On October 8, 1961, at Crosley Field – Whitey Ford of the New York Yankees sets a record for consecutive scoreless innings in World Series play. Ford extends his streak to 32 innings with a 7-0 shutout of the Cincinnati Reds. Whitey Ford started Game 4 for the Yankees in an attempt to continue…
The Yankees win Game 3 of the World Series, beating the hometown Reds at Crosley Field, 3-2. The decisive blow is Roger Maris’ home run leading off in the top of the ninth inning off Cincinnati starter Bob Purkey.
1961 – Whitey Ford’s third straight World Series shutout, with home runs by Elston Howard and Bill Skowron, gives the Yankees a 2 – 0 win in Game 1 of the 1961 World Series against Cincinnati at Yankee Stadium.
Two days before the start of the World Series between the Reds and Yankees, the expansion Mets introduced Casey Stengel as the franchise’s first manager. The introduction takes place at the Savoy Hilton in the same room where the Bronx Bombers held a press conference at the end of last season to announce the 70 year-old Old Professor’s ‘mandatory retirement.’
Willie Mays hits his 40th home run when he goes deep off Lew Burdette in the Giants’ 8-2 victory over Milwaukee in the opener of a twin bill at County Stadium. The ‘Say Hey Kid’ is the eighth player to reach the mark this season, a major league first, joining Roger Maris (61), Mickey Mantle (54), Harmon Killebrew (46), Orlando Cepeda (46), Jim Gentile (46), Rocky Colavito (45), and Norm Cash (41) in accomplishing the feat.
The Wrigley Field on the west coast hosts its last professional baseball game when the Angels, who will play at Dodger Stadium next season, are defeated by Cleveland, 8-5, in front of 9,868 fans at the 36 year-old ballpark, which will be torn down in five years to make room for an eventual public playground and senior center. In addition to being the home for the American League expansion team, the venue housed the PCL’s Angels from 1925 through 1957 and served as the location for the 1960 television series Home Run Derby.
On October 1, 1961, At Yankee Stadium, Roger Maris of the New York Yankees blasts his 61st home run, eclipsing baseball’s most glamorous record-the single-season home run mark set by Babe Ruth in 1927. Maris’ solo shot against Tracy Stallard of the Boston Red Sox gives the Yankees a 1-0 win. Depending on how you…
The Angels win their 70th and final game of the season when they defeat Cleveland at L.A.’s Wrigley Field, 11-6. The seventy victories are the most games ever won by an expansion team in their first year of existence.
Johnny Blanchard singles in the ninth, plating Roger Maris to give the Yankees a 2-1 walk-off victory over the Red Sox. The super-sub, playing right field today, hit his 21st home run of the season in the fourth inning off Boston’s complete-game loser Bill Monbouquette, accounting for New York’s other run.
Whitey Ford goes six innings for the victory in the Yankees’ 2-1 win over the Red Sox to finish the season with a 25-4 record. ‘Slick’ hurls 283 innings during the campaign without allowing a stolen base.