1961 Ohio State Buckeyes football team

1961 Ohio State Buckeyes football
1961 Ohio State Buckeyes football
FWAA national champion; Big Ten champion
Conference	Big Ten Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 2
AP	No. 2
Record	8–0–1 (6–0 Big Ten)
Head coach	Woody Hayes (11th season);
Captains	Mike Ingram; Tom Perdue;
Home stadium	Ohio Stadium
	Seasons ← 1960 1962 →

1961 Big Ten Conference football standings
v t e	Conf					Overall
Team	W		L		T	W		L		T
No. 2 Ohio State $	6	–	0	–	0	8	–	0	–	1
No. 6 Minnesota	6	–	1	–	0	8	–	2	–	0
No. 8 Michigan State	5	–	2	–	0	7	–	2	–	0
No. 12 Purdue	4	–	2	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Wisconsin	4	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Michigan	3	–	3	–	0	6	–	3	–	0
Iowa	2	–	4	–	0	5	–	4	–	0
Northwestern	2	–	4	–	0	4	–	5	–	0
Indiana	0	–	6	–	0	2	–	7	–	0
Illinois	0	–	7	–	0	0	–	9	–	0

$ – Conference champion Rankings from AP Poll

The 1961 Ohio State Buckeyes football team represented the Ohio State University in the 1961 Big Ten Conference football season. The Buckeyes compiled an 8–0–1 record and finished No. 2 in the final AP and UPI/Coaches' Polls. They were awarded the national championship by the Football Writers Association of America (FWAA). This was the Buckeyes fourth national championship and the third for head coach Woody Hayes. The Alabama Crimson Tide were voted national champions by the AP and Coaches' Polls.

Days after the conclusion of the regular season, the university's faculty council voted down participation in the Rose Bowl,^[1]^[2]^[3] which then went to No. 6 Minnesota, Big Ten runner-up.^[4] A growing conflict between academics and athletics over Ohio State's reputation as a "football school" resulted in the faculty's decision to turn down an invitation to the Rose Bowl, resulting in much public protest and debate.

Schedule[edit]

Date	Time	Opponent	Rank	Site	Result	Attendance
September 30	1:30 p.m.	TCU*	No. 3	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	T 7–7	82,878
October 7	1:30 p.m.	UCLA*	No. 8	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 13–3	82,992
October 14	1:00 p.m.	Illinois	No. 7	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH (Illibuck Trophy)	W 44–0	82,374
October 21		at Northwestern	No. 7	Dyche Stadium Evanston, IL	W 10–0	43,259
October 28		at Wisconsin	No. 6	Camp Randall Stadium Madison, WI	W 30–21	58,411
November 4	1:30 p.m.	No. 9 Iowa	No. 5	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 29–13	83,795
November 11		at Indiana	No. 3	Seventeenth Street Football Stadium Bloomington, IN	W 16–7	27,108
November 18	1:30 p.m.	Oregon*	No. 3	Ohio Stadium Columbus, OH	W 22–12	82,073
November 25	1:00 p.m.	at Michigan	No. 2	Michigan Stadium Ann Arbor, MI (rivalry)	W 50–20	80,444
*Non-conference game Homecoming Rankings from AP Poll released prior to the game All times are in Eastern time

Personnel[edit]

1961 Ohio State Buckeyes football team roster

Players

Coaches

Offense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
C	`53`	Billy Joe Armstrong	Jr
G	`71`	James Bearss	So
HB, DB	`12`	Bob Bruney	So
E	`88`	Charles Bryant	Sr
OT	`54`	Dennis Carter	So
FB, LB	`32`	Roger Detrick	Sr
FB, LB	`46`	Bob Ferguson	Sr
G	`66`	Charles Foreman	Sr
G	`69`	Rod Foster	Jr
FB	`33`	Dave Francis	Jr
C	`58`	Dean Fronk	So
HB	`15`	Tony Hall	So
FB	`35`	Woody Hall	So
HB	`47`	Gary Honsley	Sr
G	`62`	Dennis Hullinger	So
G, LB	`64`	Mike Ingram (C)	Sr
G	`65`	Tom Jenkins	So
HB, DB	`21`	Ken Johnson	Jr
HB	`45`	William Jones	So
HB	`19`	Bob Klein	Jr
OT	`61`	Raymond Krstolic	Jr
HB	`48`	Karl Kumler	Jr
FB	`17`	Howard Lambert	Sr
OT	`70`	Richard Laskoski	Jr
QB	`23`	Robert Lister	Sr
HB	`43`	Richard Mangiamelle	Jr
QB	`27`	Larry Marmie	So
E	`91`	Paul Martin	Sr
E	`80`	Robert Middleton	Jr
C	`56`	Richard Morgan	So
QB	`26`	Bill Mrukowski	Jr
QB	`25`	John Mummey	Jr
E	`90`	Joseph Nourse	So
E, DE	`83`	Ormonde Ricketts	So
OT	`75`	Jack Roberts	Sr
OT, DL	`76`	Daryl Sanders	Jr
E	`84`	Keith Smith	So
HB, LB	`41`	Matt Snell	So
QB	`24`	Joe Sparma	So
OT	`72`	Bernie Stanley	So
HB	`16`	David Tingley	Sr
E, PK	`86`	Dick Van Raaphorst	So
C	`50`	Jerry Vanscoy	Jr
OT, DL	`73`	Bob Vogel	Jr
QB	`23`	Jack Wallace	Sr
HB, DB	`42`	Paul Warfield	So
E	`82`	George Wittmer	Sr
C	`51`	Albert Zima	Jr

Defense

Pos.	#	Name	Class
MG	`55`	Wayne Betz	Jr
DL	`34`	Robert Butts	Jr
DL	`93`	Dennis Clotz	Sr
DL	`77`	Dan Connor	Jr
DB	`28`	Bill Hess	Jr
DB	`49`	Ron Houck	Sr
MG	`67`	Dave Katterhenrich	Jr
DT, PK	`79`	Charles Mamula	So
MG	`60`	Wes Mirick	So
MG, LB	`68`	Gary Moeller	Jr
LB	`63`	Al Parker	So
DE	`87`	Tom Perdue (C)	Sr
DE	`89`	Elwood Rayford	Jr
DT	`78`	George Tolford	Sr
DE	`85`	Sam Tidmore	Sr
DB	`44`	Ed Ulmer	Jr

Special teams

Pos.	#	Name	Class
PK	`18`	Stewart Baffer	So
PK	`20`	Ben Jones	Jr

Head coach

Woody Hayes

Coordinators/assistant coaches

Lyal Clark
Alan Fiers
Ernie Godfrey
Bill Gunlock
Jim Herbstreit
Esco Sarkkinen
Bo Schembechler
Harry Strobel

Legend

(C) Team captain
(S) Suspended
(I) Ineligible

Injured
Redshirt

Roster
Last update: 2024-Feb-24.

Game summaries[edit]

TCU[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
TCU	0	0	0	7	7
Ohio St	7	0	0	0	7

Date: September 30
Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Game attendance: 82,878
Game weather: Sunny; 82 °F (28 °C); wind 20 mph

^[5]

UCLA[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
UCLA	0	3	0	0	3
• Ohio St	0	0	0	13	13

Date: October 7
Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Game attendance: 82,992
Game weather: Sunny; 72 °F (22 °C); wind 5 mph ESE

^[6]

Illinois[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Illinois	0	0	0	0	0
• Ohio St	0	21	16	7	44

Date: October 14
Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Game attendance: 82,974
Game weather: Cloudy; 48 °F (9 °C); wind 15 mph NNW

^[7]

Northwestern[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	0	3	0	7	10
Northwestern	0	0	0	0	0

Date: October 21
Location: Dyche Stadium, Evanston, Illinois
Game attendance: 43,259
Game weather: Cloudy; 48 °F (9 °C)

^[8]

Wisconsin[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	7	10	6	7	30
Wisconsin	0	15	0	6	21

Date: October 28
Location: Camp Randall Stadium, Madison, Wisconsin
Game attendance: 58,411
Game weather: Cloudy; 52 °F (11 °C); wind 10 mph S
Referee: Tony Skover

^[9]

Iowa[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Iowa	0	0	7	6	13
• Ohio St	6	6	0	17	29

Date: November 4
Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Game attendance: 83,795
Game weather: Cloudy; 46 °F (8 °C); wind 5 mph E

^[10]

Indiana[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	0	9	7	0	16
Indiana	0	7	0	0	7

Date: November 11
Location: Memorial Stadium, Bloomington, Indiana
Game attendance: 27,106
Game weather: 56 °F (13 °C); wind 8 mph SSE

^[11] ^[12]

Oregon[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
Oregon	0	6	0	6	12
• Ohio St	8	7	7	0	22

Date: November 18
Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Game attendance: 82,073
Game weather: Sunny; 38 °F (3 °C); wind 9 mph NNW

^[13]

Michigan[edit]

	1	2	3	4	Total
• Ohio St	7	14	0	29	50
Michigan	0	6	6	8	20

Date: November 25
Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, Michigan
Game attendance: 80,444
Game weather: Clear

^[14] ^[15]

Depth chart[edit]

Defense

LB	MLB	LB
Thomas Perdue	Bill Mrukowski	Samuel Tidmore
⋅	⋅	⋅
⋅	⋅	⋅

CB
Bill Hess
Ed Ulmer
⋅

DE	DT	NT	DT	DE
George Tolford	Larry Stephens	Gary Moeller	Mike Ingram	Jack Roberts
⋅	Wesley Mirick	⋅	⋅	⋅
⋅	⋅	⋅	⋅	⋅

CB
Ronald Houck
⋅
⋅

Offense

SE
Charles Bryant
⋅
⋅

LT	LG	C	RG	RT
Robert Vogel	Thomas Jenkins	Bill Armstrong	Rod Foster	Daryl Sanders
⋅	⋅	Gary Moeller	⋅	Rick Laskoski
⋅	⋅	⋅	⋅	⋅

TE
Robert Middleton
Ormonde Ricketts
⋅

WB
Paul Warfield
⋅
⋅

QB
John Mummey
Bill Mrukowski
⋅

FB
Bob Ferguson
⋅
⋅

Special teams

RB
Matt Snell
Robert Klein
⋅

^[16]

Coaching staff[edit]

Woody Hayes – Head coach – 11th year

1962 Pro draftees[edit]

Player	Draft	Round	Pick	Position	NFL club
Bob Ferguson	NFL	1	5	Fullback	Pittsburgh Steelers
Bob Ferguson	AFL	1	8	Fullback	San Diego Chargers
Chuck Bryant	NFL	3	34	End	St. Louis Cardinals
Chuck Bryant	AFL	13	104	End	San Diego Chargers
Sam Tidmore	NFL	6	81	Linebacker	Cleveland Browns
Sam Tidmore	AFL	20	156	Linebacker	Buffalo Bills
John Havlicek	NFL	7	95	End	Cleveland Browns
Jack Roberts	NFL	20	273	Tackle	Chicago Bears
Mike Ingram	AFL	31	246	Guard	Boston Patriots

References[edit]

^ "Buckeyes finally lose, 28-25 in bowl debate". Toledo Blade. Ohio. Associated Press. November 29, 1961. p. 48.
^ "Ohio State's rejection of Rose Bowl bid trip triggers sharp comments". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. November 29, 1961. p. 60.
^ "Ohio State rejects chance to play in Rose Bowl game". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. November 29, 1961. p. 11.
^ Stevenson, Jack (December 3, 1961). "Minnesota accepts bid, plays Uclans in Rose tilt". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. D-1.
^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
^ Eugene Register-Guard. 1961 Nov 12.
^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
^ "Buckeyes Win Big 10 Title." Palm Beach Post. 1961 Nov 26.
^ Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.
^ 1962 Ohio State football media guide

[bfnlse-1] "Buckeyes finally lose, 28-25 in bowl debate". Toledo Blade. Ohio. Associated Press. November 29, 1961. p. 48.

[yvshpcm-2] "Ohio State's rejection of Rose Bowl bid trip triggers sharp comments". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. November 29, 1961. p. 60.

[osrejrb-3] "Ohio State rejects chance to play in Rose Bowl game". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. November 29, 1961. p. 11.

[maccbd-4] Stevenson, Jack (December 3, 1961). "Minnesota accepts bid, plays Uclans in Rose tilt". Youngstown Vindicator. Ohio. Associated Press. p. D-1.

[5] Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

[6] Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

[7] Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

[8] Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

[9] Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

[10] Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

[11] Eugene Register-Guard. 1961 Nov 12.

[12] Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

[13] Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2016-03-04 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

[14] "Buckeyes Win Big 10 Title." Palm Beach Post. 1961 Nov 26.

[15] Ohio State Official Athletic Site - Football - Archives Archived 2015-04-02 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved March 30, 2015.

[RecordBook-16] 1962 Ohio State football media guide

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

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[9]

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[16]

v t e Ohio State Buckeyes football
Venues	Recreation Park (1890–1897) Ohio Field (1898–1921) Ohio Stadium (1922–present) Woody Hayes Athletic Center (practice)
Bowls & rivalries	Bowl games Illinois: Illibuck Trophy Michigan (The Ten Year War) Penn State
Culture & lore	History Block O Brutus Buckeye "Across the Field" "Buckeye Battle Cry" "Carmen Ohio" "Hang On Sloopy" Marching band Neutron Man The Ten Year War Snow Bowl (1950) 1969 Michigan game 1973 Michigan game The Kick Holy Buckeye 2005 Texas game 2006 Michigan game 2016 Penn State game
Media	WBNS-TV WBNS WBNS-FM Ohio State Sports Network
People	Head coaches All-Century Team NFL draftees Statistical leaders Retired numbers
Seasons	1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024
National championship seasons in bold

v t e College football national champions (poll era)
1936–1949	1936: Minnesota (AP) 1937: Pittsburgh 1938: TCU 1939: Texas A&M 1940: Minnesota 1941: Minnesota 1942: Ohio State 1943: Notre Dame 1944: Army 1945: Army (AP) / Oklahoma A&M (Coaches) 1946: Notre Dame 1947: Notre Dame 1948: Michigan 1949: Notre Dame
1950s	1950: Oklahoma (AP, Coaches) 1951: Tennessee 1952: Michigan State 1953: Maryland 1954: Ohio State (AP) / UCLA (FWAA, Coaches) 1955: Oklahoma 1956: Oklahoma 1957: Auburn (AP) / Ohio State (Coaches, FWAA) 1958: LSU (AP, Coaches) / Iowa (FWAA) 1959: Syracuse (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF)
1960s	1960: Minnesota (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ole Miss (FWAA) 1961: Alabama (AP, Coaches, NFF) / Ohio State (FWAA) 1962: USC 1963: Texas 1964: Alabama (AP, Coaches) / Arkansas (FWAA) / Notre Dame (NFF) 1965: Alabama (AP, FWAA) / Michigan State (Coaches, FWAA, NFF) 1966: Notre Dame (AP, Coaches, FWAA, NFF) / Michigan State (NFF) 1967: USC 1968: Ohio State 1969: Texas
1970s	1970: Nebraska (AP, FWAA) / Texas (NFF, Coaches) / Ohio State (NFF) 1971: Nebraska 1972: USC 1973: Notre Dame (AP, FWAA, NFF) / Alabama (Coaches) 1974: Oklahoma (AP) / USC (FWAA, NFF, Coaches) 1975: Oklahoma 1976: Pittsburgh 1977: Notre Dame 1978: Alabama (AP, FWAA, NFF) / USC (Coaches) 1979: Alabama
1980–1991	1980: Georgia 1981: Clemson 1982: Penn State 1983: Miami (FL) 1984: BYU 1985: Oklahoma 1986: Penn State 1987: Miami (FL) 1988: Notre Dame 1989: Miami (FL) 1990: Colorado (AP, FWAA, NFF, USAT/CNN) / Georgia Tech (Coaches) 1991: Miami (FL) (AP) / Washington (Coaches, FWAA, UPI/NFF)

v t e Big Ten Conference football champions
Western Conference	Wisconsin (1896) Wisconsin (1897) Michigan (1898) Chicago (1899) Iowa & Minnesota (1900) Michigan & Wisconsin (1901) Michigan (1902) Michigan, Minnesota, & Northwestern (1903) Michigan & Minnesota (1904) Chicago (1905) Michigan, Minnesota, & Wisconsin (1906) Chicago (1907) Chicago (1908) Minnesota (1909) Illinois & Minnesota (1910) Minnesota (1911) Wisconsin (1912) Chicago (1913) Illinois (1914) Illinois & Minnesota (1915) Ohio State (1916)
Big Ten	Ohio State (1917) Illinois, Michigan, & Purdue (1918) Illinois (1919) Ohio State (1920) Iowa (1921) Chicago, Iowa, & Michigan (1922) Illinois & Michigan (1923) Chicago (1924) Michigan (1925) Michigan & Northwestern (1926) Illinois & Minnesota (1927) Illinois (1928) Purdue (1929) Michigan & Northwestern (1930) Purdue, Michigan & Northwestern (1931) Michigan & Purdue (1932) Michigan & Minnesota (1933) Minnesota (1934) Minnesota & Ohio State (1935) Northwestern (1936) Minnesota (1937) Minnesota (1938) Ohio State (1939) Minnesota (1940) Minnesota (1941) Ohio State (1942) Michigan & Purdue (1943) Ohio State (1944) Indiana (1945)
Big Nine	Illinois (1946) Michigan (1947) Michigan (1948) Michigan & Ohio State (1949)
Big Ten	Michigan (1950) Illinois (1951) Purdue & Wisconsin (1952) Illinois & Michigan State (1953) Ohio State (1954) Ohio State (1955) Iowa (1956) Ohio State (1957) Iowa (1958) Wisconsin (1959) Minnesota & Iowa (1960) Ohio State (1961) Wisconsin (1962) Illinois (1963) Michigan (1964) Michigan State (1965) Michigan State (1966) Indiana, Minnesota, Purdue (1967) Ohio State (1968) Michigan & Ohio State (1969) Ohio State (1970) Michigan (1971) Michigan & Ohio State (1972) Michigan & Ohio State (1973) Michigan & Ohio State (1974) Ohio State (1975) Michigan & Ohio State (1976) Michigan & Ohio State (1977) Michigan & Michigan State (1978) Ohio State (1979) Michigan (1980) Iowa & Ohio State (1981) Michigan (1982) Illinois (1983) Ohio State (1984) Iowa (1985) Michigan & Ohio State (1986) Michigan State (1987) Michigan (1988) Michigan (1989) Illinois, Iowa, Michigan, & Michigan State (1990) Michigan (1991) Michigan (1992) Ohio State & Wisconsin (1993) Penn State (1994) Northwestern (1995) Ohio State & Northwestern (1996) Michigan (1997) Michigan, Ohio State, & Wisconsin (1998) Wisconsin (1999) Michigan, Northwestern, & Purdue (2000) Illinois (2001) Ohio State & Iowa (2002) Michigan (2003) Iowa & Michigan (2004) Ohio State & Penn State (2005) Ohio State (2006) Ohio State (2007) Ohio State & Penn State (2008) Ohio State (2009) Michigan State & Wisconsin (2010) Wisconsin (2011) Wisconsin (2012) Michigan State (2013) Ohio State (2014) Michigan State (2015) Penn State (2016) Ohio State (2017) Ohio State (2018) Ohio State (2019) Ohio State (2020) Michigan (2021) Michigan (2022) Michigan (2023)
National championships in bold