1960 Cleveland Browns season

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.

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 →

Personnel

Roster

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 56 John Morrow C 54 Bob Denton DE/T 60 John Wooten G 64 Jim Ray Smith G 66 Gene Hickerson G 74 Mike McCormack T 70 Errol Linden T 77 Dick Schafrath T 78 Gene Selawski T 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

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

Week	Date	Opponent	Time	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
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

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

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 Plays Yards TOP 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

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

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

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

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

Regular season

Main article: 1960 NFL season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Time	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
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

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

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 Plays Yards TOP 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

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 Plays Yards TOP 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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Standings

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

Statistical comparison

	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

Offense

Defense

Special teams

Postseason

Main article: Playoff Bowl

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

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

Awards and records

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

Milestones

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

References

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

External links

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