1960s Timeline

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Feb 18

Maris and Yankees Not Seeing Eye to Eye on Contract

Feb. 18, 1962 - Salary negotiations between Roger Maris and the Yankees took a turn for the worse today. Actually, Maris does not have to sign his contract until a week from today, when the infielders and outfielders report for spring training. And since Roger has been busy with the motion picture “Safe at Home,” in which he is co-starring with Mickey Mantle, General Manager Roy Hamey has not pressed the matter. However, when asked today whether he expected to come to terms t

Feb 17

Casey Stengel Promotes His New Book in St. Pete

Feb. 17, 1962 - Casey Stengel made his public debut as an author today. The 71-year-old manager of the New York Mets autographed copies of his book, “Casey at the Bat,” at the Maas Brothers department store in St. Petersburg, Fla. Despite only two hours’ sleep this morning after an uncomfortable plane trip from California, Stengel was alternately folksy, magisterial and heckle-proof as hundreds of residents and tourists shuffled up for signatures, handshakes and 30-second cha

Feb 16

Mets Sign Another Old Brooklyn Dodger, Clem Labine

Feb. 16, 1962 - Pitcher Clem Labine (pictured left with Jackie Robinson during the 1956 World Series) became the fifth former Brooklyn Dodger to sign with the New York Mets for the 1962 National League season. Labine, a free agent after his release by the Pittsburgh Pirates at the end of last season, notified George M. Weiss, the Mets president, that he had accepted the contract. Labine, who will join his former Dodger teammates, Gil Hodges, Charlie Neal, Don Zimmer and Roger

Feb 8

Maris Overweight, Still Unsigned

Feb. 8, 1962 - The 61 homers Roger Maris hit for the Yankees last season have brought him a lot of glory. They also have brought troubles. For one, Maris and the Yankees front office still haven’t agreed on salary terms. Also, Maris is overweight. Maris revealed today that despite his precautions, he has succumbed to the almost continuous round of dinners and social functions thrust on him since October. “I have gained about 10 pounds over the winter,” said Roger, who arrived

Feb 7

Pepitone Shines in Yankees Camp

Feb. 7, 1962 - The New York Mets have acquired such former Brooklyn Dodger favorites as Gil Hodges, Charlie Neal, Billy Loes, and Roger Craig. The Yankees, on the other hand, are raising their own Brooklyn-breds. The world champions have three Brooklyn boys in their advanced camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. They are Joe Pepitone, Ron Solomini, and Louis Romanucci. Pepitone is a first baseman-outfielder and Solomini an outfielder. Romanucci is a right-handed pitcher. Pepitone has

Feb 5

Clemente Signs '62 Contract with Pirates for $50,000

Feb. 5, 1962 - Roberto Clemente (left), the National League batting champion, today signed his 1962 contract with the Pittsburgh Pirates. His salary was estimated at $50,000. “We reached an agreement with no trouble,” said Joe L. Brown (right), the Pirate general manager. “Obviously, Roberto felt it was a fair offer because he signed readily.” Clemente had a batting average of .351 last season and replaced a teammate, Dick Groat, as the National League’s top hitter. Clemente

Jan 31

MLB: Manager Ralph Houk Says Yankees Team to Beat

Jan. 31, 1962 - Ralph Houk (pictured center), in his State of the Yankees message today, revealed the baseball world’s worst-kept secret: His was the team to beat in the American League this season, he said. “The Tigers appear to every bit as tough as they were last season, but nearly all clubs have added overall strength,” he added. “The Orioles, White Sox, Indians, and Red Sox should be better, but I won’t pinpoint the top contenders. I want them all to like us.” As for Rog

Jan 31

MLB: Willie Mays Signs 1962 Contract with Giants

Jan. 31, 1962 - Willie Mays signed his 1962 contract with the San Francisco Giants today. The pact made him baseball’s highest paid player at about $90,000. Last season, 10 years after he broke in with the Giants in New York, the 30-year-old Mays hit .308, scored 129 runs, batted in 123, stole 18 bases, and hit 40 homers. Mays’ contract was believed to eclipse that of Mickey Mantle, the Yankee star who reportedly signed for $85,000. The top salaries this year, however, do not

Jan 27

MLB: Yankees' Bill Skowron Gets $3k Raise

Jan. 27, 1962 - Bill Skowron, the regular first baseman for the Yankees since 1954, appeared last season in more games, went to bat more times, and walloped more home runs than in any one of his previous seven years in the majors. For these accomplishments, Moose was rewarded today with a $3,000 raise in salary. That increase elevates the solidly built but sometimes brittle infielder to the $35,000 class, even though his 1961 batting average of .267 was the lowest of his big-

Jan 23

MLB: Feller and Robinson Elected to Hall of Fame

Jan. 23, 1962 - Bob Feller and Jackie Robinson were elected today to the Hall of Fame. Feller, who pitched for the Cleveland Indians from 1936 through 1956, was an overwhelming first-ballot choice. Feller joined the Indians at the age of 17 and won 266 games, despite missing 4 years during his prime for World War II service. Robinson, the first Negro to play in the major leagues, was a Brooklyn Dodger infielder from 1947 through 1956. He reached his peak in 1949, when he was

Jan 22

MLB: Johnny Podres Signs New Contract with Dodgers

Jan. 22, 1962 - Johnny Podres (far right), who had the best winning percentage among National League pitchers with an 18-5 record for .783 last season, today signed for close to $30,000 with the Los Angeles Dodgers. General Manager E.J. (Buzzie) Bavasi reported that the southpaw received a sizable salary increase for 1962. Podres was said to have received $25,000 last season. “In many respects, 1961 was Podres’ best year even if he didn’t get a chance at some world series her

Jan 20

MLB: Drysdale Signs 1962 Contract with Dodgers

Jan. 20, 1962 - Don Drysdale’s signed contract for the 1962 season was received today by the Los Angeles Dodgers, who said his salary would be about the same as last season. Drysdale won only 13 games last season and lost 10. He is believed to have received $23,000. The 25-year-old Drysdale struck out 182 batters last year to put him third in the National League behind his teammates, Sandy Koufax and Stan Williams. He has a three-year strikeout total of 670, the best league m

Jan 20

MLB: Eddie Mathews and Hank Aaron Sign '62 Contracts with Braves

Jan. 20, 1962 - Henry Aaron (pictured) and Eddie Mathews, the one-two punch of the Milwaukee Braves, signed their 1962 contracts today. “I don’t know of any two sluggers who have been as devastating over the years as these two,” said John McHale, president of the Braves. McHale, however, would not say whether the two players received raises. Reportedly, their salaries are between $55,000 and $60,000. Mathews, 30, smashed his 270th home run last season — his 10th campaign in t

Jan 18

Warren Spahn Signs for 18th Season with Braves

Jan. 18, 1962 - Warren Spahn, the highest-salaried pitcher in baseball history, signed for his 18th season with the Braves today. The 40-year-old left-hander is believed to have received a token increase over his 1961 figure of $75,000. Last season, Spahn led the National League with an earned-run average of 3.01, had the most complete games, and the longest winning streak — 10 games — and tied Joey Jay of Cincinnati for the most victories (21) and the most shutouts (4). Spah

Jan 17

Yankees Edge Packers for Top Pro Sports Team of 1961

Jan. 17, 1962 - The New York Yankees beat the Green Bay Packers by 1 percentage point in a poll to determine the top professional sports team of 1961. The Boston Celtics finished third, with the Cincinnati Reds fourth. The poll of 45 of the nation’s top sports editors and writers was conducted by Ten at the Top, an independent polling organization. The Yankees, who won the American League pennant and then the world series from the Reds, wound up with a percentage of 92. The P

Jan 16

MLB: Berra and Ford Sign New Contracts with Yankees

Jan. 16, 1962 - While downstairs at Toots Shor’s the “poor people” were having lunch today, Yogi Berra and Whitey Ford (pictured with Roy Hamey, Yankees general manager), a couple of upper-bracket ballplayers, were upstairs affixing their signatures to contracts assuring them of slightly more than $100,000 in salary between them in 1962. Berra, who hit 22 homers and had 61 runs batted in last year, received a raise of $2,000. The 32-year-old Ford received an increase of $13,0

Jan 7

The Bat, Not the Ball: Maris Explains His Home-Run Total

Jan. 7, 1962 - A better bat, not a livelier ball, helped Roger Maris to his record total of 61 home runs last year. The 27-year-old Yankee outfielder expressed this belief today while attending the Sporting Goods Fair at the Hotel New Yorker. “The bats we use nowadays are comparatively light, with slender handles. You can ‘whip’ them with greater facility and speed. Last year, I met a fellow who had one of the bats used by Ruth, when he was blasting home runs out of American

Jan 5

MLB: Stan Musial Signs Twenty-First Contract

Jan. 5, 1962 - Stan Musial took a pay cut to about $70,000 today as he signed his 21st contract with the St. Louis Cardinals. “I think this will be my last year as a baseball player, and I’ll try to end up with a good year,” he said. “You can’t go on forever, you know.” Musial, who started at $65 a month in 1938 and worked up to $100,000 in 1958, signed his first Cardinal contract in 1941. But he played only 12 games for the Redbirds that year. He did not play in 1945 because

Jan 2

Two Minor Leaguers Vie for Yankees Shortstop Job

Jan. 2, 1962 - As the world champion New York Yankees look forward to launching another spring-training campaign next month, Manager Ralph Houk finds himself equipped with a well-balanced array of minor league talent. At shortstop, there are two diamond stars in the rough. Houk is banking on one of them to fill the spiked shoes temporarily vacated by the talented Tony Kubek (pictured left), now in the Army. One is Tom Tresh, a switch-hitter. His rival for the shortstop spot i

Dec 18, 2021

Ping Bodie is Dead

Dec. 18, 1961 - Ping Bodie (pictured left in 1920), the slugging outfielder who was a former roommate of Babe Ruth (right), died of cancer today in San Francisco. He was 74. In 1910, playing with the San Francisco Seals, he hit the then-fantastic total of 30 home runs, and quickly broke into the big leagues with the White Sox in 1911. Though he was Babe Ruth’s roommate after he became a Yankee, he always denied it. “It isn’t so,” he would say. “I room with his suitcase.” His