1960s Timeline

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Sep 6, 2021

Yankees Top Senators as Maris Hits No. 54

Sept. 6, 1961 - The celebrated M Squad slammed only one homer today - Roger Maris's 54th of the season. But three other Yanks knocked a total of four baseballs into the stands during an 8-0 romp over the Senators at the Stadium. John Blanchard connected twice, Bill Skowron clouted No. 24, and Bob Hale hit a solo shot. The Bombers lifted their team home run total to 210, a league record, and moved to within 11 of the major league mark shared by the Giants and Reds. Maris and M

Sep 5, 2021

Yankees Crush Senators as Mickey Hits No. 53

Sept. 5, 1961 - Mickey Mantle's 53rd homer was the first salvo of a Yankee attack that crushed the Washington Senators today, 6-1. Mantle's wallop in the second inning created a 1-1 deadlock, which Elston Howard demolished with his 16th homer off the base of the upper deck in the fifth. Yankee hurler Jim Coates's 10th triumph coincided with New York's 6th in a row. Since Detroit was beaten twice last night, the Yankees widened their American League lead to seven and a half ga

Sep 4, 2021

Dodgers Top Giants, 4-0, Gain in N.L. Race

Sept. 4, 1961 - Don Drysdale pitched a two-hitter and scored his first success against San Francisco in a year today as the Dodgers defeated the Giants, 4-0, in Los Angeles. The Dodgers pulled to within two games of the league-leading Cincinnati Reds. Duke Snider drove in two of the runs with the 380th homer of his career. He moved into 10th place among the league's leaders in runs batted in with a career total of 1,224. Drysdale would have had a one-hitter if Felipe Alou had

Sep 3, 2021

Mantle Hits Nos. 49, 50 as Yankees Clip Tigers, 8-5

Sept. 3, 1961 - Mickey Mantle treated himself, the Yankees, and 55,676 fans to a pair of homers today. They were his 49th and 50th of the season, and they helped nail down an 8-5 Bomber victory over the Tigers. Mantle was a surprise starter after straining a muscle in the left forearm Saturday. Roger Maris, leading the chase for Babe Ruth's record, was held to a single in four trips to the plate. He is eight games ahead of Ruth's record pace of 1927. Mantle is three games ahe

Sep 2, 2021

Maris Hits Nos. 52, 53 as Yankees Down Tigers, 7-2

Sept. 2, 1961 - Roger Maris catapulted himself into a commanding position in the assault on Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs today by hitting two, his 52nd and 53rd of the year. Those two blows, along with a double by Maris, enabled the Yankees to crush the Tigers, 7-2. Maris's two homers put him within seven of the magic mark. He has 20 games remaining if he is to make it within the 154 games prescribed by Commissioner Ford Frick. With today's home runs, Maris became the s

Sep 2, 2021

NFL: Talented Rookie Crop for 1961

Sept. 2, 1961 - Two weeks from today, the expanded NFL will open what it hopes will be its biggest season yet. Every team has its quota of promising rookies, some of whom will try to fill the shoes of such retired stars as Frank Gifford of the Giants, Norm Van Brocklin of the Eagles, and Alan Ameche, the Baltimore Colt powerhouse fullback. Making their debuts will be such college standouts as Bob Lilly (pictured), a Dallas tackle from Texas Christian; Francis Tarkenton, a Min

Sep 1, 2021

Yankees Top Tigers as Skowron Knocks in Winning Run

Sept. 1, 1961 - While baseball's vaunted M squad spent a sultry, frustrating day at the Stadium today, a relatively obscure Yankee helped beat the Tigers, 1-0. A crowd of 65,566 roared when Bill Skowron (pictured) singled home the ninth-inning run that beat Don Mossi. The hit extended Luis Arroyo's winning string in relief to ten games and widened the Bombers' American League lead over Detroit to two and a half games. Mickey Mantle's home run total remains at 48 and Maris's a

Aug 31, 2021

Braves Beat Drysdale and Dodgers, 2-1

Aug. 31, 1961 - A double steal with Lee Maye sliding home safely gave Milwaukee a 2-1 victory over Los Angeles today, putting the Dodgers three games out of first place and the Braves alone in third place in the National League pennant race. Bob Hendley, a left-hander, gained the victory, and Don Drysdale was charged with his ninth loss. Maye led off the third with a single, went to second on Frank Bolling's sacrifice, and advanced to third on Eddie Mathew's groundout. Hank A

Aug 30, 2021

Mantle Slams 47th as Yankees Down Twins, 4-0

Aug. 30, 1961 - Mickey Mantle nudged his way back into the home run derby today. Connecting for the first time in over a week, he unloaded his 47th homer of the year as the Yankees, behind Bill Stafford, downed the Twins, 4-0. The blow, belted right-handed off Jim Kaat, put Mantle within four homers of Roger Maris, who remains at 51 - 9 behind the Babe Ruth record of 60. Mantle is two games ahead of Ruth's 1927 pace. Maris, who hit No. 51 last Saturday in Kansas City, remains

Aug 29, 2021

Koufax Tosses 2-Hitter, Strikes Out 12, in 2-1 Victory over Cubs

Aug. 29, 1961 - Sandy Koufax raised the Dodgers' pennant hopes today by pitching a 2-hitter for a 2-1 victory over the Cubs. The 25-year-old lefty struck out 12 batters. He lost his bid for a no-hitter when Dick Bertell dropped a run-scoring single into left field with two out in the seventh inning. The Cubs' other hit was a two-out single by Ron Santo in the ninth. Koufax has 212 strikeouts this season. He needs 25 more to match the National League record by a left-hander se

Aug 29, 2021

IBM Computer "Casey" Predicts Maris, not Mantle, Will Break Ruth's Record

Aug. 29, 1961 - A baseball expert who has never watched a game or read a box score was confronted today with one of the year's most pressing questions: Will Roger Maris or Mickey Mantle break Babe Ruth's record of 60 home runs for a season? In the twinkling of an electronic eye, his answer was: Roger, yes; Mickey, no. Furthermore, he expects Maris to belt No. 61 in the Yankees' 154th contest, scheduled for Sept. 23 at Boston. The bold prognosticator was Casey, an IBM 1401 com

Aug 28, 2021

Maris-Mantle Chase for Record Sparks Huge Interest

Aug. 28, 1961 - New York Yankees afternoon games at home on weekdays have not been broadcast this season on WCBS-AM, but all contests have been carried by WCBS-FM. This has been frustrating for Yankee rooters dependent upon old-fashioned AM radio sets. Sam J. Slate, general manager of WCBS, announced today that forthcoming games will be broadcast on both AM and FM "because of the tremendous listener interest" in the race by Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle to break Babe Ruth's h

Aug 27, 2021

Reds Sweep Doubleheader from Dodgers, Gain Separation in N.L. Race

Aug. 27, 1961 - The Cincinnati Reds beat the Los Angeles Dodgers twice today, 6-5 and 8-3, removing temporarily (and possibly for good) much of the tension from the National League pennant race. The twin triumphs - one a suspenseful, come-from-behind victory, the other a freewheeling rollercoaster before 30,195 fans at Crosley Field - catapulted the Reds to a three-and-a-half game lead over the second-place Dodgers. Loyal Reds fans are shouting that there will be a world seri

Aug 26, 2021

Maris Hits 51st as Yankees Crush Athletics, 5-1

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 26, 2021

NFL: Packers Beat Bears, 24-14, for Third Exhibition Victory

Aug. 26, 1961 - The Green Bay Packers scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns today to beat the Chicago Bears, 24-14, before 42,560 fans, the largest crowd to watch a professional football game in Wisconsin. The Packers, trailing by 14-10 in the last quarter of the exhibition between NFL clubs, scored on touchdowns by Jim Taylor and Paul Hornung. The victory was the Packers' third in a row this season and their eleventh consecutive exhibition victory in three seasons. #NFL #foot

Aug 25, 2021

Ralph Terry Dominant as Yankees Clip Athletics, 3-0

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 24, 2021

Stengel May Manage Mets in '62

Aug. 24, 1961 - There are new indications that Casey Stengel will become the manager of the New York club that will start play in the National League next season. The former Yankee manager said he has discussed the matter with George E. Weiss, president of the Mets, several times. Asked today who he thought would be the first to break the Babe Ruth home run record of 60, Casey replied: "How in hell would I know? I guess the young feller with the fine swing [Maris] has a fine

Aug 23, 2021

Dodgers Lose 9th Straight to Cardinals, Longest Losing Streak since '44

Aug. 23, 1961 - The Cardinals exploded for 4 runs in the 8th inning today to take an 8-7 decision from the 2nd-place Dodgers. It was the Dodgers' 9th straight loss, their longest losing streak since 1944, when they dropped 15 in a row. Consecutive home runs by Bill White (pictured) and Ken Boyer paced the Cardinals' eighth-inning rally. Don Drysdale, who has never finished a game he started in Busch Stadium, was routed, but the loss went to Ron Perranoski. #MLB #baseball #spo

Aug 22, 2021

Reds and Their Fans Hungry for First Pennant since 1940

Aug. 22, 1961 - The slogans, placards, and banners that are heard and seen throughout pennant-starved Cincinnati these days may help jam 29,383 frantic fans into Crosley Field, as they did today. However, as the league-leading Reds learned while dropping both ends of a doubleheader to the third-place Giants, 12-2 and 5-3, there never has been a slogan that fanned a batter, a placard that pivoted for a double play, or a banner that came up with a game-winning hit. "Rally 'roun

Aug 21, 2021

After Phillies End Losing Streak, 200 Fans Greet Club at Philadelphia Airport

Aug. 21, 1961 - Two hundred fans turned out in rain at Philadelphia International Airport today to greet the Phillies when they arrived home from Milwaukee, where they ended a 23-game losing streak yesterday. The fans, accompanied by a five-piece band, gave the Phils a hero's welcome. Three burly fans lifted Manager Gene Mauch on their shoulders. Mauch, who appeared stunned, told the crowd: "One day we'll come home after winning 23 out of 24, and they'll have to build a new a