1969 Washington Redskins season

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The 1969 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 38th season in the National Football League (NFL) and their 33rd in Washington, D.C. In his only season with the franchise, the Redskins were led by head coach and general manager Vince Lombardi. The team improved on their 5–9 record from 1968 to finish at 7–5–2, their first winning season in 14 years. This was the final season to feature the arrow logo on the helmet, and home games were played at RFK Stadium (formerly D.C. Stadium).

Offseason

During the week preceding Super Bowl III in January, rumors had circulated that Vince Lombardi had job offers from the Philadelphia Eagles, Boston Patriots, and Washington Redskins.^[1] The night before the Super Bowl, Lombardi met with Redskins president Edward Bennett Williams for dinner at Tony Sweet's restaurant.^[2] He agreed to coach the Redskins after Williams offered him complete authority over all personnel and football operations, the position of "Executive Vice President", and a 5% ownership stake.^[3] Following the death of founding owner George Preston Marshall in August, Williams became the majority owner.

NFL Draft

1969 Washington Redskins Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
2	46	Eugene Epps	Defensive back	Texas-El Paso
3	62	Ed Cross	Running back	Pine Bluff
5	114	Bill Kishman	Defensive back	Colorado State
6	139	Harold McLinton	Linebacker	Southern
7	166	Jeff Anderson	Running back	Virginia
7	173	John Didion	Center	Oregon State
8	191	Larry Brown	Running back	Kansas State
11	269	Eric Norri	Defensive tackle	Notre Dame
12	295	Bob Shannon	Defensive back	Tennessee State
13	322	Michael Shook	Defensive back	North Texas
14	347	Rick Brand	Defensive tackle	Virginia
15	374	Paul Rogers	Tackle	Virginia
16	399	Mike Washington	Linebacker	Southern
17	426	Rich Dobbert	Defensive end	Springfield (Massachusetts)

Vince Lombardi

After stepping down as head coach of the Packers following the 1967 NFL season, a restless Lombardi returned to coaching in 1969 with the Washington Redskins, where he broke a string of 14 losing seasons. The 'Skins would finish with a record of 7–5–2, significant for a number of reasons. Lombardi discovered that rookie running back Larry Brown was deaf in one ear, something that had escaped his parents, schoolteachers, and previous coaches. Lombardi had observed Brown's habit of tilting his head in one direction when listening to signals being called, and walked behind him during drills and said "Larry." When Brown did not answer, the coach asked him to take a hearing exam. Brown was fitted with a hearing aid, and with this correction he would enjoy a successful NFL career.

Lombardi was the first coach to get soft-bellied quarterback Sonny Jurgensen, one of the league's premier forward passers, to get into the best condition he could. He coaxed former All-Pro linebacker Sam Huff out of retirement. He even changed the team's uniform design to reflect that of the Packers, with gold and white trim along the jersey biceps, and later a gold helmet. The foundation Lombardi laid was the groundwork for Washington's early 1970s success under former Los Angeles Rams Coach George Allen. Lombardi had brought a winning attitude to the Nation's Capital, in the same year that the nearby University of Maryland had hired "Lefty" Driesell to coach basketball and the hapless Washington Senators named Ted Williams as manager. It marked a renaissance in sports interest in the Nation's capitol.

Lombardi lasted only one season with the Redskins; he was diagnosed with terminal cancer after the 1969 season and died shortly before the 1970 regular season was to start.

Roster

**1969 Washington Redskins roster**

	Quarterbacks 16 Gary Beban 9 Sonny Jurgensen 13 Frank Ryan Running backs 20 Gerry Allen 43 Larry Brown 32 Henry Dyer 31 Charley Harraway FB 40 Dave Kopay Wide receivers 80 Bob Long 47 Walter Roberts 42 Charley Taylor Tight ends 88 Pat Richter 87 Jerry Smith		Offensive linemen 68 Willie Banks T 51 John Didion C 63 Steve Duich G 56 Len Hauss C 65 Vince Promuto G 76 Walt Rock T 62 Ray Schoenke G 74 Jim Snowden T Defensive linemen 73 Frank Bosch DT 79 Dennis Crane DT 85 John Hoffman DE 66 Carl Kammerer DE 82 Clark Miller DE 71 Spain Musgrove DE 72 Joe Rutgens DT		Linebackers 57 Dave Crossan 55 Chris Hanburger 70 Sam Huff 86 Marlin McKeever 53 Harold McLinton 54 Tom Roussel Defensive backs 41 Mike Bass CB 46 Rickie Harris CB 37 Pat Fischer CB 40 Aaron Martin S 23 Brig Owens S 29 Ted Vactor 24 Bob Wade CB Special teams 4 Mike Bragg P 5 Curt Knight K		Reserve lists 26 Bob Brunet RB (IRTooltip Injured reserve) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 21	at New Orleans Saints	W 26–20	1–0	Tulane Stadium	73,147	Recap
2	September 28	at Cleveland Browns	L 23–27	1–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	82,581	Recap
3	October 5	at San Francisco 49ers	T 17–17	1–1–1	Kezar Stadium	35,642	Recap
4	October 12	St. Louis Cardinals	W 33–17	2–1–1	RFK Stadium	50,481	Recap
5	October 19	New York Giants	W 20–14	3–1–1	RFK Stadium	50,352	Recap
6	October 26	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 14–7	4–1–1	Pitt Stadium	46,557	Recap
7	November 2	at Baltimore Colts	L 17–41	4–2–1	Memorial Stadium	60,238	Recap
8	November 9	Philadelphia Eagles	T 28–28	4–2–2	RFK Stadium	50,502	Recap
9	November 16	Dallas Cowboys	L 28–41	4–3–2	RFK Stadium	50,474	Recap
10	November 23	Atlanta Falcons	W 27–20	5–3–2	RFK Stadium	50,345	Recap
11	November 30	Los Angeles Rams	L 13–24	5–4–2	RFK Stadium	50,352	Recap
12	December 7	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 34–29	6–4–2	Franklin Field	60,658	Recap
13	December 14	New Orleans Saints	W 17–14	7–4–2	RFK Stadium	50,354	Recap
14	December 21	at Dallas Cowboys	L 10–20	7–5–2	Cotton Bowl	56,924	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 9 vs Cowboys

Week Nine: Dallas Cowboys (7–1) at Washington Redskins (4–2–2)

Period	1	2	3	4	Total
Cowboys	17	10	7	7	41
Redskins	7	14	7	0	28

at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, Washington, D.C.

Date: November 16, 1969
Game weather: 33 °F (1 °C)
Game attendance: 50,474
Box Score

Game information

First quarter

DAL – Mike Clark 36-yard field goal. Cowboys 3–0.
WSH – Jerry Smith 27-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Curt Knight kick). Redskins 7–3.
DAL – Lance Rentzel 65-yard pass from Craig Morton (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 10–7.
DAL – Larry Cole 41-yard interception return (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 17–7.

Second quarter

DAL – Calvin Hill 3-yard run (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 24–7.
WSH – Charley Taylor 68-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Curt Knight kick). Cowboys 24–14.
DAL – Mike Clark 14-yard field goal. Cowboys 27–14.
WSH – Jerry Smith 11-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Curt Knight kick). Cowboys 27–21.

Third quarter

DAL – Calvin Hill 7-yard run (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 34–21.
WSH – Jerry Smith 20-yard pass from Sonny Jurgensen (Curt Knight kick). Cowboys 34–28.

Fourth quarter

DAL – Dan Reeves 4-yard run (Mike Clark kick). Cowboys 41–28.

Top passers

DAL – Craig Morton – 8/17, 156 yards, TD, INT
WSH – Sonny Jurgensen – 24/35, 338 yards, 4 TD, 4 INT

Top rushers

DAL – Calvin Hill – 27 rushes, 150 yards, 2 TD
WSH – Larry Brown – 11 rushes, 38 yards

Top receivers

DAL – Lance Rentzel – 2 receptions, 84 yards, TD
WSH – Charley Taylor – 6 receptions, 155 yards, TD

President Richard Nixon was in attendance.

Week 12

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Redskins	7	6	14	7	34
Eagles	7	9	3	10	29

Date: December 7
Location: Franklin Field
Game attendance: 60,658
Game weather: Sleet; 32 °F (0 °C); wind 10 mph

Scoring summary

Q1	PHI	Keyes 2 yard run (Baker kick)	PHI 7–0

Q1	WSH	Taylor 12 yard pass from Jurgensen (Knight kick)	Tie 7–7

Q2	PHI	Jackson 29 yard pass from Snead (Baker kick)	PHI 14–7

Q2	PHI	Safety, Jurgensen tackled in end zone by Tom	PHI 16–7

Q2	WSH	Knight 12 yard field goal	PHI 16–10

Q2	WSH	Knight 43 yard field goal	PHI 16–13

Q3	PHI	Baker 47 yard field goal	PHI 19–13

Q3	WSH	Hoffman recovered fumble in end zone (Knight kick)	WSH 20–19

Q3	WSH	Smith 25 yard pass from Jurgensen (Knight kick)	WSH 27–19

Q4	PHI	Baker 19 yard field goal	WSH 27–22

Q4	WSH	Brown 1 yard run (Knight kick)	WSH 34–22

Q4	PHI	Jackson 10 yard pass from Snead (Baker kick)	WSH 34–29

Larry Brown 19 Rush, 138 Yds

^[4]

Standings

NFL Capitol
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys	11	2	1	.846	6–0	9–1	369	223	W3
Washington Redskins	7	5	2	.583	3–2–1	6–3–1	307	319	L1
New Orleans Saints	5	9	0	.357	1–5	4–6	311	393	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	4	9	1	.308	1–4–1	4–5–1	279	377	L4

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

References

^ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 452, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
^ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 453, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
^ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 457, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-17.

Redskins on Pro Football Reference

v t e Washington Commanders
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021) Based in Landover, Maryland Headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia
Franchise	History Seasons Players Coaches Draft first-round picks Starting quarterbacks Records Broadcasters
Stadiums	Braves Field Fenway Park Griffith Stadium RFK Stadium Commanders Field
Ownership group	Managing partner: Josh Harris Limited partners: Mitchell Rales, Magic Johnson, David Blitzer, Mark Ein, others
Key personnel	Team president: Jason Wright General manager: Adam Peters Head coach: Dan Quinn
Culture	"Hail to the Commanders" Marching Band Major Tuddy Hogettes Chief Zee Redskins name controversy Name change advocates Opinion polls Trademark dispute Original Americans Foundation "Go Fund Yourself" The Replacements Everybody's All-American
Lore	Bears 73, Redskins 0 The Hogs The Fun Bunch The Over-the-Hill Gang Body Bag Game Raljon, Maryland Redskins Rule Ricky Williams trade
Rivalries	Dallas Cowboys New York Giants Philadelphia Eagles
Division championships (15)	1936 1937 1940 1942 1943 1945 1972 1983 1984 1987 1991 1999 2012 2015 2020
Conference championships (5)	1972 1982 1983 1987 1991
League championships (2)	1937 1942
Super Bowl championships (3)	1982 (XVII) 1987 (XXII) 1991 (XXVI)
Hall of Famers	Cliff Battles Sammy Baugh Bill Dudley Turk Edwards Joe Gibbs Darrell Green Russ Grimm Chris Hanburger Ken Houston Sam Huff Deacon Jones Stan Jones Sonny Jurgensen Paul Krause Vince Lombardi Wayne Millner Bobby Mitchell Art Monk John Riggins Bruce Smith Charley Taylor
Affiliations	League: National Football League Conference: National Football Conference Division: East Division
Category Commons

v t e Washington Commanders seasons
Formerly the Boston Braves (1932), Boston Redskins (1933–1936), Washington Redskins (1937–2019), and Washington Football Team (2020–2021)
1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

1969 NFL season

Capitol	Century	Coastal	Central
Dallas	Cleveland	Atlanta	Chicago
New Orleans	New York	Baltimore	Detroit
Philadelphia	Pittsburgh	Los Angeles	Green Bay
Washington	St. Louis	San Francisco	Minnesota