1961 Richmond Spiders football team

1961 Richmond Spiders football
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record5–5 (5–2 SoCon)
Head coach
CaptainArt McGee, Earl Stoudt
Home stadiumCity Stadium
Seasons
← 1960
1962 →
1961 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
The Citadel $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Richmond 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
VMI 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
West Virginia 2 – 1 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Furman 2 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
George Washington 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Virginia Tech 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Davidson 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0
William & Mary 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1961 Richmond Spiders football team was an American football team that represented the University of Richmond as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1961 college football season. In their eleventh season under head coach Ed Merrick, Richmond compiled a 5–5 record (5–2 in conference games), and were outscored by a total of 194 to 143.[1]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Mel Rideout with 808 passing yards, Earl Stoudt with 704 rushing yards, and John Hilton with 334 receiving yards.

The team played its home games at City Stadium in Richmond, Virginia.

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 16at West Virginia
W 35–2612,000[2]
September 23at Army*
L 6–2411,250[3]
September 29VMI
L 6–812,000[4]
October 7at The Citadel
L 6–2417,250[5]
October 14George Washington
  • City Stadium
  • Richmond, VA
W 16–151,800[6]
October 21at Florida State*
L 7–1313,600[7]
October 28Davidson
  • City Stadium
  • Richmond, VA
W 20–03,000[8]
November 4Virginia Tech
  • City Stadium
  • Richmond, VA
W 11–014,000[9]
November 11at No. 2 Alabama*
L 0–6628,000[10]
November 23William & Mary
W 36–188,000[11]
  • *Non-conference game
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Statistics

[edit]

The Spiders gainedan average of 144.0 rushing yards and 99.7 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up an average of 156.5 rushing yards and 106.5 passing yards per game.[12]

Quarterback Mel Rideout completed 68 of 178 passes (38.2%) for 808 yards wit seven touchdowns, 11 interceptions, and a 77.0 quarterback rating.[12]

Halfback and co-captain Earl Stoudt led the team in rushing with 704 rushing yards on 162 carries for an average of 4.3 yards per carry. He also caught 21 passes for 183 yards and completed four of seven passes for 53 yards.[12]

End John Hilton led the team with 26 receptions for 334 receiving yards.[12]

Fullback Larry Deco ranked second on the team with 249 rushing yards on 52 carries, an average of 4.8 yards per carry.[12]

Awards and honors

[edit]

Senior halfback Earl Stoudt and senior end Art McGee were selected as the co-captains of the team.[13]

Stoudt was selected as the Southern Conference's Player of the Year.[14]

Stoudt and center Don Christman were selected as first-team players on the 1961 All-Southern Conference football team. End John Hilton and tackle Joe Teefey were named to the second team.[14]

Personnel

[edit]

Players

[edit]
  • Tom Bondurant, guard, sophomore, 5'11", 210 pounds, Richmond, VA
  • Don Christman, fullback/center, senior, 6'0", 215 pounds, North Hampton, PA
  • Dick Curl, quarterback, senior, 6'0", 179 pounds, Chester, PA
  • Jack/Ben Davis, guard, junior, 6'0", 200 pounds, Tappahannock, VA
  • Larry Deco, fullback, sophomore, 6'0", 215 pounds, Avella, PA
  • Bob Drobney, end, sophomore, 6'0", 180 pounds, Sharpsville, PA
  • Jim Helvin, center, sophomore, 5'11", 175 pounds, Charlottesville, VA
  • John Hilton, end, sophomore, 6'5", 210 pounds, Richmond, VA
  • Bob Hodgson, halfback, sophomore, 5'10", 164 pounds, Charleroi, PA
  • Joe Kessel, center/guard, sophomore, 5'10", 185 pounds, Wayne, NJ
  • Bob Klinger, tackle, junior, 6'2", 218 pounds, Palmyra, PA
  • Fred Mancuso, guard, sophomore, 6'3", 215 pounds, Pittsburgh, PA
  • Art McGee, end and co-captain, senior, 6'0", 200 pounds, Baltimore, MD
  • Al Mitchell, tackle, sophomore, 6'2", 217 pounds, Alexandria, VA
  • Billy Nix, fullback, senior, 5'9", 190 pounds, Richmond, VA
  • Tommy Peacock, fullback, sophomore, 5'10", 205 pounds, Bradenton, FL
  • Stewart Percy, halfback, junior, 5'10", 165 pounds, Norristown, PA
  • George Rapp, end, junior, 6'1", 183 pounds, Wayne, NJ
  • Mel Rideout, quarterback, junior, 6'2", 200 pounds, Richmond, VA
  • Steve Stevenson, halfback, junior, 5'10", 175 pounds, Richmond, VA
  • Earl Stoudt, halfback and co-captain, senior, 5'9", 173 pounds, Lancaster, PA
  • Joe Teefey, tackle, senior, 6'3", 223, Richmond, CA
  • Don Thompson, tackle, senior, 6'4", 212 pounds, Danville, VA
  • Brent Vann, halfback, junior, 6'0", 185 pounds, Franklin, VA
  • Bill Ventura, end, junior, 6'6", 224 pounds, Garfield, NJ

[15][16]

Coaches

[edit]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1961 Richmond Spiders Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved August 23, 2021.
  2. ^ "Spiders beat WVU, 35 to 26; Rideout throws 3 TD passes". Richmond Times-Dispatch. September 17, 1961. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Army vanquishes Richmond in opener, 24–6". Poughkeepsie Journal. September 24, 1961. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "VMI trips Richmond, 8–6". Daily Press. September 30, 1961. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "The Citadel crushes Richmond in SC game". The Times and Democrat. October 8, 1961. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "UR nips GW by 16–15". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 15, 1961. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Rally of FSU backboned by Kinderman". Tallahassee Democrat. October 22, 1961. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Richmond rips Davidson, 20–0". The Charlotte Observer. October 29, 1961. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Richmond drops VPI, 11–0, as Pratt's punts sparkle". Daily Press. November 5, 1961. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Tide romps 66 to 0 and looks to Tech". The Birmingham News. November 12, 1961. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Spiders rout Tribe, 36–18". Richmond Times-Dispatch. November 24, 1961. Retrieved August 23, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b c d e "1961 Richmond Spiders Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 3, 2024.
  13. ^ "UR Elects Stoudt, McGee Cocaptains for 1961 Season". The Richmond News Leader. December 13, 1961. p. 22 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ a b Ed Young (November 29, 1961). "Spiders' Earl Stoudt Is SC's Player Of Year". The Roanoke Times. p. 18.
  15. ^ Shelley Rolfe (September 7, 1961). "Spiders Have Depth, But Inexperience, Tougher Schedule May Be Overpowering". Richmond Times-Dispatch. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. ^ Laurence Leonard (September 7, 1961). "Spiders Face 'Worry Causing' Slate". Richmond News Leader. p. 47 – via Newspapers.com.


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