1961 San Francisco 49ers season

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Official team media guide for the 1961 season, touting coach Red Hickey's "Shotgun Offense", unveiled the previous year. 49ers-mediaguide-1961.jpg
Official team media guide for the 1961 season, touting coach Red Hickey's "Shotgun Offense", unveiled the previous year.
1961 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerVictor Morabito
General manager Louis Spadia
Head coach Howard Hickey
Home field Kezar Stadium
Results
Record7–6–1
Division place5th NFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 1961 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League, their 16th overall, and their second season under head coach Red Hickey.

Contents

The 49ers attempted to improve on their 7-5 season from the previous season, and make the playoffs for the first time since 1957. However, despite starting the season 4-1, they would lose 5 of their last 8 games, finishing their season 7-6-1, and they missed the playoffs for the 4th straight year.

Offseason

NFL Draft

1961 San Francisco 49ers draft
RoundPickPlayerPositionCollegeNotes
16 Jimmy Johnson  *   DB UCLA
19 Bernie Casey  *  HB Bowling Green
111 Billy Kilmer  *  QB UCLA
224 Roland Lakes   DT Wichita
337 Bill Cooper   FB Muskingum
447 Aaron Thomas  *  TE Oregon State
452 Dale Messer  HB Fresno State
558 Clark Miller   DE Utah State Later played with 49ers from 1962–68
565 Bob McCreary   T Wake Forest
680Mike McClellan DB Oklahoma
793 Ray Purdin   B Northwestern signed by Saskatchewan Roughriders (CFL)
8108Neill Plumley T Oregon
9118 Leon Donohue   G San Jose State Later played with the 49ers from 1962–64
9121Evaristo Nino T East Texas State
10136Paul Hynes DB Louisiana Tech signed with Dallas Texans (AFL)
11149Tony Parrilli G Illinois
12164Don Coffey  WR Memphis State
13174Tommy Hackler  E Tennessee Tech
13177Julius Fincke T McNeese State
14192Bill Worrell T Georgia
15205Bob Sams T Central State (OK)
16220 Charley Fuller  HB San Francisco State signed by Oakland Raiders (AFL)
17233Tom Jewell T Idaho State
18248 Kay McFarland  WR Colorado State Played the 1961 season with CSU
19261Tom Simpson T Davidson
20276Jerry Perry GCentral State (OK)
      Made roster        Pro Football Hall of Fame     *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Preseason

WeekDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendance
1August 12vs. New York Giants L 20–210–1 Multnomah Stadium 24,084
2August 21 Cleveland Browns L 24–270–2 Kezar Stadium 38,759
3August 26 Minnesota Vikings W 14–101–2Multnomah Stadium27,044
4September 1at Los Angeles Rams W 38–202–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 42,558
5September 9vs. Dallas Cowboys W 24–73–2 Hughes Stadium 22,130

[1]

Regular season

Schedule

GameDateOpponentResultRecordVenueAttendanceRecapSources
1September 17 Washington Redskins W 35–31–0 Kezar Stadium 43,412 Recap
2September 24at Green Bay Packers L 10–301–1 New City Stadium 38,624 Recap
3October 1at Detroit Lions W 49–02–1 Tiger Stadium 53,155 Recap
4October 8 Los Angeles Rams W 35–03–1Kezar Stadium59,004 Recap
5October 15at Minnesota Vikings W 38–244–1 Metropolitan Stadium 34,415 Recap
6October 22at Chicago Bears L 0–314–2 Wrigley Field 49,070 Recap
7October 29at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–204–3 Forbes Field 19,686 Recap
8November 5Detroit LionsT 20–204–3–1Kezar Stadium56,878 Recap
9November 12at Los Angeles RamsL 7–174–4–1 L.A. Memorial Coliseum 63,766 Recap
10November 19Chicago BearsW 41–315–4–1Kezar Stadium52,972 Recap
11November 26Minnesota VikingsW 38–286–4–1Kezar Stadium48,905 Recap
12December 3at Baltimore Colts L 17–206–5–1 Memorial Stadium 57,641 Recap
13December 10Green Bay PackersW 22–217–5–1Kezar Stadium55,722 Recap
14December 16Baltimore ColtsL 27–247–6–1Kezar Stadium45,517 Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Program for the November 5 game against the visiting Detroit Lions. 611105-49ers-Lions-program.jpg
Program for the November 5 game against the visiting Detroit Lions.
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.
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.

Personnel

Staff / Coaches

1961 San Francisco 49ers staff

Front office

  • Team Owner - Victor Morabito
  • General manager – Louis Spadia

Head coaches

Offensive coaches

Defensive coaches

Special teams coaches

  • None - N/A



Roster

1961 San Francisco 49ers roster
Quarterbacks (QB)

Running backs (RB)

Wide receivers (WR)

Tight ends (TE)

Offensive linemen (OL)

Defensive linemen (DL)

Linebackers (LB)

Defensive backs (DB)

Special teams

Rookies in italics

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References

  1. "1961 San Francisco 49ers (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved November 19, 2023.