1961 Green Bay Packers season

1961 Green Bay Packers season
1961 Green Bay Packers season
General manager	Vince Lombardi
Head coach	Vince Lombardi
Home field	City Stadium; Milwaukee County Stadium
Results
Record	11–3
Division place	1st NFL Western
Playoff finish	Won NFL Championship Game (Giants) 37-0
	← 1960; Packers seasons; 1962 →;

The 1961 Green Bay Packers season was their 43rd season overall and their 41st 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 and ending a fifteen-year playoff drought. 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 33 Lew Carpenter 5 Paul Hornung 25 Tom Moore 22 Elijah Pitts 31 Jim Taylor Wide receivers 86 Boyd Dowler 85 Max McGee Tight ends 81 Lee Folkins 84 Gary Knafelc 88 Ron Kramer		Offensive linemen 75 Forrest Gregg T 64 Jerry Kramer G 51 Jim Ringo C 76 Bob Skoronski T 63 Fuzzy Thurston G Defensive linemen 72 Ben Davidson DE 87 Willie Davis DE 74 Henry Jordan DT 83 Bill Quinlan		Linebackers 58 Dan Currie 71 Bill Forester 66 Ray Nitschke ILB Defensive backs 26 Herb Adderley CB 46 Hank Gremminger 47 Jesse Whittenton 24 Willie Wood SS/PR Special teams		Rookies in italics

Depth chart

Defense

[1]

FS
Hank Gremminger
⋅

WLB	MLB	SLB
⋅	Ray Nitschke	⋅
⋅	⋅	⋅

SS
Willie Wood
⋅

CB
Herb Adderley
⋅

DE	DT	DT	DE
Bill Quinlan	Henry Jordan	Dave Hanner	Willie Davis
⋅	⋅	⋅	⋅

CB
Jesse Whittenton
⋅

Offense

[2]

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 Department of Defense activated thousands of reservists. Two dozen football players were activated, including Paul Hornung, Boyd Dowler, and Ray Nitschke.^[3]^[4] On November 14, Hornung was to report to Fort Riley in north central Kansas.^[5] Wisconsin residents were so upset that Republican senator Alexander Wiley and Democratic congressman Clement Zablocki requested deferments for the players.^[6] On October 18, the final word was that the players had to serve. Hornung missed the November 19 game in Green Bay against the Rams, but was flown from Fort Riley to Detroit for the November 23 Thanksgiving Day game against the Lions at Tiger Stadium.^[7] Hornung kicked a field goal and two extra points in the 17–9 victory.^[8]^[9]

Schedule

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

^[10]

Week 2: vs. San Francisco

Week 3: vs. Chicago

Week 4: vs. Baltimore

Week 5: at Cleveland

Week 6: at Minnesota

Week 7: vs. Minnesota

Week 8: at Baltimore

Week 9: at Chicago

Week 10: vs. Los Angeles

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

^[11]

Week 12: vs. New York

Week 13: at San Francisco

Week 14: at Los Angeles

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

^[12]

Standings

NFL Western Conference
view talk edit	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.

Roster

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^[13]

Milestones

References

^ Gridiron Uniform Database: Green Bay Packers
^ "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Retrieved March 28, 2011.
^ "Paul Hornung to enter Army". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 4, 1961. p. 2.
^ 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
^ "Green Bay tops Lions 17-9 to take commanding lead". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 24, 1961. p. 16.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com Retrieved August 20, 2015.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com Retrieved August 20, 2015.
^ Pro-Football-Reference.com Retrieved April 21, 2013.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-19. Retrieved 2010-06-28. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Sportsencyclopedia.com

[1] Gridiron Uniform Database: Green Bay Packers

[2] "All Time Coaches Database". Packers.com. Retrieved March 28, 2011.

[phtea-3] "Paul Hornung to enter Army". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 4, 1961. p. 2.

[4] When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 284, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3

[5] When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 286, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3

[6] When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 285, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3

[7] When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 287, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3

[8] When Pride Still Mattered, David Maraniss,p. 288, Simon & Schuster, 1999, ISBN 978-0-684-84418-3

[gbtltt-9] "Green Bay tops Lions 17-9 to take commanding lead". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. November 24, 1961. p. 16.

[10] Pro-Football-Reference.com Retrieved August 20, 2015.

[11] Pro-Football-Reference.com Retrieved August 20, 2015.

[12] Pro-Football-Reference.com Retrieved April 21, 2013.

[13] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2009-06-19. Retrieved 2010-06-28. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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