1965 Baltimore Colts season

The 1965 Baltimore Colts season was the 13th season for the team in the National Football League. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League's 1965 season with a record of 10 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tie, which tied for first in the Western Conference with the Green Bay Packers. No tie-breaking system was in place, and a playoff game was required to determine the Western Conference champion, who would host the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Browns for the NFL title.

1965 Baltimore Colts season
Owner	Carroll Rosenbloom
General manager	Don "Red" Kellett
Head coach	Don Shula
Home stadium	Memorial Stadium
Results
Record	10–3–1
Division place	T-1st NFL Western (playoff)
Playoffs	Lost Western Conference Playoff (at Packers) 10–13 Won NFL Playoff Bowl (vs. Cowboys) 35–3
← 1964 Colts seasons 1966 →

The Colts were victims of the alleged Sports Illustrated cover jinx after linebacker Dennis Gaubatz was featured in late November. According to the article on the team's defense, the 9–1 Colts would soon clinch the Western title.^[1] But the team was beset with numerous obstacles from that point on, not the least of which were serious injuries to both of their quarterbacks, future Hall of Famer Johnny Unitas and back-up Gary Cuozzo.

After it was ruled that veteran free agent Ed Brown had been acquired too late for inclusion on the postseason roster, halfback Tom Matte (who had played quarterback at Ohio State for Woody Hayes) was pressed into service behind center. Yet the Colts were a remarkably resilient bunch, and if not for a blown call in the playoff game, they would have advanced to the league championship game, which they would have hosted at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.

Personnel

Staff/coaches

1965 Baltimore Colts staff
Front office Owner/president – Carroll Rosenbloom Vice president/general manager – Red Kellett 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 – Charley Winner Linebackers coach – Don Shula

Roster

1965 Baltimore Colts roster

Quarterbacks (QB) 14 Ed Brown P 15 Gary Cuozzo 19 Johnny Unitas Running backs (RB) 47 Bobby Felts 45 Jerry Hill 33 Tony Lorick FB 41 Tom Matte HB 24 Lenny Moore Wide receivers (WR) 82 Raymond Berry SE 25 Alex Hawkins 28 Jimmy Orr FL 87 Willie Richardson FL 84 Neal Petties SE Tight ends (TE) 88 John Mackey 86 Butch Wilson

Offensive linemen (OL) 50 Buzz Nutter C 77 Jim Parker T 60 George Preas G/T 62 Glenn Ressler G 68 Alex Sandusky G 71 Dan Sullivan G 52 Dick Szymanski C 72 Bob Vogel T Defensive linemen (DL) 81 Ordell Braase DE 85 Roy Hilton DE 89 Gino Marchetti DE 76 Fred Miller DT 74 Billy Ray Smith DT 75 Guy Reese DT

Linebackers (LB) 55 Jackie Burkett 32 Mike Curtis 35 Ted Davis 53 Dennis Gaubatz 67 Monte Lee 66 Don Shinnick 31 Steve Stonebreaker 51 Mike Strofolino Defensive backs (DB) 40 Bobby Boyd CB 30 Alvin Haymond CB 20 Jerry Logan S 43 Lenny Lyles CB 26 Wendell Harris S 46 Jim Welch S Special teams (ST) 73 Tom Gilburg 75 Lou Michaels

Practice squad None - N/A Reserve None - N/A Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 19	Minnesota Vikings	W 35–16	1–0	Memorial Stadium	56,562
2	September 26	at Green Bay Packers	L 17–20	1–1	Milwaukee County Stadium	48,130
3	October 3	San Francisco 49ers	W 27–24	2–1	Memorial Stadium	58,609
4	October 10	Detroit Lions	W 31–7	3–1	Memorial Stadium	60,238
5	October 17	at Washington Redskins	W 38–7	4–1	D.C. Stadium	50,405
6	October 24	Los Angeles Rams	W 35–20	5–1	Memorial Stadium	60,238
7	October 31	at San Francisco 49ers	W 34–28	6–1	Kezar Stadium	45,827
8	November 7	at Chicago Bears	W 26–21	7–1	Wrigley Field	45,656
9	November 14	at Minnesota Vikings	W 41–21	8–1	Metropolitan Stadium	47,426
10	November 21	Philadelphia Eagles	W 34–24	9–1	Memorial Stadium	60,238
11	November 25	at Detroit Lions	T 24–24	9–1–1	Tiger Stadium	55,036
12	December 5	Chicago Bears	L 0–13	9–2–1	Memorial Stadium	60,238
13	December 12	Green Bay Packers	L 27–42	9–3–1	Memorial Stadium	60,238
14	December 18	at Los Angeles Rams	W 20–17	10–3–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	46,636
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings

NFL Western Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	10	3	1	.769	8–3–1	316	224	T1
Baltimore Colts	10	3	1	.769	8–3–1	389	284	W1
Chicago Bears	9	5	0	.643	7–5	409	275	L1
San Francisco 49ers	7	6	1	.538	6–5–1	421	402	T1
Minnesota Vikings	7	7	0	.500	5–7	383	403	W2
Detroit Lions	6	7	1	.462	4–7–1	257	295	W1
Los Angeles Rams	4	10	0	.286	2–10	269	328	L1

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

Postseason

The Western Conference playoff game was played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay the day after Christmas and the Colts led the Packers 10–0 at halftime. The Packers, with back-up quarterback Zeke Bratkowski in for injured Bart Starr, tied it up late in the fourth quarter on Don Chandler's controversial 22-yard field goal. Video replays appeared to show the kicked ball sailed well wide of the right upright—and the reaction of Chandler confirmed as much. The kick resulted in 1) a re-design of the goalposts, and 2) changing the placement of an official directly under each upright on field-goal attempts for the 1966 season.

Despite evidence to the contrary, the official in question, Jim Tunney (later known as "Dean of NFL Referees"), refused to admit his mistake, claiming that the flight of the ball over the goalpost had been affected by the wind before it veered to the right. The Packers won the game 13–10 in overtime with a 25-yard field goal. The following week the Packers defeated the Cleveland Browns for the NFL title, their third of five under head coach Vince Lombardi and first of three straight.

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Recap
Conference	December 26	at Green Bay Packers	L 10–13 OT	Lambeau Field	50,484	Recap
Playoff Bowl	January 9, 1966	Dallas Cowboys	W 35–3	Orange Bowl	65,569	-

See also

• History of the Baltimore Colts
• Indianapolis Colts seasons
• 1965 NFL playoffs