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1961 Furman Purple Hurricane football team

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1961 Furman Purple Hurricane football
Halfback and MVP Tony Carmignani
ConferenceSouthern Conference
Record7–3 (2–2 SoCon)
Head coach
MVPTony Carmignani
CaptainBilly Canty
John Tew
Home stadiumSirrine Stadium
Seasons
← 1960
1962 →
1961 Southern Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
The Citadel $ 5 – 1 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
Richmond 5 – 2 – 0 5 – 5 – 0
VMI 4 – 2 – 0 6 – 4 – 0
West Virginia 2 – 1 – 0 4 – 6 – 0
Furman 2 – 2 – 0 7 – 3 – 0
George Washington 3 – 4 – 0 3 – 6 – 0
Virginia Tech 2 – 3 – 0 4 – 5 – 0
Davidson 1 – 4 – 0 4 – 4 – 0
William & Mary 1 – 6 – 0 1 – 9 – 0
  • $ – Conference champion

The 1961 Furman Purple Hurricane football team was an American football team that represented Furman University as a member of the Southern Conference (SoCon) during the 1961 college football season. In their fourth season under head coach Bob King, Furman compiled a 7–3 record (2–2 in conference games), finished in fifth place in the SoCon, and outscored opponents by a total of 174 to 132.[1]

The team's statistical leaders included quarterback Billy Canty (884 passing yards), fullback Tom Campbell (767 rushing yards), and halfback Tom Carmignani (247 passing yards).[2] Carmignani was selected as the team's most valuable player.

The team played its home games at Sirrine Stadium in Greenville, South Carolina.

Schedule

[edit]
DateOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 16Presbyterian*
W 27–69,000[3]
September 23Davidson
  • Sirrine Stadium
  • Greenville, SC
W 45–198,500[4]
September 30George Washington
  • Sirrine Stadium
  • Greenville, SC
W 13–99,500[5]
October 7at William & Mary
L 6–194,000[6]
October 14Howard (AL)*
  • Sirrine Stadium
  • Greenville, SC
W 21–149,500[7]
October 21at The Citadel
L 8–916,200[8]
October 28at Wofford*
W 12–7[9]
November 4at Memphis State*
W 7–66,036[10]
November 11East Carolina*
  • Sirrine Stadium
  • Greenville, SC
W 29–812,000[11]
November 18at Clemson*
L 6–3530,000[12]
  • *Non-conference game

Statistics

[edit]

Billy Canty completed 85 of 168 passes (50.6%) for 884 yards with eight touchdowns, 12 touchdowns, and a 96.2 quarterback rating.[2] He ranked as the fifth leading passer nationally.[13]

Tom Campbell was the team's leading rusher with 767 yards on 152 carries for an average of 5.0 yards per carry.[2] He ranked eighth nationally in rushing yardage.[13]

Tony Carmignani was the team's leading receiver with 27 receptions for 247 yards. He also tallied 319 rushing yards, second behind Campbell.[2]

Awards and honors

[edit]

Quarterback Billy Canty and John Tew were the team's co-captains. Tony Carmignani was selected as the team's most valuable player.

Fullback Tom Campbell was named to the All-Southern Conference football team. Campbell finished second in voting for the Southern Conference Player of the Year. Billy Canty and Larry Jepson were named to the All-Southern Conference second team. Tony Carmignani and John Tew received honorable mention.[14]

Personnel

[edit]

Players

[edit]
  • David Abercrombie, guard, junor
  • Elton Brunty, quarterback, junior
  • Tom Campbell, fullback
  • Billy Canty, quarterback and co-captain, senior
  • Tony Carmignani, halfback, senior
  • Jim Chapin, guard, senior
  • John Cook, halfback, sophomore
  • Walter Crosby, halfback, sophomore
  • Claude Davis, guard, senior
  • Don Donovan, quarterback, sophomore
  • Danny Ferguson, halfback, sophomore
  • Ed Flynn, guard, sophomore
  • Carroll Hartley, tackle, junior
  • Hayden Hayes, end, sophomore
  • Olin Hill, tackle, junior
  • Larry Jepson, center, senior
  • Elliott Keller, fullback, sophomore
  • Ted Loth, halfback, senior
  • Al Martin, end, junior
  • Joe Monti, tackle, junior
  • Bill Newman, end, senior
  • Sam Pickens, halfback, sophomore
  • Ken Richey, guard, sophomore
  • Roger Senter, end, junior
  • Jack Sharp, center, senior
  • John Tew, guard/tackle and co-captain, senior
  • Tom Walter, end, senior

[15]

Coaching staff

[edit]
  • Head coach: Bob King
  • Assistant coaches: Bob Jennings, Bob Gongola, Dixie Howell, Johnny Menger, Vince Perone

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "1961 Furman Paladins Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved September 15, 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d "1961 Furman Paladins Stats". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 7, 2024.
  3. ^ "Furman Paladins hand Presbyterian 27–6 loss". Asheville Citizen-Times. September 17, 1961. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Furman clobbers Davidson, 45–19". The Macon News. September 24, 1961. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "'Golden Goblins' drive Furman over Colonials, 13–9". The Greenville News. October 1, 1961. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "Indians crush Furman's conference title hopes, 19–6". The Greenville News. October 8, 1961. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ "Furman bumps Howard, 21–14". The Times and Democrat. October 15, 1961. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ "Aroused Citadel strikes back late to topple Furman, 9–8". Florence Morning News. October 22, 1961. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ "Furman has tough time in 12–7 win". The State. October 29, 1961. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "The Montgomery Advertiser". November 5, 1961. p. 23. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Furman roars back in second half to defeat East Carolina, 29–8". The Greenville News. November 12, 1961. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "Tigers rip Furman, 35–6". Durham Morning Herald. November 19, 1961. Retrieved September 15, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ a b "Canty, Marsh Officially In Fifth Places". The Greenville News. December 25, 1961. p. 32 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "1961 All-Southern Team: FU's Campbell Repeats; Gilgo And Eastern Named". The Greenville News. November 29, 1961. p. 11 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ 1962 Bonhomie (Furman University yearbook), pp. 30-36.
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