1961 Boston Patriots season

1961 Boston Patriots season

Head coach	Lou Saban (fired) Mike Holovak
General manager	Edward McKeever
Owner	Billy Sullivan
Home field	Nickerson Field

Results
Record	9–4–1
Division Place	2nd AFL Eastern
Playoff finish	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

Timeline

Previous season	Next season
1960	1962

The Boston Patriots finished the American Football League's 1961 season with a record of nine wins and four losses and one tie, and placed second in the AFL's Eastern division.

1 Staff
2 Season summary
3 Draft picks
4 Game-by-game results
5 Roster
6 See also
7 Notes and references
- 7.1 General references
- 7.2 Footnoted references

Staff

Boston Patriots 1961 staff

Front Office

President – Billy Sullivan
General Manager – Edward McKeever

Head Coaches

Head Coach/Offensive Backfield – Mike Holovak

Offensive Coaches

Offensive Line – Red Miller

Defensive Coaches

Defensive Line – Jerry Smith
Defensive Backfield – Joe Collier

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 starting the season 2–3, the team fired head coad Lou Saban and replaced him with Mike Holovak. The change was a positive one, as the team would finish on a four game winning streak, including a season-finale shutout of the San Diego Chargers. Their record of 9–4–1 was good enough for 2nd place in the Eastern Division, and one game behind division leader Houston. This season was the first in which the team used their "Pat the Patriot" logo on their helmets.^[1]

Draft picks

Round	Player	Position	College
1	Tommy MasonTommy Mason	Half back	Tulane
2	Rip HawkinsRip Hawkins	Center	North Carolina
3	Danny LaRoseDanny LaRose	Offensive end	Missouri
4	Mike ZenoMike Zeno	Guard	Virginia Tech
5	Fran TarkentonFran Tarkenton	Quarterback	Georgia
6	Larry EisenhauerLarry Eisenhauer ¹	Tackle	Boston College
7	Paul TerhesPaul Terhes	Quarterback	Bucknell
8	Charles LongCharles Long ¹	Guard	Tennessee-Chattanooga
9	Roland LakesRoland Lakes	Center	Wichita
10	Richard MuellerRichard Mueller	Offensive end	Kentucky
11	Mel WestMel West	Center	Missouri
12	Wayne HarrisWayne Harris	Center	Arkansas
13	Dan UnderwoodDan Underwood	Tackle	McNeese State
14	James WrightJames Wright	Quarterback	Memphis State
16	George BalthazarGeorge Balthazar	Tackle	Tennessee A&I
17	Ray RatkowskiRay Ratkowski	Halfback	Notre Dame
18	Tom RodgersTom Rodgers	Halfback	Kentucky
19	Joe BellinoJoe Bellino	Halfback	Navy
20	Clarence ChildsClarence Childs	Halfback	Florida A&M
21	Dan OakesDan Oakes	Guard	Virginia Tech
22	Bob JohnsonBob Johnson	Offensive end	Michigan
23	Darrell DeDeckerDarrell DeDecker	Center	Illinois
24	Don WebbDon Webb	Halfback	Iowa State
25	Robert MinihaneRobert Minihane	Tackle	Boston
26	Charles GrangerCharles Granger	Tackle	Southern
27	Terry HuxholdTerry Huxhold	Tackle	Wisconsin
28	Bryant HarvardBryant Harvard	Quarterback	Auburn
29	Ernie McMillanErnie McMillan	Tackle	Illinois
30	George HultzGeorge Hultz	Tackle	Mississippi Southern

Game-by-game results

Home games in bold.

Week	Opponent	Result	Patriots' score	Opponents' score	Record	Attendance
1	New York Titans	L	20	21	0–1	16,683
2	Denver Broncos	W	45	17	1–1	14,479
3	Buffalo Bills	W	23	21	2–1	21,504
4	New York Titans	L	30	37	2–2	15,189
5	San Diego Chargers	L	27	38	2–3	17,748
6	Houston Oilers	T	31	31	2–3–1	15,070
7	Buffalo Bills	W	52	21	3–3–1	9,398
8	Dallas Texans	W	18	17	4–3–1	20,500
9	Dallas Texans	W	28	21	5–3–1	25,063
10	Houston Oilers	L	15	27	5–4–1	35,649
11	Oakland Raiders	W	20	17	6–4–1	17,169
12	Bye				6–4–1
13	Denver Broncos	W	28	24	7–4–1	9,303
14	Oakland Raiders	W	35	21	8–4–1	6,500
15	San Diego Chargers	W	41	0	9–4–1	21,339

Roster

All of the following players appeared in at least one game for the 1961 Boston Patriots. Players new to the team in 1961 are in bold

Charlie Long

Name	Position	Notes
Tom Addison	LB
Houston Antwine	DT	Rookie
Walter Beach	DB/RB
Fred Bruney	DB
Ron Burton	HB
Gino Cappelletti	WR/K/DB	Uniform number 20 retired by the New England Patriots
Jim Colclough	WR
Jim Crawford	FB/HB
Walt Cudzik	C/LB
Bob Dee	DE/DT	Uniform number 89 retired by the New England Patriots
Jerry DeLucca	T/DT
Larry Eisenhauer	DE	Rookie
Larry Garron	HB
Milt Graham	T/DT	Rookie
Ron Hall	DB
Jim Hunt	DT/DE	Uniform number 79 retired by the New England Patriots
Harry Jacobs	LB/DE
Harry Jagielski	DT/T
Joe Johnson	HB/E/WR
Bill Kimber	E
Dick Klein	T
Chuck Leo	G
Paul Lindquist	DT	Rookie
Ray Lardani	T	Rookie
T/G	Rookie
Billy Lott	FB
Rommie Loudd	LB
Leroy Moore	DE
Ross O'Hanley	DB
Babe Parilli	QB
Willis Perkins	DE/G	Rookie
Ray Ratkowski	HB	Rookie
Frank Robotti	LB	Rookie
Al Romine	DB/HB
Tony Sardisco	G/LB
Gerhard Schwedes	HB
Chuck Shonta	DB
John Simmerson	C
Robert Soltis	DB
Butch Songin	QB
Thomas Stephens	TE/DB
Bobby Towns	DB
Clyde Washington	DB/P
Don Webb	DB	Rookie
Mel West	RB	Rookie
Rob Yates	T/C	Rookie
Tom Yewcic	QB/P/HB	Rookie

Notes and references

General references

"1961 Boston Patriots". Football @ JT-SW.com. John Troan. 2002. http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/results.nsf/Teams/1961-bos. Retrieved 2007-04-11. . For game-by-game results
"1961 Boston Patriots Roster". Football @ JT-SW.com. John Troan. 2002. http://www.jt-sw.com/football/pro/rosters.nsf/Annual/1961-bos. Retrieved 2007-04-12. . For team roster
"New England Patriots (1960–present)". Sports E-cyclopedia. Tank Productions. 2007. http://www.sportsecyclopedia.com/nfl/nengalnd/patriots.html. Retrieved 2007-04-11. . For season summary

Footnoted references

^ "AFC east helmets". The Helmet Project. 2007. http://nationalchamps.net/Helmet_Project/afceast.htm. Retrieved 2007-04-12.

New England Patriots

Formerly the Boston Patriots and briefly the Bay State Patriots • Founded in 1959 • Based in Foxborough, Massachusetts

The Franchise	Franchise • History • Players • Coaches • Seasons • First-round draft picks • Starting Quarterbacks • Strategy • Broadcasters

Stadiums	Nickerson Field • Fenway Park • Alumni Stadium • Harvard Stadium • Foxboro Stadium • Gillette Stadium

Culture	Billy Sullivan • Robert Kraft • Jonathan Kraft • Gil Santos • Gino Cappelletti • Pat Patriot

Lore	Snowplow Game • Tuck Rule Game • Spygate • 16-0

Rivalries	New York Jets • Indianapolis Colts

Head Coaches	Saban • Holovak • Rush • Mazur • Bengtson • Fairbanks • Erhardt • Meyer • Berry • Rust • MacPherson • Parcells • Carroll • Belichick

Division Championships (14)	1963 • 1978 • 1986 • 1996 • 1997 • 2001 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011

Conference Championships (6)	1985 • 1996 • 2001 • 2003 • 2004 • 2007

League Championships (3)	2001 • 2003 • 2004

Retired Numbers	20, 40, 56, 57, 73, 78, 79, 89

Seasons	1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011

Current League Affiliations	League: National Football League • Conference: American Football Conference • Division: East Division • Radio: WBZ-FM

Boston / New England Patriots seasons

1960 • 1961 • 1962 • 1963 • 1964 • 1965 • 1966 • 1967 • 1968 • 1969 • 1970 • 1971 • 1972 • 1973 • 1974 • 1975 • 1976 • 1977 • 1978 • 1979 • 1980 • 1981 • 1982 • 1983 • 1984 • 1985 • 1986 • 1987 • 1988 • 1989 • 1990 • 1991 • 1992 • 1993 • 1994 • 1995 • 1996 • 1997 • 1998 • 1999 • 2000 • 2001 • 2002 • 2003 • 2004 • 2005 • 2006 • 2007 • 2008 • 2009 • 2010 • 2011
Bold indicates Super Bowl victory


Eastern Division	Western Division
Boston	Dallas Texans
Buffalo	Denver
Houston	Oakland
New York Titans	San Diego
1961 AFL Draft • 1961 AFL Championship Game • 1961 AFL All-Star game Related: 1961 NFL Season