1961 Buffalo Bills season

Last updated

1961 Buffalo Bills season
Owner Ralph Wilson
Head coach Buster Ramsey
Home field War Memorial Stadium
Results
Record6–8
Division place4th Eastern
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1961 Buffalo Bills season was the team's second year in the American Football League. The Bills played in the Eastern division, winning six games, losing eight, and missing the postseason.

Contents

The Bills didn't have a winning record at any point in the season; they played their final five games of the season on the road.

Season summary

The Bills had a problematic quarterback situation, with former Redskin M.C. Reynolds, second-year Bills QB Johnny Green and ex-Lion Warren Rabb all struggling at the passer position. None completed more than 46% of their passes, and only Reynolds had a winning record (2–1) and threw for more than 1,000 yards. [1]

Punter Billy Atkins led the league in punts, with 85; he also led the league with 44.5 yards per punt. Atkins also played safety for the Bills in 1961, and led the league with 10 interceptions, and was 2nd-Team All-AFL on defense. [2]

Middle linebacker Archie Matsos was 1st-Team All-AFL for the second consecutive year, as was defensive tackle Chuck McMurtry. Defensive tackle LaVerne Torczon was 2nd-Team All-AFL in 1961. [3]

Offseason

AFL draft

The Bills amassed a great deal of talent on their offensive line in the 1961 draft. Four of their first seven picks—Rice, Shaw, Barber and Bemiller, all offensive linemen—would go on to make at least one All-AFL team in the next five years. This draft would form the nucleus for the Bills' power running game over the next five years.

Rice was All-AFL as a rookie in 1961.

= All-AFL [4]
RoundPlayerPositionCollege
1TackleAuburn
2TackleGeorgia Tech
3Fullback Syracuse (from New York)
3TackleSyracuse
4Tackle Penn State
5 Quarterback Wake Forest
6HalfbackGeorgia
7CenterSyracuse
8Tackle Miami
9Halfback Tennessee
10Halfback VMI
11HalfbackNorth Carolina
12GuardMississippi State
13Offensive end Louisiana Tech
14Tackle Cincinnati
15Offensive end South Carolina
16Offensive end Maryland
17TackleWake Forest
18GuardSouth Carolina
19Offensive endNE Louisiana State
20HalfbackMaryland
21Offensive end Detroit
22TackleTennessee
23HalfbackNotre Dame
24CenterDetroit
25Halfback Bowling Green
26TackleNorth Carolina A & I
27Offensive endWake Forest
28Offensive end Michigan State
29Halfback Northwestern
30Halfback Minnesota

1961 Preseason

The 1961 preseason was notable for the Bills as they became the only AFL (or NFL) team to lose to a CFL team, and it was the last game between the CFL and AFL/NFL met in history. [11]

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1August 8at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 21–380–1 Hamilton Civic Stadium 12,000 [12]
2August 18 Dallas Texans L 26–350–2 War Memorial Stadium 11,166
3August 25at Boston Patriots L 10–280–3 Mt. Pleasant Stadium (Providence, RI) 4,762
4September 1 Boston Patriots L 12–150–4War Memorial Stadium17,071

1961 Regular Season

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecapSources
1September 10 Denver Broncos L 10–220–1 War Memorial Stadium 16,636 Recap
2September 17 New York Titans W 41–311–1 War Memorial Stadium 15,584 Recap
3September 23 Boston Patriots L 21–231–2 War Memorial Stadium 21,504 Recap
4September 30 San Diego Chargers L 11–191–3 War Memorial Stadium 20,742 Recap
5October 8at Houston Oilers W 22–122–3 Jeppesen Stadium 22,761 Recap
6October 15 Dallas Texans W 27–243–3 War Memorial Stadium 20,678 Recap
7October 22at Boston Patriots L 21–523–4 Boston University Field 9,398 Recap
8October 29 Houston Oilers L 16–283–5 War Memorial Stadium 21,237 Recap
9November 5 Oakland Raiders L 22–313–6 War Memorial Stadium 17,027 Recap
10November 12at Dallas Texans W 30–204–6 Cotton Bowl 15,000 Recap
11November 19at Denver Broncos W 23–105–6 Bears Stadium 7,645 Recap
12November 23at New York Titans L 14–215–7 Polo Grounds 12,023 Recap
13December 3at Oakland Raiders W 26–216–7 Candlestick Park 8,011 Recap
14December 10at San Diego Chargers L 10–286–8 Balboa Stadium 24,486 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Program for the October 29 game against the visiting Houston Oilers. 611029-Bills-Oilers-program.jpg
Program for the October 29 game against the visiting Houston Oilers.
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.

AFL Western Division
WLTPCTDIVPFPASTK
San Diego Chargers 1220.8576–0396219L1
Dallas Texans 680.4294–2334343W2
Denver Broncos 3110.2141–5251432L7
Oakland Raiders 2120.1431–5237458L6

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

Personnel

Staff

1961 Buffalo Bills staff

Front office

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

 

Defensive coaches

Final roster

1961 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

*Note:rookies in italics

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References

  1. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1961 Buffalo Bills
  2. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1961 AFL Leaders and Leaderboards
  3. ↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1961 AFL Pro Bowlers
  4. ↑ Players are identified as All-AFL if they were selected to the All-AFL at any time in their career.
  5. ↑ All-AFL 1961
  6. ↑ 8× AFL All-Star
  7. ↑ 5× AFL All-Star
  8. ↑ 4× NFL Pro Bowler for Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants
  9. ↑ 1965 AFL All-Star
  10. ↑ Inducted into Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame (NFL) in 1989
  11. ↑ "Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Buffalo Bills, August 8, 1961". Archived from the original on January 19, 2008. Retrieved July 4, 2014.
  12. ↑ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 369
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