| 1961 Los Angeles Angels | |
|---|---|
| League | American League |
| Ballpark | Wrigley Field |
| City | Los Angeles |
| Record | 70–91 (.435) |
| League place | 8th |
| Owners | Gene Autry |
| General managers | Fred Haney |
| Managers | Bill Rigney |
| Television | KHJ |
| Radio | KMPC (Bob Kelley, Don Wells, Steve Bailey) |
The1961 Los Angeles Angels season was the1st season of the Angels franchise in theAmerican League, the 1st inLos Angeles, and their only season playing their home games atWrigley Field. The Angels finished the season eighth in theAmerican League with a record of 70–91,38+1⁄2 games behind theWorld ChampionNew York Yankees. It was the Angels' first season in franchise history, and their only season atWrigley Field in Los Angeles.Gene Autry owned the franchise, which was created as a counterpart to theLos Angeles Dodgers, and the two teams would even share the same stadium the following year when the Angels moved toDodger Stadium (referring to as Chavez Ravine).
The Angels, along with thenew Washington Senators, were the first everAmerican Leagueexpansion teams. Both teams participated inMajor League Baseball's first everexpansion draft. The Angels had the first pick in the1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft, which they used to selectEli Grba from theNew York Yankees. Grba wound up playing two-plus seasons for Los Angeles before returning to the minor leagues.
As an expansion team, the Angels were not expected to do well. However, they not only finished ahead of theSenators, but also theKansas City A's, who tied the Senators for last place, nine games behind Los Angeles.
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB | Home | Road |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New York Yankees | 109 | 53 | .673 | — | 65–16 | 44–37 |
| Detroit Tigers | 101 | 61 | .623 | 8 | 50–31 | 51–30 |
| Baltimore Orioles | 95 | 67 | .586 | 14 | 48–33 | 47–34 |
| Chicago White Sox | 86 | 76 | .531 | 23 | 53–28 | 33–48 |
| Cleveland Indians | 78 | 83 | .484 | 30½ | 40–41 | 38–42 |
| Boston Red Sox | 76 | 86 | .469 | 33 | 50–31 | 26–55 |
| Minnesota Twins | 70 | 90 | .438 | 38 | 36–44 | 34–46 |
| Los Angeles Angels | 70 | 91 | .435 | 38½ | 46–36 | 24–55 |
| Kansas City Athletics | 61 | 100 | .379 | 47½ | 33–47 | 28–53 |
| Washington Senators | 61 | 100 | .379 | 47½ | 33–46 | 28–54 |
The first game in franchise history took place atMemorial Stadium, Baltimore, on Tuesday, April 11, 1961. Powered byTed Kluszewski's first- and second-inninghome runs, which accounted for fiveruns, and Grba'scomplete gamesix-hitter, the Angels defeated theBaltimore Orioles, 7–2.[7] They would then lose eight games in a row, including their home opener April 27 against theMinnesota Twins atWrigley Field, Los Angeles.
| 10 | Eddie Yost | 3B |
| 11 | Ken Aspromonte | 2B |
| 28 | Albie Pearson | RF |
| 15 | Ted Kluszewski | 1B |
| 30 | Bob Cerv | LF |
| 26 | Ken Hunt | CF |
| 16 | Fritz Brickell | SS |
| 9 | Del Rice | C |
| 33 | Eli Grba | P |
Sources:[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10] | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | BAL | BOS | CWS | CLE | DET | KCA | LAA | MIN | NYY | WAS | |||
| Baltimore | — | 11–7 | 11–7 | 9–9 | 9–9 | 13–5 | 8–10 | 11–7 | 9–9–1 | 14–4 | |||
| Boston | 7–11 | — | 9–9 | 5–13 | 8–10 | 10–8 | 11–7–1 | 11–7 | 5–13 | 10–8 | |||
| Chicago | 7–11 | 9–9 | — | 12–6 | 6–12 | 14–4 | 10–8 | 9–9–1 | 6–12 | 13–5 | |||
| Cleveland | 9–9 | 13–5 | 6–12 | — | 6–12 | 8–9 | 10–8 | 10–8 | 4–14 | 12–6 | |||
| Detroit | 9–9 | 10–8 | 12–6 | 12–6 | — | 12–6–1 | 14–4 | 11–7 | 8–10 | 13–5 | |||
| Kansas City | 5–13 | 8–10 | 4–14 | 9–8 | 6–12–1 | — | 9–9 | 7–11 | 4–14 | 9–9 | |||
| Los Angeles | 10–8 | 7–11–1 | 8–10 | 8–10 | 4–14 | 9–9 | — | 8–9 | 6–12 | 10–8 | |||
| Minnesota | 7–11 | 7–11 | 9–9–1 | 8–10 | 7–11 | 11–7 | 9–8 | — | 4–14 | 8–9 | |||
| New York | 9–9–1 | 13–5 | 12–6 | 14–4 | 10–8 | 14–4 | 12–6 | 14–4 | — | 11–7 | |||
| Washington | 4–14 | 8–10 | 5–13 | 6–12 | 5–13 | 9–9 | 8–10 | 9–8 | 7–11 | — | |||
The Angels were no stranger to offense in their first season, with five players hitting 20 or morehome runs, a mark which at the time was considered a remarkable feat.[citation needed]Leon Wagner, who led the team with 28 home runs, was one of the team's best offensive threats, also leading the team byslugging .517. The other players who hit 20 home runs wereKen Hunt (25),Lee Thomas (24),Earl Averill, Jr. (21), andSteve Bilko (20).Albie Pearson, who led the team inbatting average, had anon-base percentage of .420, also a mark that was considered more valuable than the current game.[citation needed] Pearson led the team in several other offensive categories, leading the team instolen bases (11),runs (92), andwalks (96). Lee Thomas, who ended the season second on the team in batting at .284, led the team inhits, with 128, edging out Wagner by 1 hit.
Ken McBride, who led the team with 12wins, also led the team with 15losses.Eli Grba had an 11–13record, good enough for second in both wins and losses amongst the team's pitchers.Ted Bowsfield was the Angels' only starter with a winning record, going 11–8. McBride had 180strikeouts, 75 more than Grba, who was second on the team with 105. As a team, the Angels led the American League, throwing more strikeouts than any of the other 9 teams.[8]Art Fowler andTom Morgan were the Angels' top two insaves, with 11 and 10, respectively, leading the team to finish second in the American League in that category.
| 1961 Los Angeles Angels | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roster | |||||||||
| Pitchers | Catchers Infielders | Outfielders
Other batters | Manager Coaches
| ||||||
| = Indicates team leader |
Note: Pos = Position; G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Pos | Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C | Earl Averill | 115 | 323 | 86 | .266 | 21 | 59 |
| 1B | Steve Bilko | 114 | 294 | 82 | .279 | 20 | 59 |
| 2B | Ken Aspromonte | 66 | 238 | 53 | .223 | 2 | 14 |
| SS | Joe Koppe | 91 | 338 | 85 | .251 | 5 | 40 |
| 3B | Eddie Yost | 76 | 213 | 43 | .202 | 3 | 15 |
| LF | Leon Wagner | 133 | 453 | 127 | .280 | 28 | 79 |
| CF | Ken Hunt | 149 | 479 | 122 | .255 | 25 | 84 |
| RF | Albie Pearson | 144 | 427 | 123 | .288 | 7 | 41 |
Note: G = Games played; AB = At bats; H = Hits; Avg. = Batting average; HR = Home runs; RBI = Runs batted in
| Player | G | AB | H | Avg. | HR | RBI |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lee Thomas | 130 | 450 | 128 | .284 | 24 | 70 |
| George Thomas | 79 | 282 | 79 | .280 | 13 | 59 |
| Ted Kluszewski | 107 | 263 | 64 | .243 | 15 | 39 |
| Rocky Bridges | 84 | 229 | 55 | .240 | 2 | 15 |
| Gene Leek | 57 | 199 | 45 | .226 | 5 | 20 |
| Billy Moran | 54 | 173 | 45 | .260 | 2 | 22 |
| Ed Sadowski | 69 | 164 | 38 | .232 | 4 | 12 |
| Tom Satriano | 35 | 96 | 19 | .198 | 1 | 8 |
| Ken Hamlin | 42 | 91 | 19 | .209 | 1 | 5 |
| Del Rice | 44 | 83 | 20 | .241 | 4 | 11 |
| Bob Cerv | 18 | 57 | 9 | .158 | 2 | 6 |
| Buck Rodgers | 16 | 56 | 18 | .321 | 2 | 13 |
| Fritz Brickell | 21 | 49 | 6 | .122 | 0 | 3 |
| Faye Throneberry | 24 | 31 | 6 | .194 | 0 | 0 |
| Jim Fregosi | 11 | 27 | 6 | .222 | 0 | 3 |
| Chuck Tanner | 7 | 8 | 1 | .125 | 0 | 0 |
| Julio Bécquer | 11 | 8 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Leo Burke | 6 | 5 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 |
| Dan Ardell | 7 | 4 | 1 | .250 | 0 | 0 |
| Lou Johnson | 1 | 0 | 0 | ---- | 0 | 0 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ken McBride | 38 | 241.2 | 12 | 15 | 3.65 | 180 |
| Eli Grba | 40 | 211.2 | 11 | 13 | 4.25 | 105 |
| Dean Chance | 5 | 18.1 | 0 | 2 | 6.87 | 11 |
| Bob Sprout | 1 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 4.50 | 2 |
Note: G = Games pitched; IP = Innings pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | IP | W | L | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ted Bowsfield | 41 | 157.0 | 11 | 8 | 3.73 | 88 |
| Ron Moeller | 33 | 112.2 | 4 | 8 | 5.83 | 87 |
| Ron Kline | 26 | 104.2 | 3 | 6 | 4.90 | 70 |
| Jim Donohue | 38 | 100.1 | 4 | 6 | 4.31 | 79 |
| Ryne Duren | 40 | 99.0 | 6 | 12 | 5.18 | 108 |
| Jerry Casale | 13 | 42.2 | 1 | 5 | 6.54 | 35 |
| Jack Spring | 18 | 38.0 | 3 | 0 | 4.26 | 27 |
| Ned Garver | 12 | 29.0 | 0 | 3 | 5.59 | 9 |
Note: G = Games pitched; W = Wins; L = Losses; SV = Saves; ERA = Earned run average; SO = Strikeouts
| Player | G | W | L | SV | ERA | SO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Art Fowler | 53 | 5 | 8 | 11 | 3.64 | 78 |
| Tom Morgan | 59 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 2.36 | 39 |
| Jim Donohue | 38 | 4 | 6 | 5 | 4.31 | 79 |
| Johnny James | 36 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 5.30 | 41 |
| Tex Clevenger | 12 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1.69 | 11 |
| Russ Heman | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.80 | 2 |
| Ray Semproch | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9.00 | 1 |
| Level | Team | League | Manager |
|---|---|---|---|
| AAA | Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers | American Association | Walker Cooper |
| D | Statesville Owls | Western Carolinas League | George Wilson |