1961 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1961 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League, their 16th overall, and their second season under head coach Red Hickey.

1961 San Francisco 49ers season
OwnerVictor Morabito
General managerLouis Spadia
Head coachHoward Hickey
Home fieldKezar Stadium
Results
Record7–6–1
Division place5th NFL Western
Playoff finishDid not qualify

The 49ers attempted to improve on their 7-5 season from the previous season, and make the playoffs for the first time since 1957. However, despite starting the season 4-1, they would lose 5 of their last 8 games, finishing their season 7-6-1, and they missed the playoffs for the 4th straight year.

Offseason edit

NFL Draft edit

1961 San Francisco 49ers draft
Round Pick Player Position College Notes
1 6 Jimmy Johnson *   DB UCLA
1 9 Bernie Casey *  HB Bowling Green
1 11 Billy Kilmer *  QB UCLA
2 24 Roland Lakes  DT Wichita
3 37 Bill Cooper  FB Muskingum
4 47 Aaron Thomas *  TE Oregon State
4 52 Dale Messer  HB Fresno State
5 58 Clark Miller  DE Utah State Later played with 49ers from 1962–68
5 65 Bob McCreary  T Wake Forest
6 80 Mike McClellan  DB Oklahoma
7 93 Ray Purdin  B Northwestern signed by Saskatchewan Roughriders (CFL)
8 108 Neill Plumley  T Oregon
9 118 Leon Donohue  G San Jose State Later played with the 49ers from 1962–64
9 121 Evaristo Nino  T East Texas State
10 136 Paul Hynes  DB Louisiana Tech signed with Dallas Texans (AFL)
11 149 Tony Parrilli  G Illinois
12 164 Don Coffey  WR Memphis State
13 174 Tommy Hackler  E Tennessee Tech
13 177 Julius Fincke  T McNeese State
14 192 Bill Worrell  T Georgia
15 205 Bob Sams  T Central State (OK)
16 220 Charley Fuller  HB San Francisco State signed by Oakland Raiders (AFL)
17 233 Tom Jewell  T Idaho State
18 248 Kay McFarland  WR Colorado State Played the 1961 season with CSU
19 261 Tom Simpson  T Davidson
20 276 Jerry Perry  G Central State (OK)
      Made roster    †   Pro Football Hall of Fame    *   Made at least one Pro Bowl during career

Preseason edit

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance
1 August 12 vs. New York Giants L 20–21 0–1 Multnomah Stadium 24,084
2 August 21 Cleveland Browns L 24–27 0–2 Kezar Stadium 38,759
3 August 26 Minnesota Vikings W 14–10 1–2 Multnomah Stadium 27,044
4 September 1 at Los Angeles Rams W 38–20 2–2 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 42,558
5 September 9 vs. Dallas Cowboys W 24–7 3–2 Hughes Stadium 22,130

[1]

Regular season edit

Schedule edit

Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap
1 September 17 Washington Redskins W 35–3 1–0 Kezar Stadium 43,412 Recap
2 September 24 at Green Bay Packers L 10–30 1–1 New City Stadium 38,624 Recap
3 October 1 at Detroit Lions W 49–0 2–1 Tiger Stadium 53,155 Recap
4 October 8 Los Angeles Rams W 35–0 3–1 Kezar Stadium 59,004 Recap
5 October 15 at Minnesota Vikings W 38–24 4–1 Metropolitan Stadium 34,415 Recap
6 October 22 at Chicago Bears L 0–31 4–2 Wrigley Field 49,070 Recap
7 October 29 at Pittsburgh Steelers L 10–20 4–3 Forbes Field 19,686 Recap
8 November 5 Detroit Lions T 20–20 4–3–1 Kezar Stadium 56,878 Recap
9 November 12 at Los Angeles Rams L 7–17 4–4–1 Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum 63,766 Recap
10 November 19 Chicago Bears W 41–31 5–4–1 Kezar Stadium 52,972 Recap
11 November 26 Minnesota Vikings W 38–28 6–4–1 Kezar Stadium 48,905 Recap
12 December 3 at Baltimore Colts L 17–20 6–5–1 Memorial Stadium 57,641 Recap
13 December 10 Green Bay Packers W 22–21 7–5–1 Kezar Stadium 55,722 Recap
14 December 16 Baltimore Colts L 27–24 7–6–1 Kezar Stadium 45,517 Recap
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.

Standings edit

NFL Western Conference
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 edit

Awards and records edit

Milestones edit

References edit

  1. ^ "1961 San Francisco 49ers (NFL)". Pro Football Archives. Retrieved November 19, 2023.