The 1961 Dallas Texans season was the 2nd season for the Dallas Texans as a professional AFL franchise; They finished the season with a 6–8 record and second-place finish in the AFL Western Conference.
The club moved its training camp to Lamar Hunt's alma mater of Southern Methodist University and started the regular season at 3–1 before hitting a six-game losing skid, the longest such streak of head coach Hank Stram's tenure with the franchise. One of those losses was a 28–21 decision in a Friday night contest at Boston (11/3) which featured a bizarre ending as a raincoat-clad fan knocked down a potential game-tying TD from Cotton Davidson to Chris Burford on the game's final play. The team rebounded to claim wins in three of its final four contests to finish 6–8, marking the club's second straight finish behind the Chargers in the AFL West standings.Kansas City Chiefs History 1960s KCChiefs.com
Draft
Round Player Position College 1 E.J. HolubE.J. Holub 1 Center Texas Tech 2 Bob LillyBob Lilly Tackle TCU 3 Jim TyrerJim Tyrer 1,2 Tackle Ohio State 4 Claude MoormanClaude Moorman Offensive End Duke 5 Jerry MaysJerry Mays 1,2 Tackle Southern Methodist 7 Fred ArbanasFred Arbanas 1,2 Offensive End Michigan State 8 John O'DayJohn O'Day Tackle Miami 9 Dick MillsDick Mills Tackle Pittsburgh 10 Jerry DanielsJerry Daniels Tackle Mississippi 11 Marvin TibbetsMarvin Tibbets Halfback Georgia Tech 12 Paul HynesPaul Hynes Halfback Louisiana Tech 13 Glynn GregoryGlynn Gregory Halfback Southern Methodist 14 Curtis McClintonCurtis McClinton 1,3 Halfback Kansas 15 Ed NuttingEd Nutting Tackle Georgia Tech 15 Roy Lee RamboRoy Lee Rambo Guard TCU 16 Aaron ThomasAaron Thomas Offensive End Oregon State 17 Jarrell WilliamsJarrell Williams Halfback Arkansas 18 Ron HartlineRon Hartline Fullback Oklahoma 19 Frank JacksonFrank Jackson Halfback Southern Methodist 20 Bob LaneBob Lane Offensive End Baylor 21 Dick ThorntonDick Thornton Quarterback Northwestern 22 Ed SharockmanEd Sharockman Halfback Pittsburgh 23 Lou ZivkovichLou Zivkovich Tackle New Mexico State 24 Pat DyePat Dye Guard Georgia 25 Ray RamseyRay Ramsey Quarterback Adams State 26 Danny HouseDanny House Halfback Davidson 27 Bob SchloredtBob Schloredt Quarterback Washington 28 Bill StineBill Stine Guard Michigan 29 Lonnie CaddellLonnie Caddell Fullback Rice 30 Cedric PriceCedric Price Offensive End Kansas State
Personnel Roster 1961 Dallas Texans roster Quarterbacks 19 Cotton Davidson P/K 15 Randy Duncan 14 Tom Greene
Running Backs 32 Bo Dickinson 28 Abner Haynes 22 Frank Jackson 33 Billy Pricer 30 Jack Spikes K
Wide Receivers / Flankers 82 Charlie Barnes 88 Chris Burford 42 Johnny Robinson
Tight Ends 81 Max Boydston 88 Tony Romeo Offensive Linemen 61 John Cadwell G 74 Jerry Cornelison T 79 Charley Diamond T/G 62 Sid Fournet G 65 Jon Gilliam C 64 Bill Krisher G 60 Al Reynolds G 63 Marvin Terrell G 77 Jim Tyrer T
Defensive Linemen 87 Mel Branch DE 71 Ray Collins DT 89 Luther Jeralds DE 75 Jerry Mays DE/DT 86 Paul Miller DE 76 Walter Napier DT 72 Paul Rochester DT Linebackers 54 Ted Greene OLB 69 Sherrill Headrick MLB 55 E. J. Holub OLB 35 Smokey Stover OLB
Defensive Backs 45 Dave Grayson RCB 32 Jack Johnson DB 44 Edward Kelley RCB 25 Doyle Nix DB 21 Dave Webster DB 48 Duane Wood LCBReserve List 84 Fred Arbanas TE (IR) 56 Walt Corey LB (Military)
Rookies in italics
Preseason The Texans began the preseason with four consecutive victories before falling in the final exhibition game in San Diego.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 New York Titans W 39–28 1–0 Cotton Bowl Not reported 2 Denver Broncos W 31–13 2–0 Midland, TX 10,000 3 at Buffalo Bills W 35–26 3–0 Boston University Field 11,166 4 Denver Broncos W 29–27 4–0 Farrington Field (Fort Worth, TX) 21,700 5 San Diego Chargers L 10–31 4–1 Balboa Stadium 15,232
Regular season The Texans fell from contention after dropping six straight games in mid-season.
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap 1 September 10 San Diego Chargers L 10–26 0–1 Cotton Bowl 24,500 Recap 2Bye 3 September 24 at Oakland Raiders W 42–35 1–1 Candlestick Park 6,700 Recap 4 October 1 Houston Oilers W 26–21 2–1Cotton Bowl 28,000 Recap 5 October 8 at Denver Broncos W 19–12 3–1 Bears Stadium 14,500 Recap 6 October 15 at Buffalo Bills L 24–27 3–2 War Memorial Stadium 20,678 Recap 7 October 22 at Houston Oilers L 7–38 3–3 Jeppesen Stadium 23,228 Recap 8 October 29 Boston Patriots L 17–18 3–4Cotton Bowl 20,500 Recap 9 at Boston Patriots L 21–28 3–5 Boston University Field 25,063 Recap 10 November 12 Buffalo Bills L 20–30 3–6 Cotton Bowl 15,000 Recap 11 November 19 at San Diego Chargers L 14–24 3–7 Balboa Stadium 33,788 Recap 12 November 26 Oakland Raiders W 43–11 4–7 Cotton Bowl 14,500 Recap 13 December 3 at New York Titans L 7–28 4–8 Polo Grounds 14,117 Recap 14 December 10 Denver Broncos W 49–21 5–8 Cotton Bowl 8,000 Recap 15 December 17 New York Titans W 35–24 6–8 Cotton Bowl 12,500 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.
Standings
References
External links 1961 Dallas Texans at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1961 Dallas Texans at ProFootballArchives.com 1961 Dallas Texans at jt-sw.com