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1961 Princeton Tigers football team

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1961 Princeton Tigers football
ConferenceIvy League
Record5–4 (5–2 Ivy)
Head coach
CaptainEdwin A. Weihenmayer
Home stadiumPalmer Stadium
Seasons
← 1960
1962 →
1961 Ivy League football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Columbia + 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Harvard + 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Dartmouth 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Princeton 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Yale 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Cornell 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Penn 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Brown 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions

The 1961 Princeton Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Princeton University as a member of the Ivy League during the 1961 college football season. In their fifth year under head coach Dick Colman, the Tigers compiled a 5–4 record (5–2 in conference games), tied for third place in the Ivy League, and outscored opponents by a total of 173 to 128 (160 to 97 in conference games).[1][2]

On November 4, 1961, Princeton defeated Brown, 52-0, the worst defeat in the history of Brown football.[3] Princeton at that point was in first place in the Ivy League with a 4-0 conference record. However, the team sustained a spate of injuries and lost two of its final three games "after the injury jinx struck.[4]

Senior guard Edwin A. Weihenmayer was the team captain.[2] Tailback Greg Riley led the Ivy League with 693 yards of total offense (459 rushing, 265 passing). Greg Riley led the team in rushing with 459 yards.[5] Riley and end Barry Schuman were selected as first-team players on the 1961 All-Ivy League football team.[6]

Princeton under Colman in the 1960s was the last major college team to rely on the single-wing formation offense.[7]

Princeton played its home games at Palmer Stadium on the university campus in Princeton, New Jersey.

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 30 Rutgers*
  • Palmer Stadium
  • Princeton, NJ (rivalry)
L 13–16 41,000 [8]
October 7 at Columbia
W 30–20 23,700 [9]
October 14 Penn
  • Palmer Stadium
  • Princeton, NJ (rivalry)
W 9–3 22,000 [10]
October 21 Colgate*
  • Palmer Stadium
  • Princeton, NJ
L 0–15 12,000 [11]
October 28 Cornell
  • Palmer Stadium
  • Princeton, NJ
W 30–25 28,000 [12]
November 4 at Brown
W 52–0 10,000 [13]
November 11 at Harvard
L 7–9 30,000 [14]
November 18 Yale
  • Palmer Stadium
  • Princeton, NJ (rivalry)
W 26–16 42,000 [15]
November 25 Dartmouth
  • Palmer Stadium
  • Princeton, NJ
L 6–24 30,000 [16]
  • *Non-conference game

Statistics

[edit]

The 1961 Princeton Tigers tallied an average of 195.0 rushing yards and 125.2 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 193.4 rushing yards and 85.1 passing yards per game.[5]

Tailback Greg Riley led the team with 459 rushing yards on 90 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per game. He also completed 24 of 43 passes for 265 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. His combined total of 693 yards led the Ivy League in total offense.[5]

Tailback Pete Porietis led the team in passing, completing 25 of 44 passes for 304 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He also tallied 389 rushing yards on 90 carries for an average of 4.3 yards per carry.[5]

The team's leading receivers were wingback Jim Rockenbach (seven receptions, 241 yards), Barry Schuman (15 receptions, 178 yards), Hank Large (nine receptions, 145 yards), and Jim Hunter (11 receptions, 134 yards).[5]

Players

[edit]
  • Tim Callard, guard
  • Andy Conner, tackle
  • Costello, tackle
  • John Henrich, quarterback/blocking back
  • Hank Large, end
  • Arlyn Lichthardt, end
  • Hugh MacMillan, tailback
  • Bill Merlini, fullback
  • Pete Porietis, tailback, sophomore
  • Greg Riley, halfback/tailback
  • Jim Rockenbach, wingback, sophomore
  • Barry Schuman, end
  • Dan Terpack, halfback/wingback
  • Brad Urquhart, fullback/wingback
  • Bob Van DerVoort, center
  • Ed Weihenmayer, guard and captain
  • West, end

[4]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Results". Princeton Football Record Book. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University. p. 28. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Year-by-Year History". Ivy League Football Media Guide (PDF). Princeton, N.J.: Ivy League. 2017. p. 23. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  3. ^ "Tigers In 52-0 Romp". The Sunday Home News and The Sunday Times (New Brunswick, NJ). Associated Press. November 5, 1961. p. 37 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ a b ""We'll Be Strong Next Year," Colman Warns Ivy League Foes". The Herald-News (Passaic, NJ). November 29, 1961. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ a b c d e "1961 Princeton Tigers Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  6. ^ "Columbia Lands 4 On Ivy Team". The Record. November 27, 1961. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Dick Colman, Former Coach". The New York Times. April 7, 1982. Retrieved August 5, 2010.
  8. ^ Sheehan, Joseph M. (October 1, 1961). "Rutgers Defeats Princeton; Tigers Bow, 16-13". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  9. ^ Danzig, Allison (October 8, 1961). "Princeton Beats Columbia; Tiger 30-20 Victor". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  10. ^ Adams, Frank S. (October 15, 1961). "Princeton Downs Pennsylvania, 9-3". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  11. ^ Adams, Frank S. (October 22, 1961). "Colgate Conquers Princeton, 15 to 0". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  12. ^ Danzig, Allison (October 29, 1961). "Tigers Outscore Cornell in a 30-to-25 Ivy Thriller". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  13. ^ Adams, Frank S. (November 5, 1961). "Princeton Continues Undefeated Ivy March with Rout of Brown". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S5.
  14. ^ Sheehan, Joseph M. (November 12, 1961). "Harvard Wins, 9-7; Princeton Loses". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  15. ^ Sheehan, Joseph M. (November 19, 1961). "Princeton Conquers Yale; Tigers Triumph by 26-16". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
  16. ^ Teague, Robert L. (November 26, 1961). "Dartmouth Halts Princeton by 24-6 as King Sets Pace". The New York Times. New York, N.Y. p. S1.
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