1961 Duke Blue Devils football team


The 1961 Duke Blue Devils football team was an American football team that represented Duke University as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference during the 1961 college football season. In their eleventh year under head coach Bill Murray, the Blue Devils compiled a 7–3 record, won the ACC championship, and outscored opponents by a total of 183 to 106. In non-conference games, they defeated Navy and Notre Dame but lost to Georgia Tech and Michigan. They were ranked No. 14 in the final UPI coaches poll and No. 20 in the final AP writers poll.
The Blue Devils led the ACC in total defense, giving up 224.1 yards per game, and also led the conference in passing offense with 140.9 passing yards per game. Quarterback Walt Rappold led the team in passing, and halfback Mark Leggett led the team in rushing. Tackle Art Gregory and guard Jean Berry were consensus first-team picks on the 1961 All-Atlantic Coast Conference football team.
Duke played its home games at Duke Stadium in Durham, North Carolina.

Statistics

Duke ranked second in the ACC in total offense and led the conference in passing offense. On defense, the Blue Devils ranked first in total defense.
Quarterback Walt Rappold led the team in passing, completing 54 of 96 passes for 830 yards with seven touchdowns and five interceptions for a 142.5 quarterback rating. He ranked fourth in the ACC in total offense but led the conference in average gain per pass thrown and in average gain per play of total offense.
Quarterback Gil Garner also contributed to Duke's passing offensecompleted 56 of 86 passes for 576 yards. Garner ranked 10th in the ACC with 617 yards of total offense.
Duke's leading rushers were Mark Leggett, Dean Wright, Dave Burch, Walt Rappold, and Joel Arrington.
The team's leading receivers were Stan Crisson, Jay Wilkinson, Mark Leggett, Pete Widener, Jack Wilson, and Dean Wright.
Three players tied for the team's leadership in scoring. Billy Futrell, Dave Burch, and Mark Leggett each had 18 points on three touchdowns.

Awards

Tackle Art Gregory received the annual ACC Jacobs Blocking Trophy presented byt the Atlantic Coast Sports Writers Association. Head coach Bill Murray called Gregory "the best blocker I have ever had at Duke."
Four Duke players were recognized by the Associated Press, United Press International, and/or the Atlantic Coast Sports Writers Association on the 1961 All-Atlantic Coast Conference football team: tackle Art Gregory ; guard Jean Berry ; halfback Mark Leggett ; and quarterback Walt Rappold.

Personnel

Players

  • Joel Arrington, halfback, senior, 6'1", 190 pounds
  • Paul Bengel, center, junior, 6'1", 198 pounds
  • Jean Berry, guard, junior, 6'0", 212 pounds
  • Dave Burch, fullback, senior, 6'0", 188 pounds
  • Randy Clark, quarterback, senior, 6'1", 185 pounds
  • Dave Condon, tackle, junior, 6'1", 212 pounds
  • Stan Crisson, swing-end, sophomore, 6'2", 194 pounds
  • Gil Garner, quarterback, junior, 6'0", 175 pounds
  • Dan Gelbert, end, senior, 6'0", 191 pounds
  • Art Gregory, tackle, junior, 6'3", 212 pounds
  • Dick Havens, tackle, junior, 5'11', 203 pounds
  • Mark Leggett, halfback, junior, 5'10", 169 pounds
  • Johnny Markas, guard, junior, 5'11", 196 pounds
  • Fred McCollum, tackle, junior, 6'2", 207 pounds
  • Walt Rappold, quarterback, junior, 6'3", 202 pounds
  • John Tinnell, fullback, senior, 6'3", 207 pounds
  • Dave Unser, alternate captain and end, senior, 5'10", 185 pounds
  • Pete Widener, swing-end, junior, 6'2", 189 pounds
  • Jay Wilkinson, swing-end, sophomore, 6'1", 180 pounds
  • Ken Williams, center, junior, 5'11", 192 pounds
  • Jack Wilson, captain and halfback, senior, 6'1", 183 pounds
  • Dean Wright, halfback, senior, 5'11", 186 pounds

Coaches