1961 All-America college football team
Official list of the best college football players of 1961
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 1961 All-America college football team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose All-America college football teams in 1961. The six selectors recognized by the NCAA as "official" for the 1961 season are (1) the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), (2) the Associated Press (AP), (3) the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), (4) the Newspaper Enterprise Association (NEA), (5) the Sporting News, and (6) the United Press International (UPI).
Consensus All-Americans
For the year 1961, the NCAA recognizes six published All-American teams as "official" designations for purposes of its consensus determinations. The following chart identifies the NCAA-recognized consensus All-Americans and displays which first-team designations they received.
| Name | Position | School | Number | Official | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roy Winston | Guard | LSU | 6/6 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI | CP, Time, WC |
| Ernie Davis | Halfback | Syracuse | 6/6 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI | CP, Time, WC |
| Bob Ferguson | Fullback | Ohio State | 6/6 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI | CP, Time, WC |
| Billy Neighbors | Tackle | Alabama | 6/6 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI | CP, WC |
| Jimmy Saxton | Halfback | Texas | 6/6 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI | CP, WC |
| Gary Collins | End | Maryland | 5/6 | AFCA, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI | CP, Time, WC |
| Joe Romig | Guard | Colorado | 5/6 | AFCA, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI | WC |
| Alex Kroll | Center | Rutgers | 5/6 | AFCA, AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI | WC |
| Sandy Stephens | Quarterback | Minnesota | 5/6 | AP, FWAA, NEA, SN, UPI | WC |
| Bill Miller | End | Miami (Fla.) | 4/6 | AP, FWAA, NEA, SN | Time, WC |
| Merlin Olsen | Tackle | Utah State | 4/6 | AP, FWAA, NEA, UPI | Time, WC |
All-American selections for 1961
Ends
- Gary Collins, Maryland (AFCA-1, AP-2, FWAA, NEA-1, SN, UPI-1, CP-1, Time, WC)
- Bill Miller, Miami (Fla.) (AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1, SN, UPI-2, CP-2, Time, WC)
- Greg Mather, Navy (AFCA-2, AP-3, FWAA, UPI-2, CP-1, NEA-2)
- Jerry Hillebrand, Colorado (AFCA-3, AP-1, FWAA, NEA-2)
- Pat Richter, Wisconsin (AFCA-2, AP-2, UPI-1, CP-3)
- Robert Mitinger, Penn State (AFCA-1, UPI-3, CP-3)
- Hugh Campbell, Washington State (AFCA-3, AP-3, NEA-3, UPI-3)
- Tom Hutchinson, Kentucky (NEA-3, CP-2)
Tackles
- Billy Neighbors, Alabama (AFCA-1, AP-1, FWAA [guard], NEA-1, SN, UPI-1, CP-1, WC)
- Merlin Olsen, Utah State (AFCA-2, AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1, UPI-1, CP-3, Time, WC)
- Bobby Bell, Minnesota (AFCA-1, AP-3, FWAA, NEA-2, SN, UPI-2, CP-1)
- Ed Blaine, Missouri (AP-2, FWAA, NEA-3)
- Don Talbert, Texas (FWAA, NEA-3, UPI-3, CP-2)
- Fate Echols, Northwestern (Time)
- Steve Barnett, Oregon (AP-2)
- Jim Dunaway, Ole Miss (AFCA-2, UPI-2, CP-3)
- Dave Behrman, Michigan State (NEA-2)
- Art Gregory, Duke (AP-3)
- Al Hinton, Iowa (AFCA-3)
- Marshall Shirk, UCLA (AFCA-3)
- Bob Asack, Columbia (CP-2)
Guards
- Roy Winston, LSU (AFCA-1, AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1, SN, UPI-1, CP-1, Time, WC)
- Joe Romig, Colorado (AFCA-1, FWAA, NEA-1, SN, UPI-1, CP-2, WC)
- Dave Behrman, Michigan State (AP-1, FWAA, UPI-3 [tackle])
- Nick Buoniconti, Notre Dame (AFCA-2, NEA-3, UPI-2, CP-1)
- Bookie Bolin, Mississippi (Time)
- Mike Ingram, Ohio State (AFCA-2, AP-2, UPI-2)
- Dave Watson, Georgia Tech (AP-2)
- Stan Sczurek, Purdue (AP-3, NEA-2, UPI-3, CP-3)
- Larry Vignali, Pitt (AFCA-3, AP-3, NEA-2, UPI-3)
- Jim LeCompte, North Carolina (NEA-3)
- Jim Skaggs, Washington (AFCA-3)
- Jean Berry, Duke (CP-2)
- Herby Adkins, Baylor (CP-3)
Centers
- Alex Kroll, Rutgers (AFCA-1, AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1, UPI-1, CP-2, WC)
- Bill Van Buren, Iowa (SN, CP-1)
- Ron Hull, UCLA (AP-2, FWAA, NEA-2, UPI-3)
- Irv Goode, Kentucky (Time)
- Larry Onesti, Northwestern (AFCA-3, AP-3, NEA-3, UPI-2, CP-3)
- Lee Roy Jordan, Alabama (AFCA-2)
Quarterbacks
- Sandy Stephens, Minnesota (AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1, SN, UPI-1, CP-3, WC)
- Roman Gabriel, North Carolina State (AFCA-1, AP-2, FWAA, NEA-2, UPI-2, Time)
- John Hadl, Kansas (AFCA-2, FWAA-1, AP-3, NEA-2 [hb], UPI-2)
- Doug Elmore, Mississippi (CP-1)
- Eddie Wilson, Arizona (AP-3)
- Pat Trammell, Alabama (AFCA-3, AP-2 [hb], NEA-3, UPI-2 [hb], CP-2)
Halfbacks
- Ernie Davis, Syracuse (AFCA-1, AP-1,FWAA, NEA-1, SN, UPI-1, CP-1, Time, WC)
- Jimmy Saxton, Texas (AFCA-1, AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1, SN, UPI-1, CP-1, WC)
- Lance Alworth, Arkansas (AFCA-2, AP-2, FWAA, NEA-2, UPI-2, CP-2)
- Ronnie Bull, Baylor (AFCA-3, UPI-3, Time)
- Bennie McRae, Michigan (AP-3)
- Dave Hoppman, Iowa State (AFCA-2, AP-3, NEA-3, UPI-3)
- Pete Pedro, West Texas State (NEA-3)
- Angelo Dabiero, Notre Dame (AFCA-3, CP-2)
- Bob Smith, UCLA (CP-3)
- Charles McClinton, Kansas (CP-3)
Fullbacks
- Bob Ferguson, Ohio State (AFCA-1, AP-1, FWAA, NEA-1, SN, UPI-1, CP-1, Time, WC)
- Billy Ray Adams, Mississippi (AP-2, FWAA, NEA-2, UPI-3, CP-3)
- George Saimes, Michigan State (AFCA-2, NEA-3, UPI-3, CP-2)
- Al Rushatz, Army (AFCA-3)
Key
- Bold – Consensus All-American[1]
- -1 – First-team selection
- -2 – Second-team selection
- -3 – Third-team selection
Official selectors
- AFCA = American Football Coaches Association[2]
- AP = Associated Press[3][4][5]
- FWAA = Football Writers Association of America[6]
- NEA = Newspaper Enterprise Association - "elected by the nation's coaches and football writers"[7]
- SN = Sporting News[8]
- UPI = United Press International[9][10][11]
Other selectors
- CP = Central Press Association - chosen based on votes from the captains of the major football teams[12]
- Time = Time magazine - selected by professional football scouts[13]
- WC = Walter Camp Football Foundation[14]