1961 Syracuse Orangemen football team

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

1961
Syracuse Orangemen football
Liberty Bowl champion
Liberty Bowl, W 15–14 vs. Miami (FL)
ConferenceIndependent
Ranking
CoachesNo. 16
APNo. 14
Record8–3
Head coach
CaptainDick Easterly[1]
Home stadiumArchbold Stadium
Seasons
1961 NCAA University Division independents football records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 15 Rutgers     9 0 0
No. 17 Arizona     8 1 1
Memphis State     8 2 0
Villanova     8 2 0
No. 17 Penn State     8 3 0
No. 14 Syracuse     8 3 0
Holy Cross     7 3 0
Navy     7 3 0
Miami (FL)     7 4 0
Army     6 4 0
San Jose State     6 4 0
Xavier     6 4 0
Colgate     5 4 0
Detroit     5 4 0
Houston     5 4 1
Notre Dame     5 5 0
Oregon State     5 5 0
Florida State     4 5 1
Boston University     4 5 0
Boston College     4 6 0
Oregon
    4 6 0
Air Force     3 7 0
Pittsburgh     3 7 0
Washington State     3 7 0
Idaho     2 7 0
Dayton     2 8 0
Rankings from
AP Poll

The 1961 Syracuse Orangemen football team represented

AP Poll. Running back Ernie Davis rushed for 823 yards and 12 touchdowns en route to his second straight consensus All-American honors. Davis became the first African-American football player to win the Heisman Trophy, which is awarded to the nation's best college football player each year. Syracuse was invited to the 1961 Liberty Bowl, where they defeated Miami (FL)
.

Schedule

DateOpponentRankSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 23at
Multnomah Stadium
  • Portland, OR
  • W 19–835,729
    September 30West VirginiaNo. 5W 29–1425,000[2]
    October 7at
    Byrd Stadium
  • College Park, MD
  • L 21–2235,000[3]
    October 14at NebraskaW 28–635,387
    October 21at
    University Park, PA (rivalry
    )
    L 0–1444,390
    October 28Holy Cross
    • Archbold Stadium
    • Syracuse, NY
    W 34–631,000[4]
    November 4Pittsburgh
    • Archbold Stadium
    • Syracuse, NY (rivalry)
    W 28–940,152
    November 11Colgate
    • Archbold Stadium
    • Syracuse, NY (rivalry)
    W 51–825,000[5]
    November 18at Notre DameNo. 10L 15–1749,246
    November 25at Boston CollegeW 28–1317,600
    December 16vs.
    Philadelphia Municipal Stadium
  • Philadelphia, PA (Liberty Bowl
  • )
    W 15–1415,712
    • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

    [1]

    1961 team players in the NFL draft

    Player Round Pick Position Club
    Ernie Davis 1 1 Running back
    Washington Redskins
    Pete Brokaw 8 107 Back Baltimore Colts
    George Francovitch 10 131 Guard St. Louis Cardinals
    Gary Fallon 12 157 Halfback Minnesota Vikings
    Dick Easterly 14 190 Back San Francisco 49ers
    Bob Stem 19 265 Center New York Giants

    [6]

    Ernie Davis was the first black player to be chosen first overall in the NFL Draft.[7][8] Davis was drafted by the Washington Redskins then traded to the Clevand Browns in the first round of the 1962 American Football League draft.[9][10] However, he never played in the NFL; he was diagnosed with leukemia shortly before he was to enter the league, and he died in May 1963, less than a year after his diagnosis.

    Awards and honors

    References

    1. ^ a b "2017 Syracuse football media guide" (PDF).. pg. 148
    2. Newspapers.com
      .
    3. Newspapers.com
      .
    4. Newspapers.com
      .
    5. ^ Werden, Lincoln A. (November 12, 1961). "Syracuse Routs Colgate, 51 to 8". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
    6. ^ "Reference at www.pro-football-reference.com". Pro-Football-Reference.com.
    7. ^ "Washington Picks 1st Negro on Team". Petaluma Argus-Courier. AP. December 4, 1961. p. 4. Retrieved December 18, 2020. Open access icon
    8. ^ Sports Illustrated, October 13, 2008, p.24
    9. Syracuse Post-Standard. Syracuse, New York. December 23, 1961. p. 9. Retrieved December 18, 2020. Open access icon
    10. ^ "Heisman.com - Heisman Trophy". Archived from the original on September 16, 2009. Retrieved November 23, 2007.