1961 Syracuse Orangemen football team

1961 Syracuse Orangemen football
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 15–14 vs. Miami (FL)
Conference Independent
Ranking
Coaches No. 16
AP No. 14
1961 record 8–3
Head coach Ben Schwartzwalder (13th season)
Captain Dick Easterly[1]
Home stadium Archbold Stadium
1961 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf  Overall
TeamW L T  W L T
No. 15 Rutgers      9 0 0
No. 17 Arizona      8 1 1
Memphis State      8 2 0
Mississippi Southern      8 2 0
Villanova      8 2 0
No. 17 Penn State      8 3 0
No. 14 Syracuse      8 3 0
Holy Cross      7 3 0
Navy      7 3 0
Miami (FL)      7 4 0
Army      6 4 0
San Jose State      6 4 0
Xavier      6 4 0
Colgate      5 4 0
Detroit      5 4 0
Pacific      5 4 0
Houston      5 4 1
Notre Dame      5 5 0
Oregon State      5 5 0
Florida State      4 5 1
Boston University      4 5 0
Boston College      4 6 0
Oregon      4 6 0
Air Force      3 7 0
Pittsburgh      3 7 0
Washington State      3 7 0
Idaho      2 7 0
Dayton      2 8 0
Rankings from AP Poll

The 1961 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented Syracuse University during the 1961 college football season. The Orangemen were led by 13th-year head coach Ben Schwartzwalder and played their home games at Archbold Stadium in Syracuse, New York. Syracuse finished the regular season with a record of 7–3 and ranked 14th in the final AP Poll. Running back Ernie Davis rushed for 823 yards and 12 touchdowns en route to his second straight consensus All-American honors. Davis became the first African-American football player to win the Heisman Trophy, which is awarded to the nation's best college football player each year. Syracuse was invited to the 1961 Liberty Bowl, where they defeated Miami (FL).

Schedule

Date Opponent# Rank# Site Result Attendance
September 23 at Oregon State No. 10 Multnomah StadiumPortland, OR W 198   35,729
September 30 West Virginia No. 5 Archbold StadiumSyracuse, NY (Rivalry) W 2914   25,000
October 7 at Maryland No. 7 Byrd StadiumCollege Park, MD L 2122   35,000
October 14 at Nebraska Memorial StadiumLincoln, NE W 286   35,387
October 21 at Penn State Beaver StadiumUniversity Park, PA (Rivalry) L 014   44,390
October 28 Holy Cross Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY W 346   31,000
November 4 Pittsburgh Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY (Rivalry) W 289   40,152
November 11 Colgate Archbold Stadium • Syracuse, NY (Rivalry) W 518   25,000
November 18 at Notre Dame No. 10 Notre Dame StadiumSouth Bend, IN L 1517   49,246
November 25 at Boston College Alumni StadiumChestnut Hill, MA (Rivalry) W 2813   17,600
December 16 vs. Miami (FL) No. 14 Philadelphia Municipal StadiumPhiladelphia, PA (Liberty Bowl) W 1514   15,712
#Rankings from AP Poll.

Source:[1]

1961 team players in the NFL draft

PlayerRoundPickPositionClub
Ernie Davis11Running BackWashington Redskins
Pete Brokaw8107BackBaltimore Colts
George Francovitch10131GuardSt. Louis Cardinals
Gary Fallon12157HalfbackMinnesota Vikings
Dick Easterly14190BackSan Francisco 49ers
Bob Stem19265CenterNew York Giants

[2]

Ernie Davis was the first black player to be chosen first overall in the NFL Draft.[3] Davis was drafted by the Washington Redskins then traded to the Clevand Browns in the first round of the 1962 American Football League draft.[4] Tragically, he would never play in the NFL; he was diagnosed with leukemia shortly before he was to enter the league, and died in May 1963, less than a year after his diagnosis.

Awards and honors

References

  1. 1 2 2017 Syracuse football media guide. pg. 148
  2. https://www.pro-football-reference.com/draft/1962.htm
  3. Sports Illustrated, October 13, 2008, p.24
  4. Rockin’ the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League, p.564, Jeffrey J. Miller, ECW Press, 2007, ISBN 978-1-55022-797-0
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-09-16. Retrieved 2007-11-23.
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