The St. Louis Cardinals season marked the team's 42nd year in the National Football League (NFL) and their second in St. Louis. The team improved on their previous year's 6–5–1 record, winning seven games.1961 St. Louis Cardinals Despite the improvement, they finished fourth in the seven-team Eastern Conference and failed to qualify for the playoffs (NFL title game) for the thirteenth consecutive season. The Cardinals were led by fourth-year head coach Pop Ivy, who was replaced after a 5–7 start by the trio of Chuck Drulis, Ray Prochaska, and Ray Willsey.
This was the final season of ownership by Violet Bidwill Wolfner, who died in January 1962 at age 62.
Offseason
NFL draft
Undrafted free agents
+ 1961 undrafted free agents of notePlayerPositionCollegeRoger KramerTackleKalamazoo
Personnel Staff / Coaches
Roster
Schedule Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 September 17 at New York Giants W 21–10 1–0 Yankee Stadium 58,059 2 September 24 at Cleveland Browns L 17–20 1–1 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 50,443 3 October 1 at Philadelphia Eagles W 30–27 2–1 Franklin Field 59,399 4 October 8 New York Giants L 9–24 2–2 Busch Stadium 23,713 5 October 15 Philadelphia Eagles L 7–20 2–3 Busch Stadium 20,262 6 October 22 at Washington Redskins W 24–0 3–3 D.C. Stadium 28,037 7 October 29 Cleveland Browns L 10–21 3–4 Busch Stadium 26,696 8 November 5 at Dallas Cowboys W 31–17 4–4 Cotton Bowl 20,500 9 November 12 Detroit Lions L 14–45 4–5 Busch Stadium 20,320 10 November 19 at Baltimore Colts L 0–16 4–6 Memorial Stadium 56,112 11 November 26 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 27–30 4–7 Forbes Field 17,090 12 December 3 Washington Redskins W 38–24 5–7 Busch Stadium 16,204 13 December 10 Dallas Cowboys W 31–13 6–7 Busch Stadium 15,384 14 December 17 Pittsburgh Steelers W 20–0 7–7 Busch Stadium 16,298 Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries Week 1 at NY Giants the Cardinals, supposedly crippled beyond repair, came roaring through with a fine display of offensive firepower to upset the New York Giants. The Cards razzle-dazzle offense was on display despite losing John David Crow and Joe Childress. But Sam Etcheverry, another cripple, cranked up Frank Ivy's offense and sent fullback Mal Hammack on a 28-yard touchdown run that overcame a 10-7 Giants lead, then fired a five-yard screen pass to another fullback Frank Mestnik, for another score. The Cards defense also was effective. The Giants' "new look" offense was badly frustrated and surrendered the first St. Louis Cardinals touchdown when halfback Bob Gaiters fumbled in the end zone and Willie West recovered for a touchdown. The Giants only scoring was a 44-yard field goal by Pat Summerall and a Larry Hayes return of a block punt for a touchdown.
Standings
References
External links 1961 St. Louis Cardinals at Pro-Football-Reference.com 1961 St. Louis Cardinals Football Highlights at YouTube