1960s Timeline

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, 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. 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, 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

Dec. 16, 1961 - The return of National League baseball to New York moved a little closer today when the Mets announced their 1961 home dates. Following the opening of their season in St. Louis on April 10, the Mets, with Casey Stengel as manager, will play the Pirates at the Polo Grounds (pictured) on April 13. New Yorkers haven’t seen the Pirates since they appeared in the 1960 world series against the Yankees. That series marked Stengel’s farewell as manager of the Bombers.

Dec. 15, 1961 - Roger Maris, baseball’s home run king, normally quiet and unemotional, appeared deeply moved today when told he had been named The Associated Press male athlete of the year for 1961. “It’s got to mean a lot when they rank you ahead of every athlete in the world,” he said. “There are some mighty good ones on that list.” The Yankee slugger, who hit 61 homers, was the overwhelming choice in the voting by 253 sportswriters in the annual A.P. poll. Paul Hornung of

Dec. 15, 1961 - William “Dummy” Hoy (pictured throwing out the first pitch at Game 3 of this year’s World Series), the oldest former major league baseball player, died today in Cincinnati’s Christ Hospital at the age of 99. William Ellsworth Hoy, a deaf-mute from birth, was born in Houckstown, Ohio, in 1862. He began his major league career in 1888 with Washington, then in the National League. He had his best year in 1898 with the Louisville Colonels, when he hit .318. When a

Dec. 8, 1961 - The New York Mets today acquired another slightly aged though still highly capable player they expect to give their club stability when it makes its debut in the National League next year. Richie Ashburn, a former batting champion who for years ranked with Willie Mays and Duke Snider among the league’s top defensive center fielders, was bought from the Chicago Cubs. A native of Tilden, Neb., Ashburn came to the majors with the Phillies in 1948 and for years was

Nov. 30, 1961 - New York stations WOR-TV and WOR radio said today they had reached “major portions of agreement” in negotiations to broadcast baseball games to be played next year by the New York #Mets, the new National League club. WOR-TV previously established itself as the home of National League baseball in New York, carrying Brooklyn #Dodgers games starting in 1950 and New York #Giants games in 1951 until both teams moved to California following the 1957 season. From 195

Nov. 27, 1961 - The Chicago White Sox traded Orestes (Minnie) Minoso, their Cuban outfield star, to the St. Louis Cardinals for Joe Cunningham, a first baseman-outfielder. Minoso, who will be 39 on Wednesday, has been in the majors 12 seasons and has batted under .300 only twice. The second of these under-.300 years was 1961, when he hit .280. However, he batted in 82 runs. Cunningham, 30, has been with the Cardinals 6 years. He had his best year in 1959 when he batted .345,

Nov. 23, 1961 - New York Mets manager Casey Stengel said today he couldn’t see what all the fuss was about the spitball. “If the pitchers think it will help them, I say let them use it,” said Casey. “Heaven knows, my pitchers will need all the help they can get.” Casey was referring to the odd assortment of hurlers the Mets were able to select from the National League grab bag last month. “Ralph Houk says it’s a dangerous pitch,” continued Casey. “Well, I hit against the best

Nov. 22, 1961 - Frank Robinson (pictured at his wedding last month), crack outfielder of the Cincinnati Reds, today was named the winner of the National League’s most valuable player award for 1961. Unlike the American League vote, which saw only 4 points separate Roger Maris, the winner, from Mickey Mantle, the runner-up, the Reds’ star, whose slashing bat played a major role in bringing the first pennant in 21 years to Cincinnati, scored an overwhelming victory. The committ

Nov. 16, 1961 - The New York Mets gave a $1,000 check to Ray Gotto, a cartoonist, for submitting the prize-winning emblem for the new National League club. Gotto’s emblem depicts the New York City skyline, showing a church, the Williamsburg Savings Bank, the Woolworth Tower, the Empire State Building, and the U.N. The emblem is in the form of a baseball, and the buildings are colored in the former Brooklyn Dodger blue. The orange-colored letters “N.Y.” are the same style, col

Nov. 8, 1961 - Jimmy Foxx (pictured with Connie Mack in 1931), who now lives in Lakewood, Ohio, filed a voluntary petition in bankruptcy today. Foxx, who at one time in his brilliant baseball career made as much as $54,000 a year, declared his debts to be $4,260 and his only assets to be clothing and household goods. Foxx, who played for the Athletics, Red Sox, Cubs, and Phillies, was one of the greatest hitters in baseball history, capturing a vaunted Triple Crown, earning a

Oct. 26, 1961 - The New York City Mayor’s Committee on Baseball was honored today for “outstanding accomplishments in preserving the pre-eminence of New York as the sports capital of the world” — or, to be specific, for bringing a National League baseball team back to the city. The new team, the Metropolitans, or “Mets,” will play at the Polo Grounds in 1962 but will move to a new stadium in Flushing Meadow Park for the 1963 season. William A. Shea, chairman of the committee,

Oct. 25, 1961 - Joey Jay was named the National League pitcher of the year today by UPI’s board of baseball experts. The 26-year-old 21-game winner of the Reds beat Warren Spahn of the Braves, 19 votes to 16. Jay, a 6-foot-4-inch righty, helped pitch the Reds to their first pennant since 1940. He capped his fine campaign by scoring the Reds’ only victory over the New York Yankees in the World Series. #MLB #baseball #baseballcap #baseballlife #baseballislife #baseballplayer #b

Oct. 19, 1961 - Al Kaline (pictured right with Mickey Mantle and Norm Cash) of the Detroit Tigers, who increased his batting average 46 points after having had his poorest season in 1960, was named the American League’s comeback player of 1961 today. Kaline hit .324 in 1961, with 19 homers. He had a 22-game hit streak from July 6 through Aug. 1. In Detroit today, Kaline said of the award: “I’m happy I won it, but I didn’t think I had that bad a year in 1960.” #MLB #baseball #

Oct. 11, 1961 - Walt Alston (pictured with Dodgers owner Walter O’Malley) was signed today to a new one-year contract to manage the Dodgers despite his failure to win the National League pennant with the club that had been ranked as the preseason favorite. The rehiring of Alston at a reported $40,000 salary was a vote of confidence. Alston boasts the longest tenure with the same team of any major league manager. “We are making the announcement at this time instead of November

Oct. 10, 1961 - At a combined cost of $3,650,000, the New York Mets and the Houston Colts today fished 45 players out of the 136-player pool made available to them by the 8 established National League clubs. The players they picked provide the Mets and Colts with basic rosters from which to start organizing teams. New York and Houston will become playing members of the National League next season. That will make the National a ten-team league. The first player named by George

Oct. 6, 1961 - Casey Stengel, who will manage the New York Mets next season, expounded today on matters ranging from the 1964 World's Fair to the world series. On the World's Fair: "The Mets and the Fair are a great thing for New York City. Every merchant will get rich. The people will be coming from Alaska, wearing their fur coats." On the world series: "The Cincinnatis will win if they get some pitching." On the Mets chances: "We'll do all right if they just get me some men