1961 Wagner Seahawks football team

1961 Wagner Seahawks football
ConferenceMiddle Atlantic Conference
DivisionNorthern College Division
Record6–3 (4–2 MAC)
Head coach
Home stadiumGrymes Hill Stadium
1961 Middle Atlantic Conference football standings
Conf.Overall
TeamW L TW L T
University Division
No. 15 Rutgers x 4 0 09 0 0
Bucknell 5 2 06 3 0
Delaware 3 2 04 4 0
No. 6 Lehigh 3 2 07 2 0
Gettysburg 2 2 13 5 1
Temple 1 2 22 5 2
Lafayette 1 5 12 6 1
Muhlenberg 0 4 02 7 0
Northern College Division
Susquehanna x 6 0 08 0 1
Albright 4 0 17 0 1
Moravian 4 1 14 3 1
Wagner 4 2 06 3 0
Lycoming 1 3 11 6 1
Wilkes 1 6 01 6 0
Hofstra * 2 0 07 2 0
Juniata * 1 2 03 4 0
Upsala * 0 4 00 7 0
Southern College Division
Lebanon Valley x 5 1 06 1 0
Swarthmore 4 2 05 2 0
Western Maryland 4 2 07 2 0
Dickinson 5 3 05 3 0
Pennsylvania Military 5 3 06 3 0
Johns Hopkins 2 3 13 4 1
Ursinus 2 5 02 5 0
Drexel 1 5 12 5 1
Haverford 0 6 10 6 1
West Chester * 0 0 07 2 0
Franklin & Marshall * 0 3 01 7 0
  • x Division champion/co-champions
  • * – Ineligible for championship due to insufficient conference games
Rankings from major college AP poll for Rutgers and small college AP poll for Lehigh

The 1961 Wagner Seahawks football team was an American football team that represented Wagner College as a member of the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) during the 1961 college football season. In their fifth and final year under head coach Mickey Sullivan, the Seahawks compiled a 6–3 record (4–3 in conference games) and finished in fourth place in the MAC Northern College Division.

The team tallied 2,370 yards of total offense (263.3 yards per game), consisting of 1,009 rushing yards (112.1 yards per game) and 1,361 passing yards (151.2 yards per game). On defense, the team held opponents to 2,174 yards of total offense (241.6 yards per game) with 1,207 rushing yards (134.1 yards per game) and 967 passing yards (107.4 yards per game).

Quarterback Don Cavalli totaled 1,331 passing yards and 1,354 yards of total offense. For the second consecutive year, Cavalli led the MAC Northern College Division in both passing and total offense. He also ranked seventh among the NCAA's small college players.

Halfback Frank Melos led the team in rushing with 449 yards and scoring with 96 points on 14 touchdowns and six two-point conversions. Melos's 96 points ranked fifth among the NCAA's small college players. End Bruce Wilson was the team's leading receiver with 30 catches for 607 yards and nine touchdowns.