1961 VPI Gobblers football
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record4–5 (2–3 SoCon)
Head coach
Home stadiumMiles Stadium
Seasons
← 1960
1962 →
1961 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
The Citadel $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Richmond 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
VMI 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
West Virginia 2 – 1 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Furman 2 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
George Washington 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
VPI 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Davidson 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0
William & Mary 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1961 VPI Gobblers football team represented the Virginia Polytechnic Institute or VPI (now known as Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University or Virginia Tech) as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1961 NCAA University Division football season. Led by first-year head coach Jerry Claiborne the Gobblers compiled an overall record of 4–5 with a mark of 2–3 in conference play, and finished seventh in the SoCon. VPI played home games at Miles Stadium in Blacksburg, Virginia.[1]

Schedule

DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 16vs. William & Mary
W 20–65,000[2]
October 7at West Virginia
L 0–2815,000[3]
October 14at Tulane*
L 14–27[4]
October 21vs. Virginia*
W 20–017,000[5]
October 28Florida State*dagger
W 10–714,000[6]
November 4at Richmond
L 0–1114,000[7]
November 11at Wake Forest*
L 15–248,000[8]
November 17George Washington
  • Miles Stadium
  • Blacksburg, VA
W 14–35,000[9]
November 23vs. VMI
  • Victory Stadium
  • Roanoke, VA (rivalry)
L 0–620,000[10]
  • *Non-conference game
  • daggerHomecoming

Roster

The following players were members of the 1961 football team according to the roster published in the 1962 edition of The Bugle, the Virginia Tech yearbook.[11]

VPI 1961 roster
  • Jake Adams
  • Kyle Marlon Albright
  • William McLemore Babb
  • Ray Barile
  • Gerald Bobbitte
  • Harold Bolden
  • Herb Bowling
  • Gene Breen
  • Mike Cahill
  • Alex Camaioni
  • Phillip W. Cary
  • Pete Cartwright
  • Dickie Cranwell
  • Bloice Davison
  • Lacy Lee Edwards, Jr.
  • Randall Edwards
  • John Farmer
  • Ronald Wayne Frank
  • David Green
  • Walter Newton Green, Jr.
  • David W. Gillespie
  • Richard B. Goode
  • Ron Hawkins
  • Thomas Morgan Hawkins
  • James Venable Hickam
  • Charles F. Hines
  • Robert Gerald Holbrook
  • Don Jensen
  • Warren Maccaroni
  • Ray Massie
  • John W. Minichan
  • Joe Moss
  • Bob Peak
  • Noah Redding "Buddy" Perry
  • Charles Warren Price, Jr.
  • Art Pruett
  • Bill Robertson
  • Aster Sizemore
  • Charlie Speck
  • Terry L. Strock
  • Amos Leon Tomblin
  • Joseph Gilleece "Skip" Vance
  • Al Verthein
  • Thomas Merritt Walker
  • K. T. "Buddy" Weihe
  • Roger Whitley

References

  1. ^ "1961 Virginia Tech Hokies Schedule and Results". Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved January 19, 2024.
  2. ^ "Gobblers rally for 20–6 win over Indians". The Virginian-Pilot. September 17, 1961. Retrieved October 24, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "West Virginia winner first time in 18 games". The Tampa Tribune. October 8, 1961. Retrieved January 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Rush-led Tulane raps Virginia Tech by 27–14". Daily Press. October 15, 1961. Retrieved September 20, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Techmen take stunning 20–0 Harvest Bowl win". Kingsport Times-News. October 22, 1961. Retrieved January 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Virginia State upsets Florida State, 10–7". The Macon Telegraph & News. October 29, 1961. Retrieved January 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Richmond drops VPI, 11–0, as Pratt's punts sparkle". Daily Press. November 5, 1961. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Wake gets all breaks, whips VPI". The State. November 12, 1961. Retrieved January 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Virginia Tech defeats George Washington 14–3". The Tampa Tribune. November 18, 1961. Retrieved February 7, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Special play wins mud bowl for VMI". Ledger-Star. November 24, 1961. Retrieved January 19, 2024 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "The Bugle 1962" (PDF). Virginia Tech Bugle. 1962. p. 213. Retrieved January 21, 2018.
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