1961 Boston Patriots season
Season of American Football League team the Boston Patriots
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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.
Mike Holovak (interim: 7–1–1)
| 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 stadium | Boston University Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 9–4–1 |
| Division place | 2nd AFL Eastern |
| Playoffs | 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
|
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
| Round | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | Tackle | McNeese State |
| 14 | James Wright | Quarterback | Memphis State |
| 16 | George Balthazar | Tackle | Tennessee A&I |
| 17 | Ray Ratkowski | Halfback | Notre Dame |
| 18 | Tom Rodgers | Halfback | Kentucky |
| 19 | Joe Bellino | Halfback | Navy |
| 20 | Clarence Childs | Halfback | Florida A&M |
| 21 | Don Oakes | Guard | Virginia Tech |
| 22 | Bob Johnson | Offensive 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 | Tackle | Illinois |
| 30 | George Hultz | Tackle | Mississippi Southern |
Schedule
Regular season
| 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
| 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
| Boston Patriots 1961 roster | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends |
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Reserve list
| |||||
