NC State football countdown to 2023 kickoff: 61
The NC State football season opener for 2023 is at Connecticut on Aug. 31 — or 61 days away. TheWolfpacker.com’s countdown for the season looks at the significance of the number 61 in Pack history.
NC State Football And The No. 61
• The 1961 season was the conclusion of College Football Hall of Famer and legendary NC State quarterback Roman Gabriel’s career with the Wolfpack. Gabriel completed 99 of 186 passes (53.2 percent) for 937 yards and eight touchdowns with six interceptions. He also rushed for 196 yards.
Modest, at a minimum, stats by today’s standard, but groundbreaking at the time Gabriel was playing. The year prior, Gabriel produced the lone 1,000-yard passing season for NC State football between 1950 and 1972.
In 1961, Gabriel’s 937 yards passing led the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
Gabriel was selected first-team All-American by the Football Writers, Football News, coaches and Time after that season and was second-team All-American according to UPI and NEA. Gabriel was also selected as the ACC Player of the Year, and to date he remains the only NC State football player to be a two-time winner of that award.
• NC State football’s first Pack Pro to make a Pro Bowl was Alex Webster, and in 1961 he became the first two-time selection.
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Webster was a unique football player for NC State in the 1950s. He led the Pack in total offense, passing and rushing in 1951. Webster was also the Wolfpack’s punter in 1951 and 1952 and led NC State in kickoff and punt returns from 1950-52. For good measure, Webster tied for the team-lead in picks in 1950. Webster led the Southern Conference in scoring in 1951.
Webster may have been the first star Pack Pro. After playing two years in Canada, Webster suited up for the New York Giants from 1955-64 and was a two-time All-Pro choice along with his Pro Bowl selections. He helped the Giants win a NFL Championship in 1959.
NFL.com ranks Webster as the sixth best former NC State football player to be in the league, and 1961 may have been his best year.
The former Pack standout rushed for 928 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games in 1961. He also caught 26 passes for 313 yards and three more scores.
Webster later became the head coach of the Giants from 1969-73 and was the UPI NFL Coach of the Year in 1970 when New York went 9-5. Webster is inducted into the Giants Ring of Honor.
