1969 Chicago Bears season

1969 Chicago Bears season
Head coach Jim Dooley
Owner George Halas
Home field Wrigley Field
Results
Record 1–13
Division place 4th Central
Playoff finish did not qualify

The 1969 Chicago Bears season was their 50th regular season completed in the National Football League. The club posted a 1–13 record, the worst in franchise history. This occurred despite the exploits of Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers. Sayers had torn the ligaments in his right knee during the 1968 season. After surgery, Sayers went through a physical rehabilitation program with the help of teammate Brian Piccolo. In 1969 Sayers led the league in rushing once again with 1,032 yards, but he lacked the speed he once had and averaged only 4.4 yards per carry. An already poor season was made even worse when running back Piccolo was diagnosed with cancer in November. He would succumb to the disease in June of the following year.

Offseason

Draft

Main article: 1969 NFL Draft
1969 Chicago Bears draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 14 Rufus Mayes  OT Ohio State
      Made roster       Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Preseason

On August 30, a crowd of 85,532 fans viewed a doubleheader at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. In the first contest, the Chicago Bears played the AFL's Buffalo Bills, while the Cleveland Browns hosted the Green Bay Packers in the second match.[1]

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 21, 1969 at Green Bay Packers L 0-17
50,861
2 September 28, 1969 at St. Louis Cardinals L 17-20
50,039
3 October 5, 1969 at New York Giants L 24-28
62,583
4 October 12, 1969 Minnesota Vikings L 0-31
45,757
5 October 19, 1969 at Detroit Lions L 7-13
54,732
6 October 26, 1969 Los Angeles Rams L 7-9
45,985
7 November 2, 1969 at Minnesota Vikings L 14-31
47,900
8 November 9, 1969 Pittsburgh Steelers W 38–7
45,851
9 November 16, 1969 at Atlanta Falcons L 31-48
53,722
10 November 23, 1969 Baltimore Colts L 21-24
45,455
11 November 30, 1969 Cleveland Browns L 24-28
45,050
12 December 6, 1969 at San Francisco 49ers L 21-42
32,826
13 December 14, 1969 Green Bay Packers L 3-21
45,216
14 December 21, 1969 Detroit Lions L 3-20
41,879

Standings

NFL Central
W L T PCT DIV CONF PF PA STK
Minnesota Vikings 12 2 0 .857 6–0 9–1 379 133 L1
Detroit Lions 9 4 1 .692 3–3 6–3–1 259 188 W2
Green Bay Packers 8 6 0 .571 3–3 5–5 269 221 W2
Chicago Bears 1 13 0 .071 0–6 0–10 210 339 L6

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

References

  1. Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.439, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0
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