1961 Philadelphia Eagles season
OwnerHappy Hundred
Head coachNick Skorich
Home fieldFranklin Field
Results
Record10–4
Division place2nd NFL Eastern
Playoff finishLost NFL Playoff Bowl
(vs. Lions) 10–38

The 1961 Philadelphia Eagles season was the franchise's twenty-ninth season in the National Football League.

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 1961 NFL Draft, which involved fourteen teams choosing college players during twenty rounds, took place on December 27 and 28, 1960. It occurred after the Eagles' win in the NFL Championship Game on December 26.

The Eagles picked last as a result of the team's 10–2 season record in 1960. This was due to the rule at that time that teams be assigned their respective ranks in the selection process based on their previous season records. This meant that the Cleveland Browns picked ahead of the NFL runner-up, the Green Bay Packers.

This draft was also the first regular draft for the Dallas Cowboys, which 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 due to the entry of the Minnesota Vikings into the league. The league also held a later expansion draft for the Vikings' franchise, which was awarded the first selection position in that draft.

The AFL draft was held on two dates that were two weeks apart at the end of the 1960 college season. Conducted prior to the bowl games, the first was a six-round draft held by phone. The second was held on December 5 and 6, 1960 for rounds seven through thirty. The Denver Broncos selected New Mexico State's Bob Gaiters as the overall first draft pick.

The Philadelphia Eagles lost its first-round pick to the AFL for the second year. About half of the Eagles' nineteen 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
114Art BakerFullbackSyracuseBuffalo Bills
from New York		3rdBuffalo
228Bo StrangeCenterLouisiana StateDenver Broncos3rd
336Jim WrightQuarterbackMemphis StateNew York1Dallas Texans
342Don OakesTackleVirginia TechBoston Patriots21162Eagles
453Dan FiccaGuardUSCSan Diego29162Oakland Raiders
456Pick taken by Green Bay
570Pick taken by Detroit Lions
684Ben BalmeGuardYale
798Irv CrossBackNorthwesternNew York15117Eagles
8112Jim BeaverGuardFlorida
9126Wayne Fontes[3]Running backMichigan StateNew York22173New York Titans
10140Luther HayesEndUSCSan Diego27215San Diego Chargers
11154L.E. HicksTackleFlorida
12168Billy Majors[4]BackTennesseeBuffalo Bills967Buffalo
13182Don JonasQuarterbackPenn StateEagles
1962 season then career in CFL
14196Willie FlemingRunning backIowa signed with BC Lions of CFL in 1959
15210Bobby RichardsTackleLouisiana StateEagles
1962 season
16224G. W. ClappGuardAuburn
17238Larry LaveryTackleIllinois
18252Nick MaravichTackleNorth Carolina State
19266Dick WilsonCenterPenn State
20280[5]Jacque MacKinnon[6]BackColgate

Preseason

  • August 4, Chicago All-Star Game: Eagles 28, All-Stars 14 [7]

Regular season

Schedule

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 September 17 Cleveland Browns W 27–20 1–0 Franklin Field 60,671
2 September 24 Washington Redskins W 14–7 2–0 Franklin Field 50,108
3 October 1 St. Louis Cardinals L 27–30 2–1 Franklin Field 59,399
4 October 8 Pittsburgh Steelers W 21–16 3–1 Franklin Field 60,671
5 October 15 at St. Louis Cardinals W 20–7 4–1 Busch Stadium 20,262
6 October 22 at Dallas Cowboys W 43–7 5–1 Cotton Bowl 25,000
7 October 29 at Washington Redskins W 27–24 6–1 D.C. Stadium 31,066
8 November 5 Chicago Bears W 16–14 7–1 Franklin Field 60,671
9 November 12 at New York Giants L 21–38 7–2 Yankee Stadium 62,800
10 November 19 at Cleveland Browns L 24–45 7–3 Cleveland Municipal Stadium 68,399
11 November 26 Dallas Cowboys W 35–13 8–3 Franklin Field 60,127
12 December 3 at Pittsburgh Steelers W 35–24 9–3 Forbes Field 21,653
13 December 10 New York Giants L 24–28 9–4 Franklin Field 60,671
14 December 17 at Detroit Lions W 27–24 10–4 Tiger Stadium 44,231

Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

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

Round Date Opponent Result Venue Attendance
Playoff Bowl January 6, 1962 Detroit Lions L 10–38 Orange Bowl 25,612
Source:[7][8]

Awards and honors

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
  8. ↑ "Detroit storms past Philadelphia, 38-10". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 7, 1962. p. 1B.
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