1969 Denver Broncos season

The 1969 Denver Broncos season was the team's tenth season as a franchise, and their final season in the American Football League (AFL) before the league merged with the National Football League (NFL). Led by third-year head coach and general manager Lou Saban, the Broncos were 5–8–1, fourth place in the AFL West for the seventh straight season.

1969 Denver Broncos season
Owner	Gerald Phipps
Head coach	Lou Saban
General manager	Lou Saban
Home field	Mile High Stadium
Results
Record	5–8–1
Division place	4th AFL West
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

Denver opened with two victories at home, but were winless in their previous five games entering the season finale; they avoided the division cellar with a home win over Cincinnati in the final AFL game for both.[1]

Of the original eight franchises, Denver was the only one to never play in the AFL postseason. Six of the teams won league titles; the other exception was Boston, who won their sole division title via a tiebreaker game in 1963. The Broncos posted their first winning record in 1973 and made their first postseason in 1977, advancing to Super Bowl XII.

Offseason

NFL draft

1969 Denver Broncos draft
Round	Pick	Player	Position	College	Notes
2	36	Grady Cavness	DB	UTEP
3	61	Bill Thompson *	DB	Maryland State
4	84	Mike Schnitker	LB	Colorado
4	88	Edward Hayes	DB	Morgan State
5	113	Frank Quayle	RB	Virginia
6	131	Wandy Williams	RB	Hofstra
6	140	Mike Coleman	RB	Tampa
7	165	Al Giffin	TE	Auburn
9	217	Henry Jones	RB	Grambling State
10	244	Jim Smith	DB	Utah State
11	270	Alan Pastrana	QB	Maryland
12	296	Wes Plummer	DB	Arizona State
13	321	John Sias	LB	Georgia Tech
14	348	Garry Crane	LB	Arkansas State
15	373	Errol Kahoun	G	Miami (OH)
16	400	Billy Woods	DB	North Texas State
17	425	Buster O'Brien	QB	Richmond
Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Undrafted free agents

1969 Undrafted Free Agents of note

Player	Position	College
George Burrell	Defensive back	Penn
Ken Criter	Linebacker	Wisconsin

Personnel

Staff

1969 Denver Broncos staff

	Front office Chairman of the Board – Gerald Phipps President – Allan R Phipps General Manager – Lou Saban Director of Player Personnel – Fred Gehrke Head coaches Head Coach – Lou Saban Offensive coaches Offensive Backs – Hunter Enis Wide Receivers – Sam Rutigliano Offensive Line – Whitey Dovell			Defensive coaches Defensive Line – Stan Jones Linebackers – Dick MacPherson Defensive Backfield – Joe Collier

Roster

1969 Denver Broncos roster

	Quarterbacks 14 Pete Liske 12 Alan Pastrana 13 Steve Tensi Running backs 21 Bobby Burnett 35 Henry Jones 44 Floyd Little 22 Fran Lynch 30 Brendan McCarthy FB 26 Frank Quayle 39 Tom Smiley FB 29 Wandy Williams Wide receivers 89 John Embree 88 Al Denson 84 Mike Haffner Tight ends 85 Tom Beer 80 Tom Buckman 82 Dave Pivec		Offensive linemen 56 Jay Bachman C 72 Sam Brunelli T 74 Mike Current T 71 Wallace Dickey T 67 George Goeddeke G 65 Buzz Highsmith G 59 Larry Kaminski C 64 Mike Schnitker G 60 Bob Young G Defensive linemen 63 Dave Costa DT 55 Pete Duranko DE 62 Jerry Inman DT 87 Rich Jackson DE 75 Rex Mirich DT 70 Paul Smith DE		Linebackers 51 Tim Casey 76 Garry Crane 78 Ken Criter 50 Carl Cunningham 57 John Huard 76 Gordon Lambert 54 Chip Myrtle 58 Frank Richter Defensive backs 24 Philip Brady 41 George Burrell S 40 Grady Cavness CB 20 Charlie Greer CB 34 Gus Hollomon SS 43 Pete Jaquess S 27 Tom Oberg 47 Jimmy Smith 36 Bill Thompson CB Special teams 3 Bobby Howfield K 42 Billy Van Heusen P/WR		Reserve lists 27 Tom Oberg S (IR) Practice squad Rookies in italics

Source:

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance	Recap
1	September 14	Boston Patriots	W 35–7	1–0	Mile High Stadium	43,482	Recap
2	September 21	New York Jets	W 21–19	2–0	Mile High Stadium	50,583	Recap
3	September 28	at Buffalo Bills	L 28–41	2–1	War Memorial Stadium	40,302	Recap
4	October 5	Kansas City Chiefs	L 13–26	2–2	Mile High Stadium	50,564	Recap
5	October 12	Oakland Raiders	L 14–24	2–3	Mile High Stadium	49,511	Recap
6	October 19	at Cincinnati Bengals	W 30–23	3–3	Nippert Stadium	27,920	Recap
7	October 26	at Houston Oilers	L 21–24	3–4	Astrodome	45,348	Recap
8	November 2	San Diego Chargers	W 13–0	4–4	Mile High Stadium	45,511	Recap
9	November 9	at Oakland Raiders	L 10–41	4–5	Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum	54,416	Recap
10	November 16	Houston Oilers	T 20–20	4–5–1	Mile High Stadium	45,002	Recap
11	November 23	at San Diego Chargers	L 24–45	4–6–1	San Diego Stadium	34,664	Recap
12	November 27	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 17–31	4–7–1	Municipal Stadium	48,773	Recap
13	December 7	at Miami Dolphins	L 24–27	4–8–1	Miami Orange Bowl	25,332	Recap
14	December 14	Cincinnati Bengals	W 27–16	5–8–1	Mile High Stadium	42,198	Recap

Note:

• Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
• Thursday (November 27: Thanksgiving)[2]

Standings

AFL Western Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Oakland Raiders	12	1	1	.923	7–1	377	242	W6
Kansas City Chiefs	11	3	0	.786	5–3	359	177	L1
San Diego Chargers	8	6	0	.571	2–6	288	276	W4
Denver Broncos	5	8	1	.385	3–5	297	344	W1
Cincinnati Bengals	4	9	1	.308	3–5	280	367	L5

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

References

1. "AFL closes its 'career'". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. December 15, 1969. p. 14.
2. Jeansonne, John (November 28, 1969). "Dawson hurts knee again in Kansas City's 31-17 win over Denver". Youngstown Vindicator. (Ohio). UPI. p. 20.

External links

• Denver Broncos – 1969 media guide
• 1969 Denver Broncos at Pro-Football-Reference.com