1962 Cleveland Browns season

The 1962 Cleveland Browns season was the team's 13th season with the National Football League.

1962 Cleveland Browns season
Head coach	Paul Brown
Home field	Cleveland Stadium
Local radio	WERE
Results
Record	7–6–1
Division place	3rd NFL Eastern
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	None

Exhibition schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	August 11	at Detroit Lions	L 14–17	0–1	34,241
2	August 18	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 33–10	1–0	77,683
3	August 25	vs. San Francisco 49ers at Portland, OR	W 34–27	2–1	27,161
4	September 1	at Los Angeles Rams	W 26–24	3–1	43,118
5	September 7	at Chicago Bears	W 28–24	4–1	57,878

There was a doubleheader on August 18, 1962, Cowboys vs Lions and Steelers vs Browns.

Regular season schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 16	New York Giants	W 17–7	1–0	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	81,115
2	September 23	Washington Redskins	L 16–17	1–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	57,491
3	September 30	at Philadelphia Eagles	L 7–35	1–2	Franklin Field	60,671
4	October 7	Dallas Cowboys	W 19–10	2–2	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	44,040
5	October 14	Baltimore Colts	L 14–36	2–3	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	80,132
6	October 21	at St. Louis Cardinals	W 34–7	3–3	Busch Stadium	23,256
7	October 28	at Pittsburgh Steelers	W 41–14	4–3	Pitt Stadium	35,417
8	November 4	Philadelphia Eagles	T 14–14	4–3–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	63,848
9	November 11	at Washington Redskins	L 9–17	4–4–1	D.C. Stadium	48,169
10	November 18	St. Louis Cardinals	W 38–14	5–4–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	41,815
11	November 25	Pittsburgh Steelers	W 35–14	6–4–1	Cleveland Municipal Stadium	53,601
12	December 2	at Dallas Cowboys	L 21–45	6–5–1	Cotton Bowl	24,226
13	December 9	at New York Giants	L 13–17	6–6–1	Yankee Stadium	62,794
14	December 15	at San Francisco 49ers	W 13–10	7–6–1	Kezar Stadium	35,274

Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Week 1

The Browns gave a record opening-day crowd of 81,115 at Cleveland Stadium something to remember in a 17–7 victory over the Giants. The game's most memorable play is a flea-flicker that set up a 29-yard Lou Groza field goal. Quarterback Jim Ninowski hands the ball to Jim Brown, who hands to receiver Ray Renfro, who hands the ball back to Ninowski, who completes a 53-yard pass to Rich Kreitling.

Week 2

Bobby Mitchell, traded by coach Paul Brown to Washington during the offseason, haunts his old team by scoring the winning touchdown in a 17–16 Redskins victory at Cleveland. With the Browns leading 16–10 late in the fourth quarter and trying to run out the clock, Jim Brown fumbles, giving the Redskins possession near midfield. Norm Snead throws a short pass to Mitchell, who races for the go-ahead touchdown. The Browns get two shots at a final-minute game-winning field goal, but both of Lou Groza's attempts are blocked.

Week 5

The Browns are beaten decisively by the Colts 36–14 at Cleveland Stadium. The Browns do not get a first down until the Colts had a 23–0 lead. Jim Brown had his worst rushing total ever: 11 yards on 14 attempts, with seven of those yards coming on one carry.

Week 8

In one of the uglier games played at Cleveland Stadium, the Browns and Philadelphia Eagles combine for eight turnovers and five missed field goals in a 14–14 tie. Jim Brown finishes with 69 rushing yards on 20 carries, his seventh consecutive game with fewer than 100 yards.

Week 11

Jim Brown, ending the longest 100-yard drought of his career at nine games, pounds for 110 in a 35–14 win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at Cleveland Stadium. Frank Ryan complements Brown by throwing for 284 yards and three touchdowns.

Week 14

In what would be the final game of Paul Brown's Cleveland coaching career, the Browns beat the San Francisco 49ers, 13–10 at Kezar Stadium. The Browns avoid their second losing season but cannot save their coach's job. Needing 139 yards for another 1,000-yard campaign, Jim Brown falls just short, ending the year at 996. Although Brown fails to win a rushing title for the first time in his career, he does lead the team in receiving for the first time, catching 47 passes for 517 yards and five touchdowns.

Standings

NFL Eastern Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
New York Giants	12	2	0	.857	10–2	398	283	W9
Pittsburgh Steelers	9	5	0	.643	8–4	312	363	W3
Cleveland Browns	7	6	1	.538	6–5–1	291	257	W1
Washington Redskins	5	7	2	.417	4–6–2	305	376	L1
Dallas Cowboys	5	8	1	.385	4–7–1	398	402	L2
St. Louis Cardinals	4	9	1	.308	4–7–1	287	361	W2
Philadelphia Eagles	3	10	1	.231	3–8–1	282	356	L2

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

Personnel

Roster

1962 Cleveland Browns roster
Quarterbacks 13 Frank Ryan 15 Jim Ninowski Running backs 32 Jim Brown FB 49 Tommy Wilson FB 36 Charley Scales 48 Ernie Green KR Wide receivers 26 Ray Renfro 86 Gary Collins P/WR 40 Howard Cassady WR/HB 88 Rich Kreitling Tight ends 42 Bobby Crespino SE/TE 83 Johnny Brewer 81 Leon Clarke E/FL		Offensive linemen 53 Frank Morze C 56 John Morrow C 60 John Wooten G 64 Jim Ray Smith G 74 Mike McCormack T 66 Gene Hickerson G 70 John Brown T 77 Dick Schafrath T Defensive linemen 72 Floyd Peters DT 78 Frank Parker DT 79 Bob Gain DT 80 Bill Glass DE 84 Paul Wiggin DE		Linebackers 35 Galen Fiss OLB 50 Vince Costello MLB 52 Mike Lucci MLB 54 Sam Tidmore MLB 82 Jim Houston OLB/DE Defensive backs 20 Ross Fichtner S 46 Don Fleming DB 24 Bobby Franklin S 30 Bernie Parrish CB 40 Jim Shorter CB 44 Jim Shofner CB/PR Special teams 76 Lou Groza K rookies in italics

Staff

1962 Cleveland Browns staff
	Front office Owner/CEO - Art Modell Coaches Head coach – Paul Brown Offensive coaches Running Backs - Blanton Collier Offensive line – Fritz Heisler Offensive backfield and ends – Paul Bixler			Defensive coaches Defensive coordinator – Howard Brinker Defensive line – Dick Evans Linebackers – Ed Ulinski Strength & Coditioning Athletic Trainer - Leo Murphy Equipment Manager - Morris Kono

External links

• 1962 Cleveland Browns season at Profootballreference.com
• 1962 Cleveland Browns season statistics at jt-sw.com
• 1962 Cleveland Browns at DatabaseFootball.com