1960s Timeline

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

Sept. 30, 1961 - For a crowd of 29,182, it was a pleasant enough afternoon at Yankee Stadium today. It was a barren day, however, for the fans who had clustered in the right wing of the grandstand and the right-field bleachers in hopes of catching Roger Maris's 61st home run. Roger drew another blank, while the Yanks polished off the Red Sox, 3-1, in the next-to-last game of the regular season. Maris, still stalled at 60, has only one more game, tomorrow afternoon against Bos

Sept. 29, 1961 - Casey Stengel, 71, agreed today to a one-year contract as manager of the New York Mets, the new National League club scheduled to begin its first season of play in 1962. The announcement was made by George M. Weiss, the president of the Mets and formerly the Yankees' general manager. Both he and Casey were retired by the Yanks at the end of last season to make room for younger men. Casey's first job with the Mets will be to meet with executives and scouts to

Sept. 28, 1961 - Mickey Mantle was hospitalized today with an abscess in the upper right hip and will miss the Yankees' final three games of the regular season. However, he is expected to play in the world series next week. The other half of the Bombers' homer-hitting M Squad, Roger Maris, will be back in the lineup tonight against the Red Sox for the opener of a three-game series. Maris, rested for two full days, will be making his final effort to pile up more home runs than

Sept. 26, 1961 - The Cincinnati Reds clinched the 1961 National League pennant today. It took them virtually all day to do it, but what's a day to a club that's been waiting 21 years for a league championship? First, the Reds beat the Cubs, 6-3, before 3,327 at Wrigley Field. That assured them of at least a tie for the pennant. Then Manager Fred Hutchinson and his athletes left by chartered plane for Cincinnati, needing only a Dodger defeat at the hands of the Pirates -- last

Sept. 26, 1961 - Roger Maris today became the first major league player to hit 60 home runs in a season since Babe Ruth achieved that total in 1927. Maris connected in the third inning of a game that the Yankees took from the Orioles at the Stadium, 3-2, before a crowd of 19,401. Under Commissioner Ford C. Frick's ruling, Maris will not be credited with a tie for the Ruthian record because his No. 60 was not made within the 154-game limit that prevailed in Ruth's day. The Yan

Sept. 24, 1961 - Warren Spahn of the Milwaukee Braves became the fourth pitcher in major league history today to win 20 or more games in 12 seasons. He beat the Cubs, 8-0, on two hits in the first game of a doubleheader. The Cubs won the second game, 4-2, on home runs by Ernie Banks and Billy Williams. The first game was Spahn's 308th career victory and tied him for tenth all time. #MLB #baseball #sports #braves #cubs

Sept. 25, 1961 - New York Titans Quarterback Al Dorow (pictured right during the coin toss before an exhibition game last month) continues as the top passer in the American Football League, where only two of the top ten throwers have fifty percent averages. Dorow led the Titans to a 35-28 victory over the Denver Broncos yesterday. #football #sports #jets #nyjets #newyorkjets #broncos #denverbroncos

Sept. 24, 1961 - With a big lift from Y.A. Tittle, the 35-year-old quarterback they acquired from San Francisco in a pre-season trade, the New York Giants downed the Pittsburgh Steelers, 17-14, today. The game was seen by 35,587 spectators at Pitt Stadium. In his first appearance for the Giants since being injured on the first play of the first preseason contest with the Rams, Tittle completed 10 of 12 passes for 123 yards. Four completions in four tries figured in the forty-

Sept. 23, 1961 - Although Roger Maris did not break Babe Ruth's home run record within the 154-game limit, he will probably earn more money, from endorsements, public appearances, and other commercial fees, than any other athlete in history. According to Frank Scott, Maris's business manager, Maris's near-record feat should earn him more than $100,000 in the next year. If Maris had broken the record, Scott believes the slugger could have earned $500,000. At least two companie

Sept. 23, 1961 - Billy Wade (pictured), turning on his former teammates, ran for one touchdown and passed for another today as the Chicago Bears rallied for a 21-17 victory over the Los Angeles Rams. Ed Brown, quarterback for the Bears in the first half, threw a 47-yard touchdown pass to Mike Ditka in the first quarter. Wade entered the game in the third period and did the rest. #NFL #football #sports #bears #chicagobears #rams #larams #losangelesrams

Sept. 23, 1961 - Mickey Mantle, who had almost become the forgotten man in 1961's home run derby, crashed back into contention today. Appearing in the Yankee starting line-up for the first time since Sept. 17, Mantle hit his 54th homer. The blow, struck off Red Sox rookie Don Schwall, came in the first inning and paved the way for an 8-3 Bomber triumph. It also put Mantle within five homers of the fellow who had been overshadowing him for the past two weeks. Roger Maris, who

Sept. 22, 1961 - One Cincinnati baserunner reached third today as the Reds were blanked, 6-0, by Billy O'Dell of the Giants at Crosley Field. It was conduct unbecoming a team that hopes shortly to qualify as a world series opponent of Maris, Mantle & Co., sometimes referred to as the New York Yankees. The Reds' lead over the second-place Dodgers was cut to four games. Any combination of Cincinnati victories and Los Angeles defeats totaling four will give the Reds their first

Sept. 22, 1961 - Taking advantage of an open date on the schedule, Manager Ralph Houk (right) today turned his attention to the Yankee pitching staff. The job is to rotate it properly so that it will come to the opening of the World Series on Oct. 4 at peak efficiency. The skipper made it clear several days ago that he planned to call on his top three, Whitey Ford (left), Ralph Terry, and Bill Stafford, and to repeat the sequence beginning with the fourth game. The task is to

Sept. 21, 1961 - Roger Maris (right) will avail himself of every opportunity to add to his total of 59 home runs. There are seven games left on the Yankees' schedule. Manager Ralph Houk (center) and the other Yankee players would like to see Maris play in every one of them, or at least until he has hit homer No. 61. Now that the pennant flag is theirs, the Yankees are beginning to talk openly about the Reds and such Cincinnati standouts as Frank Robinson, Vada Pinson, Joey Ja

Sept. 21, 1961 - Baseball Commissioner Ford Frick today clarified his position on Babe Ruth's home run record and his policy if Roger Maris surpasses the Babe's mark of 60 before the season ends. If Maris equals or tops that figure in the Yankees' remaining seven games, the feat will go into the record book as a season mark for a 162-game schedule, Frick said, but it would not be considered as having broken the Ruth record. The Babe's name will remain in the book for his havi

Sept. 20, 1961 - The Yankees today clinched their 26th American League pennant by beating the Orioles, 4-2. But for Roger Maris (pictured with Johnny Blanchard), it was a day of frustration. After hitting his 59th home run of the season, Maris went to bat in the ninth with a chance to tie Babe Ruth's record of 60 homers in a 154-game season. Maris tapped Hoyt Wilhelm's third pitch to first base and was tagged for the final out of the inning. Ruth's record, on the books since

Sept. 19, 1961 - Roger Maris, for whom time is rapidly running out in his bid to break Babe Ruth's record, hit no homers today, nor did the Yankees bag the '61 A.L. pennant. However, Ralph Houk's Bombers did manage to complete one more stride toward the inevitable clinching, by defeating the Orioles, 3-1, in the second half of a doubleheader. In his bid to reach the Ruthian record within the stipulated 154-game limit set by Commissioner Frick, Maris now faces rough going. Rog

Sept. 19, 1961 - Ted Williams, 43-year-old former baseball player for the Boston Red Sox, was married today in Cambridge, Mass. His bride was Lee Howard, 36, a model. They were married in the clerk's office of East Cambridge District Court. Mr. Williams was divorced from the former Doris Soule in 1955, after a year's separation. Mr. Williams joined Sears, Roebuck & Co. after leaving baseball at the end of last season. He gave his address today as Matecumbe, Fla. #MLB #basebal

Sept. 18, 1961 - Home runs by Ed Bouchee, Don Zimmer, and George Altman brought the Cubs a 5-3 victory over Los Angeles today and dropped the Dodgers 4 games behind the league-leading Reds in the National League. Don Cardwell (pictured), a lefty who had lost 6 straight decisions to the Dodgers, earned his 14th victory. The Dodgers, who had won four straight, have eleven games to play, two more than Cincinnati. Any combination of Cincinnati victories and L.A. losses totaling s