1961 Cleveland Browns season

The 1961 Cleveland Browns season marked the team's 12th season in the National Football League (NFL) and was the 16th in franchise history.

1961 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Paul Brown
Home stadium	Cleveland Stadium
Results
Record	8–5–1
Division place	3rd NFL Eastern
Playoffs	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	Milt Plum, QB John Morrow, C Bob Gain, DT Mike McCormack, RT Jim Ray Smith, G Jim Brown, FB
← 1960 Browns seasons 1962 →

Offseason

On March 22, Dave R. Jones sold the Browns to a group headed by Arthur B. Modell.^[1]

Exhibition schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Sources
1	August 11	at Detroit Lions	L 7–35	0–1	Tiger Stadium	25,602
2	August 20	at San Francisco 49ers	W 27–24	1–1	Kezar Stadium	38,759
3	August 25	at Los Angeles Rams	W 34–17	2–1	Los Angeles Coliseum	40,086
4	September 2	vs. Pittsburgh Steelers	W 38–6	3–1	Rubber Bowl	27,758
5	September 9	Detroit Lions	L 17–35	3–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	41,374

Regular season schedule

Game	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap	Sources
1	September 17	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 20–27	0–1	Franklin Field	60,671	Recap
2	September 24	St. Louis Cardinals	W 20–17	1–1	Cleveland Stadium	50,443	Recap
3	October 1	Dallas Cowboys	W 25–7	2–1	Cleveland Stadium	43,638	Recap
4	October 8	Washington Redskins	W 31–7	3–1	Cleveland Stadium	46,186	Recap
5	October 15	Green Bay Packers	L 17–49	3–2	Cleveland Stadium	75,042	Recap
6	October 22	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 30–28	4–2	Forbes Field	29,266	Recap
7	October 29	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 21–10	5–2	Sportsman's Park	26,696	Recap
8	November 5	Pittsburgh Steelers	L 13–17	5–3	Cleveland Stadium	62,723	Recap
9	November 12	at Washington Redskins	W 17–6	6–3	D.C. Stadium	28,975	Recap
10	November 19	Philadelphia Eagles	W 45–24	7–3	Cleveland Stadium	68,399	Recap
11	November 26	New York Giants	L 21–37	7–4	Cleveland Stadium	80,455	Recap
12	December 3	at Dallas Cowboys	W 38–17	8–4	Cotton Bowl	23,500	Recap
13	December 10	at Chicago Bears	L 14–17	8–5	Wrigley Field	38,717	Recap
14	December 17	at New York Giants	T 7–7	8–5–1	Yankee Stadium	61,084	Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
New York Giants	10	3	1	.769	9–2–1	368	220	T1
Philadelphia Eagles	10	4	0	.714	8–4	361	297	W1
Cleveland Browns	8	5	1	.615	8–3–1	319	270	T1
St. Louis Cardinals	7	7	0	.500	7–5	279	267	W3
Pittsburgh Steelers	6	8	0	.429	5–7	295	287	L1
Dallas Cowboys	4	9	1	.308	2–9–1	236	380	L4
Washington Redskins	1	12	1	.077	1–10–1	174	392	W1

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
Green Bay Packers	11	3	0	.786	9–3	391	223	W1
Detroit Lions	8	5	1	.615	7–4–1	270	258	L1
Chicago Bears	8	6	0	.571	7–5	326	302	W2
Baltimore Colts	8	6	0	.571	6–6	302	307	W1
San Francisco 49ers	7	6	1	.538	6–5–1	346	272	L1
Los Angeles Rams	4	10	0	.286	3–9	263	333	L1
Minnesota Vikings	3	11	0	.214	3–9	285	407	L2

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

Awards and records

• Jim Brown, NFL rushing leader, 1,408 yards
• Milt Plum, NFL leader, passing yards, (2416)

Milestones

• Jim Brown, Fourth Consecutive 1,000 yard season
• Jim Brown, Fifth Consecutive Rushing Title

Personnel

Roster

1961 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks 16 Milt Plum 18 Len Dawson Running backs 32 Jim Brown FB 40 Preston Powell FB 49 Bobby Mitchell WR/HB/KR 22 Tom Watkins HB Wide receivers 26 Ray Renfro 86 Gern Nagler WR/TE 85 Charley Ferguson WR/TE 88 Rich Kreitling Tight ends 42 Bobby Crespino SE/TE 83 Johnny Brewer LB/TE/DE 81 Leon Clarke E/FL		Offensive linemen 56 John Morrow C 62 Duane Putnam G 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 Ed Nutting T Defensive linemen 72 Floyd Peters DT 78 Frank Parker DT 79 Bob Gain DT 84 Paul Wiggin DE 68 Larry Stephens DL		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 40 Jim Shorter CB 44 Jim Shofner CB/PR Special teams 76 Lou Groza K 38 Sam Baker P 46 Don Fleming DB/LS rookies in italics

^[2]

Staff/Coaches

1961 Cleveland Browns staff
	Front office Owner/CEO – Art Modell Coaches Head coach – Paul Brown Offensive coaches 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 & Coditioning Athletic trainer – Leo Murphy Equipment manager – Morris Kono