| 1969 Baltimore Colts season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Carroll Rosenbloom |
| General manager | Harry Hulmes |
| Head coach | Don Shula |
| Home stadium | Memorial Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 8–5–1 |
| Division place | 2ndCoastal |
| Playoffs | Did not qualify |
The1969 Baltimore Colts season was the 17th season for the team in theNational Football League. The Colts finished theNational Football League's1969 season with a record of 8 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie. Led by seventh-year head coachDon Shula, Baltimore finished second in the Western Conference'sCoastal division, well behind theLos Angeles Rams (11–3).
Many attributed the disappointing season to the hangover of losing to the heavy-underdogNew York Jets inSuper Bowl III in January 1969. It is one of the first instances of aSuper Bowl hangover – in which the team that played in a Super Bowl the previous season underperforms in the next season.
A disappointing 20–17 loss to theSan Francisco 49ers in week 9 dropped the Colts to a 5–4 record and put the Colts four full games behind the unbeatenLos Angeles Rams in the division. After the defeat head coach Shula declared, "It looks like we are out of it. I'm disappointed that we went without giving them [the Rams] a battle for it."[1]
In February 1970, two months after the season, Shula departed for theMiami Dolphins.[2][3]
| 1969 Baltimore Colts draft | |||||
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 25 | Eddie Hinton | Wide receiver | Oklahoma | |
| 2 | 33 | Ted Hendricks * † | Linebacker | Miami (FL) | |
| 2 | 51 | Tommy Maxwell | Defensive back | Texas A&M | |
| 3 | 77 | Dennis Nelson | Tackle | Illinois State | Played with Colts 1970–74 |
| 4 | 87 | Jacky Stewart | Running back | Texas Tech | |
| 5 | 129 | King Dunlap | Defensive tackle | Tennessee State | |
| 6 | 154 | Bill Fortier | Tackle | LSU | |
| 7 | 163 | Gary Fleming | Defensive end | Samford | |
| 7 | 181 | Roland Moss | Tight end | Toledo | |
| 8 | 207 | Sam Havrilak | Wide receiver | Bucknell | |
| 9 | 210 | George Wright | Sam Houston State | Defensive tackle | Played with Colts 1970–71 |
| 9 | 232 | Larry Good | Quarterback | Georgia Tech | |
| 10 | 259 | Marion Griffin | Tight end | Purdue | |
| 11 | 285 | Ken Delaney | Tackle | Akron | |
| 12 | 310 | Butch Riley | Linebacker | Texas A&I | |
| 13 | 337 | Carl Mauck | Center | Southern Illinois | |
| 14 | 363 | Dave Bartelt | Linebacker | Colorado | |
| 15 | 389 | George Thompson | Defensive back | Marquette | |
| 16 | 415 | Jim McMillan | Running back | The Citadel | |
| 17 | 441 | Joe Cowan | Wide receiver | Johns Hopkins | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least onePro Bowl during career | |||||
| 1969 Baltimore Colts staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Coaching staff
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
| |||||
| Quarterbacks(QB) Running backs(RB) Wide receivers(WR) Tight ends(TE) | Offensive linemen(OL) | Linebackers(LB)
Defensive backs(DB)
Special teams(ST) | Practice squad Reserve
|
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 21 | Los Angeles Rams | L 20–27 | 0–1 | Memorial Stadium | 56,864 | Recap |
| 2 | September 28 | atMinnesota Vikings | L 14–52 | 0–2 | Metropolitan Stadium | 47,644 | Recap |
| 3 | October 5 | atAtlanta Falcons | W 21–14 | 1–2 | Grant Field | 57,806 | Recap |
| 4 | October 12 | Philadelphia Eagles | W 24–20 | 2–2 | Memorial Stadium | 56,864 | Recap |
| 5 | October 19 | atNew Orleans Saints | W 30–10 | 3–2 | Tulane Stadium | 80,636 | Recap |
| 6 | October 26 | San Francisco 49ers | L 21–24 | 3–3 | Memorial Stadium | 60,238 | Recap |
| 7 | November 2 | Washington Redskins | W 41–17 | 4–3 | Memorial Stadium | 60,238 | Recap |
| 8 | November 9 | Green Bay Packers | W 14–6 | 5–3 | Memorial Stadium | 60,238 | Recap |
| 9 | November 16 | atSan Francisco 49ers | L 17–20 | 5–4 | Kezar Stadium | 38,472 | Recap |
| 10 | November 23 | atChicago Bears | W 24–21 | 6–4 | Wrigley Field | 45,455 | Recap |
| 11 | November 30 | Atlanta Falcons | W 13–6 | 7–4 | Memorial Stadium | 60,238 | Recap |
| 12 | December 7 | Detroit Lions | T 17–17 | 7–4–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,238 | Recap |
| 13 | December 13 | atDallas Cowboys | L 10–27 | 7–5–1 | Cotton Bowl | 63,191 | Recap |
| 14 | December 21 | atLos Angeles Rams | W 13–7 | 8–5–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 73,326 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are inbold text. | |||||||
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rams | 3 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 27 |
| Colts | 0 | 10 | 7 | 3 | 20 |
atMemorial Stadium,Baltimore, Maryland
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
| Quarter | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 49ers | 0 | 10 | 14 | 0 | 24 |
| Colts | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
atMemorial Stadium,Baltimore,Maryland
| Game information | ||
|---|---|---|
|
The loss ended the Colts 13-game winning streak against the 49ers, losing to them for the first time since the1962 season. This would be the last time the 49ers would visit the Colts until1989,[7] by whenRobert Irsay hadmoved the franchise to Indianapolis. The 49ers would next play in Baltimore when meetingthe Ravens in 2003.[8]
| NFL Coastal | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | CONF | PF | PA | STK | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 5–1 | 7–3 | 320 | 243 | L3 |
| Baltimore Colts | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 3–3 | 5–4–1 | 279 | 268 | W1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 2–4 | 4–6 | 276 | 268 | W3 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 4 | 8 | 2 | .333 | 2–4 | 3–7 | 277 | 319 | W1 |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
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| Franchise | |
| Stadiums | |
| Culture | |
| Lore | |
| Rivalries | |
| Division championships (16) | |
| Conference championships (7) | |
| League championships (5) | |
| Retired numbers | |
| Media | |
| Current league affiliations |
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