The 1961 Green Bay Packers season was their 43rd season overall and their 41st season in the National Football League. The team finished with an 11–3 record under third-year head coach Vince Lombardi, earning them a first-place finish in the Western Conference. The Packers ended the season by shutting out the New York Giants 37–0 in the NFL Championship Game, the first title game ever played in Green Bay. This was the Packers seventh NFL league championship. The 1961 Packers also featured 12 future Hall of Famers, the most on any single team in NFL history.
1961 Green Bay Packers season | |
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General manager | Vince Lombardi |
Head coach | Vince Lombardi |
Home field | City Stadium Milwaukee County Stadium |
Results | |
Record | 11–3 |
Division place | 1st NFL Western |
Playoff finish | Won NFL Championship (vs. Giants) 37–0 |
The 1961 season was the first in which the Packers wore their trademark capital "G" logo on their helmets.[1][2]
The 1961 NFL draft was held in late December 1960.
Round | Overall | Player | Position | School |
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1 | 12 | Herb Adderley | Cornerback | Michigan State |
2 | 26 | Ron Kostelnik | Defensive tackle | Cincinnati |
3 | 40 | Phil Nugent | Back | Tulane |
4 | 54 | Paul Dudley | Back | Arkansas |
4 | 56 | Joe LeSage | Guard | Tulane |
5 | 68 | Jack Novak | Guard | Miami (FL) |
6 | 82 | Lee Folkins | Tight end | Washington |
7 | 96 | Lewis Johnson | Back | Florida A&M |
9 | 124 | Vester Flanagan | Tackle | Humboldt State |
10 | 128 | Roger Hagberg | Back | Minnesota |
10 | 138 | Buck McLeod | Tackle | Baylor |
11 | 152 | Val Keckin | Back | Southern Miss |
12 | 166 | John Denvir | Tackle | Colorado |
13 | 180 | Elijah Pitts | Halfback | Philander Smith |
14 | 194 | Nelson Toburen | Linebacker | Wichita |
15 | 208 | Ray Lardani | Tackle | Miami (FL) |
16 | 222 | Clarence Mason | End | Bowling Green |
17 | 236 | Jim Brewington | Tackle | North Carolina Central |
18 | 250 | Arthur Sims | Back | Texas A&M |
19 | 264 | Leland Bondhus | Tackle | South Dakota State |
20 | 278 | Ray Ratkowski | Back | Notre Dame |
Front office
Head coaches
Offensive coaches
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Defensive coaches
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Quarterbacks
Running backs
Wide receivers
Tight ends
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Offensive linemen
Defensive linemen
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Linebackers
Defensive backs
Special teams
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Rookies in italics |
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Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
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1 | August 11 | at Dallas Cowboys | W 30–7 | 1–0 | Cotton Bowl | Recap Archived 2020-11-12 at the Wayback Machine |
2 | August 18 | at St. Louis Cardinals | W 31–10 | 2–0 | Sportsman's Park | Recap Archived 2020-11-12 at the Wayback Machine |
3 | August 26 | Chicago Bears | W 24–14 | 3–0 | Milwaukee County Stadium | Recap Archived 2020-11-12 at the Wayback Machine |
4 | September 4 | New York Giants | W 20–17 | 4–0 | City Stadium | Recap Archived 2020-11-12 at the Wayback Machine |
5 | September 9 | vs. Washington Redskins | W 31–24 | 5–0 | A. J. McClung Memorial Stadium | Recap Archived 2020-11-12 at the Wayback Machine |
Despite being named NFL MVP, Paul Hornung was briefly lost to the military. In response to the construction of the Berlin Wall, the Department of Defense activated thousands of reservists. Two dozen football players were activated, including Paul Hornung, Boyd Dowler, and Ray Nitschke.[5][6] On November 14, Hornung was to report to Fort Riley in north central Kansas.[7] Wisconsin residents were so upset that Republican senator Alexander Wiley and Democratic congressman Clement Zablocki requested deferments for the players.[8] On October 18, the final word was that the players had to serve. Hornung missed the November 19 game in Green Bay against the Rams, but was flown from Fort Riley to Detroit for the November 23 Thanksgiving Day game against the Lions at Tiger Stadium.[9] Hornung kicked a field goal and two extra points in the 17–9 victory.[10][11]
Injured in late October, right guard Jerry Kramer was sidelined for the remainder of the season. Forrest Gregg moved in from right tackle to guard, and Norm Masters started at right tackle.
Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
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1 | September 17 | Detroit Lions | L 13–17 | 0–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | Recap |
2 | September 24 | San Francisco 49ers | W 30–10 | 1–1 | City Stadium | Recap |
3 | October 1 | Chicago Bears | W 24–0 | 2–1 | City Stadium | Recap |
4 | October 8 | Baltimore Colts | W 45–7 | 3–1 | City Stadium | Recap |
5 | October 15 | at Cleveland Browns | W 49–17 | 4–1 | Cleveland Stadium | Recap |
6 | October 22 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 33–7 | 5–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | Recap |
7 | October 29 | Minnesota Vikings | W 28–10 | 6–1 | Milwaukee County Stadium | Recap |
8 | November 5 | at Baltimore Colts | L 21–45 | 6–2 | Memorial Stadium | Recap |
9 | November 12 | at Chicago Bears | W 31–28 | 7–2 | Wrigley Field | Recap |
10 | November 19 | Los Angeles Rams | W 35–17 | 8–2 | City Stadium | Recap |
11 | November 23 | at Detroit Lions | W 17–9 | 9–2 | Tiger Stadium | Recap |
12 | December 3 | New York Giants | W 20–17 | 10–2 | Milwaukee County Stadium | Recap |
13 | December 10 | at San Francisco 49ers | L 21–22 | 10–3 | Kezar Stadium | Recap |
14 | December 17 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 24–17 | 11–3 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | Recap |
Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text.
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Lions | 7 | 7 | 0 | 3 | 17 |
Packers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 13 |
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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49ers | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
Packers | 7 | 13 | 3 | 7 | 30 |
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Bears | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Packers | 7 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Colts | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
Packers | 7 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 45 |
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Packers | 14 | 7 | 7 | 21 | 49 |
Browns | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Packers | 10 | 3 | 3 | 17 | 33 |
Vikings | 0 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 |
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Vikings | 0 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 10 |
Packers | 14 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 28 |
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Packers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 21 |
Colts | 7 | 14 | 10 | 14 | 45 |
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Packers | 7 | 21 | 3 | 0 | 31 |
Bears | 7 | 0 | 7 | 14 | 28 |
at Wrigley Field, Chicago, Illinois
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Rams | 7 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 17 |
Packers | 0 | 28 | 0 | 7 | 35 |
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Packers | 0 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 17 |
Lions | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
at Tiger Stadium, Detroit, Michigan
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Giants | 7 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 17 |
Packers | 13 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 20 |
Game information | ||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Packers | 0 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 21 |
49ers | 0 | 14 | 2 | 6 | 22 |
Game information | ||
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Scoring summary | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Packers | 7 | 7 | 0 | 10 | 24 |
Rams | 0 | 3 | 7 | 7 | 17 |
Game information | ||
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Round | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Recap |
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NFL Championship | December 31 | New York Giants | W 37–0 | 1–0 | City Stadium | Recap |
Period | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
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Giants | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Packers | 0 | 24 | 10 | 3 | 37 |
Game information | ||
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Scoring summary | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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NFL Western Conference | |||||||||
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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 |
Passing
Rushing
Receiving
Kicking
Punting
Kick Return
Punt Return
Interception
Team
Total Yards and Turnovers | Passing | Rushing |
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