1969 New York Giants season

The 1969 New York Giants season was the franchise's 45th season in the National Football League (NFL). The Giants moved back to the Century Division in 1969, after one season in the Capitol Division.[1] They finished with a 6–8 record, and had one victory less than the previous year.[2][3] New York placed second in the Century Division, four-and-a-half games behind the Cleveland Browns.[4]

1969 New York Giants season
Head coach	Alex Webster
Owner	Wellington Mara
Home field	Yankee Stadium
Results
Record	6–8
Division place	2nd NFL Century
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

Before the season, the Giants selected Fred Dryer in the first round of the 1969 NFL/AFL Draft, with the 13th overall pick,[5] and traded with the Atlanta Falcons for running back Junior Coffey in late October.[6] New York lost all of its preseason games, including a 37–14 rout by the New York Jets at the Yale Bowl in New Haven, leading the team to fire head coach Allie Sherman in September, a week before the regular season began.[7][8] Offensive backfield coach Alex Webster was promoted to head coach.[9][10]

The Giants opened the season with a win against the Minnesota Vikings, the eventual league champion,[11] and held a 3–1 record after four games. However, they went on a seven-game losing streak, then won the final three games in December to close the season.[2]

Roster

1969 New York Giants roster

	Quarterbacks 16 Milt Plum 10 Fran Tarkenton 19 Gary Wood Running backs 34 Junior Coffey 24 Tucker Frederickson 23 Ernie Koy Jr. P 27 Randy Minniear 40 Joe Morrison Wide receivers 85 Don Herrmann 84 Rich Houston 45 Homer Jones Tight ends 87 Rich Kotite 88 Aaron Thomas 81 Freeman White 86 Butch Wilson		Offensive linemen 77 Rich Buzin T 65 Pete Case G 62 Darrell Dess G 61 Charlie Harper G 53 Greg Larson C 63 Doug Van Horn G 78 Steve Wright T 69 Willie Young T Defensive linemen 79 Bruce Anderson DE 82 McKinley Boston DE 89 Fred Dryer DE 71 Bob Lurtsema DE 74 Tim McCann DT 78 Frank Parker DT 75 Joe Szczecko DT		Linebackers 56 Tommy Crutcher 66 Henry Davis 55 Ralph Heck 57 Ray Hicki 52 John Kirby Defensive backs 20 Scott Eaton CB 49 Jim Holifield 43 Spider Lockhart S 44 Tom Longo SS 21 Bruce Maher S 41 Willie A. Williams Special teams  3 Pete Gogolak K		Reserve lists Practice squad 26 Kenny Parker DB Rookies in italics

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 21	Minnesota Vikings	W 24–23	1–0	62,900
2	September 28	at Detroit Lions	L 24–0	1–1	54,358
3	October 5	Chicago Bears	W 28–24	2–1	62,583
4	October 12	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 10–7	3–1	62,987
5	October 19	at Washington Redskins	L 20–14	3–2	50,352
6	October 27	at Dallas Cowboys	L 25–3	3–3	58,964
7	November 2	Philadelphia Eagles	L 23–20	3–4	62,912
8	November 9	at St. Louis Cardinals	L 42–17	3–5	49,194
9	November 16	New Orleans Saints	L 25–24	3–6	62,927
10	November 23	at Cleveland Browns	L 28–17	3–7	80,595
11	November 30	at Green Bay Packers	L 20–10	3–8	48,156
12	December 7	St. Louis Cardinals	W 49–6	4–8	62,973
13	December 14	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 21–17	5–8	21,067
14	December 21	Cleveland Browns	W 27–14	6–8	62,966

Game summaries

Week 3 vs. Steelers

See also: 1969 Pittsburgh Steelers season

Pittsburgh Steelers (1–2) at New York Giants (2–1)

	1	2	3	4	Total
Steelers	0	0	0	7	7
Giants	7	0	0	3	10

at Yankee Stadium • Bronx, New York

• Date: October 12
• Game weather: 67 °F (19 °C) • Wind 9 miles per hour (14 km/h; 7.8 kn)
• Game attendance: 62,987[12]
• Pro-Football-Reference.com

Game information
Steelers Dick Shiner 14/24, 132 Yds, 2 INT Dick Hoak 13 Rush, 64 Yds Roy Jefferson 3 Rec, 58 Yds Giants Fran Tarkenton 16/29, 154 Yds, TD Ernie Koy Jr. 8 Rush, 23 Yds Homer Jones 3 Rec, 56 Yds

Scoring summary
Quarter Time Drive Team Scoring information Score Plays Yards TOP PIT NYG 1 Giants Morrison 7-yard touchdown reception from Tarkenton, Gogolak kick good 0 7 4 Giants 14-yard field goal by Gogolak 0 10 4 Steelers Shiner 18-yard touchdown run, Mingo kick good 7 10 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. 7 10

Standings

NFL Century
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Cleveland Browns	10	3	1	.769	4–1–1	8–1–1	351	300	L1
New York Giants	6	8	0	.429	4–2	4–6	264	298	W3
St. Louis Cardinals	4	9	1	.308	3–2–1	3–6–1	314	389	L3
Pittsburgh Steelers	1	13	0	.071	0–6	0–10	218	404	L13

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

References

1. "Pro Football Owners Mum On Money Talk Strategy". Observer-Reporter. Associated Press. May 18, 1968. p. B5.
2. "1969 New York Giants". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on 30 April 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
3. "New York Giants Franchise Encyclopedia". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on 29 April 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
4. "1969 NFL Standings, Team & Offensive Statistics". Pro Football Reference. Archived from the original on May 8, 2009. Retrieved May 6, 2009.
5. "1969 NFL/AFL Draft". Pro Football Reference. Retrieved October 31, 2011.
6. "Giants acquire Falcons' Coffey". Spartanburg Herald. South Carolina: Associated Press. October 29, 1969. p. 14.
7. Richman, Milton (September 17, 1969). "Firing Sherman tough task for Giants' boss". The Dispatch. Lexington, North Carolina. United Press International. p. 14.
8. Whittingham, Richard (2005). Illustrated History of the New York Giants. Chicago: Triumph Books. p. 151. ISBN 1-57243-641-7.
9. "Giants say goodbye to Allie as coach". Schenectady Gazette. New York. Associated Press. September 13, 1969. p. 18.
10. "Trial of fire for Alex Webster". Montreal Gazette. United Press International. September 23, 1969. p. 44.
11. Silverman, Steve (2007). The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly: Heart-Pounding, Jaw-Dropping, and Gut-Wrenching Moments from Minnesota Vikings History. Triumph Books. pp. 31–33. ISBN 9781572439887.
12. "Giants Zonk Steelers, 10–7". The Hutchinson News. Associated Press. October 13, 1969. p. 9. Retrieved January 20, 2019.