1969 Chicago Bears season

The 1969 Chicago Bears season was their 50th regular season completed in the National Football League. The team finished with a franchise-worst 1–13 record.[1] This occurred despite the exploits of Dick Butkus and Gale Sayers, who had torn the ligaments in his right knee in November 1968.[2][3] After surgery, he 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,[1] but lacked his previous speed, and averaged only 4.4 yards per carry.

1969 Chicago Bears season
Head coachJim Dooley
OwnerGeorge Halas
Home fieldWrigley Field
Results
Record1–13
Division place4th Central
Playoff finishDid not qualify

An already poor season was compounded in late November. Undersized fullback Piccolo had scored a touchdown in each of his final three games (November 2, 9, 16),[4][5][6][7] but a persistent cough was diagnosed as cancer and he underwent chest surgery;[8][9] he succumbed to the disease seven months later at age 26.[10][11][12]

Offseason

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

Roster
1969 Chicago Bears final roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists



Practice squad



Rookies in italics
 active, inactive, practice squad

Preseason

On August 30, a crowd of 85,532 fans viewed a doubleheader at Cleveland's Municipal Stadium. In the first contest, the Bears played the AFL's Buffalo Bills,[13] while the Cleveland Browns hosted the Green Bay Packers in the second match.[14][15][16]

Regular season
Main article: 1969 NFL season

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

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. "Lions win; clinch 3rd in West". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. December 22, 1969. p. 2, part 2.
  2. "Bears beat 49ers, 27-19, but lose Sayers for year". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. November 11, 1968. p. 1, part 2.
  3. "Bears down 49ers, 27-19, but lose Sayers for season". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. November 11, 1968. p. 12, part 2.
  4. "Bears errors help Vikings keep lead". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. November 3, 1969. p. 13, part 2.
  5. "Bears end famine by routing Steelers". Milwaukee Journal. Associated Press dispatches. November 10, 1969. p. 15, part 2.
  6. Sell, Jack (November 10, 1969). "Steelers 'good' for what ails Bears, 38-7". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 28.
  7. "Falcons set scoring record of 48 points in rout of Bears". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. November 17, 1969. p. 16, part 2.
  8. "Cowboys' Morton to undergo surgery". Milwaukee Sentinel. press dispatches. November 25, 1969. p. 1, part 2.
  9. "Operate on Piccolo". Milwaukee Sentinel. UPI. November 29, 1968. p. 3, part 2.
  10. "Cancer fatal to Piccolo of Bears at 26". Milwaukee Journal. press dispatches. June 16, 1970. p. 13, part 2.
  11. "Brian Piccolo is dead at 26". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. June 17, 1970. p. 19.
  12. "Sayers, Halas praise Piccolo's courage". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. June 17, 1970. p. 1-part 2.
  13. Bledsoe, Terry (August 31, 1969). "Bears beat Bills, 23-16". Milwaukee Journal. p. 2, sports.
  14. "Packers given 4th billing in Browns' doubleheader". Milwaukee Journal. August 30, 1969. p. 14, part 2.
  15. Bledsoe, Terry (August 31, 1969). "Packer rally beats Browns, 27-17". Milwaukee Journal. p. 1, sports.
  16. 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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