1961 Buffalo Bills season
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1961 Buffalo Bills season
| 1961 Buffalo Bills season | |||||||
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| Head coach | Garrard "Buster" Ramsey | ||||||
| Owner | Ralph Wilson | ||||||
| Home field | War Memorial Stadium | ||||||
| Results | |||||||
| Record | 6–8 | ||||||
| Division Place | 4th Eastern | ||||||
| Playoff finish | did not qualify | ||||||
| Timeline | |||||||
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The 1961 Buffalo Bills was the team's second season in the American Football League. The Bills played in the Eastern division, winning six games, losing eight, and missing the postseason.
The Bills didn't have a winning record at any point in the season, and they played their final five games of the season on the road.
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Contents
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Season summary
The Bills had a problematic quarterback situation, with former Redskin M.C. Reynolds, second-year Bills QB Johnny Green and ex-Lion Warren Rabb all struggling at the passer position. None completed more than 46% of their passes, and only Reynolds had a winning record (2-1) and threw for more than 1,000 yards.[1]
Punter Billy Atkins led the league in punts, with 85; he also led the league with 44.5 yards per punt. Atkins also played safety for the Bills in 1961, and led the league with 10 interceptions, and was 2nd-Team All-AFL on defense.[2]
Middle linebacker Archie Matsos was 1st-Team All-AFL for the second consecutive year, as did defensive tackle Chuck McMurtry. Defensive tackle LaVerne Torczon was 2nd-Team All-AFL in 1961.[3]
Offseason
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Personnel
Staff
| 1961 Buffalo Bills staff | ||||||
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Front Office
Head Coaches
Offensive Coaches
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Defensive Coaches
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AFL Draft
Main article: 1961 American Football League Draft
The Bills amassed a great deal of talent on their offensive line in the 1961 draft. Four of their first seven picks -- Rice, Shaw, Barber and Bemiller, all offensive linemen -- would go on to make at least one All-AFL team in the next five years. This draft would form the nucleus for the Bills' power running game over the next five years.
Rice was All-AFL as a rookie in 1961.
| = All-AFL [4] |
| Round | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ken Rice[5] | Tackle | Auburn |
| 2 | Billy Shaw[6] | Tackle | Georgia Tech |
| 3 | Art Baker | Fullback | Syracuse (from New York) |
| 3 | Tom Gilburg | Tackle | Syracuse |
| 4 | Stew Barber [7] | Tackle | Penn State |
| 5 | Norm Snead*[8] | ||
| 6 | Fred Brown | Halfback | Georgia |
| 7 | Albert Bemiller [9] | Center | Syracuse |
| 8 | Charles Linning | Tackle | Miami |
| 9 | William Majors | Halfback | Tennessee |
| 10 | Don Kern | Halfback | VMI |
| 11 | Roy Wall | Halfback | North Carolina |
| 12 | Floyd Powers | Guard | Mississippi State |
| 13 | Tom Causey | Offensive end | Louisiana Tech |
| 14 | Ron Kostelnik*[10] | Tackle | Cincinnati |
| 15 | Jerry Frye | Offensive end | South Carolina |
| 16 | Vincent Scott | Offensive end | Maryland |
| 17 | Wayne Wolff | Tackle | Wake Forest |
| 18 | John Bodkin | Guard | South Carolina |
| 19 | Charley Barnes | Offensive end | NE Louisiana State |
| 20 | Everett Cloud | Halfback | Maryland |
| 21 | Larry Vargo | Offensive end | Detroit |
| 22 | Charles Baker | Tackle | Tennessee |
| 23 | William Mack | Halfback | Notre Dame |
| 24 | Frank Jackunas | Center | Detroit |
| 25 | Jack Harbaugh | Halfback | Bowling Green |
| 26 | Lorenzo Stanford | Tackle | North Carolina A & I |
| 27 | Bob Allen | Offensive end | Wake Forest |
| 28 | Jason Harness | Offensive end | Michigan State |
| 29 | Mike Stock | Halfback | Northwestern |
| 30 | William Martin | Halfback | Minnesota |
Divisional standings
| Eastern Division | ||||||
| Team | W | L | T | PCT | PF | PA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| *Houston Oilers | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 513 | 242 |
| Boston Patriots | 9 | 4 | 1 | .692 | 413 | 313 |
| New York Titans | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 301 | 390 |
| Buffalo Bills | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 294 | 342 |
Game-by-game results
Preseason
| Week | Opponent | Result | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats (CFL) | L 38–21 [11] | Ivor Wynne Stadium |
Regular season
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Stadium | Record | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 10, 1961 | Denver Broncos | L 22–10 | War Memorial Stadium | 0–1 |
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| 2 | September 17, 1961 | New York Titans | W 41–31 | War Memorial Stadium | 1–1 |
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| 3 | September 23, 1961 | Boston Patriots | L 23–21 | War Memorial Stadium | 1–2 |
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| 4 | September 30, 1961 | San Diego Chargers | L 19–11 | War Memorial Stadium | 1–3 |
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| 5 | October 8, 1961 | at Houston Oilers | W 22–12 | Jeppesen Stadium | 2–3 |
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| 6 | October 15, 1961 | Dallas Texans | W 27–24 | War Memorial Stadium | 3–3 |
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| 7 | October 22, 1961 | at Boston Patriots | L 52–21 | Boston University Field | 3–4 |
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| 8 | October 29, 1961 | Houston Oilers | L 28–16 | War Memorial Stadium | 3–5 |
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| 9 | November 5, 1961 | Oakland Raiders | L 31–22 | War Memorial Stadium | 3–6 |
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| 10 | November 12, 1961 | at Dallas Texans | W 30–20 | Cotton Bowl | 4–6 |
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| 11 | November 19, 1961 | at Denver Broncos | W 23–10 | Bears Stadium | 5–6 |
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| 12 | November 23, 1961 | at New York Titans | L 21–14 | Polo Grounds | 5–7 |
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| 13 | December 3, 1961 | at Oakland Raiders | W 26–21 | Candlestick Park | 6–7 |
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| 14 | December 10, 1961 | at San Diego Chargers | L 28–10 | Balboa Stadium | 6–8 |
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Final roster
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This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. |
References
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1961 Buffalo Bills
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1961 AFL Leaders and Leaderboards
- ^ Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1961 AFL Pro Bowlers
- ^ Players are identified as All-AFL if they were selected to the All-AFL at any time in their career.
- ^ All-AFL 1961
- ^ 8x AFL All-Star
- ^ 5x AFL All-Star
- ^ 4x NFL Pro Bowler for Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants || Quarterback || Wake Forest
- ^ 1965 AFL All-Star
- ^ Inducted into Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame (NFL) in 1989
- ^ NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York,NY, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369
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| 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 |
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