1961 Chicago Cubs season

The 1961 Chicago Cubs season was a season in American baseball. The team 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

Notable transactions

• April 1, 1961: Lou Johnson was traded by the Cubs to the Los Angeles Angels for Jim McAnany.^[2]
• May 9, 1961: Frank Thomas was traded by the Cubs to the Milwaukee Braves for Mel Roach.^[3]
• July 20, 1961: Curt Motton was signed as an amateur free agent by the Cubs.^[4]
• September 21, 1961: Paul Casanova was signed as a free agent the Cubs.^[5]

Roster

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

Other batters

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

Pitching

Starting pitchers

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

Other pitchers

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

Relief pitchers

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

Farm system

LEAGUE CHAMPIONS: San Antonio

Notes

References

• 1961 Chicago Cubs season at Baseball Reference