1964 NFL season
| Regular season | |
|---|---|
| East Champions | Cleveland Browns |
| West Champions | Baltimore Colts |
| Championship Game | |
| Champions | Cleveland Browns |
The 1964 NFL season was the 45th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season started, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle reinstated Green Bay Packers running back Paul Hornung and Detroit Lions defensive tackle Alex Karras, who had been suspended for the 1963 season due to gambling.
This season is noteworthy for a change in uniform rules – while the league had dictated since 1957 that the home team must wear a colored jersey and the visitors a white one, teams were now given the option of wearing their white jerseys at home. As a result, the Browns, Cardinals, Colts (except for one home game which was originally scheduled to be an away game), Cowboys, Rams, Redskins, Steelers (for one game) and Vikings (except for most of one game in which the Lions forgot to bring their blue jerseys) did so; while the rest reverted to home colors the following year, the Cardinals would not wear red at home until 1966, the Rams would not do so again until 1972, the Browns only once until 1975, and the Cowboys, aside from an unwilling use of their blue tops as the "home" team in Super Bowl V, have since continuously worn white at home.
The season ended when the Cleveland Browns shut out the Baltimore Colts 27–0 in the NFL Championship Game.
1964 Regular season games not broadcast on National TV
| Date | Time | Teams | Local TV | Announcers |
| September 12, 1964 | 9:00 PM EDT | St. Louis @ Dallas | KMOX-TV (St. Louis area) | Jack Drees and Bill Fischer |
| September 19, 1964 | 11:00 PM EDT | Detroit @ Los Angeles | WJBK-TV (Detroit area) | Van Patrick and Jim Morse |
| September 25, 1964 | 8:30 PM EDT | Washington @ New York | WTOP-TV (Washington D.C. area) | Jim Gibbons and Eddie Gallaher |
| September 28, 1964 | 8:00 PM EDT | Green Bay @ Detroit | WBAY-TV (Green Bay area) and WISN-TV (Milwaukee area) | Earl Gillespie and Tony Canadeo |
| October 10, 1964 | 8:00 PM EDT | Pittsburgh @ Cleveland | Sports Network Incorporated (SNI) | Ken Coleman and Warren Lahr |
| October 12, 1964 | 8:00 PM EDT | St. Louis @ Baltimore Game originally scheduled for St. Louis, but sites switched due to baseball Cardinals playing in the World Series |
KMOX-TV (St. Louis area) | Jack Drees and Bill Fischer |
Conference races
The Western Conference race started with Baltimore losing its opener at Minnesota, 34–24. After that, the Colts went on an 11-game winning streak, taking the lead on October 4 with their 35–20 win over the Rams, and clinching a spot in the title game on November 22.
In the Eastern Conference, the Browns and the Cardinals played to a 33–33 tie on September 20, and were both 4–1–1 after six games. In Week Seven, Cleveland beat New York 42–20, while St. Louis fell to Dallas, 31–13. When the Cardinals beat the Browns 28–19 in Week Thirteen, they were only a game behind and needed a win and a Cleveland loss to have a chance for a playoff. St. Louis won, 36–34 in Philadelphia, but Cleveland also won, 52–20 over the Giants.
| Week | Western | Eastern | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 4 teams (Det,GB,LA,Min) | 1–0–0 | 3 teams (Cle, Phi, StL) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | Tie (Det, LA) | 1–0–1 | Tie (Cle, StL) | 1–0–1 |
| 3 | Los Angeles Rams | 2–0–1 | Tie (Cle, StL) | 2–0–1 |
| 4 | Baltimore Colts | 3–1–0 | Tie (Cle, StL) | 3–0–1 |
| 5 | Baltimore Colts | 4–1–0 | Tie (Cle, StL) | 3–1–1 |
| 6 | Baltimore Colts | 5–1–0 | Tie (Cle, StL) | 4–1–1 |
| 7 | Baltimore Colts | 6–1–0 | Cleveland Browns | 5–1–1 |
| 8 | Baltimore Colts | 7–1–0 | Cleveland Browns | 6–1–1 |
| 9 | Baltimore Colts | 8–1–0 | Cleveland Browns | 7–1–1 |
| 10 | Baltimore Colts | 9–1–0 | Cleveland Browns | 8–1–1 |
| 11 | Baltimore Colts | 10–1–0 | Cleveland Browns | 8–2–1 |
| 12 | Baltimore Colts | 11–1–0 | Cleveland Browns | 9–2–1 |
| 13 | Baltimore Colts | 11–2–0 | Cleveland Browns | 9–3–1 |
| 14 | Baltimore Colts | 12–2–0 | Cleveland Browns | 10–3–1 |
Final standings
W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, PCT= Winning Percentage, PF= Points For, PA = Points Against
Note: Prior to 1972, the NFL did not include tie games when calculating a team's winning percentage in the official standings
| Eastern Conference | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cleveland Browns | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 415 | 293 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 9 | 3 | 2 | .750 | 357 | 331 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 312 | 313 |
| Washington Redskins | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 307 | 305 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 5 | 8 | 1 | .385 | 250 | 289 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 253 | 315 |
| New York Giants | 2 | 10 | 2 | .167 | 241 | 399 |
| Western Conference | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baltimore Colts | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 428 | 225 |
| Green Bay Packers | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 342 | 245 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 355 | 296 |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 5 | 2 | .583 | 280 | 260 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 5 | 7 | 2 | .417 | 283 | 339 |
| Chicago Bears | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 260 | 379 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 236 | 330 |
NFL Championship Game
Cleveland 27, Baltimore 0 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, in Cleveland, Ohio on December 27.
Playoff Bowl
The Playoff Bowl was between the conference runners-up, for third place in the league. This was its fifth year and it was played a week after the title game.
- St. Louis 24, Green Bay 17 at Orange Bowl, Miami, Florida, January 3, 1965
Awards
| Most Valuable Player | Johnny Unitas, Quarterback, Baltimore Colts |
| Coach of the Year | Don Shula, Baltimore Colts |
See also
References
- NFL Record and Fact Book (ISBN 1-932994-36-X)
- NFL History 1961–1970 (Last accessed December 4, 2005)
- Total Football: The Official Encyclopedia of the National Football League (ISBN 0-06-270174-6)