| 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.
Offseason
Edit
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 DraftEdit
- 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 seasonEdit
Season standingsEdit
| 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 scheduleEdit
| 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 | | |
RosterEdit
| 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 | |||
PostseasonEdit
AFL Championship GameEdit
- 1961 Championship
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
ReferencesEdit
- ↑ 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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