American college football season
The1961 UCLA Bruins football team was anAmerican football team that represented theUniversity of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) as a member of theAthletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU), commonly known at the time as the Big 5 Conference, during the1961 college football season . In their fourth year under head coachBill Barnes , the Bruins compiled a 7–4 record (3–1 in conference games), won the AAWU championship, outscored opponents by a total of 182 to 121, and were ranked No. 16 in the finalAssociated Press writers poll . They closed the season with a 21–3 loss toMinnesota in the1962 Rose Bowl .[ 1]
Ron Hull , who played at center on offense and linebacker on defense, was the team captain and a first-team All-American. The team's offensive leaders wereBobby Smith with 305 passing yards and 60 points scored;Mike Haffner with 696 rushing yards; andKermit Alexander with 271 receiving yards.[ 2]
The team played its home games at theLos Angeles Memorial Coliseum inLos Angeles .
Date Opponent Rank Site Result Attendance Source September 23 atAir Force * W 19–627,500 [ 3] September 30 atMichigan * No. 9 L 6–2973,019 [ 4] October 7 at No. 8Ohio State * L 3–1382,992 October 14 Vanderbilt * W 28–2123,704 [ 5] October 21 Pittsburgh * Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 20–627,688 [ 6] October 28 atStanford W 20–035,000 [ 7] November 4 California Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA (rivalry ) W 35–1533,792 [ 8] November 10 TCU * Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA W 28–729,236 November 18 Washington Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum Los Angeles, CA L 13–1733,969 [ 9] November 25 atUSC W 10–757,580 [ 10] January 1 vs. No. 6Minnesota * No. 16 L 3–2198,214 *Non-conference game Rankings fromAP Poll released prior to the game
[ 11]
Ron Hull was on the field for 350 of 600 minutes during the 1961 regular season, playing at center on offense and at linebacker on defense.[ 12] Football Writers Association of America (forLook 1961 All-America team .[ 13] Associated Press (AP).
At the end of the season, the AP released a1961 All-Pacific Coast football team , and the AAWU released its own all-conference list limited to AAWU teams. Nine UCLA players received honors one or both: Hull (AP-1, AAWU-1); halfbackBobby Smith (AP-1, AAWU-1); quarterback/halfbackMike Haffner (AP-2, AAWU-2); tackleFoster Andersen (AP-2, AAWU-2); endKermit Alexander (AAWU-2); end Don Vena (AAWU-2); guard Frank Macri (AAWU-2); guard Tom Paton (AAWU-2); and tackle Marshall Shirk (AAWU-2).[ 14] [ 15]
The Bruins gained an average of 218.5 rushing yards and 68 passing yards per game and scored an average of 16.5 points a game. On defense, the team held opponents to 144.2 rushing yards and 78.9 passing yards and 11.0 points per game.[ 16]
The team's individual statistical leaders were:
Rushing -Mike Haffner (696 yards, 107 carries),Bobby Smith (631 yards, 166 carries), Almose Thompson (370 yards, 93 carries), andKermit Alexander (165 yards, 30 carries).[ 16] Passing - Bobby Smith (16 of 33, 305 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions) and Mike Haffner (14 of 34, 231 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions).[ 16] Receiving - Kermit Alexander (11 receptions, 271 yards) and Don Vena (nine receptions, 103 yards).[ 16] Scoring - Bobby Smith (60 points) and Mike Haffner (48 points).[ 16] Kermit Alexander , right halfback, 187 pounds, No. 33Dick Allen, guard Foster Andersen , tackle, 235 pounds, No. 74Joe Bauwens, guard/tackle Steve Bauwens, tackle Jim Bergman, quarterback Walt Dathe, guard Mitch Dimkich, fullback Carmen DiPoalo, halfback Tony Fiorentino, tackle Al Geverink, end Mel Gibbs, end Tom Gutman, right end, No. 80 Mike Haffner , left halfback, sophomore, No. 11[ 17] Bill Hauck, right halfback Gale Hickman, end Chuck Hicks, right end, 191 pounds, No. 88 Ron Hull , center and captain, 205 pounds, No. 50Keith Jensen, halfback Bob Jones, tackle John LoCurto, quarterback Frank Macari, guard, 235 pounds, No. 43 Phil Oram, tackle, 221 pounds, No. 77 Tom Paton, guard, 215 pounds, No. 68 Mel Profit , defensive end, No. 84[ 18] Herb Quincy, guard Joe Rosenkrans, halfback Gary Scrivens, center Marshall Shirk , tackleEzell Singleton, halfback, No. 20 Bob Smith, right halfback Bobby Smith , left halfback, 193 pounds, No. 19Bob Stevens, quarterback, 194 pounds, No. 41 Dave Stout, guard Almose Thompson, fullback, 198 pounds, No. 24 Steve Truesdell, center Don Vena, left end, 205 pounds, No. 82 Andy Von Sonn, center John Walker, quarterback Bob Weeden, tackle/edn Joe Zeno, fullback, No. 28 [ 19]
Bill Barnes , head coach, fourth yearDeke Brackett , senior assistant coachBob Bergdahl, assistant coach Sam Boghosian , assistant coach (line)Jim Dawson, assistant coach[ 20] Johnny Johnson, assistant coach Dan Peterson, assistant coach ^ "1961 UCLA Bruins Schedule and Results" .SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. RetrievedDecember 17, 2015 .^ "1961 UCLA Bruins Stats" .SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. RetrievedDecember 17, 2015 .^ Curran, J. (September 24, 1961)."Bruins' bobby smith (3 TDs) ruins air force, 19-6" .Los Angeles Times .ProQuest 167989404 . ^ Lyall Smith (October 1, 1961)."U-M, MSU Open with Bang: UCLA Ripped, 29 to 6" .Detroit Free Press . pp. D1, D3 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Fighting Uclans edge still Vanderbilt 11" .The Idaho Statesman . October 15, 1961. RetrievedOctober 10, 2023 – viaNewspapers.com .^ Jamie Curran (October 22, 1961)."Bruins' Defense Rescues Offense, Beats Pitt, 20-6" .The Los Angeles Times . pp. 1, 2 (section H) – viaNewspapers.com . ^ Jamie Curran (October 29, 1961)." .Los Angeles Times . pp. 1, 4 (sports) – viaNewspapers.com . ^ Jamie Curran (November 5, 1961)."Smith Stars as Bruins 'Fight' to Win" .Los Angeles Times . pp. 1, 4 (section H) – viaNewspapers.com . ^ Paul Zimmerman (November 19, 1961)."Bruins Lose in 'Give-Away' Duel, 17-13: Mitchell Ignites Huskies" .Los Angeles Times . pp. 1, 4 (section H) – viaNewspapers.com . ^ Paul Zimmerman (November 26, 1961)."UCLA Sloshes To Bowl Over USC, 10-7: Rain Pelts 57,580 at Big Battle" .Los Angeles Times . pp. 1, 5 (sports) – viaNewspapers.com . ^ "2015 UCLA Bruins Football Media Guide Year-by-Year Results" (PDF) . RetrievedDecember 19, 2016 .^ "Hull Key Figure As Bruin Center" .Progress-Bulletin . December 19, 1961. p. 2 (section 3) – viaNewspapers.com .^ "UCLA's Hull Named on Look All-America" .Los Angeles Times . December 4, 1961. p. IV-2 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "3 Repeat on AP All-Coast" .Long Beach Independent . December 7, 1961. p. E3 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Smith, Beathard Top All-Big Five" .Evening Vanguard . December 7, 1961. p. 7 – viaNewspapers.com .^a b c d e "UCLA Bruins Stats" .SR/College Football . Sports Reference LLC. RetrievedAugust 12, 2024 .^ Jamie Curran."Stardom Comes as Surprise to UCLA Soph" .Los Angeles Times . p. H5 – viaNewspapers.com . ^ Jerome Hall (December 29, 1951)."Injured Profit Most Important Bruin" .Long Beach Independent . p. 21 – viaNewspapers.com . ^ "Trojans, Bruins Lineups" .Los Angeles Evening Citizen . November 24, 1961. p. 14 – viaNewspapers.com .^ "Bruin Assistant In Line For Head Coach's Job" .Valley Times . December 25, 1961. p. 9 – viaNewspapers.com .
Venues Bowls and rivalries Culture and lore People Seasons National championship seasons in bold
Pacific Coast AAWU Pacific-8 Pacific-10 Pac-12 National championships inbold
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