2 17 Jim Garcia Tackle Purdue
2 22 Gerry Bussell Defensive back Georgia Tech
2 27 Walter Johnson Defensive tackle Cal State-Los Angeles
3 32 Bo Scott Running back Ohio State
3 41 Bobby Maples Linebacker Baylor
5 69 Bill Irwin Tackle Mississippi
6 72 Arnie Simkus Tackle Michigan
6 83 Corwyn Aldredge Wide receiver Northwestern State (LA)
7 97 Dale Lindsey Linebacker Western Kentucky
8 111 Mike Howell Defensive back Grambling
9 125 Gary Lane Quarterback Missouri
10 139 Pat Screen Quarterback LSU
11 153 Ollie Cordill Back Memphis State
12 167 Justin Canale Guard Mississippi State
13 181 Henry Pickett Back Baylor
14 195 Dan Simrell Quarterback Toledo
15 209 Larry Gagner Tackle Florida
16 223 Mel Anthony Fullback Michigan
17 237 John Boyette Tackle Clemson
18 251 Dick Arrington Guard Notre Dame
19 265 Ed Orazen Guard Ohio State
20 279 Frank Goldberg Linebacker Central Michigan

[1]

Exhibition schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Score Record Stadium Attendance Time Network Local TV Radio
1 August 6, 1965 (Fri) vs. College All-Stars (at Chicago) W 24–16 1–0 Soldier Field 68,000 9:00 PM EDT ABC WJMO-AM
2 August 15, 1965 at San Francisco 49ers W 37–21 2–0 Kezar Stadium 22,000 4:00 PM EDT WEWS-TV WJMO-AM
3 August 22, 1965 at Los Angeles Rams W 21–19 3–0 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 29,508 4:00 PM EDT WEWS-TV WJMO-AM
4 August 29, 1965 at Detroit Lions W 28–14 4–0 Tiger Stadium 28,803 1:30 PM EDT WEWS-TV WJMO-AM
5 September 4, 1965 (Sat) Green Bay Packers L 14–30 4–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 83,118 9:00 PM EDT WJMO-AM
6 September 11, 1965 (Sat) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers at (Akron) W 28–16 5–1 Rubber Bowl 23,162 8:00 PM EDT WERE-AM

Notes:

a All times in North American Eastern Time.

There was a doubleheader on September 4, 1965, Giants vs Lions and Packers vs Browns.

Schedule

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Week Date Opponent Result Score Record Stadium Attendance Time Network Radio
1 September 19, 1965 at Washington Redskins W 17–7 1–0 District of Columbia Stadium 48,208 1:30 PM EDT CBS WJMO-AM
2 September 26, 1965 St. Louis Cardinals L 13–49 1–1 Cleveland Stadium 80,161 1:30 PM EDT CBS WJMO-AM
3 October 3, 1965 at Philadelphia Eagles W 35–17 2–1 Franklin Field 60,759 1:30 PM EDT CBS WJMO-AM
4 October 9, 1965 Pittsburgh Steelers W 24–19 3–1 Cleveland Stadium 80,187 8:00 PM EDT Sports Network Incorporated (SNI) WERE-AM
5 October 17, 1965 Dallas Cowboys W 23–17 4–1 Cleveland Stadium 80,432 1:30 PM EDT CBS WERE-AM
6 October 24, 1965 at New York Giants W 38–14 5–1 Yankee Stadium (I) 62,864 1:30 PM EST CBS WERE-AM
7 October 31, 1965 Minnesota Vikings L 17–27 5–2 Cleveland Stadium 83,505 1:30 PM EST CBS WERE-AM
8 November 7, 1965 Philadelphia Eagles W 38–34 6–2 Cleveland Stadium 72,807 1:30 PM EST CBS WERE-AM
9 November 14, 1965 New York Giants W 34–21 7–2 Cleveland Stadium 82,426 1:30 PM EST CBS WERE-AM
10 November 21, 1965 at Dallas Cowboys W 24–17 8–2 Cotton Bowl 76,251 4:00 PM EST CBS WERE-AM
11 November 28, 1965 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 42–21 9–2 Pitt Stadium 42,757 1:30 PM EST CBS WERE-AM
12 December 5, 1965 Washington Redskins W 24–16 10–2 Cleveland Stadium 77,765 1:30 PM EST CBS WERE-AM
13 December 12, 1965 at Los Angeles Rams L 7–42 10–3 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 49,048 4:00 PM EST CBS WERE-AM
14 December 19, 1965 at St. Louis Cardinals W 27–24 11–3 Busch Stadium I 29,348 2:00 PM EST CBS WERE-AM

Notes:

a All times in North American Eastern Time. (UTC–4 and UTC–5 starting October 24)

Playoffs

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Round Date Opponent Result Score Stadium Attendance Time Network Local Radio National Radio
1965 NFL Championship Game January 2, 1966 at Green Bay Packers L 12–23 Lambeau Field 50,852 2:00 PM EST CBS WERE-AM CBS

Notes:

a All times in North American Eastern Time.

Personnel

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Roster

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1965 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

rookies in italics

[2]

Staff/coaches

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1965 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office

Coaches

Offensive coaches

  Defensive coaches

Strength & Coditioning

  • Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy
  • Equipment Manager - Morris Kono

Standings

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NFL Eastern Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Cleveland Browns 11 3 0 .786 11–1 363 325 W1
Dallas Cowboys 7 7 0 .500 6–6 325 280 W3
New York Giants 7 7 0 .500 7–5 270 338 L1
Washington Redskins 6 8 0 .429 6–6 257 301 W1
Philadelphia Eagles 5 9 0 .357 5–7 363 359 L1
St. Louis Cardinals 5 9 0 .357 5–7 296 309 L6
Pittsburgh Steelers 2 12 0 .143 2–10 202 397 L7
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

See also

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  • The Fortune Cookie – scenes were filmed during the 27–17 loss to the Vikings on October 31.

References

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  1. ^ "1964 NFL Draft Listing – Pro-Football-Reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Archived from the original on June 23, 2009. Retrieved July 19, 2009.
  2. ^ "1965 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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