Coot Veal (TRADING CARD DB)

April 10, 1961: Washington Senators defeated in first game of expansion era

When the 1960 season ended, Washington Senators fans had good…

April 11, 1961: Eli Grba wins first game in Angels franchise history

As 1960 rolled into 1961 and baseball fans began looking forward…

April 15, 1961: Bob Friend bests Don Drysdale in a record-setting game

Possibly the most intriguing thing about baseball is its unpredictability.…

April 20, 1961: Milwaukee Braves make dramatic comeback in 9th, win in 11

The Phillies' home opener on April 20, 1961, was a cool spring…

April 21, 1961: Twins lose first home opener at Metropolitan Stadium

In their first home opener, before 24,606 fans at yet-to-be-completed…

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…