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1966 San Francisco 49ers season
1966 San Francisco 49ers season
Owner	Josephine Morabito; Jane Morabito
General manager	Louis Spadia
Head coach	Jack Christiansen
Home field	Kezar Stadium
Results
Record	6–6–2
Division place	4th NFL Western
Playoff finish	Did not qualify
Pro Bowlers	Bruce Bosley, Howard Mudd, Dave Parks, John Thomas, Dave Wilcox, Ken Willard
All-Pros	John Thomas
	← 1965; 49ers seasons; 1967 →;

The 1966 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 17th season in the National Football League, their 21st overall, and their fourth under head coach Jack Christiansen.

The 49ers attempted to improve on their 7-6-1 record from the previous year and make the playoffs for the first time in 8 years. However, the 49ers faltered, starting their season 0-2-1. Despite winning their next 3 games, they split their next 8 games and tied 1 game to finish the season 6-6-2, and they missed the playoffs for the ninth straight year.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1966 San Francisco 49ers Draft
Round	Selection	Player	Position	College
1	11	Stan Hindman	DE	Ole Miss
2	26	Bob Windsor	TE	Kentucky
3	37	Al Randolph	DB	Iowa
3	41	Dan Bland	DB	Mississippi State
4	56	Don Parker	G	Virginia
5	69	Mel Phillips	DB	North Carolina A&T
5	71	Steve Smith	T	Michigan
6	91	Charlie Johnson	DT	Louisville
8	119	Dick Witcher	WR	UCLA
9	133	Kent Kramer	TE	Minnesota
10	147	Ronald Sbranti	LB	Utah State
11	166	Preston Ridlehuber	RB	Georgia
12	180	Lyle Lobach	T	Simpson
13	194	Jim Jackson	DB	Western Illinois
14	208	Elmer Collett	G	San Francisco State
15	222	Saint Saffold	SE	San Jose State
16	241	Jim LeClair	QB	C.W. Post
17	255	Jim Breeland	C	Georgia Tech
18	269	Ron Parson	DE	Austin Peay State
19	283	Dick Fitzgerald	T	Nebraska
20	297	Willie Walker	DE	Baylor

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

**1966 San Francisco 49ers staff**
	Front office Team Owner(s) - Josephine Morabito & Jane Morabito General manager – Louis Spadia Personnel Scout - Dick Gallagher Head coaches Head coach - Jack Christiansen Offensive coaches Chief of Offense / Offensive Coordinator - Bill Johnson Offensive Ends – Billy Wilson Offensive Consultant – Y.A. Tittle			Defensive coaches Defensive Assistant – Dick Voris Defensive Backfield / Secondary – Jim David Special teams coaches None - N/A

Roster

**1966 San Francisco 49ers roster**
Quarterbacks (QB) 12 John Brodie 17 Billy Kilmer 10 George Mira Running backs (RB) 44 John David Crow 43 Dave Kopay 22 Gary Lewis 40 Ken Willard FB Wide receivers (WR) 30 Bernie Casey 26 Kay McFarland 81 Dave Parks 88 Dick Witcher Tight ends (TE) 89 Kent Kramer 85 Monty Stickles		Offensive linemen (OL) 77 Bruce Bosley C 56 Joe Cerne C 68 Howard Mudd G 67 Walt Rock T 76 Len Rohde T 78 John Thomas G Defensive linemen (DL) 80 Stan Hindman DE 70 Charlie Krueger DT 60 Roland Lakes DT 74 Clark Miller DE		Linebackers (LB) 50 Ed Beard 55 Matt Hazeltine 64 Dave Wilcox Defensive backs (DB) 39 Kermit Alexander CB 20 George Donnelly S 37 Jimmy Johnson CB 45 Elbert Kimbrough 32 Mel Phillips SS 27 Al Randolph S Special teams 36 Tommy Davis K		Rookies in italics

Regular season

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Venue	Attendance
1	September 11	Minnesota Vikings	T 20–20	0–0–1	Kezar Stadium	29,312
2	Bye
3	September 25	at Baltimore Colts	L 14–36	0–1–1	Memorial Stadium	56,715
4	September 30	at Los Angeles Rams	L 3–34	0–2–1	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	45,642
5	October 9	Green Bay Packers	W 21–20	1–2–1	Kezar Stadium	39,290
6	October 16	at Atlanta Falcons	W 44–7	2–2–1	Atlanta Stadium	54,788
7	October 23	Detroit Lions	W 27–24	3–2–1	Kezar Stadium	36,745
8	October 30	at Minnesota Vikings	L 3–28	3–3–1	Metropolitan Stadium	45,007
9	November 6	Los Angeles Rams	W 21–13	4–3–1	Kezar Stadium	35,372
10	November 13	at Chicago Bears	T 30–30	4–3–2	Wrigley Field	47,079
11	November 20	Philadelphia Eagles	L 34–35	4–4–2	Kezar Stadium	31,993
12	November 24	at Detroit Lions	W 41–14	5–4–2	Tiger Stadium	53,189
13	December 4	at Green Bay Packers	L 7–20	5–5–2	Milwaukee County Stadium	48,725
14	December 11	Chicago Bears	W 41–14	6–5–2	Kezar Stadium	37,170
15	December 18	Baltimore Colts	L 14–30	6–6–2	Kezar Stadium	40,005

A bye week was necessary in 1966, as the league expanded to an odd-number (15) of teams (Atlanta); one team was idle each week.

Game summaries

Week 1: vs Minnesota Vikings

	1	2	3	4	Total
Vikings	0	7	10	3	20
49ers	6	14	0	0	20

Date: September 11
Location: Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, CA
Game weather: 60 °F (16 °C); wind 25 mph

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Week 3: at Baltimore Colts

Week Three: San Francisco 49ers (0–0–1) at Baltimore Colts (1–1)

Quarter	1	2	3	4	Total
49ers	7	0	0	7	14
Colts	6	10	6	14	36

at Memorial Stadium, Baltimore, Maryland

Date: September 25
Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C)
Recap

Game information

First quarter

BAL – Lou Michaels 41-yard field goal. Colts 3–0.
SF – Bernie Casey 20-yard pass from John Brodie (Tommy Davis) kick. 49ers 7-3.
BAL – Lou Michaels 37-yard field goal. 49ers 7-6

Second quarter

BAL – Lou Michaels 25-yard field goal. Colts 9-7.
BAL – John Mackey 57-yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 16-7

Third quarter

BAL – Lou Michaels 23-yard field goal. Colts 19–7.
BAL – Lou Michaels 30-yard field goal. Colts 22-7.

Fourth quarter

BAL – Lenny Moore 1-yard run (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 29–7.
BAL – Butch Wilson 7-yard pass from Johnny Unitas (Lou Michaels kick). Colts 36–7.
SF – Kent Kramer 17-yard pass from George Mira (Tommy Davis kick). Colts 36–14.

Top passers

49ers – John Brodie – 16/25, 159 yards, TD, INT
Colts – Johnny Unitas – 14/30, 225 yards, 2 TD, INT

Top rushers

49ers – Ken Willard – 10 rushes, 33 yards
Colts – Tony Lorick – 18 rushes, 110 yards

Top receivers

49ers – Dave Parks – 4 receptions, 52 yards
Colts – John Mackey – 3 receptions, 76 yards, TD

Standings

NFL Western Conference
view talk edit	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	12	2	0	.857	10–2	335	163	W5
Baltimore Colts	9	5	0	.643	7–5	314	226	W1
Los Angeles Rams	8	6	0	.571	6–6	289	212	L1
San Francisco 49ers	6	6	2	.500	5–5–2	320	325	L1
Chicago Bears	5	7	2	.417	4–6–2	234	272	W1
Detroit Lions	4	9	1	.308	3–8–1	206	317	L3
Minnesota Vikings	4	9	1	.308	4–7–1	292	304	L1

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

Statistics

Team leaders

Category	Player(s)	Value	Rank
Passing yards	John Brodie	2,810	3rd
Passing touchdowns	John Brodie	16	6th
Rushing yards	Ken Willard	763	5th
Rushing touchdowns	Ken Williard	5	13th
Receiving yards	Dave Parks	974	5th
Receiving touchdowns	Dave Parks	5	17th
Points	Tommy Davis	86	12th
Kickoff return yards	Kermit Alexander	984	2nd
Punt return yards	Kermit Alexander	198	4th
Interceptions	Kermit Alexander/Jimmy Johnson	4	t6th
Sacks	Clark Miller	10	11th

Note that sack totals from 1960 to 1981 are considered unofficial by the NFL.^[2]

League rankings

Category	Total yards	Yards per game	NFL rank (out of 15)
Passing offense	2,992	213.7	3rd
Rushing offense	1,790	127.9	6th
Total offense	4,782	341.5	3rd
Passing defense	2,250	160.7	11th
Rushing defense	1,629	116.4	5th
Total defense	4,179	298.5	8th

References

^ "Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers - September 11th, 1966". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
^ "Pre-1982 Sacks Added To Pro Football Reference". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 18, 2023.

External links

[1] "Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers - September 11th, 1966". Pro-Football-Reference.com.

[2] "Pre-1982 Sacks Added To Pro Football Reference". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 18, 2023.

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