1961 Philadelphia Eagles season

Last updated

1961 Philadelphia Eagles season
Owner Happy Hundred
Head coach Nick Skorich
Home field Franklin Field
Results
Record10–4
Division place2nd NFL Eastern
Playoff finishLost NFL Playoff Bowl
(vs. Lions) 10–38
Pro Bowlers FB Ted Dean
RT J.D. Smith
RE Bobby Walston
FL Tommy McDonald
RLB Maxie Baughan
QB Sonny Jurgensen

The 1961 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's twenty-ninth season in the National Football League.

Contents

Off-season

Since 1951, the Eagles have held their training camp at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

NFL Draft

The 1961 NFL draft and the 1961 AFL Draft were separate drafts, and players could end up being drafted by both leagues.

The 1961 NFL Draft, which involved fourteen teams choosing college players during twenty rounds, took place on December 27 and 28, 1960. It occurred after the Eagles' win in the NFL Championship Game on December 26.

The Eagles picked last as a result of the team's 10–2 season record in 1960. This was due to the rule at that time that teams be assigned their respective ranks in the selection process based on their previous season records. This meant that the Cleveland Browns picked ahead of the NFL runner-up, the Green Bay Packers.

This draft was also the first regular draft for the Dallas Cowboys, which had participated only in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft that year. The Cowboys held the worst record in the NFL the previous season, but selected second in this draft due to the entry of the Minnesota Vikings into the league. The league also held a later expansion draft for the Vikings' franchise, which was awarded the first selection position in that draft.

The AFL draft was held on two dates that were two weeks apart at the end of the 1960 college season. Conducted prior to the bowl games, the first was a six-round draft held by phone. The second was held on December 5 and 6, 1960 for rounds seven through thirty. The Denver Broncos selected New Mexico State's Bob Gaiters as the overall first draft pick.

The Philadelphia Eagles lost its first-round pick to the AFL for the second year. About half of the Eagles' nineteen picks either signed with the AFL or remained in college to play their last year of eligibility.

Player selections

= Pro Bowler [1] = AFL All-Star [2] = Hall of Famer
RdPICKPLAYERPOSSCHOOLAFLRdPickSigned
114 Art Baker Fullback Syracuse Buffalo Bills
from New York
3rdBuffalo
228Bo StrangeCenterLouisiana State Denver Broncos 3rd
336 Jim Wright QuarterbackMemphis State New York 1 Dallas Texans
342 Don Oakes TackleVirginia Tech Boston Patriots 21162Eagles
453 Dan Ficca GuardUSCSan Diego29162Oakland Raiders
456Pick taken by Green Bay
570Pick taken by Detroit Lions
684Ben BalmeGuardYale
798 Irv Cross BackNorthwesternNew York15117Eagles
8112Jim BeaverGuardFlorida
9126 Wayne Fontes [3] Running backMichigan StateNew York22173New York Titans
10140 Luther Hayes EndUSC San Diego 27215San Diego Chargers
11154L.E. HicksTackleFlorida
12168 Billy Majors [4] BackTennesseeBuffalo Bills967Buffalo
13182 Don Jonas QuarterbackPenn StateEagles
1962 season then career in CFL
14196 Willie Fleming Running backIowa signed with BC Lions of CFL in 1959
15210 Bobby Richards TackleLouisiana StateEagles
1962 season
16224G. W. ClappGuardAuburn
17238Larry LaveryTackleIllinois
18252Nick MaravichTackleNorth Carolina State
19266Dick WilsonCenterPenn State
20280 [5] Jacque MacKinnon [6] BackColgate

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecapSources
1September 17 Cleveland Browns W 27–201–0 Franklin Field 60,671 Recap
2September 24 Washington Redskins W 14–72–0Franklin Field50,108 Recap
3October 1 St. Louis Cardinals L 27–302–1Franklin Field59,399 Recap
4October 8 Pittsburgh Steelers W 21–163–1Franklin Field60,671 Recap
5October 15at St. Louis Cardinals W 20–74–1 Busch Stadium 20,262 Recap
6October 22at Dallas Cowboys W 43–75–1 Cotton Bowl 25,000 Recap
7October 29at Washington Redskins W 27–246–1 D.C. Stadium 31,066 Recap
8November 5 Chicago Bears W 16–147–1Franklin Field60,671 Recap
9November 12at New York Giants L 21–387–2 Yankee Stadium 62,800 Recap
10November 19at Cleveland Browns L 24–457–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 68,399 Recap
11November 26 Dallas Cowboys W 35–138–3Franklin Field60,127 Recap
12December 3at Pittsburgh Steelers W 35–249–3 Forbes Field 21,653 Recap
13December 10 New York Giants L 24–289–4Franklin Field60,671 Recap
14December 17at Detroit Lions W 27–2410–4 Tiger Stadium 44,231 Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Program for the October 1 home contest against the St. Louis Cardinals. 611001-Eagles-Cardinals-program.jpg
Program for the October 1 home contest against the St. Louis Cardinals.
NFL Eastern Conference
WLTPCTCONFPFPASTK
New York Giants 1031.7699–2–1368220T1
Philadelphia Eagles 1040.7148–4361297W1
Cleveland Browns 851.6158–3–1319270T1
St. Louis Cardinals 770.5007–5279267W3
Pittsburgh Steelers 680.4295–7295287L1
Dallas Cowboys 491.3082–9–1236380L4
Washington Redskins 1121.0771–10–1174392W1
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL Western Conference
WLTPCTCONFPFPASTK
Green Bay Packers 1130.7869–3391223W1
Detroit Lions 851.6157–4–1270258L1
Chicago Bears 860.5717–5326302W2
Baltimore Colts 860.5716–6302307W1
San Francisco 49ers 761.5386–5–1346272L1
Los Angeles Rams 4100.2863–9263333L1
Minnesota Vikings 3110.2143–9285407L2
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Playoff Bowl

RoundDateOpponentResultVenueAttendanceRecapSources
Playoff Bowl January 6, 1962 Detroit Lions L 10–38 Orange Bowl 25,612
Source: [7] [8]

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References

  1. Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their careers.
  2. Players are identified as an All-Star if they were selected for the All-Star team at any time in their careers.
  3. Wayne Fontes signed with the New York Titans of the AFL
  4. Billy Majors signed with the Buffalo Bills of the AFL
  5. This last selection is commonly referred to as Mr. Irrelevant.
  6. Jacque MacKinnon signed with the San Diego Chargers of the AFL
  7. 1 2 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN   0-7611-2480-2, p. 369
  8. "Detroit storms past Philadelphia, 38-10". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 7, 1962. p. 1B.