1961 Orange Bowl

College football game

1961 Orange Bowl

27th Orange Bowl
| Missouri Tigers | Navy Midshipmen

|

(10–0) | (9–1)
Big 8 | Independent
21 | 14
Head coach:
Dan Devine | Head coach:
Wayne Hardin
| AP| Coaches

|

5| 4
| AP| Coaches

|

4| 6
|  | 1| 2| 3| 4 | Total

|
|
|
|
|

Missouri | 7| 7| 0| 7 | 21
Navy | 6| 0| 0| 8 | 14
Date| January 2, 1961
Season| 1960
Stadium| Orange Bowl
Location| Miami, Florida
Favorite| Missouri by 6½ points[1]
Referee| W. P. Astle (Big Eight;
split crew: Big Eight, EAIFO)
Attendance| 72,212
United States TV coverage
Network| CBS
Announcers| Ray Scott, Paul Christman
|  Orange Bowl

< 1960 |  1962 >

The 1961 Orange Bowl was the 27th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Miami Orange Bowl in Miami, on Monday, January 2\. Part of the 1960–61 bowl game season, the No. 5 Missouri Tigers of the Big Eight Conference defeated the No. 4 Navy Midshipmen, 21–14.[2][3]

New Year's Day was on a Sunday in 1961; the college bowl games were played the following day.

## Teams

[edit]

Main article: 1960 college football season

### Missouri

[edit]

Main article: 1960 Missouri Tigers football team

Missouri won its first nine games; they lost to visiting Kansas,[1][4] but the Jayhawks used an ineligible player and later forfeited.[5][6]

### Navy

[edit]

Main article: 1960 Navy Midshipmen football team

Navy's only loss was in early November at Duke;[7] the Blue Devils went on to win the Cotton Bowl. Senior halfback Joe Bellino won the Heisman Trophy.

## Game summary

[edit]

The game kicked off at 1 pm.[1]

Navy jumped to a 6–0 lead with a 98-yard fumble return for a touchdown. But Missouri answered when Norm Beal intercepted Navy's Hal Spooner, rumbling down the sideline for a 90-yard return, giving Missouri a 7–6 advantage. They then drove 80 yards for a second touchdown, and led 14–6 at halftime.

Missouri's defense shut down the Midshipmen's running game, including Heisman Trophy winner Joe Bellino, forcing Navy to pass. But Missouri continued to run the ball, grinding it out for 223 rushing yards. After a scoreless third quarter, Missouri drove down 64 yards and capitalized with a 1-yard run from quarterback Ronnie Taylor. Taylor, who went 1 for 6 passing, threw for only five total yards. Down 21–6, Bellino caught a 27-yard pass from Spooner, and then made the two-point conversion, cutting the lead to 21–14. Missouri held on for the win. President-elect John F. Kennedy attended the game.[2][3]

## Aftermath

[edit]

Missouri's next major bowl appearance was after the 1965 season, a win in the Sugar. Their only Orange Bowl since this one was in January 1970.

This remains Navy's only Orange Bowl; their next major bowl appearance is their most recent, the Cotton following the 1963 season.

This was the last telecast of the Orange Bowl by CBS for 35 years.

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b c "Missouri's power gets Orange nod". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. January 2, 1961. p. 44.
2. ^ a b "Missouri topples Navy, 21-14". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. January 3, 1961. p. 3B.
3. ^ a b "Tigers stop Navy Joe to win Orange Bowl, 21-14". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 3, 1961. p. 17.
4. ^ "Kansas upsets Missouri for loop crown, but losers awarded bid to Orange Bowl". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 20, 1960. p. 1B.
5. ^ Morey, Earl (December 9, 1960). "Big Eight voted 5-3 to strip KU's title in Bert Coan action". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. p. 1.
6. ^ "Jayhawks lose league title". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 9, 1960. p. 2B.
7. ^ "Duke turns tables on Navy". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. November 20, 1960. p. 2B.

* v
* t
* e

1960–61 NCAA football bowl game season

* Bluebonnet (Dec. 17)
* Liberty (Dec. 17)
* Tangerine (Dec. 30)
* Gator (Dec. 31)
* Sun (Dec. 31)
* Cotton (Jan. 2)
* Orange (Jan. 2)
* Rose (Jan. 2)
* Sugar (Jan. 2)

* v
* t
* e

Orange Bowl

History & conference tie-ins|

* History
* Miami Orange Bowl
* Hard Rock Stadium
* College Football Playoff
* Broadcasters
* Atlantic Coast Conference
* Big Ten Conference
* Southeastern Conference
* Notre Dame

Games|

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Notes|

* The game was also the national title game (Bowl Coalition, Bowl Alliance, or Bowl Championship Series) in 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001, and 2005.
* There was an Orange Bowl in January and December in 1996, 2014, and 2021.
* The 2015, 2018, and 2021 (December) editions were College Football Playoff semifinals.

* v
* t
* e

Missouri Tigers bowl games

* Los Angeles Christmas Festival
* 1940 Orange Bowl
* 1942 Sugar Bowl
* 1946 Cotton Bowl Classic
* 1949 Gator Bowl
* 1950 Gator Bowl
* 1960 Orange Bowl
* 1961 Orange Bowl
* 1962 Bluebonnet Bowl
* 1966 Sugar Bowl
* 1968 Gator Bowl
* 1970 Orange Bowl
* 1972 Fiesta Bowl
* 1973 Sun Bowl
* 1978 Liberty Bowl
* 1979 Hall of Fame Classic
* 1980 Liberty Bowl
* 1981 Tangerine Bowl
* 1983 Holiday Bowl
* 1997 Holiday Bowl
* 1998 Insight.com Bowl
* 2003 Independence Bowl
* 2005 Independence Bowl
* 2006 Sun Bowl
* 2008 Cotton Bowl Classic
* 2008 Alamo Bowl
* 2009 Texas Bowl
* 2010 Insight Bowl
* 2011 Independence Bowl
* 2014 Cotton Bowl Classic
* 2015 Citrus Bowl
* 2017 Texas Bowl
* 2018 Liberty Bowl
* 2021 Armed Forces Bowl
* 2022 Gasparilla Bowl
* 2023 Cotton Bowl Classic

* v
* t
* e

Navy Midshipmen bowl games

* 1924 Rose Bowl
* 1955 Sugar Bowl
* 1958 Cotton Bowl Classic
* 1961 Orange Bowl
* 1964 Cotton Bowl Classic #
* 1978 Holiday Bowl
* 1980 Garden State Bowl
* 1981 Liberty Bowl
* 1996 Aloha Bowl
* 2003 Houston Bowl
* 2004 Emerald Bowl
* 2005 Poinsettia Bowl
* 2006 Meineke Car Care Bowl
* 2007 Poinsettia Bowl
* 2008 EagleBank Bowl
* 2009 Texas Bowl
* 2010 Poinsettia Bowl
* 2012 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
* 2013 Armed Forces Bowl
* 2014 Poinsettia Bowl
* 2015 Military Bowl
* 2016 Armed Forces Bowl
* 2017 Military Bowl
* 2019 Liberty Bowl

Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.

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