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1961 Buffalo Bills season

2nd season in franchise history

1961 Buffalo Bills season

2nd season in franchise history

FieldValue
teamBuffalo Bills
year1961
record6–8
division_place4th Eastern
coachBuster Ramsey
ownerRalph Wilson
stadiumWar Memorial Stadium
playoffsDid not qualify
shortnavlinkBills seasons

The 1961 Buffalo Bills season was the team's second year 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; they played their final five games of the season on the road.

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.

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.

Middle linebacker Archie Matsos was 1st-Team All-AFL for the second consecutive year, as was defensive tackle Chuck McMurtry. Defensive tackle LaVerne Torczon was 2nd-Team All-AFL in 1961.

Offseason

AFL draft

Main article: 1961 American Football League draft

= All-AFL
RoundPlayerPositionCollege
1Ken RiceTackleAuburn
2Billy ShawTackleGeorgia Tech
3Art BakerFullbackSyracuse (from New York)
3Tom GilburgTackleSyracuse
4Stew BarberTacklePenn State
5Norm Snead*QuarterbackWake Forest
6Fred BrownHalfbackGeorgia
7Albert BemillerCenterSyracuse
8Charles LinningTackleMiami
9William MajorsHalfbackTennessee
10Don KernHalfbackVMI
11Roy WallHalfbackNorth Carolina
12Floyd PowersGuardMississippi State
13Tom CauseyOffensive endLouisiana Tech
14Ron Kostelnik*TackleCincinnati
15Jerry FryeOffensive endSouth Carolina
16Vincent ScottOffensive endMaryland
17Wayne WolffTackleWake Forest
18John BodkinGuardSouth Carolina
19Charley BarnesOffensive endNE Louisiana State
20Everett CloudHalfbackMaryland
21Larry VargoOffensive endDetroit
22Charles BakerTackleTennessee
23William MackHalfbackNotre Dame
24Frank JackunasCenterDetroit
25Jack HarbaughHalfbackBowling Green
26Lorenzo StanfordTackleNorth Carolina A & I
27Bob AllenOffensive endWake Forest
28Jason HarnessOffensive endMichigan State
29Mike StockHalfbackNorthwestern
30William MartinHalfbackMinnesota

1961 Preseason

The 1961 preseason was notable for the Bills as they became the only AFL (or NFL) team to lose to a CFL team, and it was the last game between the CFL and AFL/NFL met in history.

Buffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"WeekBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"DateBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"OpponentBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"ResultBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"RecordBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"VenueBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"Attendance1234
August 8at Hamilton Tiger-CatsL 21–380–1Hamilton Civic Stadium12,000
August 18Dallas TexansL 26–350–2War Memorial Stadium11,166
August 25at Boston PatriotsL 10–280–3Mt. Pleasant Stadium (Providence, RI)4,762
September 1Boston PatriotsL 12–150–4War Memorial Stadium17,071

1961 Regular Season

Buffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"WeekBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"DateBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"OpponentBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"ResultBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"RecordBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"VenueBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"AttendanceBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"RecapBuffalo Billsyear=1961border=2}}"Sources1234567891011121314
September 10Denver BroncosL 10–220–1War Memorial Stadium16,636Recap
September 17New York TitansW 41–311–1War Memorial Stadium15,584Recap
September 23Boston PatriotsL 21–231–2War Memorial Stadium21,504Recap
September 30San Diego ChargersL 11–191–3War Memorial Stadium20,742Recap
October 8at Houston OilersW 22–122–3Jeppesen Stadium22,761Recap
October 15Dallas TexansW 27–243–3War Memorial Stadium20,678Recap
October 22at Boston PatriotsL 21–523–4Boston University Field9,398Recap
October 29Houston OilersL 16–283–5War Memorial Stadium21,237Recap
November 5Oakland RaidersL 22–313–6War Memorial Stadium17,027Recap
November 12at Dallas TexansW 30–204–6Cotton Bowl15,000Recap
November 19at Denver BroncosW 23–105–6Bears Stadium7,645Recap
November 23at New York TitansL 14–215–7Polo Grounds12,023Recap
December 3at Oakland RaidersW 26–216–7Candlestick Park8,011Recap
December 10at San Diego ChargersL 10–286–8Balboa Stadium24,486Recap
Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

Standings

Program for the October 29 game against the visiting Houston Oilers.

Personnel

Staff

Buffalo Bills 60thru61border=2}};"1961 Buffalo Bills staff

Final roster

Buffalo Bills 60thru61border=2}};"1961 Buffalo Bills roster
Quarterbacks
*Note: rookies in italics

References

References

  1. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/buf/1961.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1961 Buffalo Bills]
  2. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1961_AFL/leaders.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1961 AFL Leaders and Leaderboards]
  3. [https://www.pro-football-reference.com/years/1961_AFL/probowl.htm Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1961 AFL Pro Bowlers]
  4. Players are identified as All-AFL if they were selected to the All-AFL at any time in their career.
  5. All-AFL 1961
  6. 8× AFL All-Star
  7. 5× AFL All-Star
  8. 4× [[National Football League. NFL]] [[Pro Bowl]]er for [[Washington Redskins]], [[Philadelphia Eagles]] and [[New York Giants]]
  9. 1965 AFL All-Star
  10. Inducted into [[Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame]] (NFL) in 1989
  11. "Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Buffalo Bills, August 8, 1961".
  12. ''NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book'', Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, {{ISBN. 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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