1965 Baltimore Colts season

The 1965 Baltimore Colts season was the 13th season for the team in the National Football League. The Baltimore Colts finished the National Football League's 1965 season with a record of 10 wins, 3 losses, and 1 tie, tied for first in the Western Conference with the Green Bay Packers. Although the Packers won both regular season games over the Colts, no tiebreaking system was in place in 1965, and a playoff game was required to determine the Western Conference champion, who would host the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Browns for the NFL title.

1965 Baltimore Colts season
OwnerCarroll Rosenbloom
Head coachDon Shula
Home fieldMemorial Stadium
Results
Record10–3–1
Division placeT-1st NFL Western (playoff)
Playoff finishLost Western Conf. Playoff (at Packers) 13–10
Won NFL Playoff Bowl (vs. Cowboys) 35–3

The Colts experienced the Sports Illustrated cover jinx this year, when linebacker Dennis Gaubatz was featured in late November; the article on the team's defense expected the 9–1 Colts to soon clinch the Western title.[1]

Personnel

Staff/Coaches
1965 Baltimore Colts staff
Front Office

Coaching Staff

Offensive Coaches

 Defensive Coaches

Roster
1965 Baltimore Colts roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

 Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

 Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

 Reserve lists


Practice squad {{{practice_squad}}}


Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule
Week Date Opponent Result Record Game Site Attendance
1 September 19 Minnesota Vikings W 35–16 1–0 Memorial Stadium
56,562
2 September 26 at Green Bay Packers L 17–20 1–1 Milwaukee County Stadium
48,130
3 October 3 San Francisco 49ers W 27–24 2–1 Memorial Stadium
58,609
4 October 10 Detroit Lions W 31–7 3–1 Memorial Stadium
60,238
5 October 17 at Washington Redskins W 38–7 4–1 D.C. Stadium
50,405
6 October 24 Los Angeles Rams W 35–20 5–1 Memorial Stadium
45,827
7 October 31 at San Francisco 49ers W 34–28 6–1 Kezar Stadium
45,827
8 November 7 at Chicago Bears W 26–21 7–1 Wrigley Field
45,656
9 November 14 at Minnesota Vikings W 41–21 8–1 Metropolitan Stadium
47,426
10 November 21 Philadelphia Eagles W 34–24 9–1 Memorial Stadium
60,238
11 November 25 at Detroit Lions T 24–24 9–1–1 Tiger Stadium
55,036
12 December 5 Chicago Bears L   0–13 9–2–1 Memorial Stadium
60,238
13 December 12 Green Bay Packers L 27–42 9–3–1 Memorial Stadium
60,238
14 December 18 at Los Angeles Rams W 20–17 10–3–1 L.A. Memorial Coliseum
46,636

Standings
NFL Western Conference
W L T PCT CONF PF PA STK
Green Bay Packers 10 3 1 .769 8–3–1 316 224 T1
Baltimore Colts 10 3 1 .769 8–3–1 389 284 W1
Chicago Bears 9 5 0 .643 7–5 409 275 L1
San Francisco 49ers 7 6 1 .538 6–5–1 421 402 T1
Minnesota Vikings 7 7 0 .500 5–7 383 403 W2
Detroit Lions 6 7 1 .462 4–7–1 257 295 W1
Los Angeles Rams 4 10 0 .286 2–10 269 328 L1

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

Postseason
Main article: 1965 NFL playoffs

Because the Colts and Packers finished the regular season with identical 10–3–1 records, a tiebreaker playoff game was needed to decide the Western Conference champion, which delayed the NFL championship game a week, as the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Browns stood idle.

The Western Conference playoff game was played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay the day after Christmas and the Colts led the Packers 10–0 at halftime, with third-string quarterback Tom Matte. The Packers, with back-up quarterback Zeke Bratkowski in for injured Bart Starr, tied it up late in the fourth quarter on a controversial 22-yard field goal. Video replays appeared to show the kicked ball sailing wide of the right upright – which, subsequently, resulted in 1) a re-design of NFL goalposts, and 2) changing the placement of an official directly under each upright on field-goal attempts). The official in question, Jim Tunney (later known as "Dean of NFL Referees"), always maintained that he made the correct call and that the flight of the ball over the goalpost was affected by the wind before it veered to the right. The Packers won the game 13–10 in overtime with a 25-yard field goal. The following week the Packers defeated the Cleveland Browns for the NFL title, their third of five under head coach Vince Lombardi and first of three straight.

Week Date Opponent Result Game Site Attendance
Conference December 26, 1965 at Green Bay Packers L 10–13 OT Lambeau Field
50,484
Playoff Bowl January 9, 1966 Dallas Cowboys W 35–3 Orange Bowl
65,569

See also

References
  1. Maule, Tex (November 29, 1965). "Heroes without headlines". Sports Illustrated. p. 30.
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