1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft

1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft
General information
SportBaseball
DateOctober 10, 1961
LocationCincinnati, Ohio[1]
Overview
45[a] total selections
LeagueNational League[b]
Expansion teamsHouston Colt .45s
New York Mets
Expansion season1962
First selectionEddie Bressoud (Houston Colt .45s)

The 1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft was held by Major League Baseball on October 10, 1961, to fill the rosters of the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s.[c] These new franchises were set to enter the National League (NL) as part of the 1962 Major League Baseball expansion. Selections in the draft were limited to a pool of players designated by existing NL teams.[3]

Due to the poor performance of the Mets and Colt .45s after two seasons, another draft was held for the teams on October 10, 1963.[4] The other existing NL clubs made four players from their 40-man roster available at $30,000 apiece. A maximum of eight players could be selected between the two clubs. However, only three selections were made, two by New York and one by Houston.[4]

1961 draft

1962 National League expansion teams
All-Star
Regular phase, $75,000 per player
Pick Player Position Selected by Previous team
1 Eddie Bressoud IF Houston Colt .45s San Francisco Giants
2 Hobie Landrith C New York Mets San Francisco Giants
3 Bob Aspromonte IF Houston Colt .45s Los Angeles Dodgers
4 Elio Chacón IF New York Mets Cincinnati Reds
5 Bob Lillis IF Houston Colt .45s St. Louis Cardinals
6 Roger Craig P New York Mets Los Angeles Dodgers
7 Dick Drott P Houston Colt .45s Chicago Cubs
8 Gus Bell* OF New York Mets Cincinnati Reds
9 Al Heist OF Houston Colt .45s Chicago Cubs
10 Joe Christopher OF New York Mets Pittsburgh Pirates
11 Román Mejías OF Houston Colt .45s Pittsburgh Pirates
12 Félix Mantilla IF New York Mets Milwaukee Braves
13 George Williams IF Houston Colt .45s Philadelphia Phillies
14 Gil Hodges* 1B New York Mets Los Angeles Dodgers
15 Jesse Hickman P Houston Colt .45s Philadelphia Phillies
16 Craig Anderson P New York Mets St. Louis Cardinals
17 Merritt Ranew C Houston Colt .45s Milwaukee Braves
18 Ray Daviault P New York Mets San Francisco Giants
19 Don Taussig OF Houston Colt .45s St. Louis Cardinals
20 John DeMerit OF New York Mets Milwaukee Braves
21 Bobby Shantz* P Houston Colt .45s Pittsburgh Pirates
22 Al Jackson P New York Mets Pittsburgh Pirates
23 Norm Larker* 1B Houston Colt .45s Los Angeles Dodgers
24 Sammy Drake IF New York Mets Chicago Cubs
25 Sam Jones* P Houston Colt .45s San Francisco Giants
26 Chris Cannizzaro C New York Mets St. Louis Cardinals
27 Paul Roof P Houston Colt .45s Milwaukee Braves
28 Choo-Choo Coleman C New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies
29 Ken Johnson P Houston Colt .45s Cincinnati Reds
30 Ed Bouchee 1B New York Mets Chicago Cubs
31 Dick Gernert 1B Houston Colt .45s Cincinnati Reds
32 Bob Smith OF New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies
Regular phase, $50,000 per player
Pick Player Position Selected by Previous team
33 Ed Olivares IF Houston Colt .45s St. Louis Cardinals
34 Sherman Jones P New York Mets Cincinnati Reds
35 Jim Umbricht P Houston Colt .45s Pittsburgh Pirates
36 Jim Hickman OF New York Mets St. Louis Cardinals
37 Jim Golden P Houston Colt .45s Los Angeles Dodgers
Premium phase, $125,000 per player
Pick Player Position Selected by Previous team
38 Joe Amalfitano IF Houston Colt .45s San Francisco Giants
39 Jay Hook P New York Mets Cincinnati Reds
40 Turk Farrell P Houston Colt .45s Los Angeles Dodgers
41 Bob Miller P New York Mets St. Louis Cardinals
42 Hal Smith C Houston Colt .45s Pittsburgh Pirates
43 Don Zimmer* IF New York Mets Chicago Cubs
44 Al Spangler OF Houston Colt .45s Milwaukee Braves
45 Lee Walls* IF/OF New York Mets Philadelphia Phillies

* All-Star only before 1961 expansion draft

1963 draft

All-Star
Regular phase, $30,000 per player
Player Position Selected by Previous team
Bill Haas 1B/OF New York Mets Los Angeles Dodgers
Claude Raymond P Houston Colt. 45s Milwaukee Braves
Jack Fisher P New York Mets San Francisco Giants

See also

  • Continental League, a proposed third major league that had planned to begin play in the 1961 season

Notes

  1. ^ An additional three selections were made in a supplemental draft held in October 1963.
  2. ^ This draft was limited to National League teams; while the National League and American League are commonly referred to collectively as Major League Baseball, across many decades, Major League Baseball has only existed as a legal entity since 2000.[2]
  3. ^ The Houston Colt .45s were renamed as the Houston Astros in 1965, and moved to the American League in 2013.

References

  1. ^ "Bressoud and Landrith 1st Draft Picks". Daily News. Red Bluff, California. UPI. October 10, 1961. p. 4. Retrieved December 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Nowlin, Bill. "Did MLB Exist Before the Year 2000?". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  3. ^ "Mets, Colts Pay $3,650,000 For 45 Players: New York Lands Hodges, Bouchee, Bell and Craig". Meriden Record. Meriden-Wallingford, Connecticut. Associated Press (AP). October 11, 1961. p. 4. Retrieved November 28, 2015.
  4. ^ a b "Mets, Colts Pick Only 3 In Special Restock Draft". The Boston Globe. UPI. October 11, 1963. p. 19. Retrieved December 2, 2025 – via newspapers.com.

Further reading

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