| 1961 Houston Oilers season | |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Lou Rymkus and Wally Lemm |
| Home Field | Jeppesen Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–3–1 |
| Place | 1st AFL Eastern |
| Playoff Finish | Won AFL Championship (Chargers) (10–3) |
| Timeline | |
| Previous season | Next season |
| 1960 | 1962 |
The 1961 Houston Oilers season was their second. For the second consecutive season, the Oilers scored a triumph in the AFL Championship over the San Diego Chargers.
Contents
Offseason[edit | edit source]
On January 14, Chicago Bears End Willard Dewveall played out his option and joined the Houston Oilers. He became the first player to move deliberately from one league to another.[1]
AFL Draft[edit | edit source]
- Houston Oilers draft picks (Selected eighth)
| Round | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Ditka | Offensive End | Pittsburgh |
| 2 | Tom Goode | Center | Mississippi State |
| 3 | Walter Suggs 1 | Tackle | Mississippi State |
| 4 | Bobby Walden | Halfback | Georgia |
| 5 | Monte Lee | Linebacker | Texas |
| 6 | Jake Gibbs | Quarterback | Mississippi |
| 7 | Dick Reynolds | Tackle | North Carolina State |
| 8 | Houston Antwine 1,2 | Guard | Southern Illinois |
| 9 | Ralph White | Tackle | Bowling Green |
| 10 | Charles Lee | Center | Iowa |
| 11 | Robert Bird | Guard | Bowling Green |
| 12 | Bob McLeod | Offensive End | Abilene Christian |
| 13 | Gerald Hinton | Guard | Louisiana Tech |
| 14 | Jimmy King | Tackle | Clemson |
| 15 | Dennis Ferriter | Center | Marquette |
| 16 | Larry Wood | Halfback | Northwestern |
| 17 | Sam Fewell | Tackle | South Carolina |
| 18 | Mike Grimsley | Halfback | Michigan State |
| 19 | Myron Pearson | Halfback | Colorado |
| 20 | Lewis Johnson | Halfback | Florida A&M |
| 21 | Ron Miller | Quarterback | Wisconsin |
| 22 | Bob Kelly | Offensive End | New Mexico State |
| 23 | James Anderson | Fullback | Mississippi |
| 24 | Ken Gregory | Offensive End | Whittier |
| 25 | Jack Kreider | Halfback | Tulsa |
| 26 | Don Fuell | Quarterback | Mississippi Southern |
| 27 | Boyd King | Center | Rice |
| 28 | John Frongillo | Center | Baylor |
| 29 | Tom Lewis | Offensive End | Lake Forest |
| 29 | Errol Linden | Defensive End | Houston |
| 30 | Jim Stroud | Tackle | Rice |
Regular season[edit | edit source]
Season standings[edit | edit source]
| Eastern Division | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Houston Oilers | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 513 | 242 |
| Boston Patriots | 9 | 4 | 1 | .692 | 413 | 313 |
| New York Titans | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 301 | 390 |
| Buffalo Bills | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 294 | 342 |
Season schedule[edit | edit source]
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 9, 1961 | Oakland Raiders | W 55–0 | ||
| 2 | Bye | ||||
| 3 | September 24, 1961 | at San Diego Chargers | L 34–24 | ||
| 4 | October 1, 1961 | at Dallas Texans | L 26-21 | ||
| 5 | October 8, 1961 | Buffalo Bills | L 22–12 | ||
| 6 | October 13, 1961 | at Boston Patriots | T 31–31 | ||
| 7 | October 22, 1961 | Dallas Texans | W 38-7 | ||
| 8 | October 29, 1961 | at Buffalo Bills | W 28-16 | ||
| 9 | November 5, 1961 | at Denver Broncos | W 55–14 | ||
| 10 | November 12, 1961 | Boston Patriots | W 27–15 | ||
| 11 | November 19, 1961 | New York Titans | W 49–13 | ||
| 12 | November 26, 1961 | Denver Broncos | W 45–14 | ||
| 13 | December 3, 1961 | San Diego Chargers | W 33–13 | ||
| 14 | December 10, 1961 | at New York Titans | W 48–21 | ||
| 15 | December 17, 1961 | at Oakland Raiders | W 47–16 | ||
Roster[edit | edit source]
Houston Oilers roster
| ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarterbacks
Running Backs Wide Receivers Tight Ends |
Offensive Linemen
Defensive Linemen |
Linebackers
Defensive Backs CB Special Teams |
Reserve Lists
Practice Squad Rookies in italics | |||
Postseason[edit | edit source]
AFL Championship Game[edit | edit source]
- 1961 Championship
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Chargers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Houston Oilers 10, San Diego Chargers 3
- December 24, 1961 at Balboa Stadium, San Diego, California
Attendance: 29,556
Scoring
- HOU – Field goal Blanda 46
- HOU – Cannon 35 pass from Blanda (Blanda kick)
- SD – Field goal Blair 12
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 282
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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 | |
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