1961 Boston Patriots season

Last updated

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
Record9–4–1
Division place2nd AFL Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify
AFL All-StarsLB Tom Addison
DB Fred Bruney
WR Gino Cappelletti
DE Bob Dee
RB Larry Garron
DT Jim Lee Hunt
 G  Chuck Leo
Uniform
AFC-1961-1964-Uniform-NE.PNG

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. This was the first season that the now famous "Pat Patriot" logo appeared on the helmets. The logo itself would see minor updates throughout the years before it was finally retired after the 1992 season, after 32 years.

Contents

Staff

1961 Boston Patriots 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 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

RoundPlayerPositionCollege
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 TackleMcNeese State
14 James Wright Quarterback Memphis State
16 George Balthazar Tackle Tennessee A&I
17 Ray Ratkowski Halfback Notre Dame
18 Tom Rodgers HalfbackKentucky
19 Joe Bellino HalfbackNavy
20 Clarence Childs Halfback Florida A&M
21 Don Oakes GuardVirginia Tech
22Bob JohnsonOffensive end Michigan
23 Darrell DeDecker Center Illinois
24 Don Webb Halfback Iowa State
25 Bob Minihane Tackle Boston
26 Charley Granger Tackle Southern
27 Terry Huxhold Tackle Wisconsin
28 Bryant Harvard Quarterback Auburn
29 Ernie McMillan TackleIllinois
30 George Hultz Tackle Mississippi Southern

Schedule

Regular season

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecap
1September 9 New York Titans L 20–210–1 Boston University Field 16,683 Recap
2September 16 Denver Broncos W 45–171–1Boston University Field14,479 Recap
3September 23at Buffalo Bills W 23–212–1 War Memorial Stadium 21,504 Recap
4October 1at New York Titans L 30–372–2 Polo Grounds 15,189 Recap
5October 7 San Diego Chargers L 27–382–3Boston University Field17,748 Recap
6October 13 Houston Oilers T 31–312–3–1Boston University Field15,070 Recap
7October 22 Buffalo Bills W 52–213–3–1Boston University Field9,398 Recap
8October 29at Dallas Texans W 18–174–3–1 Cotton Bowl 20,500 Recap
9November 3 Dallas Texans W 28–215–3–1Boston University Field25,063 Recap
10November 12at Houston Oilers L 15–275–4–1 Jeppesen Stadium 35,649 Recap
11November 17 Oakland Raiders W 20–176–4–1Boston University Field17,169 Recap
12 Bye
13December 3at Denver Broncos W 28–247–4–1 Bears Stadium 9,303 Recap
14December 9at Oakland Raiders W 35–218–4–1 Candlestick Park 6,500 Recap
15December 17at San Diego Chargers W 41–09–4–1 Balboa Stadium 21,339 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

AFL Eastern Division
WLTPCTDIVPFPASTK
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 in the AFL.

Roster

All of the following players appeared in at least one game for the 1961 Boston Patriots.

NamePositionNotes
Tom Addison LB
Houston Antwine DT Rookie
Walter Beach DB/RB
Fred Bruney DB
Ron Burton HB
Gino Cappelletti WR/K/DBNumber 20 retired by the Patriots
Jim Colclough WR
Jim Crawford FB/HB
Walt Cudzik C/LB
Bob Dee DE/DTNumber 89 retired by the Patriots
Jerry DeLucca T/DT
Larry Eisenhauer DERookie
Larry Garron HB
Milt Graham T/DTRookie
Ron Hall DB
Jim Hunt DT/DENumber 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 DTRookie
Ray Lardani TRookie
Charlie Long T/GRookie
Billy Lott FB
Rommie Loudd LB
Leroy Moore DE
Ross O'Hanley DB
Babe Parilli QB
Willis Perkins DE/GRookie
Ray Ratkowski HBRookie
Frank Robotti LBRookie
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 DBRookie
Rob Yates T/CRookie
Tom Yewcic QB/P/HBRookie
Players new to the team in 1961 are in bold.

Notes and references

General references

Footnoted references

  1. ↑ "Holovak shocked". The Telegraph. (Nashua, New Hampshire). Associated Press. October 11, 1961. p. 20.
  2. ↑ "Pats toast of Boston". The Telegraph. (Nashua, New Hampshire). Associated Press. December 18, 1961. p. 17.
  3. ↑ "AFC east helmets". The Helmet Project. 2007. Archived from the original on April 2, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
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