1961 Oregon Ducks football team

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1961 Oregon Ducks football
ConferenceIndependent
Record4–6
Head coach
MVPKent Peterson
CaptainKent Peterson, Mickey Bruce
Home stadiumHayward Field
Multnomah Stadium
Seasons
← 1960
1962 →
1961 Western college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 17 Arizona   –   8 – 1 – 1
Westminster (UT)   –   7 – 1 – 1
La Verne   –   7 – 2 – 0
Idaho State   –   5 – 2 – 1
San Francisco   –   4 – 2 – 0
Cal Poly Pomona   –   6 – 3 – 0
San Jose State   –   6 – 4 – 0
Eastern New Mexico   –   6 – 4 – 0
Los Angeles Pacific   –   5 – 3 – 0
Montana State   –   4 – 3 – 1
Pacific (CA)   –   5 – 4 – 0
Azusa   –   4 – 3 – 0
Oregon State   –   5 – 5 – 0
Santa Clara   –   3 – 3 – 0
Oregon   –   4 – 6 – 0
Claremont   –   3 – 6 – 0
Air Force   –   3 – 7 – 0
Washington State   –   3 – 7 – 0
Cal Western   –   3 – 7 – 0
Idaho   –   2 – 7 – 0
San Diego   –   2 – 8 – 0
Southern California College   –   1 – 5 – 0
UC Riverside   –   1 – 7 – 0
Pepperdine   –   1 – 9 – 0

The 1961 Oregon Ducks football team represented the University of Oregon as an independent during the 1961 college football season. In their eleventh season under head coach Len Casanova and third as an independent, the Ducks compiled a 4–6 record and outscored their opponents 152 to 112. Three home games were played on campus at Hayward Field in Eugene, with two at Multnomah Stadium in Portland.

Sophomore halfback Mel Renfro played on offense, defense, and special teams and tallied 775 yards, including 335 rushing yards, 199 yards on kickoff returns, 99 passing yards, 86 receiving yards, 49 yards on punt returns, and eight yards on an interception return. Renfro was later inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Quarterback Doug Post led the team with 673 yards of total offense, including 662 passing yards. End Kent Peterson was selected as the team's most valuable player.

Schedule

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DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 23Idaho
W 51–017,800[1][2]
September 30at Utah
L 6–1426,578[3]
October 7at Minnesota
L 7–1450,499[4]
October 14Arizona
L 6–1518,651[5]
October 21San Jose State
  • Hayward Field
  • Eugene, OR
W 21–610,200[6]
October 28Washington
  • Multnomah Stadium
  • Portland, OR
W 7–632,681[7]
November 4at Stanford
W 19–727,000[8]
November 11at Washington State
L 21–2210,500[9]
November 18at No. 3 Ohio State
L 12–2282,073[10][11]
November 25Oregon State
L 2–621,300[12]
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

[13][14][15]

Statistics

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The team gained an average of 271 yards of total offense per game, consisting of 161 rushing yards and 110 passing yards. On defense, Oregon gave up 251 yards per game of total offense, consisting of 183 rushing yards and 63 passing yards.[16]

Quarterback Doug Post led the team with 674 yards of total offense. He completed 48 of 113 passes (42.5%) for 662 yards with three touchdowns and five interceptions.[16]

Sophomore left halfback Mel Renfro led the team with 775 yards in six phases of the statistics. He was the team's leading rusher, tallying 335 yards and four touchdowns on 61 carries for an average of 5.5 yards per carry. Renfro also had 199 yards and a touchdown on three kickoff returns; 99 passing yards (four-of-eight passing with a 186.5 quarterback rating); 86 receiving yards on seven receptions; 49 yards on two punt returns; and eight yards on an interception return.[16]

In addition to Renfro, the team's other leading rushers were fullback Jim Josephson (287 yards, 81 carries, 3.5-yard average); fullback Duane Cargill (236 yards, 43 carries, 5.0-yard average); right halfback Mike Gaechter (231 yards, 47 carries, 4.9-yard average); halfback Lu Bain (180 yards, 57 carries, 3.1-yard average).[16]

The team's leading receivers were end Kent Petersen (208 yards, 18 receptions); end Paul Burleson (222 yards, 11 receptions), halfbacks Mike Gaechter (167 yards, 11 receptions); and Mel Renfro (86 yards, seven receptions).[16]

Mel Renfro and Lu Bain were the leading scorers with four touchdowns and 24 points each. Jim Josephson and Paul Burleson followed with three touchdowns and 18 points each. Corey was 11-of-16 on extra points kicks and missed all three field goal attempts.[16]

Awards and honors

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Two Oregon linemen, tackle Steve Barnett and guard Mickey Ording, received first team honors from the Associated Press on the 1961 All-Pacific Coast football team.

End Kent Peterson was selected by his teammates as the most valuable player (Hoffman Award) on the 1961 Oregon team. Halfback Mike Gaechter won the Albert Dudley Clarke award as the team's most improved player.[17]

Kent Peterson and Mickey Bruce were chosen as the team co-captains.

Mel Renfro was later inducted into both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.[18]

Personnel

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Players

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  • Lu Bain (#21), halfback, sophomore, 5'11", 183 pounds
  • Steve Barnett (#77), tackle, junior, 6'1", 252 pounds
  • Paul Burleson (#86), end, sophomore, 6'1", 181 pounds
  • Duane Cargill (#40), fullback, junior, 6'0", 196 pounds
  • Rich Dixon (#53), center, junior, 6'0", 199 pounds
  • Mike Gaechter (#34), right halfback, senior, 6'0", 176 pounds
  • Dick Imwalle (#81), sophomore, end, 6'3", 196 pounds
  • Jim Josephson (#41), fullback, junior, 5'11", 195 pounds
  • Mickey Ording (#67), guard, junior, 6'0", 211 pounds
  • Kent Peterson (#83), end, senior, 6'3", 198 pounds
  • Mike Post (#10), quarterback, sophomore, 6'1", 193 pounds
  • Mel Renfro (#20), left halfback, sophomore, 5'11", 188 pounds
  • Ron Snidow (#75), tackle, junior, 6'3", 214 pounds
  • Ron Veres (#12), quarterback, junior, 6'0", 180 pounds
  • Al Weigel (#62), guard, senior, 6'3", 190 pounds
  • Greg Willener (#87), end, junior, 6'3", 197 pounds

[19][20]

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Coaching staff

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References

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  1. ^ Dick Strite (September 24, 1961). "Oregon Footballers Ramble Past Idaho: Ducks Gain 544 Yards In Rolling to 51-0 Win". Eugene Register-Guard. Eugene, Oregon. pp. 1B, 3B – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ "Sophomore-Laden Oregon Romps Past Vandals 51-0". Lewiston Morning Tribune. Idaho. Associated Press. September 24, 1961. p. 8.
  3. ^ Steve Smilanich (October 1, 1961). "26,578 Watch Utes Down Oregon Eleven: Indians Register Second Win Over Old Rivals". The Ogden Standard-Examiner. p. 3E.
  4. ^ Dick Gordon (October 8, 1961). "Gophers Whip Oregon 14-7". Minneapolis Sunday Tribune. pp. 1, 2 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Don McLeod (October 15, 1961). "Arizona Hangs 15-6 Defeat On Webfoots: 18,651 See Wildcats Rack UO". The Sunday Oregonian. pp. 1, 6 (section 2) – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ Dick Strite (October 22, 1961). "Defense Helps Oregon Eleven Turn Back San Jose: Snidow Defensive Giant As Webfoots Win 21-6". Eugene Register-Guard. pp. 1B, 3B – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Don McLeod (October 29, 1961). "Ducks Stun Huskies, 7-6: PAT Spells Difference In Victory; Veres' TD Pass, Oregon Defense Halt UW Bid". The Oregonian. pp. 1, 7 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Dick Strite (November 5, 1961). "Renfro-Led Ducks Triumph Over Stanford, 19-7". Eugene Register-Guard. pp. 1B, 2B – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Cougars Upend Ducks by 22 to 21". The Spokesman-Review. November 12, 1961. p. 1 (sports) – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ Dick Strite (November 19, 1961). "Buckeyes Trip Ducks, 22-12: 72-Yard TD Run Foils Oregon Upset Bid". Eugene Register-Guard. pp. 1B, 3B – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
  12. ^ Dick Strite (November 26, 1961). "Oregon State Makes TD Stand Up in 6-2 Win: Oregon Gridders Unable to Pierce Beaver Defense". Eugene Register-Guard. pp. 1B, 3B – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "1961 Oregon Ducks Schedule and Results". College Football @ Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  14. ^ "1961 Football Schedule". University of Oregon Athletics. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  15. ^ "2023 Oregon Football Record Book" (PDF). University of Oregon Athletics. p. 48. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  16. ^ a b c d e f "Highclimber". The Eugene Guard. November 30, 1961. pp. 1D, 3D – via Newspapers.com.
  17. ^ "Webfoot Gridders Pick End Peterson As Most Valuable". The Oregon Journal. November 28, 1961. p. 7 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ^ "Mel Renfro". National Football Foundation. Retrieved August 31, 2024.
  19. ^ "Oregon-Idaho Rosters". The Eugene Guard. September 22, 1961. p. 14 – via Newspapers.com.
  20. ^ "Washington State vs. Oregon game program". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). November 11, 1961. p. 14.
  21. ^ a b c 1962 Oregana yearbook, pp. 83-85.
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