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1961 Chicago Bears
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Record: 8-6-0, Finished 3rd in NFL West Division
NFL Season Summary
Scored 326 points (23.3/g), 5th of 14 in the NFL.
Allowed 302 points (21.6/g), 9th.
Differential of 24 points (1.7/g), 6th.
Expected W-L: 7.6-6.4.
Takeaway/Giveaway Differential -1 (-0.1/g), 8th.
Coached by George Halas (8-6-0)
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1961 Statistics / Starters & Roster / Games & Schedule / Team Draftees
Starters
Glossary · ProBowl(*), 1st-team All-Pro(+), · CSV · PRE · Hide Non-primary Starters| Pos | Age | Yrs | GS | Summary of Player Stats | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Offensive Starters | Complete Team Stats | |||||
| QB | Billy Wade | 31 | 7 | 9 | 139 for 250, 2,258 yards, 22 td, 13 int, & 45 rushes for 255 yards and 2 td | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 1st pick / 1952 |
| QB | Ed Brown | 33 | 7 | 5 | 46 for 98, 742 yards, 4 td, 11 int, & 13 rushes for 18 yards and 0 td | Chicago Bears / 6th / 68th pick / 1952 |
| HB | Willie Galimore | 26 | 4 | 0 | 153 rushes for 707 yards, 4 td, & 33 catches for 502 yards and 3 td | Chicago Bears / 5th / 58th pick / 1956 |
| FB | Rick Casares | 30 | 6 | 0 | 135 rushes for 588 yards, 8 td, & 8 catches for 69 yards and 0 td | Chicago Bears / 2nd / 18th pick / 1954 |
| FL | Johnny Morris | 26 | 3 | 0 | 36 catches for 548 yards, 4 td, & 8 rushes for 49 yards and 0 td | Chicago Bears / 12th / 137th pick / 1958 |
| SE | Bo Farrington | 25 | 1 | 0 | 21 catches for 349 yards, 4 td | Chicago Bears / 16th / 187th pick / 1960 |
| TE | Mike Ditka* | 22 | Rook | 0 | 56 catches for 1,076 yards, 12 td | Chicago Bears / 1st / 5th pick / 1961 |
| LT | Herman Lee | 30 | 4 | 0 | Chicago Bears / 23rd / 270th pick / 1954 |
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| LG | Stan Jones* | 30 | 7 | 0 | Chicago Bears / 5th / 54th pick / 1953 |
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| C | Mike Pyle | 22 | Rook | 14 | Chicago Bears / 7th / 89th pick / 1961 |
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| RG | Roger Davis | 23 | 1 | 0 | Chicago Bears / 1st / 7th pick / 1960 |
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| RT | Art Anderson | 25 | Rook | 0 | ||
| Defensive Starters | ||||||
| LDE | Maury Youmans | 25 | 1 | 0 | Chicago Bears / 9th / 105th pick / 1959 |
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| LDT | Bob Kilcullen | 25 | 4 | 0 | Chicago Bears / 8th / 96th pick / 1957 |
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| RDT | Fred Williams | 32 | 9 | 0 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Chicago Bears / 5th / 56th pick / 1952 |
| RDE | Doug Atkins* | 31 | 8 | 0 | 0 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Cleveland Browns / 1st / 11th pick / 1953 |
| LLB | Joe Fortunato | 31 | 6 | 0 | 3 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | Chicago Bears / 7th / 80th pick / 1952 |
| MLB | Bill George*+ | 32 | 9 | 0 | 3 interceptions, 2 fumbles recovered | Chicago Bears / 2nd / 23rd pick / 1951 |
| RLB | Larry Morris | 28 | 6 | 0 | 1 interception, 1 fumble recovered | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 7th pick / 1955 |
| LCB | J.C. Caroline | 28 | 5 | 0 | 3 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Chicago Bears / 7th / 82nd pick / 1956 |
| RCB | Dave Whitsell | 25 | 3 | 0 | 6 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Detroit Lions / 24th / 289th pick / 1958 |
| LS | Richie Petitbon | 23 | 2 | 0 | 5 interceptions, 0 fumbles recovered | Chicago Bears / 2nd / 21st pick / 1959 |
| RS | Rosey Taylor | 24 | Rook | 0 | 0 interceptions, 1 fumble recovered | |
| Special Teams Starters | ||||||
| K | Roger LeClerc | 25 | 1 | 0 | 10 of 24 field goals & 40 of 41 extra points | Chicago Bears / 15th / 177th pick / 1959 |
| P | Ed Brown | 33 | 7 | 5 | 58 punts for a 42.2 average, 0 blocked | Chicago Bears / 6th / 68th pick / 1952 |
| PR | Johnny Morris | 26 | 3 | 0 | 23 punt returns for a 6.7 average and 0 td | Chicago Bears / 12th / 137th pick / 1958 |
| KR | Charlie Bivins | 23 | 1 | 0 | 25 kick returns for a 26.7 average and 0 td | Chicago Bears / 7th / 79th pick / 1960 |
| Age | Pos | G | GS | Wt | Ht | College/Univ | BirthDate | Yrs | Drafted (tm/rnd/yr) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Adams | 24 | E-FB | 13 | 0 | 235 | 6-3 | Los Angeles State,UCLA | 11/28/1937 | 2 | Chicago Bears / 5th / 57th pick / 1959 |
| Art Anderson | 25 | T | 14 | 0 | 244 | 6-3 | Idaho | 10/9/1936 | Rook | |
| Doug Atkins* | 31 | DE | 14 | 0 | 257 | 6-8 | Tennessee | 5/8/1930 | 8 | Cleveland Browns / 1st / 11th pick / 1953 |
| Charlie Bivins | 23 | HB-TE | 14 | 0 | 212 | 6-1 | Morris Brown | 10/16/1938 | 1 | Chicago Bears / 7th / 79th pick / 1960 |
| Bill Brown | 23 | RB | 14 | 0 | 228 | 5-11 | Illinois | 6/29/1938 | Rook | Chicago Bears / 2nd / 20th pick / 1961 |
| Ed Brown | 33 | QB | 14 | 5 | 200 | 6-2 | San Francisco | 10/26/1928 | 7 | Chicago Bears / 6th / 68th pick / 1952 |
| J.C. Caroline | 28 | DB-HB | 14 | 0 | 185 | 6-0 | Illinois | 1/17/1933 | 5 | Chicago Bears / 7th / 82nd pick / 1956 |
| Rick Casares | 30 | FB | 13 | 0 | 226 | 6-2 | Florida | 7/4/1931 | 6 | Chicago Bears / 2nd / 18th pick / 1954 |
| Angelo Coia | 23 | SE-WR | 11 | 0 | 195 | 6-3 | Citadel,USC | 4/21/1938 | 1 | Chicago Bears / 20th / 237th pick / 1960 |
| Roger Davis | 23 | G-T | 14 | 0 | 240 | 6-3 | Syracuse | 6/23/1938 | 1 | Chicago Bears / 1st / 7th pick / 1960 |
| Mike Ditka* | 22 | TE | 14 | 0 | 228 | 6-3 | Pittsburgh | 10/18/1939 | Rook | Chicago Bears / 1st / 5th pick / 1961 |
| Jim Dooley | 31 | B-E-FL-TE | 6 | 0 | 198 | 6-4 | Miami (FL) | 2/8/1930 | 9 | Chicago Bears / 1st / 8th pick / 1952 |
| Stan Fanning | 24 | T-DE-DT | 14 | 0 | 270 | 6-7 | Idaho | 11/22/1937 | 1 | Chicago Bears / 11th / 128th pick / 1960 |
| Bo Farrington | 25 | SE-WR | 11 | 0 | 217 | 6-3 | Prairie View | 1/18/1936 | 1 | Chicago Bears / 16th / 187th pick / 1960 |
| Joe Fortunato | 31 | LB | 14 | 0 | 225 | 6-1 | Mississippi State,VMI | 3/28/1930 | 6 | Chicago Bears / 7th / 80th pick / 1952 |
| Willie Galimore | 26 | HB | 14 | 0 | 187 | 6-1 | Florida A&M | 3/30/1935 | 4 | Chicago Bears / 5th / 58th pick / 1956 |
| Bill George*+ | 32 | LB-G-MG-DT | 14 | 0 | 237 | 6-2 | Wake Forest | 10/27/1929 | 9 | Chicago Bears / 2nd / 23rd pick / 1951 |
| Harlon Hill | 29 | E-DB | 14 | 0 | 199 | 6-3 | North Alabama | 5/4/1932 | 7 | Chicago Bears / 15th / 174th pick / 1954 |
| Bobby G. Jackson | 25 | DB | 9 | 0 | 190 | 6-1 | Alabama | 1/10/1936 | 1 | Green Bay Packers / 7th / 73rd pick / 1959 |
| Stan Jones* | 30 | G-DT-T | 14 | 0 | 252 | 6-1 | Maryland | 11/24/1931 | 7 | Chicago Bears / 5th / 54th pick / 1953 |
| Ted Karras | 27 | G-T-LB | 14 | 0 | 245 | 6-1 | Indiana | 1/31/1934 | 3 | |
| Bob Kilcullen | 25 | DT-DE-T | 14 | 0 | 245 | 6-3 | Texas Tech | 5/13/1936 | 4 | Chicago Bears / 8th / 96th pick / 1957 |
| Ken Kirk | 23 | LB | 10 | 0 | 230 | 6-2 | Mississippi | 2/26/1938 | 1 | Chicago Bears / 9th / 104th pick / 1960 |
| Roger LeClerc | 25 | LB-K-C | 14 | 0 | 235 | 6-3 | Trinity (CT) | 10/1/1936 | 1 | Chicago Bears / 15th / 177th pick / 1959 |
| Herman Lee | 30 | T-G | 14 | 0 | 244 | 6-4 | Florida A&M | 8/29/1931 | 4 | Chicago Bears / 23rd / 270th pick / 1954 |
| Pete Manning | 24 | DB | 3 | 0 | 208 | 6-3 | Wake Forest | 8/11/1937 | 1 | Chicago Bears / 8th / 93rd pick / 1960 |
| John Mellekas | 28 | C-DT-T | 14 | 0 | 255 | 6-3 | Arizona | 6/14/1933 | 5 | Chicago Bears / 4th / 47th pick / 1956 |
| Johnny Morris | 26 | FL-HB | 14 | 0 | 180 | 5-10 | California-Santa Barbara | 9/26/1935 | 3 | Chicago Bears / 12th / 137th pick / 1958 |
| Larry Morris | 28 | LB-FB-HB | 14 | 0 | 226 | 6-2 | Georgia Tech | 12/10/1933 | 6 | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 7th pick / 1955 |
| Don Mullins | 22 | DB | 4 | 0 | 195 | 6-1 | Houston | 3/31/1939 | Rook | |
| Dick Norman | 23 | QB | 3 | 0 | 209 | 6-3 | Stanford | 9/14/1938 | Rook | Oakland Raiders / 5th / 36th pick / 1961 |
| Richie Petitbon | 23 | DB | 14 | 0 | 206 | 6-3 | Loyola (LA),Tulane | 4/18/1938 | 2 | Chicago Bears / 2nd / 21st pick / 1959 |
| Mike Pyle | 22 | C | 14 | 14 | 250 | 6-3 | Yale | 7/18/1939 | Rook | Chicago Bears / 7th / 89th pick / 1961 |
| J.D. Smith | 91 | FB-HB | 3 | 0 | 210 | 6-1 | Compton Community College (CA) | 0/0/0 | 1 | |
| Rosey Taylor | 24 | DB | 14 | 0 | 186 | 5-11 | Grambling State | 7/4/1937 | Rook | |
| Billy Wade | 31 | QB | 13 | 9 | 202 | 6-2 | Vanderbilt | 10/4/1930 | 7 | Los Angeles Rams / 1st / 1st pick / 1952 |
| Bob Wetoska | 24 | T-G-C | 14 | 0 | 240 | 6-3 | Notre Dame | 8/22/1937 | 1 | Washington Redskins / 5th / 49th pick / 1959 |
| Dave Whitsell | 25 | DB | 14 | 0 | 189 | 6-0 | Indiana | 6/14/1936 | 3 | Detroit Lions / 24th / 289th pick / 1958 |
| Fred Williams | 32 | DT-G | 14 | 0 | 249 | 6-4 | Arkansas | 2/8/1929 | 9 | Chicago Bears / 5th / 56th pick / 1952 |
| Maury Youmans | 25 | DE | 14 | 0 | 251 | 6-4 | Syracuse | 10/18/1936 | 1 | Chicago Bears / 9th / 105th pick / 1959 |
| Team Total | 27.9 | 14 | 222.0 | 6-2.3 | 3.2 |