# 1961 San Francisco 49ers season

The 1961 San Francisco 49ers season was the franchise's 12th season in the National Football League, their 16th overall, and their second season under head coach Red Hickey.
The 49ers attempted to improve on their 7–5 season from the previous season, and make the playoffs for the first time since 1957. However, despite starting the season 4–1, they would lose 5 of their last 8 games, finishing their season 7–6–1, and they missed the playoffs for the 4th straight year.

## Offseason
### NFL Draft

1961 San Francisco 49ers draft :
| Round | Pick | Player | Position | College | Notes |
| 1 | 6 | Jimmy Johnson * $^†$ | DB | UCLA | |
| 1 | 9 | Bernie Casey * | HB | Bowling Green | |
| 1 | 11 | Billy Kilmer * | QB | UCLA | |
| 2 | 24 | Roland Lakes | DT | Wichita | |
| 3 | 37 | Bill Cooper | FB | Muskingum | |
| 4 | 47 | Aaron Thomas * | TE | Oregon State | |
| 4 | 52 | Dale Messer | HB | Fresno State | |
| 5 | 58 | Clark Miller | DE | Utah State | Later played with 49ers from 1962–68 |
| 5 | 65 | Bob McCreary | T | Wake Forest | |
| 6 | 80 | Mike McClellan | DB | Oklahoma | |
| 7 | 93 | Ray Purdin | B | Northwestern | signed by Saskatchewan Roughriders (CFL) |
| 8 | 108 | Neill Plumley | T | Oregon | |
| 9 | 118 | Leon Donohue | G | San Jose State | Later played with the 49ers from 1962–64 |
| 9 | 121 | Evaristo Nino | T | East Texas State | |
| 10 | 136 | Paul Hynes | DB | Louisiana Tech | signed with Dallas Texans (AFL) |
| 11 | 149 | Tony Parrilli | G | Illinois | |
| 12 | 164 | Don Coffey | WR | Memphis State | |
| 13 | 174 | Tommy Hackler | E | Tennessee Tech | |
| 13 | 177 | Julius Fincke | T | McNeese State | |
| 14 | 192 | Bill Worrell | T | Georgia | |
| 15 | 205 | Bob Sams | T | Central State (OK) | |
| 16 | 220 | Charley Fuller | HB | San Francisco State | signed by Oakland Raiders (AFL) |
| 17 | 233 | Tom Jewell | T | Idaho State | |
| 18 | 248 | Kay McFarland | WR | Colorado State | Played the 1961 season with CSU |
| 19 | 261 | Tom Simpson | T | Davidson | |
| 20 | 276 | Jerry Perry | G | Central State (OK) | |
| Made roster † Pro Football Hall of Fame * Made at least one Pro Bowl during career ||||||

## Preseason

| Week | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance |
| 1 | August 12 | vs. New York Giants | L 20–21 | 0–1 | Multnomah Stadium | 24,084 |
| 2 | August 21 | Cleveland Browns | L 24–27 | 0–2 | Kezar Stadium | 38,759 |
| 3 | August 26 | Minnesota Vikings | W 14–10 | 1–2 | Multnomah Stadium | 27,044 |
| 4 | September 1 | at Los Angeles Rams | W 38–20 | 2–2 | Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum | 42,558 |
| 5 | September 9 | vs. Dallas Cowboys | W 24–7 | 3–2 | Hughes Stadium | 22,130 |

## Regular season
### Schedule

| Game | Date | Opponent | Result | Record | Venue | Attendance | Recap |
| 1 | September 17 | Washington Redskins | W 35–3 | 1–0 | Kezar Stadium | 43,412 | Recap |
| 2 | September 24 | at Green Bay Packers | L 10–30 | 1–1 | New City Stadium | 38,624 | Recap |
| 3 | October 1 | at Detroit Lions | W 49–0 | 2–1 | Tiger Stadium | 53,155 | Recap |
| 4 | October 8 | Los Angeles Rams | W 35–0 | 3–1 | Kezar Stadium | 59,004 | Recap |
| 5 | October 15 | at Minnesota Vikings | W 38–24 | 4–1 | Metropolitan Stadium | 34,415 | Recap |
| 6 | October 22 | at Chicago Bears | L 0–31 | 4–2 | Wrigley Field | 49,070 | Recap |
| 7 | October 29 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | L 10–20 | 4–3 | Forbes Field | 19,686 | Recap |
| 8 | November 5 | Detroit Lions | T 20–20 | 4–3–1 | Kezar Stadium | 56,878 | Recap |
| 9 | November 12 | at Los Angeles Rams | L 7–17 | 4–4–1 | L.A. Memorial Coliseum | 63,766 | Recap |
| 10 | November 19 | Chicago Bears | W 41–31 | 5–4–1 | Kezar Stadium | 52,972 | Recap |
| 11 | November 26 | Minnesota Vikings | W 38–28 | 6–4–1 | Kezar Stadium | 48,905 | Recap |
| 12 | December 3 | at Baltimore Colts | L 17–20 | 6–5–1 | Memorial Stadium | 57,641 | Recap |
| 13 | December 10 | Green Bay Packers | W 22–21 | 7–5–1 | Kezar Stadium | 55,722 | Recap |
| 14 | December 16 | Baltimore Colts | L 27–24 | 7–6–1 | Kezar Stadium | 45,517 | Recap |
| Note: Intra-conference opponents are in bold text. |||||||||

## Standings

NFL Western Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| Green Bay Packers | 11 | 3 | 0 | .786 | 9–3 | 391 | 223 | W1 |
| Detroit Lions | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 7–4–1 | 270 | 258 | L1 |
| Chicago Bears | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 7–5 | 326 | 302 | W2 |
| Baltimore Colts | 8 | 6 | 0 | .571 | 6–6 | 302 | 307 | W1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 7 | 6 | 1 | .538 | 6–5–1 | 346 | 272 | L1 |
| Los Angeles Rams | 4 | 10 | 0 | .286 | 3–9 | 263 | 333 | L1 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 3 | 11 | 0 | .214 | 3–9 | 285 | 407 | L2 |
       Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.
NFL Eastern Conference :
| viewtalkedit | W | L | T | PCT | CONF | PF | PA | STK |
| New York Giants | 10 | 3 | 1 | .769 | 9–2–1 | 368 | 220 | T1 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 10 | 4 | 0 | .714 | 8–4 | 361 | 297 | W1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 8 | 5 | 1 | .615 | 8–3–1 | 319 | 270 | T1 |
| St. Louis Cardinals | 7 | 7 | 0 | .500 | 7–5 | 279 | 267 | W3 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 6 | 8 | 0 | .429 | 5–7 | 295 | 287 | L1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 4 | 9 | 1 | .308 | 2–9–1 | 236 | 380 | L4 |
| Washington Redskins | 1 | 12 | 1 | .077 | 1–10–1 | 174 | 392 | W1 |
       Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.