April 23, 1961: Phillies’ Art Mahaffey fans franchise record 17 batters

Part of the beauty of baseball is just how unpredictable the…

April 28, 1961: Braves’ Warren Spahn pitches second career no-hitter

It was barely the third week of the 1961 season. A meager crowd…

April 30, 1961: The Say Hey Kid’s four-homer game

The 1961 major-league season was barely three weeks old the…

May 4, 1961: Joe Adcock’s walk-off grand slam wins it for Braves

From the time he arrived in Milwaukee with the rest of his Braves…

May 9, 1961: Orioles’ Jim Gentile blasts two grand slams on consecutive pitches

On Tuesday, May 9, 1961, before a crowd of 4,514 fans at Minnesota’s…

May 12, 1961: Boston’s Bill Monbouquette whiffs 17 Senators

It was early in the 1961 season; the Red Sox were 9-12 and the…
Roberto Clemente (NATIONAL BASEBALL HALL OF FAME LIBRARY)

May 24, 1961: Roberto Clemente, the ‘College’ Cubs, and an incident in Mississippi

The Pittsburgh Pirates were still enjoying the aura of their…

May 25, 1961: Sandy Koufax outduels Bob Gibson in Dodgers’ 1-0 victory

On May 25, 1961, the same day President John F. Kennedy set…

June 8, 1961: Milwaukee Braves belt a record four consecutive home runs in one inning

Six teams were within six games of one another in a wild scramble…
Lew Krausse Jr. (Trading Card DB)

June 16, 1961: Lew Krausse Jr. twirls debut shutout 10 days after high-school graduation

On the Saturday before graduating from high school in June 1961,…

June 17, 1961: Tigers outslug Yankees and take first place

The explosive Tigers-Yankees matchup that took place at Tiger…
Jim Pagliaroni (Trading Card DB)

June 18, 1961: Red Sox sweep Senators in a double walk-off doubleheader

Talk about a spree, in which one player had a huge impact in…

June 18, 1961: Goodman, Fox win it for White Sox in 9th with unlikely homers

Two of the least likely home-run hitters both struck in the ninth…
Gene Baker (THE TOPPS COMPANY)

June 19, 1961: Gene Baker becomes first Black manager in affiliated minor leagues

Gene Baker was not, as is sometimes reported, the first Black…
Clay Dalrymple (Courtesy of Temple University)

June 23, 1961: Phillies stun Pirates, 12-11

The Pirates were fresh off winning the 1960 World Series in one…

June 23, 1961: Stan Musial knocks in seven runs for Cardinals

The turnstiles at Busch Stadium, the renamed Sportsman’s…

June 28, 1961: Ron Santo comes up big with two homers, seven RBIs

“The Cubs had 25 base runners, and (the public-address) announcer…
Willie Mays (SABR-Rucker Archive)

June 29, 1961: Willie Mays hits three homers, including the game-winner in the 10th

Willie Mays became just the fourth major leaguer to hit at…
Roger Maris (Trading Card DB)

July 2, 1961: Yankee bats pummel Senators on way to home run records

Sunday, July 2, 1961, was a muggy day at Yankee Stadium, with…