| 1961 Philadelphia Eagles season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Happy Hundred |
| Head coach | Nick Skorich |
| Home field | Franklin Field |
| Results | |
| Record | 10–4 |
| Division place | 2nd NFL Eastern |
| Playoff finish | Lost NFL Playoff Bowl (vs. Lions) 10–38 |
The 1961 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's twenty-ninth season in the National Football League.
Since 1951, the Eagles have held their training camp at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania.
The 1961 NFL Draft and the 1961 AFL Draft were separate drafts, and players could end up being drafted by both leagues.
The 1961 NFL Draft, which involved fourteen teams choosing college players during twenty rounds, took place on December 27 and 28, 1960. It occurred after the Eagles' win in the NFL Championship Game on December 26.
The Eagles picked last as a result of the team's 10–2 season record in 1960. This was due to the rule at that time that teams be assigned their respective ranks in the selection process based on their previous season records. This meant that the Cleveland Browns picked ahead of the NFL runner-up, the Green Bay Packers.
This draft was also the first regular draft for the Dallas Cowboys, which had participated only in the 1960 NFL Expansion Draft that year. The Cowboys held the worst record in the NFL the previous season, but selected second in this draft due to the entry of the Minnesota Vikings into the league. The league also held a later expansion draft for the Vikings' franchise, which was awarded the first selection position in that draft.
The AFL draft was held on two dates that were two weeks apart at the end of the 1960 college season. Conducted prior to the bowl games, the first was a six-round draft held by phone. The second was held on December 5 and 6, 1960 for rounds seven through thirty. The Denver Broncos selected New Mexico State's Bob Gaiters as the overall first draft pick.
The Philadelphia Eagles lost its first-round pick to the AFL for the second year. About half of the Eagles' nineteen picks either signed with the AFL or remained in college to play their last year of eligibility.
| = Pro Bowler [1] | = AFL All-Star[2] | = Hall of Famer |
| Rd | PICK | PLAYER | POS | SCHOOL | AFL | Rd | Pick | Signed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 14 | Art Baker | Fullback | Syracuse | Buffalo Bills from New York |
3rd | Buffalo | ||
| 2 | 28 | Bo Strange | Center | Louisiana State | Denver Broncos | 3rd | |||
| 3 | 36 | Jim Wright | Quarterback | Memphis State | New York | 1 | Dallas Texans | ||
| 3 | 42 | Don Oakes | Tackle | Virginia Tech | Boston Patriots | 21 | 162 | Eagles | |
| 4 | 53 | Dan Ficca | Guard | USC | San Diego | 29 | 162 | Oakland Raiders | |
| 4 | 56 | Pick taken by Green Bay | |||||||
| 5 | 70 | Pick taken by Detroit Lions | |||||||
| 6 | 84 | Ben Balme | Guard | Yale | |||||
| 7 | 98 | Irv Cross | Back | Northwestern | New York | 15 | 117 | Eagles | |
| 8 | 112 | Jim Beaver | Guard | Florida | |||||
| 9 | 126 | Wayne Fontes[3] | Running back | Michigan State | New York | 22 | 173 | New York Titans | |
| 10 | 140 | Luther Hayes | End | USC | San Diego | 27 | 215 | San Diego Chargers | |
| 11 | 154 | L.E. Hicks | Tackle | Florida | |||||
| 12 | 168 | Billy Majors[4] | Back | Tennessee | Buffalo Bills | 9 | 67 | Buffalo | |
| 13 | 182 | Don Jonas | Quarterback | Penn State | Eagles 1962 season then career in CFL | ||||
| 14 | 196 | Willie Fleming | Running back | Iowa | signed with BC Lions of CFL in 1959 | ||||
| 15 | 210 | Bobby Richards | Tackle | Louisiana State | Eagles 1962 season | ||||
| 16 | 224 | G. W. Clapp | Guard | Auburn | |||||
| 17 | 238 | Larry Lavery | Tackle | Illinois | |||||
| 18 | 252 | Nick Maravich | Tackle | North Carolina State | |||||
| 19 | 266 | Dick Wilson | Center | Penn State | |||||
| 20 | 280[5] | Jacque MacKinnon[6] | Back | Colgate |
|
Main article: 1961 NFL season |
| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | September 17 | Cleveland Browns | W 27–20 | 1–0 | Franklin Field | 60,671 |
| 2 | September 24 | Washington Redskins | W 14–7 | 2–0 | Franklin Field | 50,108 |
| 3 | October 1 | St. Louis Cardinals | L 27–30 | 2–1 | Franklin Field | 59,399 |
| 4 | October 8 | Pittsburgh Steelers | W 21–16 | 3–1 | Franklin Field | 60,671 |
| 5 | October 15 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 20–7 | 4–1 | Busch Stadium | 20,262 |
| 6 | October 22 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 43–7 | 5–1 | Cotton Bowl | 25,000 |
| 7 | October 29 | at Washington Redskins | W 27–24 | 6–1 | D.C. Stadium | 31,066 |
| 8 | November 5 | Chicago Bears | W 16–14 | 7–1 | Franklin Field | 60,671 |
| 9 | November 12 | at New York Giants | L 21–38 | 7–2 | Yankee Stadium | 62,800 |
| 10 | November 19 | at Cleveland Browns | L 24–45 | 7–3 | Cleveland Municipal Stadium | 68,399 |
| 11 | November 26 | Dallas Cowboys | W 35–13 | 8–3 | Franklin Field | 60,127 |
| 12 | December 3 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | W 35–24 | 9–3 | Forbes Field | 21,653 |
| 13 | December 10 | New York Giants | L 24–28 | 9–4 | Franklin Field | 60,671 |
| 14 | December 17 | at Detroit Lions | W 27–24 | 10–4 | Tiger Stadium | 44,231 |
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.
| NFL Eastern Conference | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK | ||
| New York Giants | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 9–2–1 | 368 | 220 | T1 | |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 8–4 | 361 | 297 | W1 | |
| Cleveland Browns | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 8–3–1 | 319 | 270 | T1 | |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 7–5 | 279 | 267 | W3 | |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 5–7 | 295 | 287 | L1 | |
| Dallas Cowboys | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 2–9–1 | 236 | 380 | L4 | |
| Washington Redskins | 1 | 12 | 1 | .077 | 1–10–1 | 174 | 392 | W1 | |
Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
|
Main article: Playoff Bowl |
| Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Venue | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Playoff Bowl | January 6, 1962 | Detroit Lions | L 10–38 | Orange Bowl | 25,612 |