# 1966 San Francisco 49ers season

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 |

## 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 | Bye | Bye | Bye | Bye | 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 |

#### Week 3: at Baltimore Colts

| 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 :
| viewtalkedit | 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.

### 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 |