1961 Chicago Bears Roster
National Football League (NFL)
Team Record: 8-6
Finishing 3rd in the NFL's West Division
Coach: George Halas (8-6)
Location: Chicago, Illinois
1961 Chicago Bears StatisticsTeam Record: 8-6
Finishing 3rd in the NFL's West Division
Coach: George Halas (8-6)
Location: Chicago, Illinois
1961 Chicago Bears Results
The Chicago Bears of the National Football League ended the 1961 season with a record of 8 wins and 6 losses, finishing third in the NFL's West Division.
The Bears racked up 326 points, and the defensive squad allowed 302. Billy Wade threw for 2,258 yards. Mike Ditka hauled in 56 balls for 1,076 yards.
Willie Galimore rushed for a team-leading 707 yards for Chicago, and Rick Casares also aided the ground game.
Dave Whitsell intercepted 6 opponent throws.
George Halas coached the team.
Click on column headings to sort.
| # | Player | Pos. | Birth Date | Height | Weight | College | Hometown | GP | GS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39 | John Adams | E-FB | November 28, 1937 | 6'3" | 235 | UCLA | San Diego, CA USA | 13 | 0 |
| 79 | Art Anderson | RT | October 9, 1936 | 6'3" | 244 | Idaho | Breckenridge, MN USA | 14 | 0 |
| 81 | Doug Atkins | RDE | May 8, 1930 | 6'8" | 257 | Tennessee | Humboldt, TN USA | 14 | 0 |
| 49 | Charlie Bivins | KR | October 16, 1938 | 6'1" | 212 | Morris Brown | Atlanta, GA USA | 14 | 0 |
| 15 | Ed Brown | P | October 26, 1928 | 6'2" | 200 | San Francisco | San Luis Obispo, CA USA | 14 | 5 |
| 38 | Bill Brown | RB | June 29, 1938 | 5'11" | 228 | Illinois | Mendota, IL USA | 14 | 0 |
| 25 | J.C. Caroline | LCB | January 17, 1933 | 6'0" | 185 | Illinois | Warrenton, GA USA | 14 | 0 |
| 35 | Rick Casares | FB | July 4, 1931 | 6'2" | 226 | Florida | Tampa, FL USA | 13 | 0 |
| 46 | Angelo Coia | SE-WR | April 21, 1938 | 6'3" | 195 | Citadel | Philadelphia, PA USA | 11 | 0 |
| 60 | Roger Davis | RG | June 23, 1938 | 6'3" | 240 | Syracuse | Cleveland, OH USA | 14 | 0 |
| 89 | Mike Ditka | TE | October 18, 1939 | 6'3" | 228 | Pittsburgh | Carnegie, PA USA | 14 | 0 |
| 43 | Jim Dooley | B-E-FL-TE | February 8, 1930 | 6'4" | 198 | Miami (FL) | Stoutsville, MO USA | 6 | 0 |
| 65 | Stan Fanning | T-DE-DT | November 22, 1937 | 6'7" | 270 | Idaho | Peoria, IL USA | 14 | 0 |
| 84 | Bo Farrington | SE | January 18, 1936 | 6'3" | 217 | Prairie View | DeWalt, TX USA | 11 | 0 |
| 31 | Joe Fortunato | LLB | March 28, 1930 | 6'1" | 225 | VMI | Mingo Junction, OH USA | 14 | 0 |
| 28 | Willie Galimore | HB | March 30, 1935 | 6'1" | 187 | Florida A&M | St. Augustine, FL USA | 14 | 0 |
| 61 | Bill George | MLB | October 27, 1929 | 6'2" | 237 | Wake Forest | Waynesburg, PA USA | 14 | 0 |
| 87 | Harlon Hill | E-DB | May 4, 1932 | 6'3" | 199 | North Alabama | Killen, AL USA | 14 | 0 |
| 20 | Bobby Jackson | DB | January 10, 1936 | 6'1" | 190 | Alabama | Geneva, AL USA | 9 | 0 |
| 78 | Stan Jones | LG | November 24, 1931 | 6'1" | 252 | Maryland | Altoona, PA USA | 14 | 0 |
| 67 | Ted Karras | G-T-LB | January 31, 1934 | 6'1" | 245 | Indiana | Gary, IN USA | 14 | 0 |
| 74 | Bob Kilcullen | LDT | May 13, 1936 | 6'3" | 245 | Texas Tech | St. Louis, MI USA | 14 | 0 |
| 53 | Ken Kirk | LB | February 26, 1938 | 6'2" | 230 | Mississippi | Tupelo, MS USA | 10 | 0 |
| 54 | Roger LeClerc | K | October 1, 1936 | 6'3" | 235 | Trinity (CT) | Springfield, MA USA | 14 | 0 |
| 70 | Herman Lee | LT | August 29, 1931 | 6'4" | 244 | Florida A&M | Phenix City, AL USA | 14 | 0 |
| 86 | Pete Manning | DB | August 11, 1937 | 6'3" | 208 | Wake Forest | Hudson, MA USA | 3 | 0 |
| 76 | John Mellekas | C-DT-T | June 14, 1933 | 6'3" | 255 | Arizona | Newport, RI USA | 14 | 0 |
| 47 | Johnny Morris | FL | September 26, 1935 | 5'10" | 180 | California-Santa Barbara | Long Beach, CA USA | 14 | 0 |
| 33 | Larry Morris | RLB | December 10, 1933 | 6'2" | 226 | Georgia Tech | Decatur, GA USA | 14 | 0 |
| 40 | Don Mullins | DB | March 31, 1939 | 6'1" | 195 | Houston | Shreveport, LA USA | 4 | 0 |
| 12 | Dick Norman | QB | September 14, 1938 | 6'3" | 209 | Stanford | Downey, CA USA | 3 | 0 |
| 17 | Richie Petitbon | LS | April 18, 1938 | 6'3" | 206 | Loyola (LA) | New Orleans, LA USA | 14 | 0 |
| 50 | Mike Pyle | C | July 18, 1939 | 6'3" | 250 | Yale | Keokuk, IA USA | 14 | 14 |
| 36 | J.D. Smith | FB-HB | October 18, 1936 | 6'1" | 210 | Compton CC (CA) | 3 | 0 | |
| 24 | Rosey Taylor | RS | July 4, 1937 | 5'11" | 186 | Grambling St. | New Orleans, LA USA | 14 | 0 |
| 9 | Billy Wade | QB | October 4, 1930 | 6'2" | 202 | Vanderbilt | Nashville, TN USA | 13 | 9 |
| 63 | Bob Wetoska | T-G-C | August 22, 1937 | 6'3" | 240 | Notre Dame | Minneapolis, MN USA | 14 | 0 |
| 23 | Dave Whitsell | RCB | June 14, 1936 | 6'0" | 189 | Indiana | Shelby, MI USA | 14 | 0 |
| 75 | Fred Williams | RDT | February 8, 1929 | 6'4" | 249 | Arkansas | Little Rock, AR USA | 14 | 0 |
| 82 | Maury Youmans | LDE | October 18, 1936 | 6'4" | 251 | Syracuse | Eagle Bay, NY USA | 14 | 0 |
