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

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 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 1031.7694–1–1513242W9
Boston Patriots 941.6922–3–1413313W4
New York Titans 770.5003–3301390L2
Buffalo Bills 680.4292–4294342L1

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

Footnoted references

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