The 1961 Boston Patriots season was the franchise's second season in the American Football League They finished with nine wins, four losses, and one tie, in second place in the AFL's Eastern Division.
| 1961 Boston Patriots season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Billy Sullivan |
| General manager | Edward McKeever |
| Head coach | Lou Saban (fired: 2–3) Mike Holovak (interim: 7–1–1) |
| Home field | Boston University 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 | |
 | |
Staff
edit|
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
|
Defensive coaches
|
Season summary
editIn 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 a 2–3 start and two consecutive losses, the team fired head coach Lou Saban on the night of Tuesday, October 10, and replaced him with offensive backfield coach Mike Holovak, formerly the head coach at Boston College.[1] The change was a positive one, as the team was 7–1–1 under Holovak and finished on a four-game winning streak, capped with a road shutout of the Western Division champion San Diego Chargers in the season finale,[2] the team which scored 38 points on them in Boston in Saban's last game.
The Patriots' 9–4–1 record put them in second place in the Eastern Division, one game behind Houston; the Oilers went on to win the league championship with a 10–3 win over the Chargers. This was the first season in which Boston used their "Pat the Patriot" logo on their helmets.[3]
Draft picks
editSchedule
editRegular season
edit| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 9 | New York Titans | L 20–21 | 0–1 | Boston University Field | 16,683 | Recap |
| 2 | September 16 | Denver Broncos | W 45–17 | 1–1 | Boston University Field | 14,479 | Recap |
| 3 | September 23 | at Buffalo Bills | W 23–21 | 2–1 | War Memorial Stadium | 21,504 | Recap |
| 4 | October 1 | at New York Titans | L 30–37 | 2–2 | Polo Grounds | 15,189 | Recap |
| 5 | October 7 | San Diego Chargers | L 27–38 | 2–3 | Boston University Field | 17,748 | Recap |
| 6 | October 13 | Houston Oilers | T 31–31 | 2–3–1 | Boston University Field | 15,070 | Recap |
| 7 | October 22 | Buffalo Bills | W 52–21 | 3–3–1 | Boston University Field | 9,398 | Recap |
| 8 | October 29 | at Dallas Texans | W 18–17 | 4–3–1 | Cotton Bowl | 20,500 | Recap |
| 9 | November 3 | Dallas Texans | W 28–21 | 5–3–1 | Boston University Field | 25,063 | Recap |
| 10 | November 12 | at Houston Oilers | L 15–27 | 5–4–1 | Jeppesen Stadium | 35,649 | Recap |
| 11 | November 17 | Oakland Raiders | W 20–17 | 6–4–1 | Boston University Field | 17,169 | Recap |
| 12 | Bye | ||||||
| 13 | December 3 | at Denver Broncos | W 28–24 | 7–4–1 | Bears Stadium | 9,303 | Recap |
| 14 | December 9 | at Oakland Raiders | W 35–21 | 8–4–1 | Candlestick Park | 6,500 | Recap |
| 15 | December 17 | at San Diego Chargers | W 41–0 | 9–4–1 | Balboa Stadium | 21,339 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
Standings
edit| 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 in the AFL.
Roster
editAll of the following players appeared in at least one game for the 1961 Boston Patriots.
| 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 | Number 20 retired by the Patriots |
| Jim Colclough | WR | |
| Jim Crawford | FB/HB | |
| Walt Cudzik | C/LB | |
| Bob Dee | DE/DT | Number 89 retired by the Patriots |
| Jerry DeLucca | T/DT | |
| Larry Eisenhauer | DE | Rookie |
| Larry Garron | HB | |
| Milt Graham | T/DT | Rookie |
| Ron Hall | DB | |
| Jim Hunt | DT/DE | Number 79 retired by the 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 | |
| Bob Soltis | DB | |
| Butch Songin | QB | |
| Thomas Stephens | TE/DB | |
| Paper Towns | DB | |
| Clyde Washington | DB/P | |
| Don Webb | DB | Rookie |
| Rob Yates | T/C | Rookie |
| Tom Yewcic | QB/P/HB | Rookie |
- Players new to the team in 1961 are in bold.
Notes and references
editGeneral references
edit- "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
edit- ^ "Holovak shocked". The Telegraph. (Nashua, New Hampshire). Associated Press. October 11, 1961. p. 20.
- ^ "Pats toast of Boston". The Telegraph. (Nashua, New Hampshire). Associated Press. December 18, 1961. p. 17.
- ^ "AFC east helmets". The Helmet Project. 2007. Archived from the original on April 2, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007.