1961 Pittsburgh Pirates Season
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1961 Pittsburgh Pirates Season
The 1961 Pittsburgh Pirates fell from World Champions the previous season to sixth place in the National League, as they won 75 games and lost 79, 18 games behind NL Champion Cincinnati. Regular season Season standings Record vs. opponents Game log , - bgcolor="ccffcc" , 1 , , April 11 , , @ Giants , , 8–7 , , Face (1–0) , , McCormick , , Labine (1) , , 41,423 , , 1–0 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 2 , , April 12 , , @ Giants , , 1–2 , , Loes , , Law (0–1) , , Duffalo , , 7,583 , , 1–1 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 3 , , April 13 , , @ Giants , , 5–6 (12) , , Duffalo , , Face (1–1) , , — , , 10,910 , , 1–2 , - bgcolor="ccffcc" , 4 , , April 14 , , @ Dodgers , , 6–3 , , Gibbon (1–0) , , Koufax , , Labine (2) , , 28,371 , , 2–2 , - bgcolor="ccffcc" , 5 , , April 15 , , @ Dodgers , , 4–1 , , Friend (1–0) , , Drysdale , , — , , 36,783 , , 3–2 , - bgcolor="ffbbbb" , 6 , , April 16 , , @ Dodgers , , 6–1 ...
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Forbes Field
Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the city's National Football League (NFL) franchise. The stadium also served as the home American football, football field for the University of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Panthers football, "Pitt" Panthers from 1909 to 1924. The stadium was named after its adjacent street, Forbes Ave., itself named for British general John Forbes (British Army officer), John Forbes, who fought in the French and Indian War and named the city in 1758. The US$1 million ($ million today) project was initiated by Pittsburgh Pirates' owner Barney Dreyfuss, with the goal of replacing his franchise's then-current home, Exposition Park (Pittsburgh), Exposition Park. The stadium was made of concrete and steel, the first such stadium in the N ...
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1961 Cincinnati Reds Season
The 1961 Cincinnati Reds season was a season in American baseball. It consisted of the Reds winning the National League pennant with a 93–61 record, four games ahead of the runner-up Los Angeles Dodgers, but losing the World Series in five games to the New York Yankees. The Reds were managed by Fred Hutchinson, and played their home games at Crosley Field. The Reds were also the last team to win the National League in the 154-game schedule era, before going to a 162-game schedule a year later. Cincinnati's road to the World Series was truly a remarkable one, as the Reds went through significant changes in a single season to improve from a team that won just 67 games and finished 28 games behind the eventual World Series Champion Pittsburgh Pirates in 1960. The architect of the turnaround was the Reds' new general manager Bill DeWitt, who left his role as president and general manager of the Detroit Tigers after the end of the 1960 season to replace Gabe Paul as the Reds' G ...
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Rocky Nelson
Glenn Richard "Rocky" Nelson (November 18, 1924 – October 31, 2006) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played in Major League Baseball for all or parts of nine seasons between and for the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates, Chicago White Sox, Brooklyn Dodgers and Cleveland Indians. A native of Portsmouth, Ohio, Nelson batted and threw left-handed, stood tall and weighed . He signed his first professional contract in 1942 with the Cardinals' organization. He then missed three seasons (1943–1945) while serving in the United States Army during World War II. Prior to 1959, when he rejoined the Pirates, Nelson was a journeyman major leaguer, although he was one of the most feared hitters in minor league baseball. Apart from his rookie year, he had not spent more than half a season on a major league roster, playing for five different teams. Pittsburgh was one of three teams (the Dodgers and Cardinals were the others) who gave Nelson multiple opportuniti ...
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Left Fielder
In baseball, a left fielder, abbreviated LF, is an outfielder who plays defense in left field. Left field is the area of the outfield to the left of a person standing at home plate and facing towards the pitcher's mound. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the left fielder is assigned the number 7. Position description Left fielders must cover large distances - speed, instincts, and quickness in reacting to the ball are key. They must be able to catch fly balls above their heads and on the run. They must be able to throw the ball accurately over a long distance to be effective; they must also learn to judge whether to attempt a difficult catch and risk letting the ball get past them, or to instead allow the ball to fall in order to guarantee a swift play and prevent the advance of runners. Left fielders must also familiarize themselves with the varying configurations of different ballparks' foul territory, and prevent balls hit down the foul lines from gett ...
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Bob Skinner
Robert Ralph Skinner (born October 3, 1931) is an American former professional baseball outfielder / first baseman, manager, coach, and scout, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for three National League (NL) teams. In all, Skinner spent over 50 years in the game. Career Bob Skinner, a left-handed hitter who threw right-handed, was listed as tall and . He is a native of La Jolla, California. He played most of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates (1954; 1956–63), signing with them in 1951. Skinner spent his last years as a pinch hitter and backup outfielder for the Cincinnati Reds (1963–64) and St. Louis Cardinals (1964–66). During his best season, 1962 with the Pirates, he batted .302 and hit 20 home runs. Over his 12-year career, he batted .277 with 1,198 hits, including 197 doubles, 58 triples and 103 homers. He played for two World Series champions in two tries. In the 1960 World Series with Pittsburgh, he was injured in game 1 and unable to return until ...
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Shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who were typically poor at batting and were often placed at the bottom of the batting order. Today, shortstops are often able to hit well and many are placed at the top of the lineup. In the numbering system used by scorers to record defensive plays, the shortstop is assigned the number 6. More hit balls go to the shortstop than to any other position, as there are more right-handed hitters in baseball than left-handed hitters, and most hitters have a tendency to pull the ball slightly. Like a second baseman, a shortstop must be agile, for example when performing a 4-6-3 double play. Also, like a third baseman, the shortstop fields balls hit to the left side of the infield, where a strong arm is needed to throw out a batter-runner befo ...
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Dick Groat
Richard Morrow Groat (born November 4, 1930) is a former professional baseball and basketball player who was an eight-time All-Star shortstop and two-time World Series champion in Major League Baseball. He rates as one of the most accomplished two-sport athletes in American sports history, a college All-America in baseball and basketball as well as one of only 13 to ever play both at the professional level. Groat was the National League Most Valuable Player with the world champion Pittsburgh Pirates in , when he won the batting title with a .325 average. He finished his career with a .286 batting average and 2,138 hits with four National League teams in 14 seasons. Yet Groat was more naturally gifted in basketball, which was his real passion. The 5-foot-11 guard attended Duke University as a member of the Sigma Chi fraternity, where he was a two-time All-America, two-time McKelvin Award winner as the Southern Conference athlete of the year and the first basketball player to h ...
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Center Fielder
A center fielder, abbreviated CF, is the outfielder in baseball who plays defense in center field – the baseball and softball fielding position between left field and right field. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the center fielder is assigned the number 8. Position description Outfielders must cover large distances, so speed, instincts and quickness to react to the ball are key. They must be able to catch fly balls above their heads and on the run. They must be able to throw the ball accurately over a long distance to be effective. As well as the requirements above, the center fielder must be the outfielder who has the best combination of speed and throwing distance. The center fielder "covers more 'grass' than any other player" (see photo) and, most likely, will catch the most fly balls. The position also has the greatest responsibility among the three outfielders for coordinating their play to prevent collisions when converging on a fly ball, and on ...
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Bill Virdon
William Charles Virdon (June 9, 1931 – November 23, 2021) was an American professional baseball outfielder, manager, and coach in Major League Baseball (MLB). Virdon played in MLB for the St. Louis Cardinals and Pittsburgh Pirates from 1955 through 1965 and in 1968. He served as a coach for the Pirates and Houston Astros, and managed the Pirates, Astros, New York Yankees, and Montreal Expos. After playing in the minors for the Yankees organization, Virdon was traded to the Cardinals, and he made his MLB debut in 1955. That year, Virdon won the National League Rookie of the Year Award. He slumped at the beginning of the 1956 season, and was traded to the Pirates, where he spent the remainder of his playing career. A premier defensive outfielder during his playing days as a center fielder for the Cardinals and Pirates, Virdon led a strong defensive team to the 1960 World Series championship. In 1962, Virdon won a Gold Glove Award. Following the 1965 season, he retired due to h ...
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1961 St
Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba ( Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (Koivulahti air disaster): Douglas DC-3C OH-LCC of Finnish airline Aero crashes near Kvevlax (Koivulahti), on approach to Vaasa Airport in Finland, killing all 25 on board, due to pilot error: an investigation finds that the captain and first officer were both exhausted for lack of sleep, and had consumed excessive amounts of alcohol at the time of the crash. It remains the deadliest air disaster to occur in the country. * January 5 ** Italian sculptor Alfredo Fioravanti marches into the U.S. Consulate in Rome, and confesses that he was part of the team that forged the Etruscan terracotta warriors in the Metropolitan Museum of Art. ** After the 1960 military coup, General Cemal Gürsel forms the new government of Turkey (25th governm ...
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1961 Philadelphia Phillies Season
The 1961 Philadelphia Phillies season was the 69th in franchise history. The Phillies finished the season in last place in the National League at 47–107, 46 games behind the NL Champion Cincinnati Reds. The team also lost 23 games in a row, the most in the majors since 1900. Offseason * November 28, 1960: Choo-Choo Coleman was drafted by the Phillies from the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 1960 rule 5 draft. Regular season Season standings Record vs. opponents Notable transactions * May 4, 1961: Turk Farrell and Joe Koppe were traded by the Phillies to the Los Angeles Dodgers for Charley Smith and Don Demeter. * June 1, 1961: Warren Hacker was purchased from the Phillies by the Chicago White Sox. * July 2, 1961: Bobby Del Greco was traded by the Phillies to the Kansas City Athletics for Wes Covington. 1961 Game log , - style="background:#fbb" , 1 , , April 11 , , @ Dodgers , , 2–6 , , Don Drysdale (1–0) , , Robin Roberts (0–1) , , Larry She ...
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1961 Milwaukee Braves Season
The 1961 Milwaukee Braves season was the ninth in Milwaukee and the 91st overall season of the franchise. The fourth-place Braves finished the season with an record, ten games behind the National League champion The home attendance at County Stadium fifth in the eight-team National League. It was the Braves' lowest attendance to date in Milwaukee, and was the last season surpassing one million fans. Offseason * October 14, 1960: Red Schoendienst was released by the Braves. * October 14, 1960: Stan Lopata was released by the Braves. * December 3, 1960: Billy Martin was purchased by the Braves from the Cincinnati Reds. * December 14, 1960: Joe Azcue was purchased by the Braves from the Cincinnati Reds. * Prior to 1961 season (exact date unknown) ** Jim Campbell was traded by the Braves to the Houston Colt .45s for Morrie Martin. ** Clay Carroll was signed by the Braves as an amateur free agent. Regular season On April 28, Warren Spahn threw a no-hitter against the San Fran ...
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