1961 Boston Patriots season

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.

1961 Boston Patriots season
Head coachLou Saban (fired: 2–3)
Mike Holovak (interim: 7–1–1)
General managerEdward McKeever
OwnerBilly Sullivan
Home fieldBoston University Field
Results
Record9–4–1
Division place2nd AFL Eastern
Playoff finishdid not qualify
AFL All-StarsLB Tom Addison
DB Fred Bruney
WR Gino Cappelletti
DE Bob Dee
RB Larry Garron
DT Jim Lee Hunt
 G  Chuck Leo
Uniform

Staff
Boston Patriots 1961 staff
Front Office

Head Coaches

Offensive Coaches

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 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
RoundPlayerPositionCollege
1Tommy MasonTommy MasonHalf backTulane
2Rip HawkinsRip HawkinsCenterNorth Carolina
3Danny LaRoseDanny LaRoseTight EndMissouri
4Mike ZenoMike ZenoGuardVirginia Tech
5Fran TarkentonFran TarkentonQuarterbackGeorgia
6Larry EisenhauerLarry Eisenhauer 1TackleBoston College
7Paul TerhesPaul TerhesQuarterbackBucknell
8Charles LongCharles Long 1GuardTennessee-Chattanooga
9Roland LakesRoland LakesCenterWichita
10Richard MuellerRichard MuellerOffensive endKentucky
11Mel WestMel WestCenterMissouri
12Wayne HarrisWayne HarrisCenterArkansas
13Dan UnderwoodDan UnderwoodTackleMcNeese State
14James WrightJames WrightQuarterbackMemphis State
16George BalthazarGeorge BalthazarTackleTennessee A&I
17Ray RatkowskiRay RatkowskiHalfbackNotre Dame
18Tom RodgersTom RodgersHalfbackKentucky
19Joe BellinoJoe BellinoHalfbackNavy
20Clarence ChildsClarence ChildsHalfbackFlorida A&M
21Dan OakesDan OakesGuardVirginia Tech
22Bob JohnsonBob JohnsonOffensive endMichigan
23Darrell DeDeckerDarrell DeDeckerCenterIllinois
24Don WebbDon WebbHalfbackIowa State
25Robert MinihaneRobert MinihaneTackleBoston
26Charles GrangerCharles GrangerTackleSouthern
27Terry HuxholdTerry HuxholdTackleWisconsin
28Bryant HarvardBryant HarvardQuarterbackAuburn
29Ernie McMillanErnie McMillanTackleIllinois
30George HultzGeorge HultzTackleMississippi Southern

Game-by-game results
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
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

Standings
AFL Eastern Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
Houston Oilers 1031.7694–1–1513242W9
Boston Patriots 941.6922–3–1413313W4
New York Titans 770.5003–3301390L2
Buffalo Bills 680.4292–4294342L1

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

Roster

All of the following players appeared in at least one game for the 1961 Boston Patriots.

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 Number 20 retired by the Patriots
Jim Colclough WR
Jim Crawford FB/HB
Walt Cudzik C/LB
Bob Dee DE/DT Number 89 retired by the Patriots
Jerry DeLucca T/DT
Larry Eisenhauer DE Rookie
Larry Garron HB
Milt Graham T/DT Rookie
Ron Hall DB
Jim Hunt DT/DE Number 79 retired by the 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
Charlie Long 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
Gerard Swedes HB
Chuck Shonta DB
John Simmerson C
Bob Soltis DB
Butch Singin QB
Thomas Stephens TE/DB
Paper Towns DB
Clyde Washington DB/P
Don Webb DB Rookie
Rob Yates T/C Rookie
Tom Yewcic QB/P/HB Rookie
Players new to the team in 1961 are in bold.

Notes and references

General references
  • "1961 Boston Patriots". Football @ JT-SW.com. John Troan. 2002. Retrieved April 11, 2007.. For game-by-game results
  • "1961 Boston Patriots Roster". Football @ JT-SW.com. John Troan. 2002. Archived from the original on April 25, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007.. For team roster
  • "New England Patriots (1960–present)". Sports E-cyclopedia. Tank Productions. 2007. Archived from the original on April 17, 2007. Retrieved April 11, 2007.. For season summary

Footnoted references
  1. "Holovak shocked". The Telegraph. (Nashua, New Hampshire). Associated Press. October 11, 1961. p. 20.
  2. "Pats toast of Boston". The Telegraph. (Nashua, New Hampshire). Associated Press. December 18, 1961. p. 17.
  3. "AFC east helmets". The Helmet Project. 2007. Archived from the original on April 2, 2007. Retrieved April 12, 2007.
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