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1969 Chicago Bears season

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

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. This would also turn out to be Sayers final full season, as he would be on the injured reserve list for the entire 1970 and '71 seasons before finally retiring.

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]

The Bears scored a total of only 27 points in 6 division games.

Offseason

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Draft

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Main article: 1969 NFL/AFL 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

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1969 Chicago Bears roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Practice squad
Rookies in italics

Preseason

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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

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Main article: 1969 NFL season

Schedule

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

Standings

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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

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  1. ^ a b "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.[permanent dead link‍]
  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.[permanent dead link‍]
  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.[permanent dead link‍]
  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.[permanent dead link‍]
  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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