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1961 Pittsburgh Pirates season

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Major League Baseball team season
1961 Pittsburgh Pirates
LeagueNational League
BallparkForbes Field
CityPittsburgh, Pennsylvania
OwnersJohn W. Galbreath (majority shareholder); Bing Crosby, Thomas P. Johnson (minority shareholders)
General managersJoe L. Brown
ManagersDanny Murtaugh
TelevisionKDKA-TV
Bob Prince, Jim Woods
RadioKDKA
Bob Prince, Paul Long, Jim Woods
← 1960 Seasons 1962 →

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

National League
Team W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 93 61 .604 — 47‍–‍30 46‍–‍31
Los Angeles Dodgers 89 65 .578 4 45‍–‍32 44‍–‍33
San Francisco Giants 85 69 .552 8 45‍–‍32 40‍–‍37
Milwaukee Braves 83 71 .539 10 45‍–‍32 38‍–‍39
St. Louis Cardinals 80 74 .519 13 48‍–‍29 32‍–‍45
Pittsburgh Pirates 75 79 .487 18 38‍–‍39 37‍–‍40
Chicago Cubs 64 90 .416 29 40‍–‍37 24‍–‍53
Philadelphia Phillies 47 107 .305 46 22‍–‍55 25‍–‍52

Record vs. opponents

1961 National League record
Sources:
Team CHC CIN LAD MIL PHI PIT SF STL
Chicago — 12–10 7–15 9–13–1 13–9 11–11 5–17 7–15–1
Cincinnati 10–12 — 12–10 15–7 19–3 11–11 12–10 14–8
Los Angeles 15–7 10–12 — 12–10 17–5 13–9 10–12 12–10
Milwaukee 13–9–1 7–15 10–12 — 16–6 12–10 11–11 14–8
Philadelphia 9–13 3–19 5–17 6–16 — 7–15 8–14–1 9–13
Pittsburgh 11–11 11–11 9–13 10–12 15–7 — 10–12 9–13
San Francisco 17–5 10–12 12–10 11–11 14–8–1 12–10 — 9–13
St. Louis 15–7–1 8–14 10–12 8–14 13–9 13–9 13–9 —


Game log

1961 Game Log: 75–79 (Home: 38–39; Away: 37–40)
April: 9–6 (Home: 4–2; Away: 5–4)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
1 April 11 @ Giants 8–7 Face (1–0) McCormick Labine (1) 41,423 1–0
2 April 12 @ Giants 1–2 Loes Law (0–1) Duffalo 7,583 1–1
3 April 13 @ Giants 5–6 (12) Duffalo Face (1–1) — 10,910 1–2
4 April 14 @ Dodgers 6–3 Gibbon (1–0) Koufax Labine (2) 28,371 2–2
5 April 15 @ Dodgers 4–1 Friend (1–0) Drysdale — 36,783 3–2
6 April 16 @ Dodgers 6–13 Williams Law (0–2) Palmquist 27,716 3–3
7 April 18 Cubs 5–3 Mizell (1–0) Wright Face (1) 30,781 4–3
8 April 19 Cubs 4–1 Friend (2–0) Anderson — 12,742 5–3
9 April 20 Cubs 0–3 Hobbie Gibbon (1–1) — 10,428 5–4
10 April 23 Braves 1–3 Spahn Law (0–3) — 21,249 5–5
11 April 24 Braves 7–6 Friend (3–0) Drabowsky Labine (3) 14,826 6–5
12 April 26 Phillies 3–2 Mizell (2–0) Green — 9,420 7–5
13 April 29 @ Reds 6–3 Law (1–3) Jay Face (2) 9,173 8–5
14 April 30 @ Reds 6–3 Friend (4–0) Hook Face (3) 9–5
15 April 30 @ Reds 2–4 Purkey Gibbon (1–2) — 11,743 9–6
May: 12–12 (Home: 7–6; Away: 5–6)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
16 May 2 @ Cardinals 6–0 Haddix (1–0) Broglio — 6,549 10–6
17 May 3 @ Cardinals 1–3 Gibson Mizell (2–1) McDaniel 5,611 10–7
18 May 5 Dodgers 0–10 Podres Friend (4–1) Farrell 25,023 10–8
19 May 6 Dodgers 9–5 Gibbon (2–2) Craig Face (4) 9,736 11–8
20 May 7 Dodgers 2–4 Koufax Witt (0–1) Sherry 17,363 11–9
21 May 9 Giants 9–6 Haddix (2–0) Sanford Labine (4) 17,250 12–9
22 May 10 Giants 0–3 McCormick Friend (4–2) — 21,599 12–10
23 May 12 Reds 8–5 Shantz (1–0) Bridges — 20,662 13–10
24 May 13 Reds 13–5 Labine (1–0) O'Toole — 13,343 14–10
25 May 14 Reds 1–4 Hunt Friend (4–3) Brosnan 17,459 14–11
26 May 16 Cardinals 2–1 Face (2–1) Simmons — 13,578 15–11
27 May 17 Cardinals 4–3 Mizell (3–1) Broglio Face (5) 17,691 16–11
28 May 19 @ Phillies 1–4 Mahaffey Friend (4–4) — 16,035 16–12
29 May 20 @ Phillies 4–3 Gibbon (3–2) Roberts Face (6) 12,547 17–12
30 May 21 @ Phillies 13–11 Friend (5–4) Ferrarese — 9,291 18–12
31 May 22 @ Braves 2–1 Haddix (3–0) Buhl — 10,332 19–12
32 May 23 @ Braves 0–1 Burdette Shantz (1–1) — 9,367 19–13
33 May 24 @ Cubs 7–3 Mizell (4–1) Ellsworth Labine (5) 5,573 20–13
34 May 26 @ Cardinals 2–12 Simmons Friend (5–5) — 8,868 20–14
35 May 27 @ Cardinals 5–7 Broglio Law (1–4) McDaniel 14,941 20–15
36 May 28 @ Cardinals 4–8 Cicotte Haddix (3–1) — 16,632 20–16
37 May 30 Cubs 3–5 Ellsworth Mizell (4–2) Elston 20–17
38 May 30 Cubs 0–10 Cardwell Friend (5–6) — 30,852 20–18
39 May 31 Braves 9–1 Gibbon (4–2) Spahn — 16,902 21–18
June: 15–13 (Home: 10–9; Away: 5–4)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
40 June 1 Braves 8–2 (7) Haddix (4–1) Burdette — 19,128 22–18
41 June 2 Phillies 0–6 Buzhardt Friend (5–7) — 14,344 22–19
42 June 3 Phillies 5–1 Shantz (2–1) Mahaffey Face (7) 11,153 23–19
43 June 4 Phillies 0–5 Ferrarese Mizell (4–3) — 27,352 23–20
44 June 5 @ Dodgers 5–2 Law (2–4) Perranoski Face (8) 14,715 24–20
45 June 6 @ Dodgers 7–8 Podres Face (2–2) Sherry 15,784 24–21
46 June 7 @ Dodgers 3–7 Koufax Francis (0–1) — 19,967 24–22
47 June 8 @ Dodgers 4–2 Friend (6–7) Williams Shantz (1) 17,599 25–22
48 June 9 @ Giants 6–9 Bolin Face (2–3) Miller 27,815 25–23
49 June 10 @ Giants 0–5 McCormick Mizell (4–4) — 26,630 25–24
50 June 11 @ Giants 8–4 Law (3–4) Loes Friend (1) 34,185 26–24
51 June 13 Reds 2–1 Gibbon (5–2) Maloney — 19,423 27–24
52 June 14 Reds 5–4 Shantz (3–1) Brosnan — 14,270 28–24
53 June 15 Reds 1–8 Jay Mizell (4–5) — 19,209 28–25
54 June 16 Cardinals 2–5 Gibson Haddix (4–2) — 26,229 28–26
55 June 17 Cardinals 9–3 Shantz (4–1) Broglio — 15,436 29–26
56 June 18 Cardinals 5–3 Friend (7–7) Simmons Face (9) 30–26
57 June 18 Cardinals 3–7 Jackson Gibbon (5–3) Miller 29,176 30–27
58 June 20 @ Phillies 6–2 Haddix (5–2) Mahaffey Face (10) 10,649 31–27
59 June 22 @ Phillies 5–1 Friend (8–7) Buzhardt — 9,126 32–27
60 June 23 Phillies 11–12 Lehman Francis (0–2) Sullivan 16,170 32–28
61 June 24 Phillies 2–6 Short Mizell (4–6) Sullivan 9,546 32–29
62 June 25 Phillies 10–5 Face (3–3) Baldschun — 33–29
63 June 25 Phillies 3–4 Mahaffey Haddix (5–3) Sullivan 10,951 33–30
64 June 27 Dodgers 5–9 Farrell Friend (8–8) Sherry 25,936 33–31
65 June 28 Dodgers 9–3 Gibbon (6–3) Drysdale — 21,581 34–31
66 June 29 Dodgers 4–2 Francis (1–2) Koufax Face (11) 21,520 35–31
67 June 30 Giants 4–3 Face (4–3) McCormick — 31,900 36–31
July: 9–17 (Home: 4–10; Away: 5–7)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
68 July 1 Giants 3–4 Jones Friend (8–9) — 19,737 36–32
69 July 2 Giants 7–6 Haddix (6–3) McCormick Labine (6) 37–32
70 July 2 Giants 9–0 (7) Shantz (5–1) Marichal — 36,093 38–32
71 July 3 @ Reds 3–4 Maloney Gibbon (6–4) Brosnan 31,839 38–33
72 July 4 @ Reds 0–2 Jay Francis (1–3) — 11,802 38–34
73 July 6 @ Cubs 15–3 Friend (9–9) Ellsworth — 39–34
74 July 6 @ Cubs 1–5 Hobbie Mizell (4–7) — 15,813 39–35
75 July 7 @ Braves 6–5 McBean (1–0) Spahn Face (12) 17,622 40–35
76 July 8 @ Braves 4–3 Gibbon (7–4) Buhl Shantz (2) 16,109 41–35
77 July 9 @ Braves 5–4 McBean (2–0) Burdette Face (13) 20,845 42–35
78 July 13 @ Giants 1–2 Miller Friend (9–10) — 11,328 42–36
79 July 14 @ Giants 6–4 Labine (2–0) LeMay Face (14) 23,177 43–36
80 July 15 @ Giants 3–8 McCormick Haddix (6–4) — 22,596 43–37
81 July 16 @ Dodgers 11–12 (10) Podres Face (4–4) — 15,930 43–38
82 July 17 @ Dodgers 4–6 Williams Friend (9–11) Koufax 26,232 43–39
83 July 20 Cubs 4–0 Gibbon (8–4) Curtis — 13,859 44–39
84 July 21 Braves 3–5 Burdette Friend (9–12) Nottebart 28,290 44–40
85 July 22 Braves 4–5 Cloninger Shantz (5–2) Nottebart 16,417 44–41
86 July 23 Braves 4–11 Buhl Haddix (6–5) — 44–42
87 July 23 Braves 4–5 McMahon Friend (9–13) — 26,531 44–43
88 July 25 Giants 7–16 Miller Gibbon (8–5) — 18,698 44–44
89 July 26 Giants 8–3 Friend (10–13) LeMay — 17,306 45–44
90 July 27 Giants 0–2 Marichal Mizell (4–8) — 17,885 45–45
91 July 28 Dodgers 4–6 Podres Francis (1–4) Farrell 25,593 45–46
92 July 29 Dodgers 4–5 Perranoski McBean (2–1) Farrell 11,822 45–47
93 July 30 Dodgers 3–7 Drysdale Gibbon (8–6) Perranoski 18,273 45–48
August: 16–16 (Home: 8–7; Away: 8–9)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
94 August 2 @ Cardinals 2–4 Jackson Shantz (5–3) — 12,048 45–49
95 August 3 @ Cardinals 19–0 Haddix (7–5) Cicotte — 11,514 46–49
96 August 4 @ Reds 4–5 Brosnan Labine (2–1) — 27,383 46–50
97 August 5 @ Reds 11–7 McBean (3–1) Hunt — 12,125 47–50
98 August 6 @ Reds 9–4 Mizell (5–8) Jay Labine (7) 48–50
99 August 6 @ Reds 2–3 (10) Brosnan Face (4–5) — 31,167 48–51
100 August 7 @ Phillies 3–1 Friend (11–13) Buzhardt — 5,586 49–51
101 August 8 @ Phillies 10–2 Haddix (8–5) Mahaffey — 50–51
102 August 8 @ Phillies 3–2 Sturdivant (1–0) Short — 11,081 51–51
103 August 9 Cardinals 0–4 Simmons Gibbon (8–7) Bauta 17,038 51–52
104 August 10 Cardinals 2–3 Sadecki Francis (1–5) — 13,812 51–53
105 August 11 Phillies 6–0 (7) Friend (12–13) Roberts — 12,965 52–53
106 August 12 Phillies 4–0 Mizell (6–8) Owens — 8,785 53–53
107 August 13 Phillies 13–4 Sturdivant (2–0) Buzhardt — 12,923 54–53
108 August 14 @ Braves 3–8 Cloninger Haddix (8–6) — 14,648 54–54
109 August 15 @ Braves 1–4 Willey Gibbon (8–8) — 16,843 54–55
110 August 16 @ Braves 1–2 Spahn Friend (12–14) — 18,330 54–56
111 August 17 @ Cubs 4–11 Drott Mizell (6–9) Anderson 54–57
112 August 17 @ Cubs 4–3 Francis (2–5) Brewer Face (15) 16,961 55–57
113 August 18 @ Cubs 1–2 (11) Ellsworth Sturdivant (2–1) — 7,469 55–58
114 August 19 @ Cubs 4–3 (11) Labine (3–1) Curtis — 11,777 56–58
115 August 20 @ Cubs 0–1 (11) Cardwell Friend (12–15) — 19,038 56–59
116 August 22 Braves 4–1 Gibbon (9–8) Buhl Face (16) 15,874 57–59
117 August 23 Braves 7–6 Face (5–5) Nottebart — 15,117 58–59
118 August 24 Braves 1–6 Spahn Friend (12–16) — 16,653 58–60
119 August 25 Cubs 1–0 Sturdivant (3–1) Cardwell — 12,651 59–60
120 August 26 Cubs 3–7 Schultz Face (5–6) Anderson 9,137 59–61
121 August 27 Cubs 7–3 Gibbon (10–8) Curtis Labine (8) 60–61
122 August 27 Cubs 5–6 Brewer Mizell (6–10) Anderson 15,471 60–62
123 August 28 Cubs 4–5 Anderson Face (5–7) — 13,753 60–63
124 August 29 Reds 0–3 O'Toole Friend (12–17) Maloney 17,999 60–64
125 August 30 Reds 3–1 Sturdivant (4–1) Purkey — 20,000 61–64
September: 13–15 (Home: 4–5; Away: 9–10)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
126 September 1 @ Cardinals 4–8 Jackson Gibbon (10–9) — 13,480 61–65
127 September 2 @ Cardinals 5–4 Face (6–7) McDaniel — 9,140 62–65
128 September 3 @ Cardinals 8–1 Friend (13–17) Simmons — 13,817 63–65
129 September 4 @ Cardinals 4–9 Sadecki Francis (2–6) McDaniel 10,021 63–66
130 September 5 @ Cubs 8–3 Sturdivant (5–1) Hobbie — 3,417 64–66
131 September 6 @ Cubs 2–6 Cardwell Gibbon (10–10) — 3,080 64–67
132 September 7 @ Cubs 7–5 Shantz (6–3) Brewer — 2,752 65–67
133 September 8 @ Braves 2–1 Friend (14–17) Hendley — 15,606 66–67
134 September 9 @ Braves 3–4 Nottebart Face (6–8) — 12,320 66–68
135 September 10 @ Braves 3–4 Spahn Sturdivant (5–2) — 24,198 66–69
136 September 11 @ Giants 3–4 (10) Sanford Face (6–9) — 5,512 66–70
137 September 12 @ Giants 3–0 Gibbon (11–10) McCormick — 9,539 67–70
138 September 13 @ Dodgers 8–2 Haddix (9–6) Farrell — 10,494 68–70
139 September 14 @ Dodgers 6–7 Roebuck Face (6–10) — 9,805 68–71
140 September 16 Cardinals 3–6 Sadecki Francis (2–7) — 6,830 68–72
141 September 17 Cardinals 0–3 Jackson McBean (3–2) — 10,030 68–73
142 September 18 Cardinals 8–6 Foss (1–0) Gibson Face (17) 8,934 69–73
143 September 19 @ Reds 1–10 O'Toole Friend (14–18) — 14,225 69–74
144 September 20 @ Reds 2–3 Jay Face (6–11) — 14,822 69–75
145 September 22 @ Phillies 6–3 Labine (4–1) Sullivan — 4,687 70–75
146 September 23 @ Phillies 4–5 (16) Baldschun Face (6–12) — 4,005 70–76
147 September 24 @ Phillies 4–3 Mizell (7–10) Short Sturdivant (1) 3,282 71–76
148 September 26 Dodgers 3–5 Williams Friend (14–19) Farrell 71–77
149 September 26 Dodgers 8–0 Gibbon (12–10) Drysdale — 9,602 72–77
150 September 27 Giants 5–3 Haddix (10–6) Miller — 7,471 73–77
151 September 28 Giants 4–7 Duffalo Francis (2–8) Miller 5,384 73–78
152 September 29 Reds 1–8 O'Toole Foss (1–1) Jones 10,119 73–79
153 September 30 Reds 11–6 Jackson (1–0) Jay — 7,158 74–79
October: 1–0 (Home: 1–0; Away: 0–0)
# Date Opponent Score Win Loss Save Attendance Record
154 October 1 Reds 3–1 Gibbon (13–10) Brosnan — 26,760 75–79
Legend:        = Win        = Loss
Bold = Pirates team member

Opening Day lineup

Opening Day Lineup
# Name Position
18 Bill Virdon CF
24 Dick Groat SS
4 Bob Skinner LF
14 Rocky Nelson 1B
21 Roberto Clemente RF
12 Don Hoak 3B
9 Bill Mazeroski 2B
6 Smoky Burgess C
19 Bob Friend SP

Notable transactions

Roster

1961 Pittsburgh Pirates
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

Outfielders Manager

Coaches

Statistics

Batting

Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in

Regular Season
Player G AB H Avg. HR RBI
J. Umbricht 1 1 1 1.000 0 0
G. Witt 9 2 1 0.500 0 0
B. Shantz 44 16 7 0.438 0 3
R. Clemente 146 572 201 0.351 23 89
D. Clendenon 9 35 11 0.314 0 2
S. Burgess 100 323 98 0.303 12 52
D. Stuart 138 532 160 0.301 35 117
G. Cimoli 21 67 20 0.299 0 6
D. Hoak 145 503 150 0.298 12 61
D. Groat 148 596 164 0.275 6 55
R. Face 62 11 3 0.273 0 1
B. Skinner 119 381 102 0.268 3 42
D. Leppert 22 60 16 0.267 3 5
A. McBean 28 15 4 0.267 1 3
B. Mazeroski 152 558 148 0.265 13 59
J. Christopher 76 186 49 0.263 0 14
V. Law 11 19 5 0.263 0 5
B. Virdon 146 599 156 0.260 9 58
T. Sturdivant 13 32 8 0.250 0 1
J. Logan 27 52 12 0.231 0 5
H. Smith 67 193 43 0.223 3 26
W. Moryn 40 65 13 0.200 3 9
R. Nelson 75 127 25 0.197 5 13
D. Schofield 60 78 15 0.192 0 2
L. Foss 3 6 1 0.167 0 1
H. Haddix 31 56 8 0.143 0 3
B. Friend 41 79 11 0.139 0 7
J. Gibbon 31 59 8 0.136 0 6
V. Mizell 25 23 3 0.130 0 1
E. Francis 23 28 3 0.107 0 0
G. Baker 9 10 1 0.100 0 0
C. Labine 56 10 1 0.100 0 0
F. Green 13 3 0 0.000 0 0
A. Jackson 5 8 0 0.000 0 0
R. Mejias 4 1 0 0.000 0 0
B. Oldis 4 5 0 0.000 0 0
T. Cheney 1 0 0 — 0 0
Team Totals 154 5,311 1.448 0.273 128 646

Pitching

Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts

Regular Season
Player G IP W L ERA SO
T. Cheney 1 0 0 0 — 0
J. Umbricht 1 31⁄3 0 0 2.70 1
T. Sturdivant 13 852⁄3 5 2 2.84 45
J. Gibbon 30 1951⁄3 13 10 3.32 145
B. Shantz 43 891⁄3 6 3 3.32 61
A. Jackson 3 232⁄3 1 0 3.42 15
C. Labine 56 922⁄3 4 1 3.69 49
A. McBean 27 741⁄3 3 2 3.75 49
R. Face 62 92 6 12 3.82 55
B. Friend 41 236 14 19 3.85 108
H. Haddix 29 156 10 6 4.10 99
E. Francis 23 1022⁄3 2 8 4.21 53
V. Law 11 591⁄3 3 4 4.70 20
F. Green 13 202⁄3 0 0 4.79 4
V. Mizell 25 100 7 10 5.04 37
L. Foss 3 151⁄3 1 1 5.87 9
G. Witt 9 152⁄3 0 1 6.32 9
Team Totals 154 1362 75 79 3.92 759

Farm system

See also: Minor League Baseball
Level Team League Manager
AAA Columbus Jets International League Larry Shepard
A Asheville Tourists Sally League Ray Hathaway
B Burlington Bees Illinois–Indiana–Iowa League Harding "Pete" Peterson
C Grand Forks Chiefs Northern League Bob Clear
D Kingsport Pirates Appalachian League Jim Gibbons
D Batavia Pirates New York–Penn League James Adlam and Gene Baker
D Hobbs Pirates Sophomore League Al Kubski
D Shelby Colonels Western Carolinas League Aaron Robinson and James Adlam

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: Asheville, Hobbs

Notes

  1. From 1882–1906, the team played in Allegheny, Pennsylvania, which became annexed by Pittsburgh as the North Side in 1907.
  2. 1961 Opening Day Lineup at Baseball-Reference
  3. Don Williams page at Baseball Reference
  4. Gene Baker page at Baseball Reference
  5. Ron Woods page at Baseball Reference
  6. "Major League Baseball Regular Season Hitting Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2016.
  7. "Major League Baseball Regular Season Pitching Stats". Pittsburgh Pirates. Archived from the original on October 12, 2014. Retrieved May 5, 2016.

References

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