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1961 Cleveland Browns season

1961 Cleveland Browns season
Head coachPaul Brown
Home stadiumCleveland Stadium
Results
Record8–5–1
Division place3rd NFL Eastern
PlayoffsDid not qualify
Pro BowlersMilt Plum, QB
John Morrow, C
Bob Gain, DT
Mike McCormack, RT
Jim Ray Smith, G
Jim Brown, FB

The 1961 Cleveland Browns season marked the team's 12th season in the National Football League (NFL) and was the 16th in franchise history.

Offseason

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On March 22, Dave R. Jones sold the Browns to a group headed by Arthur B. Modell.[1]

Exhibition schedule

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Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Sources
1 August 11 at Detroit Lions L 7–35 0–1 Tiger Stadium 25,602
2 August 20 at San Francisco 49ers W 27–24 1–1 Kezar Stadium 38,759
3 August 25 at Los Angeles Rams W 34–17 2–1 Los Angeles Coliseum 40,086
4 September 2 vs. Pittsburgh Steelers W 38–6 3–1 Rubber Bowl 27,758
5 September 9 Detroit Lions L 17–35 3–2 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 41,374

Regular season schedule

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Game Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources
1 September 17 at Philadelphia Eagles L 20–27 0–1 Franklin Field 60,671 Recap
2 September 24 St. Louis Cardinals W 20–17 1–1 Cleveland Stadium 50,443 Recap
3 October 1 Dallas Cowboys W 25–7 2–1 Cleveland Stadium 43,638 Recap
4 October 8 Washington Redskins W 31–7 3–1 Cleveland Stadium 46,186 Recap
5 October 15 Green Bay Packers L 17–49 3–2 Cleveland Stadium 75,042 Recap
6 October 22 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 30–28 4–2 Forbes Field 29,266 Recap
7 October 29 at St. Louis Cardinals W 21–10 5–2 Sportsman's Park 26,696 Recap
8 November 5 Pittsburgh Steelers L 13–17 5–3 Cleveland Stadium 62,723 Recap
9 November 12 at Washington Redskins W 17–6 6–3 D.C. Stadium 28,975 Recap
10 November 19 Philadelphia Eagles W 45–24 7–3 Cleveland Stadium 68,399 Recap
11 November 26 New York Giants L 21–37 7–4 Cleveland Stadium 80,455 Recap
12 December 3 at Dallas Cowboys W 38–17 8–4 Cotton Bowl 23,500 Recap
13 December 10 at Chicago Bears L 14–17 8–5 Wrigley Field 38,717 Recap
14 December 17 at New York Giants T 7–7 8–5–1 Yankee Stadium 61,084 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

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NFL Eastern Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
New York Giants 10 3 1 .769 9–2–1 368 220 T1
Philadelphia Eagles 10 4 0 .714 8–4 361 297 W1
Cleveland Browns 8 5 1 .615 8–3–1 319 270 T1
St. Louis Cardinals 7 7 0 .500 7–5 279 267 W3
Pittsburgh Steelers 6 8 0 .429 5–7 295 287 L1
Dallas Cowboys 4 9 1 .308 2–9–1 236 380 L4
Washington Redskins 1 12 1 .077 1–10–1 174 392 W1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers 11 3 0 .786 9–3 391 223 W1
Detroit Lions 8 5 1 .615 7–4–1 270 258 L1
Chicago Bears 8 6 0 .571 7–5 326 302 W2
Baltimore Colts 8 6 0 .571 6–6 302 307 W1
San Francisco 49ers 7 6 1 .538 6–5–1 346 272 L1
Los Angeles Rams 4 10 0 .286 3–9 263 333 L1
Minnesota Vikings 3 11 0 .214 3–9 285 407 L2
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Awards and records

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  • Jim Brown, NFL rushing leader, 1,408 yards
  • Milt Plum, NFL leader, passing yards, (2416)

Milestones

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  • Jim Brown, Fourth Consecutive 1,000 yard season
  • Jim Brown, Fifth Consecutive Rushing Title

Personnel

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Roster

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1961 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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1961 Cleveland Browns staff
Front office

Coaches

Offensive coaches

  Defensive coaches

Strength & Coditioning

  • Athletic trainer – Leo Murphy
  • Equipment manager – Morris Kono

References

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  1. ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 281
  2. ^ "1961 Cleveland Browns Starters, Roster, & Players". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
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