1961 Buffalo Bills season

2nd season in franchise history November 2013 February 2026 Buffalo Bills 1961 6–8 4th Eastern Buster Ramsey Ralph Wilson War Memorial Stadium Did not qualify Bills seasons The 1961 Buffalo Bills season was the team's second year in the American Football League. The Bills played in the Eastern division, winning six games, losing eight, and missing the postseason. The Bills didn't have a winning record at any point in the season; they played their final five games of the season on the road. Season summary The Bills had a problematic quarterback situation, with former Redskin M.C. Reynolds, second-year Bills QB Johnny Green and ex-Lion Warren Rabb all struggling at the passer position. None completed more than 46% of their passes, and only Reynolds had a winning record (2–1) and threw for more than 1,000 yards.Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1961 Buffalo Bills Punter Billy Atkins led the league in punts, with 85; he also led the league with 44.5 yards per punt. Atkins also played safety for the Bills in 1961, and led the league with 10 interceptions, and was 2nd-Team All-AFL on defense.Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1961 AFL Leaders and Leaderboards Middle linebacker Archie Matsos was 1st-Team All-AFL for the second consecutive year, as was defensive tackle Chuck McMurtry. Defensive tackle LaVerne Torczon was 2nd-Team All-AFL in 1961.Pro-Football-Reference.com: 1961 AFL Pro Bowlers Offseason AFL draft 1961 American Football League draft = All-AFLPlayers are identified as All-AFL if they were selected to the All-AFL at any time in their career. Round Player Position College 1 Ken RiceKen RiceAll-AFL 1961 Tackle Auburn 2 Billy ShawBilly Shaw8× AFL All-Star Tackle Georgia Tech 3 Art BakerArt Baker Fullback Syracuse (from New York) 3 Tom GilburgTom Gilburg Tackle Syracuse 4 Stew BarberStew Barber5× AFL All-Star Tackle Penn State 5 Norm SneadNorm Snead*4× NFL Pro Bowler for Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles and New York Giants Quarterback Wake Forest 6 Fred BrownFred Brown Halfback Georgia 7 Albert BemillerAlbert Bemiller1965 AFL All-Star Center Syracuse 8 Charles LinningCharles Linning Tackle Miami 9 William MajorsWilliam Majors Halfback Tennessee 10 Don KernDon Kern Halfback VMI 11 Roy WallRoy Wall Halfback North Carolina 12 Floyd PowersFloyd Powers Guard Mississippi State 13 Tom CauseyTom Causey Offensive end Louisiana Tech 14 Ron KostelnikRon Kostelnik*Inducted into Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame (NFL) in 1989 Tackle Cincinnati 15 Jerry FryeJerry Frye Offensive end South Carolina 16 Vincent ScottVincent Scott Offensive end Maryland 17 Wayne WolffWayne Wolff Tackle Wake Forest 18 John BodkinJohn Bodkin Guard South Carolina 19 Charles BarnesCharley Barnes Offensive end NE Louisiana State 20 Everett CloudEverett Cloud Halfback Maryland 21 Larry VargoLarry Vargo Offensive end Detroit 22 Charles BakerCharles Baker Tackle Tennessee 23 William MackWilliam Mack Halfback Notre Dame 24 Frank JackunasFrank Jackunas Center Detroit 25 Jack HarbaughJack Harbaugh Halfback Bowling Green 26 Lorenzo StanfordLorenzo Stanford Tackle North Carolina A & I 27 Bob AllenBob Allen Offensive end Wake Forest 28 Jason HarnessJason Harness Offensive end Michigan State 29 Mike StockMike Stock Halfback Northwestern 30 William MartinWilliam Martin Halfback Minnesota 1961 Preseason The 1961 preseason was notable for the Bills as they became the only AFL (or NFL) team to lose to a CFL team, and it was the last game between the CFL and AFL/NFL met in history.http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/CFL-NFL_Hamilton_Tiger-Cats_vs_Buffalo_Bills_1961.htm Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Buffalo Bills, August 8, 1961 July 4, 2014 https://web.archive.org/web/20080119071550/http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/CFL-NFL_Hamilton_Tiger-Cats_vs_Buffalo_Bills_1961.htm January 19, 2008 dead mdy-all Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance 1 August 8 at Hamilton Tiger-Cats L 21–38 0–1 Hamilton Civic Stadium 12,000 NFL 2001 Record and Fact Book, Workman Publishing Co, New York, NY, 0-7611-2480-2, p. 369 2 August 18 Dallas Texans L 26–35 0–2 War Memorial Stadium 11,166 3 August 25 at Boston Patriots L 10–28 0–3 Mt. Pleasant Stadium (Providence, RI) 4,762 4 September 1 Boston Patriots L 12–15 0–4 War Memorial Stadium 17,071 1961 Regular Season Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Attendance Recap Sources 1 September 10 Denver Broncos L 10–22 0–1 War Memorial Stadium 16,636 Recap 2 September 17 New York Titans W 41–31 1–1 War Memorial Stadium 15,584 Recap 3 September 23 Boston Patriots L 21–23 1–2 War Memorial Stadium 21,504 Recap 4 September 30 San Diego Chargers L 11–19 1–3 War Memorial Stadium 20,742 Recap 5 October 8 at Houston Oilers W 22–12 2–3 Jeppesen Stadium 22,761 Recap 6 October 15 Dallas Texans W 27–24 3–3 War Memorial Stadium 20,678 Recap 7 October 22 at Boston Patriots L 21–52 3–4 Boston University Field 9,398 Recap 8 October 29 Houston Oilers L 16–28 3–5 War Memorial Stadium 21,237 Recap 9 November 5 Oakland Raiders L 22–31 3–6 War Memorial Stadium 17,027 Recap 10 November 12 at Dallas Texans W 30–20 4–6 Cotton Bowl 15,000 Recap 11 November 19 at Denver Broncos W 23–10 5–6 Bears Stadium 7,645 Recap 12 November 23 at New York Titans L 14–21 5–7 Polo Grounds 12,023 Recap 13 December 3 at Oakland Raiders W 26–21 6–7 Candlestick Park 8,011 Recap 14 December 10 at San Diego Chargers L 10–28 6–8 Balboa Stadium 24,486 Recap Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text. Standings thumb|240px|right|Program for the October 29 game against the visiting Houston Oilers. Personnel Staff 1961 Buffalo Bills staffFront office President/majority owner – Ralph Wilson Vice-president/minority owner – Pat McGroder Head coaches Head coach – Buster Ramsey Offensive coaches Offensive backfield – Floyd Reid Ends – Bob Dove Defensive coaches Defensive backs – Harvey Johnson Final roster 1961 Buffalo Bills roster Quarterbacks 18 Johnny Green 14 M. C. Reynolds Running backs 33 Art Baker 26 Dewey Bohling 30 Wray Carlton 23 Bill Shockley K Wide receivers 88 Glenn Bass 44 Elbert Dubenion 84 Perry Richards Tight ends 80 Monte Crockett 81 Tom Rychlec Offensive linemen 50 Al Bemiller C 60 John Dittrich G 77 Donald Chelf T 70 Chuck Muelhaupt G 74 Harold Olson T 75 Ken Rice T 66 Billy Shaw G Defensive linemen 64 Tom Day DT/DE 73 Chuck McMurtry DT 79 Jim Sorey DT 87 Laverne Torczon DE 71 Mack Yoho DE/K Linebackers 64 Stew Barber OLB 54 Joe Hergert OLB/K 57 Ralph Felton 0LB 59 Cotton Letner OLB 56 Archie Matsos MLB Defensive backs 20 Billy Atkins FS/K/P 25 Jim Crotty CB 42 Don McDonald CB/SS 25 Vern Valdez CB 22 Jim Wagstaff SS Reserve list 46 Fred Brown RB (IR) 7px 23 Willmer Fowler RB (IR) 7px 15 Richie Lucas QB/WR/S (Military) 45 Dick McCabe CB (Retired) 14 Tommy O'Connell QB (Retired) 17 Warren Rabb QB (IR) 7px*Note: rookies in italics References 35em Further reading Jeffrey J. Miller, Rockin' the Rockpile: The Buffalo Bills of the American Football League. Toronto, ON: ECW Press, 2007. Jeffrey J. Miller and Greg D. Tranter, Relics: The History of The Buffalo Bills in Objects and Memorabilia. Haworth, NJ: St. Johann Press, 2021. Sal Maiorana, Buffalo Bills: The Complete Illustrated History. Minneapolis, MN: MVP Books, 2010. Category:Buffalo Bills seasons Buffalo Bills Buffalo