1961 Princeton Tigers football team

1961 Princeton Tigers football
ConferenceIvy League
Record5–4 (5–2 Ivy)
Head coach
CaptainEdwin A. Weihenmayer
Home stadiumPalmer Stadium
Seasons
← 1960
1962 →
1961 Ivy League football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Columbia + 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Harvard + 6 – 1 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Dartmouth 5 – 2 – 0 6 – 3 – 0
Princeton 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 4 – 0
Yale 3 – 4 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Cornell 2 – 5 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Penn 1 – 6 – 0 2 – 7 – 0
Brown 0 – 7 – 0 0 – 9 – 0
  • + – Conference co-champions

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).[1][2]

On November 4, 1961, Princeton defeated Brown, 52-0, the worst defeat in the history of Brown football.[3] 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.[4]

Senior guard Edwin A. Weihenmayer was the team captain.[2] 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.[5] Riley and end Barry Schuman were selected as first-team players on the 1961 All-Ivy League football team.[6]

Princeton under Colman in the 1960s was the last major college team to rely on the single-wing formation offense.[7]

Princeton played its home games at Palmer Stadium on the university campus in Princeton, New Jersey.

  1. ^ "Results". Princeton Football Record Book. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University. p. 28. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Year-by-Year History". Ivy League Football Media Guide (PDF). Princeton, N.J.: Ivy League. 2017. p. 23. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  3. ^ "Tigers In 52-0 Romp". The Sunday Home News and The Sunday Times (New Brunswick, NJ). Associated Press. November 5, 1961. p. 37 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ ""We'll Be Strong Next Year," Colman Warns Ivy League Foes". The Herald-News (Passaic, NJ). November 29, 1961. p. 38 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "1961 Princeton Tigers Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 22, 2024.
  6. ^ "Columbia Lands 4 On Ivy Team". The Record. November 27, 1961. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Dick Colman, Former Coach". The New York Times. April 7, 1982. Retrieved August 5, 2010.