1961 American Football League season

Division races

The AFL had 8 teams, grouped into two divisions. Each team would play a home-and-away game against the other 7 teams in the league for a total of 14 games, and the best team in the Eastern Division would play against the best in the Western Division in a championship game. If there was a tie in the standings at the top of either division, a one-game playoff would be held to determine the division winner.

The San Diego Chargers won their first eleven games, clinching the Western Division on November 12, with four games left. When San Diego reached 10–0, it had twice the wins of any other team in the AFL. In the Eastern Division, the Titans of New York lost 27–10 to Denver, while Boston beat Buffalo 52–21, in Week Seven, for a tie in the race, with the Pats at 3–3–1 and the Titans at 3–3–0. The Titans lost, 48–13 to San Diego, in Week Nine. The following week, though (November 12), Houston beat Boston, 27–15, to take a half-game lead, and won the division by a full game.

Regular season

Results

Standings

Playoffs

Main article: 1961 American Football League Championship Game

|December 24, 1961 – Balboa Stadium|Houston Oilers|10|San Diego Chargers|3}}

Awards

• AP AFL Player of The Year: George Blanda, Houston Oilers
• UPI AFL Player of The Year: George Blanda, Houston Oilers

Stadium changes

• The relocated San Diego Chargers moved from Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum to Balboa Stadium
• The Oakland Raiders continued to play in San Francisco, playing all their home games at Candlestick Park

Coaching changes

;Offseason :None

;In-season

• Boston Patriots: Lou Saban was fired after five games. Assistant coach Mike Holovak took over the head coaching duties.
• Houston Oilers: Lou Rymkus was fired after five games. Assistant coach Wally Lemm took over the head coaching duties.
• Oakland Raiders: Eddie Erdelatz was fired after two games. Marty Feldman took over.