# 1961 Princeton Tigers football team

The 1961 Princeton Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Princeton University as a member of the Ivy League during the 1961 college football season. In their fifth year under head coach Dick Colman, the Tigers compiled a 5–4 record (5–2 in conference games), tied for third place in the Ivy League, and outscored opponents by a total of 173 to 128 (160 to 97 in conference games).
On November 4, 1961, Princeton defeated Brown, 52-0, the worst defeat in the history of Brown football. Princeton at that point was in first place in the Ivy League with a 4-0 conference record. However, the team sustained a spate of injuries and lost two of its final three games "after the injury jinx struck.
Senior guard Edwin A. Weihenmayer was the team captain. Tailback Greg Riley led the Ivy League with 693 yards of total offense (459 rushing, 265 passing). Greg Riley led the team in rushing with 459 yards. Riley and end Barry Schuman were selected as first-team players on the 1961 All-Ivy League football team.
Princeton under Colman in the 1960s was the last major college team to rely on the single-wing formation offense.
Princeton played its home games at Palmer Stadium on the university campus in Princeton, New Jersey.

## Schedule

| Date | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance |
| September 30 | Rutgers* | Palmer StadiumPrinceton, NJ (rivalry) | L 13–16 | 41,000 |
| October 7 | at Columbia | Baker FieldNew York, NY | W 30–20 | 23,700 |
| October 14 | Penn | Palmer StadiumPrinceton, NJ (rivalry) | W 9–3 | 22,000 |
| October 21 | Colgate* | Palmer StadiumPrinceton, NJ | L 0–15 | 12,000 |
| October 28 | Cornell | Palmer StadiumPrinceton, NJ | W 30–25 | 28,000 |
| November 4 | at Brown | Brown StadiumProvidence, RI | W 52–0 | 10,000 |
| November 11 | at Harvard | Harvard StadiumBoston, MA (rivalry) | L 7–9 | 30,000 |
| November 18 | Yale | Palmer StadiumPrinceton, NJ (rivalry) | W 26–16 | 42,000 |
| November 25 | Dartmouth | Palmer StadiumPrinceton, NJ | L 6–24 | 30,000 |
| *Non-conference game ||||||

## Statistics

The 1961 Princeton Tigers tallied an average of 195.0 rushing yards and 125.2 passing yards per game. On defense, they gave up 193.4 rushing yards and 85.1 passing yards per game.
Tailback Greg Riley led the team with 459 rushing yards on 90 carries, an average of 5.1 yards per game. He also completed 24 of 43 passes for 265 yards with one touchdown and four interceptions. His combined total of 693 yards led the Ivy League in total offense.
Tailback Pete Porietis led the team in passing, completing 25 of 44 passes for 304 yards with three touchdowns and three interceptions. He also tallied 389 rushing yards on 90 carries for an average of 4.3 yards per carry.
The team's leading receivers were wingback Jim Rockenbach (seven receptions, 241 yards), Barry Schuman (15 receptions, 178 yards), Hank Large (nine receptions, 145 yards), and Jim Hunter (11 receptions, 134 yards).

## Players

* Tim Callard, guard
* Andy Conner, tackle
* Costello, tackle
* John Henrich, quarterback/blocking back
* Hank Large, end
* Arlyn Lichthardt, end
* Hugh MacMillan, tailback
* Bill Merlini, fullback
* Pete Porietis, tailback, sophomore
* Greg Riley, halfback/tailback
* Jim Rockenbach, wingback, sophomore
* Barry Schuman, end
* Dan Terpack, halfback/wingback
* Brad Urquhart, fullback/wingback
* Bob Van DerVoort, center
* Ed Weihenmayer, guard and captain
* West, end