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 coach	Jim Dooley
Owner	George Halas
Home field	Wrigley Field
Results
Record	1–13
Division place	4th Central
Playoff finish	Did 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 15 Virgil Carter 11 Jack Concannon 14 Bobby Douglass Running backs 29 Ronnie Bull FB 33 Mike Hull 22 Ross Montgomery 41 Brian Piccolo FB 40 Gale Sayers Wide receivers 36 Ron Copeland 45 Dick Gordon 80 Jerry Simmons 21 Cecil Turner 89 Bob Wallace Tight ends 84 Austin Denney 38 Ray Ogden 82 Emilio Vallez		Offensive linemen 65 Randy Jackson T 74 Wayne Mass T 71 Rufus Mayes T 68 Howard Mudd G 50 Mike Pyle C 67 George Seals G 63 Bob Wetoska G Defensive linemen 81 Marty Amsler 73 Frank Cornish DT 79 Dick Evey DT 75 Dave Hale DT 85 Willie Holman DE 70 Ken Kortas DT 87 Ed O'Bradovich DE 86 Loyd Phillips DE		Linebackers 55 Doug Buffone 51 Dick Butkus 59 Rudy Kuechenberg 53 Dave Martin 57 Dan Pride Defensive backs 23 Dick Daniels S 49 Major Hazelton 44 Garry Lyle FS 26 Bennie McRae CB 20 Joe Taylor CB 37 George Youngblood S Special teams 88 Bobby Joe Green P 83 Mac Percival K		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