| Year: | 1961 |
| Team: | Purdue Boilermakers |
| Sport: | football |
| Conference: | Big Ten Conference |
| Short Conf: | Big Ten |
| Coachrank: | 11 |
| Aprank: | 12 |
| Record: | 6–3 |
| Conf Record: | 4–2 |
| Head Coach: | Jack Mollenkopf |
| Hc Year: | 6th |
| Mvp: | Jack Elwell |
| Captain: | Jack Elwell, Stan Sczurek |
| Stadium: | Ross–Ade Stadium |
The 1961 Purdue Boilermakers football team was an American football team that represented Purdue University during the 1961 Big Ten Conference football season. In their sixth year under head coach Jack Mollenkopf, the Boilermakers compiled a 6–3 record (4–2 in conference games), finished fourth in the Big Ten, and outscored opponents by a total of 146 to 87. They were ranked No. 11 in the final UPI poll and No. 12 in the final AP poll.
Purdue won games against two ranked opponents (No. 5 Iowa and No. 6 Michigan State), and its three losses were to Notre Dame, Michigan and No. 5 Minnesota, each by a margin of two or three points.[1]
End Jack Elwell and guard Stan Sczurek were the team's co-captains and the only Purdue players to receive first-team honors on the 1961 All-Big Ten Conference football team. Fullback Roy Walker led the team in both rushing (491 yards) and scoring (24 points).
The team played its home games at Ross–Ade Stadium in West Lafayette, Indiana.
The team's passing leaders were quarterback Ron DiGravio (52-for-100 for 861 yards, six touchdowns, two interceptions, 140.1 quarterback rating) and Gary Hogan (14-for-27, 236 yards, one touchdown, three interceptions, 115.3 quarterback rating).
The leading rushers were fullback Roy Walker (491 yards on 123 carries, 4.0-yard average), and Thomas Bloom (236 yards on 38 carries, 6-2-yard average).
The leading scorers were Roy Walker (24 points) and Jack Elwell and Ron DiGravo (18 points each).
Guard and co-captain Stan "Stosh" Sczurek saw more action (380 minutes out of a possible 540) than any other player for the 1961 Boilermakers. He was the only Purdue player to win All-America honors in 1961, having been selected by both the Associated Press (AP) and United Press International (UPI) as a third-team guard on the 1961 All-America college football team.[4] [5] He also won the team's award as the outstanding lineman.[6]
Senior end Jack Elwell, who led the team in receiving, was selected by his teammates as the team's most valuable player.[6]
The following players were selected by either the AP or UPI on the 1961 All-Big Ten Conference football team: end Jack Elwell (AP-1, UPI-2); guard Stan Sczurek (AP-1, UPI-2); tackle Don Brumm (AP-2); and quarterback Ron DiGravio (UPI-3).[7] [8]
Purdue dominated the 1961 All-Indiana football team selected byThe Indianapolis News with six first-team honorees: quarterback Ron DiGravio; halfback Dave Miller; fullback Roy Walker; end Jack Elwell; tackle Don Brumm; and guard Stan Sczurek. Four others were named to the second team: halfback Tom Bloom; center Don Paltani; end Forest Farmer; and guard Tom Krysinski.[9]
The following 38 players won major letters for their participation on the 1961 Purdue football team:
Note: Assistant coach Bob DeMoss served as acting head coach for part of the season due to a surgery on head coach Mollenkopf.[11]