
September 27, 1961: Sandy Koufax surpasses Mathewson for NL strikeout record in breakout season
When Sandy Koufax started his seventh major-league season,…

October 1, 1961: Roger Maris surpasses Babe Ruth with 61st home run
On October 1, 1961, ending a quest that had enthralled both the…

October 4, 1961: Whitey Ford pitches third consecutive World Series shutout as Yankees win Game 1
By Whitey Ford’s standards, 1960 had been a down year. With…

October 5, 1961: Underdog Reds win first World Series game in 21 years
Heading into the 1961 season, the National League pennant race…

October 7, 1961: Roger Maris’s ninth-inning home run wins Game 3 for Yankees
The 1961 World Series between the Cincinnati Reds and the New…

October 8, 1961: Bobby Richardson collects three more hits in Yankees’ Game 4 shutout
“There is nothing to compare with it,” said Bobby Richardson…

October 9, 1961: Yankees blast Reds to capture 19th World Series championship
As the 49-year-old midtown Cincinnati ballpark hosted Game Five…

April 10, 1962: Dick Donovan returns home, blanks Red Sox on Opening Day in Cleveland debut
Four days after the Cleveland Indians’ disappointing 1961 season…

April 10, 1962: Expansion Colt .45s win first game in franchise history
Houston was awarded a National League expansion franchise as…

April 10, 1962: Dodgers lose to Reds in opening game at Dodger Stadium
Walter O’Malley is a bane or a blessing dependent upon which…

April 11, 1962: Carroll Hardy breaks scoreless tie with 12th-inning grand slam
For the Boston Red Sox team, it was a nice way to even up a new…

April 11, 1962: New York Mets open inaugural season with loss to Cardinals
A new day was dawning for New York baseball fans. After the Dodgers…

April 14, 1962: Angels chill Twins in blustery season opener
The Minnesota Twins were scheduled to open their 1962 home season…

April 15, 1962: Pitcher Jim Manning becomes Twins’ first 18-year-old player
Jim Manning’s career as a big-league pitcher lasted only 17…

April 18, 1962: O’Toole’s pitching, Pinson’s production lead Reds to 14-0 rout
The pitching matchup scheduled for Wednesday, April 18, 1962,…

April 19, 1962: Román Mejías draws Houston’s first ejection; manager Harry Craft also thumbed
Román Mejías spent only one season with the Houston Colt .45s,…

April 23, 1962: Jay Hook leads Mets to franchise’s first victory
New York City had long been a bastion of National League baseball.…

April 24, 1962: ‘Human Strikeout Machine’ Sandy Koufax strikes out 18 in the Windy City
“I lost track,” replied Sandy Koufax when asked if he knew…

April 28, 1962: Minnie Miñoso rallies Cardinals to win over Reds
After a three-season Negro National League liftoff, Minnie Miñoso’s…

April 28, 1962: Mets earn franchise’s first home win at Polo Grounds
The end of a terrible era, the absence of National League baseball…

May 5, 1962: Bo Belinsky blanks Baltimore, strikes out nine in no-hitter
The first major-league no-hitter on the West Coast belongs not…

May 6, 1962: Solly Hemus draws Mets’ first ejection in extra-inning win
Solly Hemus’s place in New York Mets history is exceedingly…

May 19, 1962: In his third game, Boston’s Bob Tillman gets his first major-league at-bat and homers
The year 1962 represented a solid start for Red Sox catcher Bob…

May 26, 1962: Sandy Koufax shines on the mound and at the plate
Through mid-May of 1962, Sandy Koufax owned a modest 4-2 record,…