1961 Green Bay Packers season

1961 Green Bay Packers season
Head coach	Vince Lombardi
General manager	Vince Lombardi
Home field	City Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record	11–3
Division place	1st NFL Western
Playoff finish	Won NFL Championship

The 1961 Green Bay Packers season was their 42nd season in the National Football League. The club posted an 11–3 record under coach Vince Lombardi, earning them a first-place finish in the Western Conference. The Packers ended the season by defeating the New York Giants 37–0 in the NFL Championship Game, the first title game ever played in Green Bay. This was the Packers 7th NFL league championship.

The 1961 season was the first in which the Packers wore their trademark capital "G" logo on their helmets.^[1]

Offseason

NFL Draft

Round	Pick	Player	Position	School
1	12	Herb Adderley	Cornerback	Michigan State
2	26	Ron Kostelnik	Defensive Tackle	Cincinnati
3	40	Phil Nugent	Back	Tulane
4	54	Paul Dudley	Back	Arkansas
4	56	Joe LeSage	Guard	Tulane
5	68	Jack Novak	Guard	Miami (FL)
6	82	Lee Folkins	Tight End	Washington
7	96	Lewis Johnson	Back	Florida A&M
9	124	Vester Flanagan	Tackle	Humboldt State
10	138	Buck McLeod	Tackle	Baylor
11	152	Val Keckin	Back	Southern Miss
12	166	John Denvir	Tackle	Colorado
13	180	Elijah Pitts	Halfback	Philander Smith
14	194	Nelson Toburen	Linebacker	Wichita State
15	208	Ray Lardani	Tackle	Miami (FL)
16	222	Clarence Mason	End	Bowling Green
17	236	Jim Brewington	Tackle	North Carolina Central
18	250	Arthur Sims	Back	Texas A&M
19	264	Leland Bondhus	Tackle	South Dakota State
20	278	Ray Ratkowski	Back	Notre Dame

Green indicates a future Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee
Yellow indicates a future Pro Bowl selection

Personnel

Staff

1961 Green Bay Packers staff

Front office

President – Dominic Olejniczak
Director of Player Personnel – Dick Voris

Head coaches

Head Coach – Vince Lombardi

Offensive coaches

Offensive Backs – Red Cochran
Ends – Dick Voris
Offensive Line – Bill Austin

Defensive coaches

Defensive Line – Phil Bengtson
Defensive Backs – Norb Hecker

^[2]

Roster

1961 Green Bay Packers final roster

Quarterbacks

10 John Roach
15 Bart Starr

Running backs

Wide receivers

Tight ends

Offensive linemen

Defensive linemen

Linebackers

Defensive backs

Special teams

Reserve lists

Practice squad

Rookies in italics
Active, Inactive, Practice squad

Depth chart

Defense

CB
Herb Adderley
⋅

CB
Jesse Whittenton
⋅

Offense

FL
Boyd Dowler
⋅

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Bob Skoronski	Fuzzy Thurston	Jim Ringo	Jerry Kramer	Forrest Gregg
⋅	⋅	⋅	⋅	Norm Masters

TE
Ron Kramer
⋅

SE
Max McGee
⋅

QB
Bart Starr
⋅

RB
Paul Hornung
⋅

FB
Jim Taylor
⋅

Special Teams
PK Paul Hornung
P Boyd Dowler
KR Herb Adderley
PR Willie Wood

Preseason

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Score	Game site	TV	Time	Record	Attendance
1	August 11, 1961	@ Dallas Cowboys	W	30–7	Cotton Bowl		9:00 PM CDT	1–0	30,000
2	August 18, 1961	@ St. Louis Cardinals	W	31–10	Sportsman's Park		8:30 PM CDT	2–0	31,056
3	August 26, 1961	Chicago Bears	W	24–14	Milwaukee County Stadium		8:00 PM CDT	3–0	42,560
4	September 4, 1961	New York Giants	W	20–17	City Stadium		8:00 PM CDT	4–0	33,452
5	September 9, 1961	vs. Washington Redskins (at Columbus, Georgia)	W	31–24	A. J. McClung Memorial Stadium		8:00 PM CDT	5–0	18,000

All times are CENTRAL time

Regular season

Despite being named NFL MVP, Paul Hornung was briefly lost to the military. In response to the construction of the Berlin Wall, the United States Department of Defense activated thousands of reservists. Two dozen football players were activated, including Paul Hornung, Boyd Dowler and Ray Nitschke.^[3] On November 14, Hornung was to report to Fort Riley in Kansas.^[4] Wisconsin residents were so upset that Republican senator Alexander Wiley and Democratic congressman Clement Zablocki requested deferments for the players.^[5] On October 18, the final word was that the players had to serve. Hornung missed the November 19 game against the Los Angeles Rams. He was flown from Fort Riley to Detroit for the November 23 Thanksgiving Day game against the Detroit Lions.^[6] Hornung would score a field goal and two extra points in the 17–9 victory.^[7]

Schedule

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Score	Game site	TV	Time	Record	Attendance
1	September 17, 1961	Detroit Lions	L	13–17	Milwaukee County Stadium	CBS	12:30 PM CDT	0–1	44,307
2	September 24, 1961	San Francisco 49ers	W	30–10	City Stadium	CBS	1:00 PM CDT	1–1	38,669
3	October 1, 1961	Chicago Bears	W	24–0	City Stadium	CBS	1:00 PM CDT	2–1	38,669
4	October 8, 1961	Baltimore Colts	W	45–7	City Stadium	CBS	1:00 PM CDT	3–1	38,669
5	October 15, 1961	at Cleveland Browns	W	49–17	Cleveland Stadium	CBS	1:00 PM CDT	4–1	75,042
6	October 22, 1961	at Minnesota Vikings	W	33–7	Metropolitan Stadium	CBS	1:30 PM CDT	5–1	42,007
7	October 29, 1961	Minnesota Vikings	W	28–10	Milwaukee County Stadium	CBS	1:00 PM CST	6–1	44,112
8	November 5, 1961	at Baltimore Colts	L	21–45	Memorial Stadium	CBS	1:00 PM CST	6–2	57,641
9	November 12, 1961	at Chicago Bears	W	31–28	Wrigley Field	CBS	1:00 PM CST	7–2	49,711
10	November 19, 1961	Los Angeles Rams	W	35–17	City Stadium	CBS	1:00 PM CST	8–2	38,669
11	November 23, 1961	at Detroit Lions	W	17–9	Tiger Stadium	CBS	11:00 AM CST	9–2	55,662
12	December 3, 1961	New York Giants	W	20–17	Milwaukee County Stadium	CBS	1:00 PM CST	10–2	47,012
13	December 10, 1961	at San Francisco 49ers	L	21–22	Kezar Stadium	CBS	3:30 PM CST	10–3	55,722
14	December 17, 1961	at Los Angeles Rams	W	24–17	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum	CBS	3:30 PM CST	11–3	49,169

All times are CENTRAL time

Season summary

Week 1: vs. Detroit

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Lions	7	7	0	3	17
Packers	7	3	0	3	13

Date: September 17
Location: Milwaukee County Stadium, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Game attendance: 44,307
Game weather: 72 °F (22 °C), wind 9 mph

Scoring summary

1	GB	Jim Taylor 1-yard run (Paul Hornung kick)	Packers 7–0

1	DET	Nick Pietrosante 1-yard run (Jim Martin kick)	Tied 7–7

2	DET	Nick Pietrosante 15-yard run (Jim Martin kick)	Lions 14–7

2	GB	Paul Hornung 15-yard field goal	Lions 14–10

4	GB	Paul Hornung 26-yard field goal	Lions 14–13

4	DET	Jim Martin 44-yard field goal	Lions 17–13

^[8]

Week 11: at Detroit

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Packers	0	7	0	10	17
Lions	3	3	3	0	9

Date: November 23
Location: Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan
Game attendance: 55,662
Game weather: 44 °F (7 °C), wind 8 mph

Scoring summary

1	DET	Jim Martin 13-yard field goal	Lions 3–0

2	DET	Jim Martin 34-yard field goal	Lions 6–0

2	GB	Jim Taylor 1-yard run (Paul Hornung kick)	Packers 7–6

3	DET	Jim Martin 16-yard field goal	Lions 9–7

4	GB	Jim Taylor 1-yard run (Paul Hornung kick)	Packers 14–9

4	GB	Paul Hornung 9-yard field goal	Packers 17–9

^[9]

Playoffs

Round	Date	Opponent	Result	Score	Game site	TV	Radio	Time	Attendance
NFL Championship	December 31, 1961	New York Giants	W	37–0	City Stadium	NBC	NBC	1:00 PM CST	39,029

All times are CENTRAL time

Game summary

1961 NFL Championship Game vs. New York

	1	2	3	4	Total
Giants	0	0	0	0	0
• Packers	0	24	10	3	37

Date: December 31
Location: City Stadium, Green Bay, Wisconsin
Game attendance: 39,029
Game weather: 17 °F (−8 °C), wind 10 mph

Scoring summary

2	GB	Paul Hornung 6-yard run (Paul Hornung kick)	Packers 7–0

2	GB	Boyd Dowler 13-yard pass from Bart Starr (Paul Hornung kick)	Packers 14–0

2	GB	Ron Kramer 14-yard pass from Bart Starr (Paul Hornung kick)	Packers 21–0

2	GB	Paul Hornung 17-yard field goal	Packers 24–0

3	GB	Paul Hornung 22-yard field goal	Packers 27–0

3	GB	Ron Kramer 13-yard pass from Bart Starr (Paul Hornung kick)	Packers 34–0

4	GB	Paul Hornung 19-yard field goal	Packers 37–0

^[10]

Standings

NFL Western Conference
	W	L	T	PCT	CONF	PF	PA	STK
Green Bay Packers	11	3	0	.786	9–3	391	223	W1
Detroit Lions	8	5	1	.615	7–4–1	270	258	L1
Chicago Bears	8	6	0	.571	7–5	326	302	W2
Baltimore Colts	8	6	0	.571	6–6	302	307	W1
San Francisco 49ers	7	6	1	.538	6–5–1	346	272	L1
Los Angeles Rams	4	10	0	.286	3–9	263	333	L1
Minnesota Vikings	3	11	0	.214	3–9	285	407	L2

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

Stats

Passing

Rushing

Receiving

Kicking

Punting

Kick Return

Punt Return

Interception

Team

Total Yards and Turnovers	Passing	Rushing

Awards and records

Paul Hornung, NFL MVP
Paul Hornung, Bert Bell Award^[11]

References

↑ Gridiron Uniform Database: Green Bay Packers
↑ "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 284, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 286, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 285, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 287, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 288, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com Retrieved August 20, 2015.
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com Retrieved August 20, 2015.
↑ Pro-Football-Reference.com Retrieved April 21, 2013.
↑ http://www.maxwellfootballclub.org/content/awards/bell/past_bell.htm

Sportsencyclopedia.com

Green Bay Packers seasons

1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 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 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Bold indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl victory Italics indicates NFL Championship or Super Bowl appearance

Green Bay Packers 1961 NFL champions

Green Bay Packers

Founded in 1919 Based and headquartered in Green Bay, Wisconsin

Franchise	Franchise Team history Green Bay Packers, Inc. Board of Directors

Records	Seasons Coaches Players A–D E–K L–R S–Z Starting quarterbacks Pro Football Hall of Famers Retired numbers First-round draft picks Records Pro Bowlers Stadiums

Stadiums	Hagemeister Park Bellevue Park City Stadium Borchert Field Wisconsin State Fair Park Marquette Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium Lambeau Field

Training Facilities	Don Hutson Center Clarke Hinkle Field Ray Nitschke Field St. Norbert College (training camp) Rockwood Lodge (former)

Culture	Cheesehead Lambeau Leap Hall of Fame Packers Fan Hall of Fame "Bang the Drum All Day" Cheerleaders Fight song Lumberjack Band Pigskin Champions Vernon Biever Hungry Five George Whitney Calhoun The Dope Sheet Curly Lambeau Vince Lombardi Ron Wolf Lombardi Pitch Perfect 2 Packers Heritage Trail Packers Pro Shop

Lore	Dolly Gray impostor The Ice Bowl The Snow Bowl Instant Replay Game 4th and 26 Fail Mary Miracle in Motown

Division championships (22)	1936 1938 1939 1944 1960 1961 1962 1965 1966 1967 1972 1995 1996 1997 2002 2003 2004 2007 2011 2012 2013 2014

Conference championships (9)	1960 1961 1962 1965 1966 1967 1996 1997 2010

League championships (13^†)	1929 1930 1931 1936 1939 1944 1961 1962 1965 1966 (I) 1967 (II) 1996 (XXXI) 2010 (XLV) ^† does not include 1966 or 1967 NFL championships

Retired numbers	3 4 14 15 66 92

Rivalries	Chicago Bears Detroit Lions Minnesota Vikings

Broadcasters	Radio: Packers Radio Network WTMJ WKTI-HD2 WIXX WTAQ Television (pre-season & official in-season team programming): WGBA-TV WTMJ-TV Personnel: Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) Larry McCarren (color/analysis)

Current league affiliations	League: National Football League (1921–present) Conference: National Football Conference Division: North Division

Seasons (97)	1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 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 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

Championship seasons in bold

1961 NFL season

Eastern Conference	Cleveland	Pittsburgh	Baltimore	Los Angeles	Western Conference
	Dallas	St. Louis	Chicago	Minnesota
	New York	Washington	Detroit	San Francisco
	Philadelphia		Green Bay

Related: 1961 AFL Season

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 11/30/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.