| 1961 Houston Oilers season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bud Adams |
| General manager | Don Suman |
| Head coach | Lou Rymkus (1–3–1, fired) and Wally Lemm (9–0) |
| Home field | Jeppesen Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–3–1 |
| Division place | 1st AFL Eastern |
| Playoff finish | Won AFL Championship (at Chargers) 10–3 |
The 1961 Houston Oilers season was the second season for the Houston Oilers as a professional American football franchise; For the second consecutive season, the Oilers scored a triumph in the AFL championship game over the San Diego Chargers (12–2), the Western Division champions.[1][2][3]
The Oilers started slowly in 1961, with a 1–3–1 record. After a tie on October 13 with the Boston Patriots, head coach Lou Rymkus was fired by owner Bud Adams. Wally Lemm was hired,[4] and the team went undefeated for the remainder of the season, including the championship game, a winning streak of ten games.
The Oilers set the AFL record for points scored in 1961, with 513 (36.6 points per game).[5] They also set an American Football League record with a +271 point differential, by allowing only 242 points.[6] The 1961 Oilers are the only team in AFL or NFL history to score 45 points or more six times in a single season.[7]
On January 14, end Willard Dewveall played out his option with the Chicago Bears of the NFL and joined the Oilers.[8] He became the first player to move deliberately from one league to another.[9] Dewveall was the only one to move between leagues for five years, until placekicker Pete Gogolak moved from the Buffalo Bills to the New York Giants of the NFL in 1966.[10]
|
Main article: 1961 American Football League draft |
| Round | Player | Position | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mike Ditka | Offensive End | Pittsburgh |
| 2 | Tom Goode | Center | Mississippi State |
| 3 | Walter Suggs 1 | Tackle | Mississippi State |
| 4 | Bobby Walden | Halfback | Georgia |
| 5 | Monte Lee | Linebacker | Texas |
| 6 | Jake Gibbs | Quarterback | Mississippi |
| 7 | Dick Reynolds | Tackle | North Carolina State |
| 8 | Houston Antwine 1,2 | Guard | Southern Illinois |
| 9 | Ralph White | Tackle | Bowling Green |
| 10 | Charles Lee | Center | Iowa |
| 11 | Robert Bird | Guard | Bowling Green |
| 12 | Bob McLeod | Offensive End | Abilene Christian |
| 13 | Gerald Hinton | Guard | Louisiana Tech |
| 14 | Jimmy King | Tackle | Clemson |
| 15 | Dennis Ferriter | Center | Marquette |
| 16 | Larry Wood | Halfback | Northwestern |
| 17 | Sam Fewell | Tackle | South Carolina |
| 18 | Mike Grimsley | Halfback | Michigan State |
| 19 | Myron Pearson | Halfback | Colorado |
| 20 | Lewis Johnson | Halfback | Florida A&M |
| 21 | Ron Miller | Quarterback | Wisconsin |
| 22 | Bob Kelly | Offensive End | New Mexico State |
| 23 | James Anderson | Fullback | Mississippi |
| 24 | Ken Gregory | Offensive End | Whittier |
| 25 | Jack Kreider | Halfback | Tulsa |
| 26 | Don Fuell | Quarterback | Mississippi Southern |
| 27 | Boyd King | Center | Rice |
| 28 | John Frongillo | Center | Baylor |
| 29 | Tom Lewis | Offensive End | Wake Forest |
| 29 | Errol Linden | Defensive end | Houston |
| 30 | Jim Stroud | Tackle | Rice |
| AFL Eastern Division | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | DIV | PF | PA | STK | ||
| Houston Oilers | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 4–1–1 | 513 | 242 | W9 | |
| Boston Patriots | 9 | 4 | 1 | .692 | 2–3–1 | 413 | 313 | W4 | |
| New York Titans | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 3–3 | 301 | 390 | L2 | |
| Buffalo Bills | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 2–4 | 294 | 342 | L1 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings in the AFL.
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Game Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 9 | Oakland Raiders | W 55–0 | 1–0 | Jeppesen Stadium | 16,231 | Recap |
| 2 | Bye | ||||||
| 3 | September 24 | at San Diego Chargers | L 24–34 | 1–1 | Balboa Stadium | 29,210 | Recap |
| 4 | October 1 | at Dallas Texans | L 21–26 | 1–2 | Cotton Bowl | 28,000 | Recap |
| 5 | October 8 | Buffalo Bills | L 12–22 | 1–3 | Jeppesen Stadium | 22,761 | Recap |
| 6 | October 13 | at Boston Patriots | T 31–31 | 1–3–1 | Boston University Field | 15,070 | Recap |
| 7 | October 22 | Dallas Texans | W 38–7 | 2–3–1 | Jeppesen Stadium | 21,237 | Recap |
| 8 | October 29 | at Buffalo Bills | W 28–16 | 3–3–1 | War Memorial Stadium | 23,228 | Recap |
| 9 | November 5 | at Denver Broncos | W 55–14 | 4–3–1 | Bears Stadium | 11,564 | Recap |
| 10 | November 12 | Boston Patriots | W 27–15 | 5–3–1 | Jeppesen Stadium | 35,649 | Recap |
| 11 | November 19 | New York Titans | W 49–13 | 6–3–1 | Jeppesen Stadium | 33,428 | Recap |
| 12 | November 26 | Denver Broncos | W 45–14 | 7–3–1 | Jeppesen Stadium | 27,864 | Recap |
| 13 | December 3 | San Diego Chargers | W 33–13 | 8–3–1 | Jeppesen Stadium | 37,845 | Recap |
| 14 | December 10 | at New York Titans | W 48–21 | 9–3–1 | Polo Grounds | 9,462 | Recap |
| 15 | December 17 | at Oakland Raiders | W 47–16 | 10–3–1 | Candlestick Park | 4,821 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. | |||||||
| 1961 Houston Oilers roster | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
|
Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
|
Linebackers
Defensive backs
|
Reserve lists
Practice squad rookies in italics | |||
|
Main article: 1961 American Football League Championship Game |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Championship | December 24 | San Diego Chargers | W 10–3 | Balboa Stadium | 29,556 | Recap |
|
Main article: 1961 American Football League Championship Game |
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oilers | 0 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| Chargers | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
Houston Oilers 10, San Diego Chargers 3
Scoring