The 1964 Baltimore Colts season was the 12th season for the team in the National Football League. The Colts finished the regular season with a record of 12 wins and 2 losses and finished first in the Western Conference.[1][2] It was their first conference title since 1959, clinched on November 22 with three games remaining.[3]
| 1964 Baltimore Colts season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Carroll Rosenbloom |
| General manager | Don "Red" Kellett |
| Head coach | Don Shula |
| Home field | Memorial Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 12–2 |
| Division place | 1st NFL Western |
| Playoff finish | Lost NFL Championship (at Browns) 0–27 |
After an opening loss at Minnesota,[4] the Colts won eleven straight,[5] dropped a home game in December to Detroit,[6] then easily won the finale with Washington.[7]
Baltimore met the Cleveland Browns (10–3–1) of the Eastern Conference in the NFL Championship Game in Cleveland, won by the underdog Browns, 27–0.[8][9][10]
Personnel
Staff/coaches
| 1964 Baltimore Colts staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front office
Coaching staff
Offensive coaches
| Defensive coaches
| |||||
Roster
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
| Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
| Linebackers Defensive backs
Special teams
| Reserve lists None - vacant
| ||||||
Regular season
Schedule
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 13 | at Minnesota Vikings | L 24–34 | 0–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 35,563 | |
| 2 | September 20 | at Green Bay Packers | W 21–20 | 1–1 | Lambeau Field | 42,327 | |
| 3 | September 27 | Chicago Bears | W 52–0 | 2–1 | Memorial Stadium | 56,537 | |
| 4 | October 4 | Los Angeles Rams | W 35–20 | 3–1 | Memorial Stadium | 56,537 | |
| 5 | October 12 | St. Louis Cardinals | W 47–27 | 4–1 | Memorial Stadium^ | 60,213 | |
| 6 | October 18 | Green Bay Packers | W 24–21 | 5–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,213 | |
| 7 | October 25 | at Detroit Lions | W 34–0 | 6–1 | Tiger Stadium | 57,814 | |
| 8 | November 1 | San Francisco 49ers | W 37–7 | 7–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,213 | |
| 9 | November 8 | at Chicago Bears | W 40–24 | 8–1 | Wrigley Field | 47,891 | |
| 10 | November 15 | Minnesota Vikings | W 17–14 | 9–1 | Memorial Stadium | 60,213 | |
| 11 | November 22 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 24–7 | 10–1 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 72,137 | |
| 12 | November 29 | at San Francisco 49ers | W 14–3 | 11–1 | Kezar Stadium | 33,642 | |
| 13 | December 6 | Detroit Lions | L 14–31 | 11–2 | Memorial Stadium | 60,213 | |
| 14 | December 13 | Washington Redskins | W 45–17 | 12–2 | Memorial Stadium | 60,213 | |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Note: ^ The game with the Cardinals in week 5 was scheduled to be played at St. Louis, but was shifted to Baltimore when the baseball Cardinals reached the World Series, preempting football use of Busch Stadium during the Series.
Season summary
Week 1 at Vikings
Week 2 at Packers
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colts | 7 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 21 |
| Packers | 7 | 6 | 7 | 0 | 20 |
at New City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin
- Date: September 20
- Game weather: 65 °F (18 °C)
- Game attendance: 42,327
- Box Score
| Game information |
|---|
Standings
| NFL Western Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Baltimore Colts | 12 | 2 | 0 | .857 | 10–2 | 428 | 225 | W1 | |
| Green Bay Packers[a] | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 6–5–1 | 342 | 245 | T1 | |
| Minnesota Vikings | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 6–5–1 | 355 | 296 | W3 | |
| Detroit Lions | 7 | 5 | 2 | .583 | 6–4–2 | 280 | 260 | W2 | |
| Los Angeles Rams | 5 | 7 | 2 | .417 | 3–7–2 | 283 | 339 | T1 | |
| Chicago Bears | 5 | 9 | 0 | .357 | 5–7 | 260 | 379 | L2 | |
| San Francisco 49ers | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 3–9 | 236 | 330 | L1 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
Postseason
After Baltimore's 12–2 regular season, they traveled to Cleveland to take on the Browns (10–3–1) for the NFL title on December 27. The host team was alternated between the conferences, Eastern in even-numbered seasons and Western in the odd-numbered. This was the third championship game appearance for the Colts since joining the NFL in 1953, and they entered the game as seven-point favorites.[11][12] Both teams had two weeks to prepare: the first half was uneventful and scoreless, but the home underdog Browns scored seventeen points in the third quarter in their 27–0 rout of the Colts.
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | December 27 | at Cleveland Browns | L 0–27 | 0–1 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 79,544 |
1964 NFL Championship Game: at Cleveland Browns
| Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Colts | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Browns | 0 | 0 | 17 | 10 | 27 |
at Cleveland Municipal Stadium, Cleveland, Ohio
- Date: December 27
- Game time: 1:30 p.m. EST
- Game weather: 34 °F (1 °C), relative humidity 75%, wind 15 mph (24 km/h), wind chill 23 °F (−5 °C)
- Game attendance: 79,554
- Referee: Norm Schachter
- TV announcers (CBS): Chuck Thompson (BAL) (second half) and Ken Coleman (CLE) (first half) (play-by-play), Frank Gifford (color commentator)
- Pro-Football-Reference.com
| Game information |
|---|
Awards and honors
- Johnny Unitas, Bert Bell Award[13]
See also
References
External links
- "The Baltimore Colts (1964): Best in the West," Baltimore Football, Inc. via YouTube.com, Oct. 19, 2022 (Video.)