1969 Baltimore Colts season

17th season in franchise history

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	2nd Coastal
Playoffs	Did not qualify
← 1968 Colts seasons 1970 →

The 1969 Baltimore Colts season was the 17th season for the team in the National Football League. The Colts finished the National Football League's 1969 season with a record of 8 wins, 5 losses and 1 tie. Led by seventh-year head coach Don Shula, Baltimore finished second in the Western Conference's Coastal division, well behind the Los Angeles Rams (11–3).

Many attributed the disappointing season to the hangover of losing to the heavy-underdog New York Jets in Super Bowl III in January 1969. It is one of the first instances of a Super 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 the San Francisco 49ers in week 9 dropped the Colts to a 5–4 record and put the Colts four full games behind the unbeaten Los 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 the Miami Dolphins.^[2][3]

NFL/AFL draft

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 one Pro Bowl during career

^[4]

Personnel

Staff/coaches

1969 Baltimore Colts staff
Front office Owner/president and treasurer – Carroll Rosenbloom General manager – Harry Hulmes Coaching staff Head coach – Don Shula Offensive coaches Receivers/offensive ends – Dick Bielski Offensive backs – Don McCafferty Offensive line coach – John Sandusky		Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator/defensive line – Bill Arnsparger Defensive backfield – Bobby Boyd Linebackers coach – Don Shula

Roster

1969 Baltimore Colts roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 15 Earl Morrall 19 Johnny Unitas Running backs (RB) 34 Terry Cole 48 Larry Conjar 45 Jerry Hill 41 Tom Matte 26 Preston Pearson Wide receivers (WR) 17 Sam Havrilak 33 Eddie Hinton 27 Ray Perkins 87 Willie Richardson Tight ends (TE) 88 John Mackey 44 Roland Moss

Offensive linemen (OL) 73 Sam Ball T 50 Bill Curry C 61 Cornelius Johnson G 67 Carl Mauck C 71 Dan Sullivan G 72 Bob Vogel T 75 John Williams G Defensive linemen (DL) 65 Ron Kostelnik DT 85 Roy Hilton DE 76 Fred Miller DT 74 Billy Ray Smith DT 78 Bubba Smith DE

Linebackers (LB) 55 John Campbell OLB 32 Mike Curtis MLB 53 Dennis Gaubatz MLB 51 Bob Grant OLB 83 Ted Hendricks OLB 54 Butch Riley MLB Defensive backs (DB) 37 Ocie Austin CB/S 35 Jim Duncan CB 20 Jerry Logan SS 43 Lenny Lyles CB 42 Tommy Maxwell CB 47 Charlie Stukes CB 21 Rick Volk FS Special teams (ST) 49 David Lee P 79 Lou Michaels K

Practice squad 18 Jeff Beaver QB 23 David Bennett RB 46 Jim McMillan WR Reserve 31 Perry Lee Dunn RB (IR) 84 Tom Mitchell TE (IR) 68 Dennis Nelson T (Miltitary) 52 Robbie Nichols LB (Miltitary) 28 Jimmy Orr WR (IR) 62 Glenn Ressler G (IR) 36 Jack Stewart RB (IR) 16 Jim Ward QB (IR) 60 George Wright DT (Miltitary) Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

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	at Minnesota Vikings	L 14–52	0–2	Metropolitan Stadium	47,644	Recap
3	October 5	at Atlanta 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	at New 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	at San Francisco 49ers	L 17–20	5–4	Kezar Stadium	38,472	Recap
10	November 23	at Chicago 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	at Dallas Cowboys	L 10–27	7–5–1	Cotton Bowl	63,191	Recap
14	December 21	at Los Angeles Rams	W 13–7	8–5–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	73,326	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 1 vs Rams

Week One: Los Angeles Rams (0–0) at Baltimore Colts (0–0)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
Rams	3	7	10	7	27
Colts	0	10	7	3	20

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

• Date: September 21
• Game weather: 63 °F or 17.2 °C, relative humidity 64%, wind 10 miles per hour (16 km/h; 8.7 kn)
• Game attendance: 56,864
• Referee: Tommy Bell
• ^[5]

Game information

First quarter LA – Bruce Gossett 29-yard field goal. Rams 3–0. Drive: Second quarter BAL – Tom Mitchell 13-yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 7–3. Drive: LA – Billy Truax 4-yard pass from Roman Gabriel (Bruce Gossett kick). Rams 10–7. Drive: BAL – Lou Michaels 15-yard field goal. Tie 10–10. Drive: Third quarter BAL – Jimmy Orr 41-yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 17–10. Drive: LA – Willie Ellison 14-yard pass from Roman Gabriel (Bruce Gossett kick). Tie 17–17. Drive: LA – Bruce Gossett 15-yard field goal. Rams 20–17. Drive: Fourth quarter LA – Wendell Tucker 16-yard pass from Roman Gabriel (Bruce Gossett kick). Rams 27–17. Drive: BAL – Lou Michaels 41-yard field goal. Rams 27–20. Drive: Top passers LA – Roman Gabriel – 20/33, 268 yards, 3 TD BAL – Johnny Unitas – 20/42, 297 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT Top rushers LA – Larry Smith – 10 rushes, 73 yards BAL – Preston Pearson – 11 rushes, 43 yards Top receivers LA – Wendell Tucker – 6 receptions, 90 yards, TD BAL – Jimmy Orr – 5 receptions, 87 yards, TD

Week 6 vs 49ers

Week Six: San Francisco 49ers (0–4–1) at Baltimore Colts (3–2)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	0	10	14	0	24
Colts	0	7	7	7	21

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

• Date: October 26, 1969
• Game weather: 48 °F or 8.9 °C, relative humidity 49%, wind 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h; 4.3 kn)
• Referee: Jack Vest
• ^[6]

Game information

First quarter No scoring plays Second quarter SF — Tommy Davis 18-yard field goal. 49ers 3–0 BAL — Tom Matte 11-yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 7–3 SF — Ken Willard 5-yard rush (Tommy Davis kick). 49ers 10–7 Third quarter SF — Dick Witcher 18-yard pass from Steve Spurrier (Tommy Davis kick). 49ers 17–7 SF — John Woitt 57-yard interception return (Tommy Davis kick). 49ers 24–7 BAL — Jimmy Orr 6 yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Lou Michaels kick). 49ers 24–14 Fourth quarter BAL — Tom Matte 1 yard rush (Lou Michaels kick). 49ers 24–21 Top passers SF — Steve Spurrier – 18/30, 205 yards, TD, INT BAL — Johnny Unitas – 19/37, 300 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT Top rushers SF — Doug Cunningham – 13 rushes, 51 yards BAL — Tom Matte – 17 rushes, 81 yards, TD Top receivers SF — Dick Witcher – 3 receptions, 54 yards, TD BAL — Jimmy Orr – 8 receptions, 146 yards, TD

The loss ended the Colts 13-game winning streak against the 49ers, losing to them for the first time since the 1962 season. This would be the last time the 49ers would visit the Colts until 1989,^[7] by when Robert Irsay had moved the franchise to Indianapolis. The 49ers would next play in Baltimore when meeting the Ravens in 2003.^[8]

Standings

NFL Coastal
view talk edit	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.

See also

• History of the Indianapolis Colts
• Indianapolis Colts seasons
• Colts–Patriots rivalry

References

1. Cameron C. Snyder, "Shula Thinks Colts are Out of It," Baltimore Sun, Nov. 17, 1969, p. 27.
2. "Shula replaces Miami's Wilson". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. February 19, 1970. p. 1, part 2.^{[permanent dead link]}
3. "Dollar signs convince Shula to jump to Miami Dolphins". Eugene Register-Guard. Oregon. Associated Press. February 19, 1970. p. 4D.
4. "1969 Baltimore Colts Draftees". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved February 15, 2022.
5. "Los Angeles Rams at Baltimore Colts — September 21st, 1969". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
6. "San Francisco 49ers at Baltimore Colts — October 26th, 1969". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
7. Urena, Ivan (2014). Pro Football Schedules: A Complete Historical Guide from 1933 to the Present. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company. p. 16. ISBN 9780786473519.
8. "Baltimore Ravens vs. San Francisco 49ers Results". The Football Database.

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