1969 Washington Redskins season

The 1969 Washington Redskins season was the franchise's 38th season in the National Football League. The team improved on their 5–9 record from 1968, by hiring legendary Green Bay Packers head coach Vince Lombardi. Sam Huff (a future member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame) came out of retirement specifically to play for Lombardi and finished with a record of 7–5–2.

1969 Washington Redskins season
Head coach	Vince Lombardi
General manager	Vince Lombardi
Owner	Edward Bennett Williams
Home field	RFK Stadium
Results
Record	7–5–2
Division place	2nd NFL Capitol
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

Offseason

During Super Bowl III, rumors had circulated that Vince Lombardi had job offers from the Philadelphia Eagles, the Boston Patriots, and the Washington Redskins.[1] The night before the Super Bowl, Lombardi met with Redskins president Edward Bennett Williams for dinner at Tony Sweet's restaurant.[2] Lombardi agreed to coach the Redskins after Williams offered him complete authority over all personnel and football operations, the position of "Executive Vice President", and a 5% ownership stake in the team.[3]

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School/Club Team
2	46	Eugene Epps	Defensive back	Texas-El Paso
3	62	Ed Cross	Running back	Pine Bluff
5	114	Bill Kishman	Defensive back	Colorado State
6	139	Harold McLinton	Linebacker	Southern
7	166	Jeff Anderson	Running back	Virginia
7	173	John Didion	Center	Oregon State
8	191	Larry Brown	Running back	Kansas State
11	269	Eric Norri	Defensive tackle	Notre Dame
12	295	Bob Shannon	Defensive back	Tennessee State
13	322	Michael Shook	Defensive back	North Texas
14	347	Rick Brand	Defensive tackle	Virginia
15	374	Paul Rogers	Tackle	Virginia
16	399	Mike Washington	Linebacker	Southern
17	426	Rich Dobbert	Defensive end	Springfield (Massachusetts)

Vince Lombardi

After stepping down as head coach of the Packers following the 1967 NFL season, a restless Lombardi returned to coaching in 1969 with the Washington Redskins, where he broke a string of 14 losing seasons. The 'Skins would finish with a record of 7–5–2, significant for a number of reasons. Lombardi discovered that rookie running back Larry Brown was deaf in one ear, something that had escaped his parents, schoolteachers, and previous coaches. Lombardi had observed Brown's habit of tilting his head in one direction when listening to signals being called, and walked behind him during drills and said "Larry." When Brown did not answer, the coach asked him to take a hearing exam. Brown was fitted with a hearing aid, and with this correction he would enjoy a successful NFL career.

Lombardi was the first coach to get soft-bellied quarterback Sonny Jurgensen, one of the league's premier forward passers, to get into the best condition he could. He coaxed former All-Pro linebacker Sam Huff out of retirement. He even changed the team's uniform design to reflect that of the Packers, with gold and white trim along the jersey biceps, and later a gold helmet. The foundation Lombardi laid was the groundwork for Washington's early 1970s success under former L.A. Rams Coach George Allen. Lombardi had brought a winning attitude to the Nation's Capital, in the same year that the nearby University of Maryland had hired "Lefty" Driesell to coach basketball and the hapless Washington Senators named Ted Williams as manager. It marked a renaissance in sports interest in the Nation's capitol.

Lombardi lasted only one season with the Redskins; he was diagnosed with terminal cancer after the 1969 season and died shortly before the 1970 regular season was to start.

Roster

1969 Washington Redskins roster

	Quarterbacks 16 Gary Beban  9 Sonny Jurgensen 13 Frank Ryan Running backs 20 Gerry Allen 43 Larry Brown 26 Bob Brunet 40 Dave Kopay Wide receivers 80 Bob Long 47 Walter Roberts 42 Charley Taylor Tight ends 88 Pat Richter 87 Jerry Smith		Offensive linemen 68 Willie Banks T 51 John Didion C 63 Steve Duich G 56 Len Hauss C 65 Vince Promuto G 76 Walt Rock T 62 Ray Schoenke G 74 Jim Snowden T Defensive linemen 73 Frank Bosch DT 79 Dennis Crane DT 85 John Hoffman DE 66 Carl Kammerer DE 82 Clark Miller DE 71 Spain Musgrove DE 72 Joe Rutgens DT		Linebackers 57 Dave Crossan 55 Chris Hanburger 70 Sam Huff 86 Marlin McKeever 54 Tom Roussel Defensive backs 41 Mike Bass CB 46 Rickie Harris CB 37 Pat Fischer CB 40 Aaron Martin S 23 Brig Owens S 29 Ted Vactor 24 Bob Wade CB Special teams  4 Mike Bragg P  5 Curt Knight K		Reserve lists Practice squad Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Game recap
1	September 21	at New Orleans Saints	W 26–20	1–0	Tulane Stadium	73,147	Recap
2	September 28	at Cleveland Browns	L 23–27	1–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	82,581	Recap
3	October 5	at San Francisco 49ers	T 17–17	1–1–1	Kezar Stadium	35,642	Recap
4	October 12	St. Louis Cardinals	W 33–17	2–1–1	RFK Stadium	50,481	Recap
5	October 19	New York Giants	W 20–14	3–1–1	RFK Stadium	50,352	Recap
6	October 26	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 14–7	4–1–1	Pitt Stadium	46,557	Recap
7	November 2	at Baltimore Colts	L 17–41	4–2–1	Memorial Stadium	60,238	Recap
8	November 9	Philadelphia Eagles	T 28–28	4–2–2	RFK Stadium	50,502	Recap
9	November 16	Dallas Cowboys	L 28–41	4–3–2	RFK Stadium	50,474	Recap
10	November 23	Atlanta Falcons	W 27–20	5–3–2	RFK Stadium	50,345	Recap
11	November 30	Los Angeles Rams	L 13–24	5–4–2	DC Stadium	50,352	Recap
12	December 7	at Philadelphia Eagles	W 34–29	6–4–2	Franklin Field	60,658	Recap
13	December 14	New Orleans Saints	W 17–14	7–4–2	DC Stadium	50,354	Recap
14	December 21	at Dallas Cowboys	L 10–20	7–5–2	Cotton Bowl	56,924	Recap

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Season summary

Week 12

1 2 3 4 Total • Redskins 7 6 14 7 34 Eagles 7 9 3 10 29 Date: December 7 Location: Franklin Field Game attendance: 60,658 Game weather: Sleet; 32°F; wind 10

Scoring summary Q1 PHI Keyes 2 yard run (Baker kick) PHI 7–0 Q1 WSH Taylor 12 yard pass from Jurgensen (Knight kick) Tie 7–7 Q2 PHI Jackson 29 yard pass from Snead (Baker kick) PHI 14–7 Q2 PHI Safety, Jurgensen tackled in end zone by Tom PHI 16–7 Q2 WSH Knight 12 yard field goal PHI 16–10 Q2 WSH Knight 43 yard field goal PHI 16–13 Q3 PHI Baker 47 yard field goal PHI 19–13 Q3 WSH Hoffman recovered fumble in end zone (Knight kick) WSH 20–13 Q3 WSH Smith 25 yard pass from Jurgensen (Knight kick) WSH 27–13 Q4 PHI Baker 19 yard field goal WSH 27–16 Q4 WSH Brown 1 yard run (Knight kick) WSH 34–16 Q4 PHI Jackson 10 yard pass from Snead (Baker kick) WSH 34–23

• Larry Brown 19 Rush, 138 Yds

[4]

Standings

NFL Capitol
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Dallas Cowboys	11	2	1	.846	6–0	9–1	369	223	W3
Washington Redskins	7	5	2	.583	3–2–1	6–3–1	307	319	L1
New Orleans Saints	5	9	0	.357	1–5	4–6	311	393	W1
Philadelphia Eagles	4	9	1	.308	1–4–1	4–5–1	279	377	L4

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

References

1. When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 452, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
2. When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 453, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
3. When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 457, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
4. Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved 2016-Dec-17.

• Redskins on Pro Football Reference