1960s Timeline

Aug. 26, 1961 - Roger Maris exploded his 51st homer of the year today and baseball's nerve-wracking home run derby continues. While the blow was more or less ornamental in a 5-1 Yankee triumph over Hank Bauer's hapless Athletics, it brought the Bombers' smooth-swinging star to within 9 homers of Babe Ruth's mark of 60. Maris now has 26 games left in which to break Ruth's record within the 154-game limit set by Commissioner Ford Frick. There are 34 games left in the new 162-ga

Aug. 25, 1961 - It seems that nothing can make baseball fans around the nation happier than to see the Yankees' famed M. and M. boys belt home runs while the home team finishes on top. But tonight, the largest gathering of the year in Kansas City's picturesque stadium wound up disappointed on both counts. For the third successive night, neither Roger Maris nor Mickey Mantle gained an inch on that elusive Babe Ruth record of 60 home runs. But the Yankees didn't need any homers

Aug. 2, 1961 - The Yankees swept a double-header from the Kansas City Athletics at the Stadium today. The scores were 6-5 and 12-5. The double victory had one disappointment, however. Whitey Ford, the mighty little lefty, failed to win his 20th game. Whitey was relieved by Luis Arroyo in the ninth inning of the opener with the score 5-5. In the second game, Mickey Mantle hit a first-inning shot into the third deck in right field for his 40th homer. The two-run drive tied him

July 23, 1961 - The Detroit Tigers regained first place today by trouncing the Kansas City Athletics, 6-3 and 17-14. The second game was a slugfest, with a total of 31 runs, 34 hits, 13 pitchers and 7 errors. It lasted 3 hours 54 minutes, a record for a nine-inning major league game. The double-header lasted 7 hours 23 minutes. The Tigers suffered a costly loss when their third baseman, Steve Boros (pictured), collided with Frank Lary while chasing a bunt in the second game.

July 17, 1961 - The world of baseball today mourned the death of Ty Cobb (pictured with Stan Musial in 1957), hailed by many as the game's greatest star and acknowledged by all as its fiercest competitor. Casey Stengel called Cobb "the most sensational of all the players I have seen in my life. He would shock his opponents with startling base-running plays and he could always outhit any opponent." Stengel recalled once seeing Cobb tag up and score from third on an infield pop