1961 Chicago Cubs
LeagueNational League
BallparkWrigley Field
CityChicago, IL
Record64–90 (.416)
League place7th
OwnersPhilip K. Wrigley
General managersJohn Holland
ManagersVedie Himsl (31 games)
Harry Craft (16 games)
El Tappe (96 games)
Lou Klein (11 games)
TelevisionWGN-TV
(Jack Brickhouse, Vince Lloyd)
RadioWGN
(Jack Quinlan, Lou Boudreau)
Seasons

The 1961 Chicago Cubs season was the 90th season of the Chicago Cubs franchise, the 86th in the National League and the 46th at Wrigley Field. In the first season under their College of Coaches, the Cubs finished seventh in the National League with a record of 64–90, 29 games behind the Cincinnati Reds.

Offseason

  • January 12, 1961: Billy Cowan was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs.[1]

Regular season

The College of Coaches

This season marked the introduction of the so-called "College of Coaches", a system instituted by owner Philip K. Wrigley after input from El Tappe. Under this system, the Cubs would have no single manager, but instead would have a rotating series of eight coaches, with one managing the team while others served as either assistant coaches or minor league field personnel.

Four different men served as manager during 1961: Tappe, who served the most games in the position and had a record of 42–54; Harry Craft, who had a record of 7–9; Vedie Himsl, who had a record of 10–21; and Lou Klein, who was brought on board in midseason and had a record of 5–6. Other coaches in the system during the season were Charlie Grimm – the team's manager in 1960 – Bobby Adams, Dick Cole, Ripper Collins, Goldie Holt, Fred Martin and Verlon Walker. The team improved to 64–90, four games better than their 1960 record, although none of the four managers posted a winning record individually. The experiment would be carried over into the 1962 season.

Season standings

National League W L Pct. GB Home Road
Cincinnati Reds 9361 0.604 — 47–30 46–31
Los Angeles Dodgers 8965 0.578 4 45–32 44–33
San Francisco Giants 8569 0.552 8 45–32 40–37
Milwaukee Braves 8371 0.539 10 45–32 38–39
St. Louis Cardinals 8074 0.519 13 48–29 32–45
Pittsburgh Pirates 7579 0.487 18 38–39 37–40
Chicago Cubs 6490 0.416 29 40–37 24–53
Philadelphia Phillies 47107 0.305 46 22–55 25–52

Record vs. opponents

1961 National League record

Sources:
Team CHC CIN LAD MIL PHI PIT SF STL
Chicago —12–107–159–13–113–911–115–177–15–1
Cincinnati 10–12—12–1015–719–311–1112–1014–8
Los Angeles 15–710–12—12–1017–513–910–1212–10
Milwaukee 13–9–17–1510–12—16–612–1011–1114–8
Philadelphia 9–133–195–176–16—7–158–14–19–13
Pittsburgh 11–1111–119–1310–1215–7—10–129–13
San Francisco 17–510–1212–1011–1114–8–112–10—9–13
St. Louis 15–7–18–1410–128–1413–913–913–9—

Notable transactions

Roster

1961 Chicago Cubs
Roster
Pitchers Catchers

Infielders

 Outfielders

Other batters

 Head coach

Coaches College of Coaches

Player stats

Batting

Starters by position

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
CDick Bertell9226773.273233
1BEd Bouchee11231979.2481238
2BDon Zimmer128477120.2521340
SSErnie Banks138511142.2782980
3BRon Santo154578164.2842383
LFBilly Williams146529147.2782586
CFAl Heist10932182.255737
RFGeorge Altman138518157.3032796

Other batters

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
Jerry Kindall9631075.242944
Richie Ashburn10930779.257019
Sammy Taylor8923556.238823
Andre Rodgers7321457.266623
Bob Will8611329.25708
Frank Thomas155013.26026
Mel Roach23395.12801
Moe Thacker25356.17102
Cuno Barragan10286.21412
Ken Hubbs10285.17912
Moe Morhardt7185.27801
Danny Murphy4135.38523
Lou Brock4111.09100
Jim McAnany11103.30000
Nelson Mathews391.11100
George Freese972.28601
Sammy Drake1350.00000

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Don Cardwell39259.115143.82156
Glen Hobbie36198.27134.26103
Dick Ellsworth37186.210113.8691
Jack Curtis31180.110134.8957

Other pitchers

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

Player G IP W L ERA SO
Bob Anderson57152.07104.2696
Dick Drott3598.0144.2248
Jim Brewer3686.2175.8257

Relief pitchers

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

Player G W L SV ERA SO
Don Elston586785.5959
Barney Schultz417672.7059
Joe Schaffernoth210406.3423
Mel Wright1101010.716
Dick Burwell20009.000

Farm system

Level Team League Manager
AAA Houston Buffaloes American Association Grady Hatton, Fred Martin,
Lou Klein and Harry Craft
AA San Antonio Missions Texas League Ripper Collins, Harry Craft,
Bobby Adams and Verlon Walker
B Wenatchee Chiefs Northwest League Verlon Walker, Vedie Himsl,
Dick Cole and Bobby Adams
C St. Cloud Rox Northern League Joe Macko
D Morristown Cubs Appalachian League John Fitzpatrick
D Carlsbad Potashes Sophomore League Lou Klein and Walt Dixon

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: San Antonio

Notes

  1. ↑ Billy Cowan page at Baseball-Reference
  2. ↑ Jim McAnany page at Baseball Reference
  3. ↑ Braves trade Mel Roach for Frank Thomas
  4. ↑ Curt Motton page at Baseball Reference
  5. ↑ Paul Casanova page at Baseball Reference

References

  • Johnson, Lloyd; Wolff, Miles, eds. (1997). The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball (2nd ed.). Durham, North Carolina: Baseball America. ISBN 978-0-9637189-8-3.
  • 1961 Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference
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