1961 Philadelphia Eagles season

1961 Philadelphia Eagles season
Head coach Nick Skorich
Owner Happy Hundred
Home field Franklin Field
Results
Record 10–4
Division place 2nd NFL Eastern
Playoff finish Lost Playoff Bowl

Off-season

Since 1951 the Eagles have held their training camp at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania.

NFL Draft

The 1961 NFL Draft and the 1961 AFL Draft were separate drafts, and players could end up being drafted by both leagues.

The NFL Draft of 20 rounds with 14 teams picking were separate drafts for college players and took place on December 27–28, 1960. The Eagles would pick last by going 10–2 in the 1960 season. As was the rule then, teams picked by previous season record, with that Cleveland Browns pick ahead of 1960 NFL Championship Game loser Green Bay Packers. This draft was also the first regular draft for the Dallas Cowboys as they 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 because of the entry of the Minnesota Vikings into the league. The league would later hold an expansion draft for the Vikings' expansion franchise, and the Vikings were also awarded the first selection position in this draft.

The AFL draft was held on 2 dates 2 weeks apart at the end of the 1960 college season but before the bowl games. The first was a six-round draft held by phone. The second was held December 5 and 6, 1960 for rounds 7 through 30. The Denver Broncos selected New Mexico State's Bob Gaiters as the overall first draft pick.

The Philadelphia Eagles lost their first-round pick to the AFL for the second year. About half of the Eagles' 19 picks either signed with the AFL or remained in college to play their last year of eligibility.

Player selections

= 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 31 Jim WrightQuarterbackMemphis State New York 1 Dallas Texans
3 42 Don OakesTackleVirginia Tech Boston Patriots21 162 Eagles
4 53 Dan FiccaGuardUSC San Diego 29 162 Oakland Raiders
4 56 Pick taken by Green Bay
5 70 Pick taken by Detroit Lions
6 84 Ben BalmeGuardYale
7 98 Irv CrossBackNorthwestern New York 15 117 Eagles
8 112 Jim BeaverGuardFlorida
9 126 Wayne Fontes [3] Running backMichigan State New York 22 173 New York Titans
10 140 Luther HayesEndUSC San Diego 27 215 San Diego Chargers
11 154 L.E. HicksTackleFlorida
12 168 Billy Majors [4] BackTennessee Buffalo Bills 9 67 Buffalo
13 180 Don JonasQuarterbackPenn State Eagles
1962 season then career in CFL
14 196 Willie FlemingRunning backIowa signed with BC Lions of CFL in 1959
15 210 Bobby RichardsTackleLouisiana State Eagles
1962 season
16 224 G. W. ClappGuardAuburn
17 238 Larry LaveryTackleIllinois
18 252 Nick MaravichTackleNorth Carolina State
19 266 Dick WilsonCenterPenn State
20 280[5] Jacque MacKinnon[6]BackColgate

Preseason

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Attendance
1 September 17, 1961 Cleveland Browns W 27–20
60,671
2 September 24, 1961 Washington Redskins W 14–7
50,108
3 October 1, 1961 St. Louis Cardinals L 30–27
59,399
4 October 8, 1961 Pittsburgh Steelers W 21–16
60,671
5 October 15, 1961 at St. Louis Cardinals W 20–7
20,262
6 October 22, 1961 at Dallas Cowboys W 43–7
25,000
7 October 29, 1961 at Washington Redskins W 27–24
31,066
8 November 5, 1961 Chicago Bears W 16–14
60,671
9 November 12, 1961 at New York Giants L 38–21
62,800
10 November 19, 1961 at Cleveland Browns L 45–24
68,399
11 November 26, 1961 Dallas Cowboys W 35–13
60,127
12 December 3, 1961 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 35–24
21,653
13 December 10, 1961 New York Giants L 28–24
60,671
14 December 17, 1961 at Detroit Lions W 27–24
44,231

Standings

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.

Playoff Bowl

Season Date Winner Score Runner up Attendance
1961January 6, 1962 Detroit Lions 38–10Philadelphia Eagles
25,612

[7]

References

  1. Players are identified as a Pro Bowler if they were selected for the Pro-Bowl at any time in their careers.
  2. Players are identified as an All-Star if they were selected for the All-Star team at any time in their careers.
  3. Wayne Fontes signed with the New York Titans of the AFL
  4. Billy Majors signed with the Buffalo Bills of the AFL
  5. This last selection is commonly referred to as Mr. Irrelevant.
  6. Jacque MacKinnon signed with the San Diego Chargers of the AFL
  7. 1 2 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, ISBN 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369


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