Wikipedia

1961 Tennessee Volunteers football team

The 1961 Tennessee Volunteers football team (variously "Tennessee", "UT" or the "Vols") was an American football team that represented the University of Tennessee as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1961 college football season. In their seventh year under head coach Bowden Wyatt, the team compiled a 6–4 record (4–3 in conference games). tied for fourth place in the SEC, and outscored opponents by a total of 221 to 149.[1]

1961 Tennessee Volunteers football
ConferenceSoutheastern Conference
Record6–4 (4–3 SEC)
Head coach
CaptainMike Lucci
Home stadiumShields–Watkins Field
Seasons
← 1960
1962 →
1961 Southeastern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
No. 1 Alabama + 7 – 0 – 0 11 – 0 – 0
No. 4 LSU + 6 – 0 – 0 10 – 1 – 0
No. 5 Ole Miss 5 – 1 – 0 9 – 2 – 0
No. 13 Georgia Tech 4 – 3 – 0 7 – 4 – 0
Tennessee 4 – 3 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Florida 3 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 1
Auburn 3 – 4 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
Kentucky 2 – 4 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Georgia 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 7 – 0
Mississippi State 1 – 5 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
Tulane 1 – 5 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
Vanderbilt 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 8 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions
Rankings from AP Poll

Tailback Mallon Faircloth led the team in passing (460 yards), rushing (475 yards), total offense (935 yards), and scoring (36 points, six touchdowns). Center and captain Mike Lucci was the only Tennessee player to receive first-team honors on the 1961 All-SEC football team.

The team played its home games at Shields–Watkins Field in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Schedule

edit
DateOpponentSiteTVResultAttendanceSource
September 30Auburn
L 21–2444,600[2]
October 7Mississippi State 
  • Shields–Watkins Field
  • Knoxville, TN
W 17–331,600[3]
October 14Tulsa*
  • Shields–Watkins Field
  • Knoxville, TN
W 52–623,439[4]
October 21at No. 5 Alabama
ABCL 3–3448,000[5]
October 28Chattanooga*
  • Shields–Watkins Field
  • Knoxville, TN
W 20–725,000[6]
November 4at North Carolina*
L 21–2235,000[7]
November 11No. 9 Georgia Tech
  • Shields–Watkins Field
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
W 10–646,000[8]
November 18vs. No. 6 Ole Miss
L 10–2432,428[9]
November 25at Kentucky
W 26–1637,000[10]
December 2Vanderbilt
  • Shields–Watkins Field
  • Knoxville, TN (rivalry)
W 41–729,130[11]
  • *Non-conference game
  •  Homecoming
  • Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game

Statistics

edit

The Volunteers gained an average of 183.2 rushing yards and 62.0 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up an average of 159.7 rushing yards and 117.6 passing yards per game.[12]

Tailback Mallon Faircloth completed 31 of 52 passes (59.6%) for 460 yards with eight touchdowns, zero interceptions, and a 184.7 quarterback rating. He also led the team in rushing (475 yards), total offense (935 yards), and scoring (36 points, six touchdowns).[12]

The team's leading rushers after Faircloth were Bunny Orr (332 yards, 67 carries), Glenn Glass (261 yards, 59 carries), Jack Nichols (231 yards, 53 carries), and George Canale (146 yards, 42 carries).[12]

The team's leading receivers were Hubert McClain (11 receptions, 149 yards) and Mike Stratton (nine receptions, 142 yards).[12]

Awards and honors

edit

Center Mike Lucci was selected as the team captain.[13] Lucci also won first-team honors from the Associated Press (AP) on the 1961 All-SEC football team and second-team honors from the United Press International (UPI). Tailback Mallon Faircloth was named to the second team by the AP and the third team by the UPI.[14][15][16]

Halfback Glenn Glass was drafted by the Chicago Bears in the 17th round of the 1962 NFL draft.[17]

Personnel

edit

Players

edit
  • Pat Augustine (#84), end, junior, 6'0", 185 pounds
  • Warren Blankenship (#52), center, senior, 6'0", 200 pounds
  • Kenny Brown (79), tackle, junior, 6'1", 196 pounds
  • George Canale (#45), tailback, junior, 5'9", 175 pounds
  • J.W. Carter (#34), fullback, senior, 6'1", 190 pounds
  • Wayne Coleman (#23), blocking back, junior, 5'9", 175 pounds
  • Bob Dalton (#66), guard, sophomore, 6'0", 183 pounds
  • Dick Evey (#75), tackle, sophomore, 6'4", 220 pounds
  • Morgan Faircloth (#43), tailback, sophomore, 5'11", 182 pounds, Cordele, GA
  • Buddy Fisher (#85), end, sophomore, 6'3", 190 pounds
  • Joe Foxall (#63), guard, junior, 6'1", 192 pounds
  • Glenn "Red" Glass (#49), tailback, senior, 6'1", 185 pounds
  • L.T. Helton (#50), center, senior, 6'1", 200 pounds
  • Ken Honea (#20), blocking back, 6'0", 185 pounds
  • Johnny Hudson (#88), end, junior, 6'2", 201 pounds
  • Paul Inglett (#65), guard, senior, 195 pounds
  • Mike Lucci (#55), center, senior, 6'2", 200 pounds
  • Cliff Marquart (#74), tackle, senior, 6'2", 204 pounds
  • Hubert McClain (#19), wingback, sophomore, 5'11", 175 pounds
  • Bobby Morton (#42), tailback, sophomore, 5'10", 161 pounds
  • Jack Nichols (#33), fullback, junior, 6'0", 200 pounds
  • Bunny Orr (#32), fullback, senior, 5'11", 185 pounds
  • Larry Richards (#60), guard, junior, 6'2", 190 pounds
  • Mike Stratton (#86), end, senior, 6'3", 205 pounds
  • Paul Tilson (#76), tackle, junior, 6'1", 195 pounds
  • Tom Williams (#70), tackle, junior, 6'1", 195 pounds
  • Charles Wyrick (#12), wingback, junior, 6'0", 185 pounds

[18][19]

Coaches and administrators

edit

References

edit
  1. ^ "1961 Tennessee Volunteers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  2. ^ "Auburn fielder sinks Vols". The Tennessean. October 1, 1961. Retrieved April 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "Vols turn back Maroons, 17–3". Asheville Citizen-Times. October 8, 1961. Retrieved April 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Vols warm up for Alabama; Rout Tulsa, 52–6". Kingsport Times-News. October 15, 1961. Retrieved April 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "Trammell stars as Tide crushes Tennessee 34–3". The Decatur Daily. October 22, 1961. Retrieved April 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Faircloth supplies punch as Vols tumble Mocs, 20–7". The Knoxville News-Sentinel. October 29, 1961. Retrieved September 10, 2021 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Tars stun Vols 22–21 in final 15 seconds". The Greenville News. November 5, 1961. Retrieved April 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Vols upset Engineers, 10–6". Richmond Times Dispatch. November 12, 1961. Retrieved April 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Powerful Ole Miss belts Vols, 24–10". The Jackson Sun. November 19, 1961. Retrieved April 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Tennessee downs arch-rival Kentucky 26–16". The Paducah Sun-Democrat. November 26, 1961. Retrieved April 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Tennessee Vols crush Vanderbilt, 41–7, in finale". Johnson City Press-Chronicle. December 3, 1961. Retrieved April 13, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ a b c d "1961 Tennessee Volunteers Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 4, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c 1962 The Volunteer (University of Tennessee yearbook), p. 97.
  14. ^ "Trammell, Neighbors, Fracchia Picked From Bama To All-SEC". The Evening Independent. December 5, 1961.
  15. ^ "AP's All-SEC". The Monroe News-Star. December 5, 1961. p. 8. Retrieved June 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  16. ^ "UPI All-Southeastern". The Delta Democrat-Times. November 29, 1961. p. 12. Retrieved June 8, 2015 – via Newspapers.com.  
  17. ^ "1962 NFL Draft". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 8, 2012.
  18. ^ "Today's Rosters". The Knoxville Journal. September 30, 1961. p. 1 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ^ 1962 The Volunteer (University of Tennessee yearbook), pp. 98-99.
  20. ^ a b 1962 The Volunteer, p. 96.
Retrieved from "https://en.wiki.x.io/w/index.php?title=1961_Tennessee_Volunteers_football_team&oldid=1249448241"