1961 Boston Patriots season

1961 Boston Patriots season
Head coach	Lou Saban (fired) Mike Holovak
General manager	Edward McKeever
Owner	Billy Sullivan
Home field	Nickerson Field
Results
Record	9–4–1
Division place	2nd AFL Eastern
Playoff finish	did not qualify
AFL All-Stars	LB Tom Addison DB Fred Bruney WR Gino Cappelletti DE Bob Dee RB Larry Garron DT Jim Lee Hunt G Chuck Leo
Uniform

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 President – Billy Sullivan General Manager – Edward McKeever Head Coaches Head Coach/Offensive Backfield – Mike Holovak Offensive Coaches Offensive Line – Red Miller			Defensive Coaches Defensive Line – Jerry Smith Defensive Backfield – Joe Collier

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	Tight 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	Attendance
1	New York Titans	L	20	21	0–1	16,683
2	Denver Broncos	W	45	17	1–1	14,479
3	Buffalo Bills	W	23	21	2–1	21,504
4	New York Titans	L	30	37	2–2	15,189
5	San Diego Chargers	L	27	38	2–3	17,748
6	Houston Oilers	T	31	31	2–3–1	15,070
7	Buffalo Bills	W	52	21	3–3–1	9,398
8	Dallas Texans	W	18	17	4–3–1	20,500
9	Dallas Texans	W	28	21	5–3–1	25,063
10	Houston Oilers	L	15	27	5–4–1	35,649
11	Oakland Raiders	W	20	17	6–4–1	17,169
12	Bye				6–4–1
13	Denver Broncos	W	28	24	7–4–1	9,303
14	Oakland Raiders	W	35	21	8–4–1	6,500
15	San Diego Chargers	W	41	0	9–4–1	21,339

Standings

AFL Eastern Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
Houston Oilers	10	3	1	.769	4–1–1	513	242	W9
Boston Patriots	9	4	1	.692	2–3–1	413	313	W4
New York Titans	7	7	0	.500	3–3	301	390	L2
Buffalo Bills	6	8	0	.429	2–4	294	342	L1

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

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

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
Charlie Long	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
Gerard Swedes	HB
Chuck Shonta	DB
John Simmerson	C
Robert Soltis	DB
Butch Singin	QB
Thomas Stephens	TE/DB
Paper Towns	DB
Clyde Washington	DB/P
Don Webb	DB	Rookie
Kanye West	RB	Rookie
Rob Yates	T/C	Rookie
Tom Yewcic	QB/P/HB	Rookie

Notes and references

General references

• "1961 Boston Patriots". Football @ JT-SW.com. John Troan. 2002. Retrieved April 11, 2007.. For game-by-game results
• "1961 Boston Patriots Roster". Football @ JT-SW.com. John Troan. 2002. Archived from the original on April 25, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007.. For team roster
• "New England Patriots (1960–present)". Sports E-cyclopedia. Tank Productions. 2007. Archived from the original on April 17, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2007.. For season summary

Footnoted references

1. "AFC east helmets". The Helmet Project. 2007. Archived from the original on April 2, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007.