| 1961 Boston Patriots season | |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Lou Saban (fired) Mike Holovak |
| General Manager | Edward McKeever |
| Home Field | Nickerson Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–4–1 |
| Place | 2nd AFL Eastern |
| Playoff Finish | did not qualify |
| Uniform | |
 | |
| Timeline | |
| Previous season | Next season |
| 1960 | 1962 |
The Boston Patriots finished the American Football League's 1961 season with a record of nine wins and four losses and one tie, and placed second in the AFL's Eastern division.
Staff[]
| Boston Patriots 1961 staff | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Front Office
Head Coaches
Offensive Coaches
|
Defensive Coaches
| |||||
Season summary[]
In the off-season, the team acquired quarterback Babe Parilli from the Oakland Raiders, himself a former starter for the NFL's Green Bay Packers. After starting the season 2–3, the team fired head coad Lou Saban and replaced him with Mike Holovak. The change was a positive one, as the team would finish on a four game winning streak, including a season-finale shutout of the San Diego Chargers. Their record of 9–4–1 was good enough for 2nd place in the Eastern Division, and one game behind division leader Houston. This season was the first in which the team used their "Pat the Patriot" logo on their helmets.[1]
Draft picks[]
| Round | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tommy Mason | Half back | Tulane |
| 2 | Rip Hawkins | Center | North Carolina |
| 3 | Danny LaRose | Offensive end | Missouri |
| 4 | Mike Zeno | Guard | Virginia Tech |
| 5 | Fran Tarkenton | Quarterback | Georgia |
| 6 | Larry Eisenhauer 1 | Tackle | Boston College |
| 7 | Paul Terhes | Quarterback | Bucknell |
| 8 | Charles Long 1 | Guard | Tennessee-Chattanooga |
| 9 | Roland Lakes | Center | Wichita |
| 10 | Richard Mueller | Offensive end | Kentucky |
| 11 | Mel West | Center | Missouri |
| 12 | Wayne Harris | Center | Arkansas |
| 13 | Dan Underwood | Tackle | McNeese State |
| 14 | James Wright | Quarterback | Memphis State |
| 16 | George Balthazar | Tackle | Tennessee A&I |
| 17 | Ray Ratkowski | Halfback | Notre Dame |
| 18 | Tom Rodgers | Halfback | Kentucky |
| 19 | Joe Bellino | Halfback | Navy |
| 20 | Clarence Childs | Halfback | Florida A&M |
| 21 | Dan Oakes | Guard | Virginia Tech |
| 22 | Bob Johnson | Offensive end | Michigan |
| 23 | Darrell DeDecker | Center | Illinois |
| 24 | Don Webb | Halfback | Iowa State |
| 25 | Robert Minihane | Tackle | Boston |
| 26 | Charles Granger | Tackle | Southern |
| 27 | Terry Huxhold | Tackle | Wisconsin |
| 28 | Bryant Harvard | Quarterback | Auburn |
| 29 | Ernie McMillan | Tackle | Illinois |
| 30 | George Hultz | Tackle | Mississippi Southern |
Game-by-game results[]
Home games in bold.
| Week | Opponent | Result | Patriots' score |
Opponents' score |
Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | New York Titans | L | 20 | 21 | 0–1 |
| 2 | Denver Broncos | W | 45 | 17 | 1–1 |
| 3 | Buffalo Bills | W | 23 | 21 | 2–1 |
| 4 | New York Titans | L | 30 | 37 | 2–2 |
| 5 | San Diego Chargers | L | 27 | 38 | 2–3 |
| 6 | Houston Oilers | T | 31 | 31 | 2–3–1 |
| 7 | Buffalo Bills | W | 52 | 21 | 3–3–1 |
| 8 | Dallas Texans | W | 18 | 17 | 4–3–1 |
| 9 | Dallas Texans | W | 28 | 21 | 5–3–1 |
| 10 | Houston Oilers | L | 15 | 27 | 5–4–1 |
| 11 | Oakland Raiders | W | 20 | 17 | 6–4–1 |
| 12 | Bye | 6–4–1 | |||
| 13 | Denver Broncos | W | 28 | 24 | 7–4–1 |
| 14 | Oakland Raiders | W | 35 | 21 | 8–4–1 |
| 15 | San Diego Chargers | W | 41 | 0 | 9–4–1 |
Roster[]
All of the following players appeared in at least one game for the 1961 Boston Patriots. Players new to the team in 1961 are in bold
Charlie Long| Name | Position | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Tom Addison | LB | |
| Houston Antwine | DT | Rookie |
| Walter Beach | DB/RB | |
| Fred Bruney | DB | |
| Ron Burton | HB | |
| Gino Cappelletti | WR/K/DB | Uniform number 20 retired by the New England Patriots |
| Jim Colclough | WR | |
| Jim Crawford | FB/HB | |
| Walt Cudzik | C/LB | |
| Bob Dee | DE/DT | Uniform number 89 retired by the New England Patriots |
| Jerry DeLucca | T/DT | |
| Larry Eisenhauer | DE | Rookie |
| Larry Garron | HB | |
| Milt Graham | T/DT | Rookie |
| Ron Hall | DB | |
| Jim Hunt | DT/DE | Uniform number 79 retired by the New England Patriots |
| Harry Jacobs | LB/DE | |
| Harry Jagielski | DT/T | |
| Joe Johnson | HB/E/WR | |
| Bill Kimber | E | |
| Dick Klein | T | |
| Chuck Leo | G | |
| Paul Lindquist | DT | Rookie |
| Ray Lardani | T | Rookie |
| T/G | Rookie | |
| Billy Lott | FB | |
| Rommie Loudd | LB | |
| Leroy Moore | DE | |
| Ross O'Hanley | DB | |
| Babe Parilli | QB | |
| Willis Perkins | DE/G | Rookie |
| Ray Ratkowski | HB | Rookie |
| Frank Robotti | LB | Rookie |
| Al Romine | DB/HB | |
| Tony Sardisco | G/LB | |
| Gerhard Schwedes | HB | |
| Chuck Shonta | DB | |
| John Simmerson | C | |
| Robert Soltis | DB | |
| Butch Songin | QB | |
| Thomas Stephens | TE/DB | |
| Bobby Towns | DB | |
| Clyde Washington | DB/P | |
| Don Webb | DB | Rookie |
| Mel West | RB | Rookie |
| Rob Yates | T/C | Rookie |
| Tom Yewcic | QB/P/HB | Rookie |
See also[]
Notes and references[]
General references[]
- "1961 Boston Patriots". Football @ JT-SW.com. John Troan. 2002. http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1961-bos. Retrieved 2007-04-11.. For game-by-game results
- "1961 Boston Patriots Roster". Football @ JT-SW.com. John Troan. 2002. http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/rosters.nsf/Annual/1961-bos. Retrieved 2007-04-12.. For team roster
- "New England Patriots (1960–present)". Sports E-cyclopedia. Tank Productions. 2007. http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/nengalnd/patriots.html. Retrieved 2007-04-11.. For season summary
Footnoted references[]
- ↑ "AFC east helmets". The Helmet Project. 2007. http://nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/afceast.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-12.
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| Eastern Division | Western Division |
| Boston | Dallas Texans |
| Buffalo | Denver |
| Houston | Oakland |
| New York Titans | San Diego |
| 1961 AFL Draft • 1961 AFL Championship Game • 1961 AFL All-Star game Related: 1961 NFL Season | |