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.Billy Cowan page at Baseball-Reference
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
Record vs. opponents
Notable transactions April 1, 1961: Lou Johnson was traded by the Cubs to the Los Angeles Angels for Jim McAnany.Jim McAnany page at Baseball Reference May 9, 1961: Frank Thomas was traded by the Cubs to the Milwaukee Braves for Mel Roach.Braves trade Mel Roach for Frank Thomas July 20, 1961: Curt Motton was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs.Curt Motton page at Baseball Reference September 21, 1961: Paul Casanova was signed as a free agent the Cubs.Paul Casanova page at Baseball Reference
Roster 1961 Chicago Cubs Roster Pitchers Catchers
Infielders Outfielders
Other batters Head coach
Coaches College of Coaches
Player stats = Indicates team leader
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 C Dick Bertell 92 267 73 .273 2 33 1B Ed Bouchee 112 319 79 .248 12 38 2B Don Zimmer 128 477 120 .252 13 40 SS Ernie Banks 138 511 142 .278 29 80 3B Ron Santo 154 578 164 .284 23 83 LF 146 529 147 .278 25 86 CF Al Heist 109 321 82 .255 7 37 RF George Altman 138 518 157 .303 27 96
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 Kindall 96 310 75 .242 9 44 Richie Ashburn 109 307 79 .257 0 19 89 235 56 .238 8 23 Andre Rodgers 73 214 57 .266 6 23 86 113 29 .257 0 8 15 50 13 .260 2 6 23 39 5 .128 0 1 Moe Thacker 25 35 6 .171 0 2 Cuno Barragan 10 28 6 .214 1 2 Ken Hubbs 10 28 5 .179 1 2 Moe Morhardt 7 18 5 .278 0 1 4 13 5 .385 2 3 Lou Brock 4 11 1 .091 0 0 11 10 3 .300 0 0 Nelson Mathews 3 9 1 .111 0 0 George Freese 9 7 2 .286 0 1 Sammy Drake 13 5 0 .000 0 0
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 39 259.1 15 14 3.82 156 Glen Hobbie 36 198.2 7 13 4.26 103 37 186.2 10 11 3.86 91 31 180.1 10 13 4.89 57
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 57 152.0 7 10 4.26 96 35 98.0 1 4 4.22 48 36 86.2 1 7 5.82 57
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 58 6 7 8 5.59 59 Barney Schultz 41 7 6 7 2.70 59 Joe Schaffernoth 21 0 4 0 6.34 23 Mel Wright 11 0 1 0 10.71 6 2 0 0 0 9.00 0
Awards and honors
All-Star Game
Don Zimmer, Second Base, Reserve, First and Second Game George Altman, Outfield, Reserve, First and Second Game
Farm system
LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: San Antonio
Notes
References
1961 Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference