1959 Cleveland Browns season

The 1959 Cleveland Browns season marked the team's tenth year in the National Football League (NFL) and 14th season overall.

1959 Cleveland Browns season
President	Dave R. Jones
General manager	Paul Brown
Head coach	Paul Brown
Home stadium	Cleveland Stadium
Results
Record	7–5
Division place	T–2nd NFL Eastern
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	Art Hunter, C Lou Groza, LT/K Bob Gain, DE Walt Michaels, LB Jim Ray Smith, G Jim Brown, FB
← 1958 Browns seasons 1960 →

Future Hall of Fame running back Jim Brown rushed for 1,329 yards, leading the league for the third straight year, and 14 touchdowns. Quarterback Milt Plum, who was drafted by the Browns in the 1957 draft, made his mark at the position. The Browns had been looking for a replacement for Otto Graham ever since the Hall of Famer retired—for the second time—following the 1955 season. They finally found him when Plum, a second-round draft pick in 1957, threw for 14 touchdowns with just six interceptions. However, the Browns would finish just 7–5 in 1959, the second in what would turn out to be a string of six straight seasons in which the Browns had decent to very good teams without qualifying for the postseason. The 7–5 record was also the second worst record since head coach Paul Brown's tenure with the team.

Preseason

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Sources
1	August 11	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 20–34	0–1	Forbes Field	27,432	[1]
2	August 22	vs. Detroit Lions	L 3–9	0–2	Rubber Bowl (Akron, Ohio)	22,654
3	August 30	at San Francisco 49ers	L 14–17	0–3	Kezar Stadium	24,737	[2]
4	September 5	at Los Angeles Rams	W 27–24	1–3	LA Memorial Coliseum	55,883
5	September 13	at Detroit Lions	L 28–31	1–4	Briggs Stadium	33,435	[3]
6	September 19	Chicago Bears	W 33–31	2–4	Cleveland Stadium	25,316	[4]
Note: September 19: Night game.

Regular season

In 1959 the Browns offered seats at four price levels. Reserved seats were available at $4.50, $3.50, and $2.50, depending on location, and general admission seats were available for a league-low price of $1.50.^[5] Reserve season tickets for the six game home slate cost $27, $21, and $15, respectively.^[5]

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap	Sources
1	September 26	at Pittsburgh Steelers	L 7–17	0–1	Forbes Field	33,844	Recap
2	October 4	at Chicago Cardinals	W 34–7	1–1	Soldier Field	19,935	Recap
3	October 11	New York Giants	L 6–10	1–2	Cleveland Stadium	65,534	Recap
4	October 18	Chicago Cardinals	W 17–7	2–2	Cleveland Stadium	46,422	Recap
5	October 25	Washington Redskins	W 34–7	3–2	Cleveland Stadium	42,732	Recap
6	November 1	at Baltimore Colts	W 38–31	4–2	Memorial Stadium	57,557	Recap
7	November 8	Philadelphia Eagles	W 28–7	5–2	Cleveland Stadium	58,275	Recap
8	November 15	at Washington Redskins	W 31–17	6–2	Griffith Stadium	32,266	Recap
9	November 22	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 20–21	6–3	Cleveland Stadium	68,563	Recap
10	November 29	San Francisco 49ers	L 20–21	6–4	Cleveland Stadium	56,854	Recap
11	December 6	at New York Giants	L 7–48	6–5	Yankee Stadium	68,436	Recap
12	December 13	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 28–21	7–5	Franklin Field	45,952	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Saturday night game: Sept. 26.

Standings

Program for the November 29 game against the visiting San Francisco 49ers.

NFL Eastern Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
New York Giants	10	2	0	.833	8–2	284	170	W4
Philadelphia Eagles	7	5	0	.583	6–4	268	278	L1
Cleveland Browns	7	5	0	.583	6–4	270	214	W1
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	5	1	.545	6–4	257	216	W1
Washington Redskins	3	9	0	.250	2–8	185	350	L5
Chicago Cardinals	2	10	0	.167	2–8	234	324	L6

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

NFL Western Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Baltimore Colts	9	3	0	.750	9–1	374	251	W5
Chicago Bears	8	4	0	.667	6–4	252	196	W7
San Francisco 49ers	7	5	0	.583	5–5	255	237	L2
Green Bay Packers	7	5	0	.583	6–4	248	246	W4
Detroit Lions	3	8	1	.273	2–8	203	275	L1
Los Angeles Rams	2	10	0	.167	2–8	242	315	L8

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

Personnel

Team photo of the 1959 Cleveland Browns.

Roster

1959 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks 16 Milt Plum 18 Bob Ptacek 15 Jim Ninowski Running backs 32 Jim Brown FB 36 Ed Modzelewski 40 Preston Carpenter E/HB 49 Bobby Mitchell WR/HB/KR Wide receivers 26 Ray Renfro 86 Billy Howton 87 Fred Murphy 88 Rich Kreitling Tight ends 82 Frank Clarke E/FL		Offensive linemen 56 John Morrow C 60 John Wooten G 64 Jim Ray Smith G 66 Gene Hickerson G 70 Fran O'Brien T 74 Mike McCormack T 78 Willie McClung T Defensive linemen 73 Floyd Peters DT 79 Bob Gain DT 80 Dick Schafrath T/DE/G 84 Paul Wiggin DE 77 Willie Davis DL 75 Sid Youngelman DT		Linebackers 35 Galen Fiss OLB 50 Vince Costello MLB 52 Dave Lloyd MLB 34 Walt Michaels LLB 65 Chuck Noll LB/G/C Defensive backs 42 Junior Wren S/P 24 Warren Lahr S/LS 30 Bernie Parrish CB 22 Ken Konz DB Special teams 76 Lou Groza K 44 Jim Shofner CB/P/PR rookies in italics

^[6]

Staff/coaches

1959 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 Assistant head coach – Dick Gallagher 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 – Fritz Heisler & Ed Ulinski Linebackers – Ed Ulinski Strength & conditioning Athletic trainer – Leo Murphy Equipment manager – Morris Kono