1961

1961 (League History: 1960 / 1962)

1961 AARBL League File

1961 AARBL Rosters

1961 AARBL Stats

Hill Valley Brings 4th Another Championship

1961 AARBL World Series MVP

Ed Bouchee

For the Fourth year in a row, the Hill Valley Lightning Bolts are the AARBL World Series Champions. After defeating the Peoria Chiefs three years in a row, the Lightning Bolts found a new foe in the Wilmington Hornets, however, the result was the same, a Hill Valley Championship. In an expansion season in which 8 games were added to the schedule, and two teams were added to the playoffs, the mighty Bolts did not miss a beat, as they set a record for wins in a season with 112 wins. After winning the Western Division by 27 games over the Kansas City Athletics, Hill Valley met wild card winner Peoria in the inaugural Division Series and after splitting the first two games at home, ripped off three straight at Peoria to earn a spot in the World Series. In the East, the Wilmington Hornets were almost as dominant, as they bettered the Chiefs and the Des Moines Dusters by ten games. In the Division Series, the Hornets squeaked by the Dusters in seven games before meeting Hill Valley in the World Series.

In the World Series, it looked as though Hill Valley would cruise to the title as it won the first three games. However, the Hornets refused to go quietly, and after six games, the series was all square. Unfortunately for the Hornets, that's where the magic ended as the Bolts claimed their fourth straight title. In the end, it was role player Ed Bouchee who made the biggest impact for the Lightning Bolts, and his .364 average, with 2 home runs and 6 RBIs was enough to earn MVP honors for the Series.

During the regular season, Hill Valley was led by outfielder Mickey Mantle, who joined former Peoria Chief Ted Kluszewski as the only repeat winner of the AARBL MVP Award. The slugging Mantle also walked away with his first Babe Ruth Award. Playing for the league's top team, Mantle led the Lightning Bolts to their 4th straight championship, and was largely responsible for the Bolts' league record 112 wins. He was a nightmare for opposing pitchers all year long as he compiled a .301 batting average, with a league best 59 home runs and a league best 160 RBI. Also pouring on the offense were slugging first basemen Jim Gentile of the Peoria Chiefs (.331, 48 HRs, 132 RBIs) and Norm Cash of the Carolina Grays (.360, 43 HRs, 125 RBIs). On the pitching side, Jim Archer of the Peoria Chiefs won the Rookie of the Year Award, and Bob Purkey of the Wilmington Hornets won the Cy Young Award with a 21-6 record with a 2.86 E.R.A. Hill Valley reliever Hoyt Wilhelm was the Rolaids Reliever and Don Schwall of the Atlantic City Diamond Aces threw the season's only no hitter.

1961 AARBL World Series:

Wilmington vs. Hill Valley

Game 1:	Wilmington	3	Hill Valley	6
Game 2:	Wilmington	1	Hill Valley	10
Game 3:	Hill Valley	6	Wilmington	2
Game 4:	Hill Valley	1	Wilmington	2
Game 5:	Hill Valley	1	Wilmington	9
Game 6:	Wilmington	3	Hill Valley	2
Game 7:	Wilmington	2	Hill Valley	3

Wilmington Stats

Hill Valley Stats

1961 AARBL WS File

1961 AARBL WS Rosters

1961 AARBL WS Stats

Game 1

BOXSCORE: 1961 Wilmington Hornets At 1961 Hill Valley Lightning Bo 10/29/1961

BOXSCORE: 1961 Wilmington Hornets At 1961 Hill Valley Lightning Bo 10/29/1961

Hornets            AB R H RBI AVG     Lightning Bolts    AB R H RBI AVG

D.Howser SS         5 0 2 0 .400     V.Pinson LF         4 1 1 0 .250

B.Richardson 2B     5 0 0 0 .000     K.Boyer 3B          3 1 1 0 .333

E.Mathews 3B        5 1 2 0 .400     M.Mantle CF         4 1 2 3 .500

D.Stuart LF         4 0 2 0 .500     R.Maris RF          5 1 1 0 .200

W.McCovey 1B        4 0 3 0 .750     J.Blanchard C       4 1 1 2 .250

A.Smith CF          3 0 1 1 .333     E.Bouchee 1B        3 1 1 0 .333

J.Rivera RF         3 0 0 0 .000     C.Schilling 2B      3 0 0 0 .000

J.Roseboro C        3 1 0 0 .000     L.Aparicio SS       4 0 1 0 .250

F.Lary P            0 0 0 0 ----     S.Williams P        3 0 0 0 .000

B.Shantz P          0 0 0 0 ----   C-L.Wagner PH         1 0 1 01.000

A-B.Skinner PH        1 0 0 0 .000     J.McClain P         0 0 0 0 ----

C.Nichols P         1 0 0 0 .000     H.Wilhelm P         0 0 0 0 ----

B.Schultz P         0 0 0 0 ----

B-B.Johnson PH        1 0 0 0 .000

S.Miller P          0 0 0 0 ----

D-F.Howard PH         1 1 1 21.000

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---

         Totals      36 3 11 3                 Totals      34 6 9 5

A-Pinch Hit For Shantz In 3rd Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Schultz In 7th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For Williams In 8th Inning

D-Pinch Hit For Miller In 9th Inning

Hornets......... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 - 3 11 3

Lightning Bolts. 5 0 0 0 1 0 0 0    - 6 9 0

Hornets (0-1)            IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

F.Lary LOSS(0-1)          0       5   5   5   0   0   2 14   ---- A1 A5

B.Shantz                  2       1   0   0   0   0   0 34   0.00 A6 B3

C.Nichols                 2       1   0   0   3   0   0 40   0.00 B4 C4

B.Schultz                 2       1   1   1   2   1   0 39   4.50 C5 D4

S.Miller                  2       1   0   0   1   2   0 33   0.00 D5

Totals                    8       9   6   6   6   3   2

Lightning Bolts (1-0)    IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

S.Williams WIN(1-0)       8       9   1   1   1   4   0 122   1.13 A1 D7

J.McClain                 0 2/3   2   2   2   1   0   1 20 27.00 D8 E3

H.Wilhelm SAVE(1st)       0 1/3   0   0   0   0   1   0   3   0.00 E4

Totals                    9      11   3   3   2   5   1

ATTENDANCE- 47,220 DATE- Sunday, October 29th 1961 TIME- Day

T- 2:32

LEFT ON BASE- Hornets:10 Lightning Bolts:10

DOUBLE PLAYS- Hornets: 0 Lightning Bolts: 1

ERRORS- E.Mathews, J.Roseboro-2

DOUBLES- E.Mathews(1st), D.Stuart(1st), E.Bouchee(1st)

HOME RUNS- F.Howard(1st), M.Mantle(1st), J.Blanchard(1st)

STOLEN BASES- L.Aparicio(1st)

SACRIFICE FLIES- A.Smith

WALKS- J.Rivera, J.Roseboro, V.Pinson, K.Boyer-2, M.Mantle, E.Bouchee,

       C.Schilling

HIT BY PITCH- D.Stuart

STRIKE OUTS- E.Mathews, D.Stuart, W.McCovey, J.Roseboro, C.Nichols, R.Maris,

             C.Schilling, L.Aparicio

GIDP- E.Mathews

WILD PITCHES- B.Schultz-2

At FENWAY PARK the Hill Valley Lightning Bolts outscored the Wilmington

Hornets 6 to 3.

Hill Valley took the lead off Frank Lary in the first inning when they tallied

5 runs on 6 hits. That early scoring was all that Stan Williams(1-0) needed.

Hill Valley finished with 9 hits in the victory.

Hoyt Wilhelm earned the save, his 1st. Lary(0-1) was tagged with the loss.

He allowed 5 runs and 5 hits without retiring a batter.

Game 2

BOXSCORE: 1961 Wilmington Hornets At 1961 Hill Valley Lightning Bo 10/30/1961

BOXSCORE: 1961 Wilmington Hornets At 1961 Hill Valley Lightning Bo 10/30/1961

Hornets            AB R H RBI AVG     Lightning Bolts    AB R H RBI AVG

D.Howser SS         4 0 1 0 .333     V.Pinson LF         3 0 1 0 .286

B.Richardson 2B     4 0 0 0 .000     K.Boyer 3B          4 2 2 0 .429

E.Mathews 3B        2 1 1 0 .429     M.Mantle CF         4 1 0 0 .250

D.Stuart LF         4 0 1 0 .375     R.Maris RF          3 2 1 1 .250

W.McCovey 1B        4 0 1 1 .500     E.Bouchee 1B        4 3 3 5 .571

A.Smith CF          4 0 0 0 .143     E.Averill C         4 2 2 4 .500

J.Rivera RF         3 0 0 0 .000   D-H.Smith C           0 0 0 0 ----

D.Cardwell P        0 0 0 0 ----     C.Schilling 2B      4 0 0 0 .000

J.Roseboro C        4 0 0 0 .000     L.Aparicio SS       4 0 0 0 .125

B.Purkey P          0 0 0 0 ----     G.Hobbie P          3 0 0 0 .000

B.Shantz P          1 0 0 0 .000   C-R.Schoendienst PH   1 0 0 0 .000

C.Nichols P         0 0 0 0 .000     L.Arroyo P          0 0 0 0 ----

A-B.Skinner PH        1 0 1 0 .500

B.Schultz P         0 0 0 0 ----

S.Miller P          1 0 0 0 .000

B-F.Howard RF         1 0 0 0 .500

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---

         Totals      33 1 5 1                 Totals      34 10 9 10

A-Pinch Hit For Nichols In 5th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (RF) For Miller In 8th Inning

C-Pinch Hit For Hobbie In 8th Inning

D-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Averill In 9th Inning

Hornets......... 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 - 1 5 1

Lightning Bolts. 4 0 0 0 4 0 2 0    - 10 9 2

Hornets (0-2)            IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

B.Purkey LOSS(0-1)        0 2/3   4   4   4   0   0   2 24 54.00 A1 A6

B.Shantz                  1 1/3   1   0   0   0   2   0 20   0.00 A7 B2

C.Nichols                 2       0   0   0   0   0   0 25   0.00 B3 B9

B.Schultz                 0 2/3   2   4   4   2   1   1 27 16.87 C1 C6

S.Miller                  2 1/3   2   2   2   0   2   1 34   4.15 C7 D6

D.Cardwell                1       0   0   0   0   1   0 12   0.00 D7

Totals                    8       9 10 10   2   6   4

Lightning Bolts (2-0)    IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

G.Hobbie WIN(1-0)         8       5   1   1   4   3   0 124   1.13 A1 D7

L.Arroyo                  1       0   0   0   0   0   0   7   0.00 D8

Totals                    9       5   1   1   4   3   0

ATTENDANCE- 45,461 DATE- Monday, October 30th 1961 TIME- Night

T- 2:19

LEFT ON BASE- Hornets: 9 Lightning Bolts: 2

DOUBLE PLAYS- Hornets: 0 Lightning Bolts: 1

ERRORS- E.Mathews, R.Maris, G.Hobbie

DOUBLES- K.Boyer(1st), R.Maris(1st)

TRIPLES- V.Pinson(1st)

HOME RUNS- E.Bouchee-2(2nd), E.Averill-2(2nd)

WALKS- D.Howser, E.Mathews-2, J.Rivera, V.Pinson, R.Maris

STRIKE OUTS- D.Stuart, J.Roseboro, B.Shantz, K.Boyer, M.Mantle, C.Schilling,

             L.Aparicio, G.Hobbie-2

GIDP- F.Howard

Ed Bouchee cracked 2 homeruns and had 5 RBI at FENWAY PARK where the Hill

Valley Lightning Bolts beat the Wilmington Hornets by the score of 10 to

1.

Bouchee was spectacular at the plate. The hometown fans showed their

appreciation with a standing ovation his last time at bat. He bombed a

two-run dinger in the 1st inning, banged out a single knocking in a run in

the 5th inning and cleared the fences for a two-run home run (his 2nd of the

season) in the 7th inning. For the game Hill Valley out-hit Wilmington 9 to

5.

Glen Hobbie(1-0) went 8 innings allowing 1 run for the victory. Bob

Purkey(0-1) was the losing pitcher. 'I felt great out there tonight,'

Bouchee said, 'Maybe I should make a regular habit of getting to bed on

time!'

Game 3

BOXSCORE: 1961 Hill Valley Lightning Bolts At 1961 Wilmington Horne 11/1/1961

BOXSCORE: 1961 Hill Valley Lightning Bolts At 1961 Wilmington Horne 11/1/1961

Lightning Bolts    AB R H RBI AVG     Hornets            AB R H RBI AVG

V.Pinson LF         5 1 3 0 .417     D.Howser SS         4 0 1 0 .308

K.Boyer 3B          4 1 1 1 .364     B.Richardson 2B     4 0 0 0 .000

M.Mantle CF         4 3 2 2 .333     F.Howard RF         3 0 0 0 .200

R.Maris RF          5 0 1 1 .231     D.Stuart 1B         4 0 2 0 .417

J.Blanchard C       4 0 1 1 .250     J.Pagliaroni C      3 0 0 0 .000

A-H.Smith C           1 0 0 0 .000     A.Smith LF          4 1 1 1 .182

E.Bouchee 1B        4 0 3 1 .636     D.Taussig CF        3 0 0 0 .000

C.Schilling 2B      4 0 0 0 .000     E.Mathews 3B        3 1 1 1 .400

L.Aparicio SS       4 0 1 0 .167     D.Donovan P         3 0 0 0 .000

J.Pizarro P         3 0 0 0 .000     S.Miller P          0 0 0 0 .000

B-L.Wagner PH         1 1 1 01.000

H.Wilhelm P         0 0 0 0 ----

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---

         Totals      39 6 13 6                 Totals      31 2 5 2

A-Subbed Defensively (C ) For Blanchard In 8th Inning

B-Pinch Hit For Pizarro In 9th Inning

Lightning Bolts. 1 0 0 0 0 1 0 1 3 - 6 13 0

Hornets......... 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 - 2 5 2

Lightning Bolts (3-0)    IP       H R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

J.Pizarro WIN(1-0)        8       5   2   2   1 12   2 108   2.25 A1 D3

H.Wilhelm                 1       0   0   0   0   2   0 12   0.00 D4

Totals                    9       5   2   2   1 14   2

Hornets (0-3)            IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

D.Donovan LOSS(0-1)       8      10   3   2   1   3   0 127   2.25 A1 D8

S.Miller                  1       3   3   3   0   0   1 20   8.44 D9

Totals                    9      13   6   5   1   3   1

ATTENDANCE- 46,933 DATE- Wednesday, November 1st 1961 TIME- Day

T- 2:35

LEFT ON BASE- Lightning Bolts: 8 Hornets: 4

DOUBLE PLAYS- Lightning Bolts: 0 Hornets: 1

ERRORS- D.Howser, A.Smith

DOUBLES- M.Mantle(1st), R.Maris(2nd), E.Bouchee-2(3rd), L.Aparicio(1st)

HOME RUNS- M.Mantle(2nd), A.Smith(1st), E.Mathews(1st)

SACRIFICE HITS- J.Pagliaroni

SACRIFICE FLIES- K.Boyer

WALKS- M.Mantle, F.Howard

STRIKE OUTS- M.Mantle, R.Maris, J.Blanchard, D.Howser-2, F.Howard-2, D.Stuart,

             J.Pagliaroni-3, A.Smith, D.Taussig-2, E.Mathews, D.Donovan-2

GIDP- R.Maris

Mickey Mantle lofted one into the 'cheap seats' and had 2 RBI and Juan Pizarro

whiffed 12 batters as the Hill Valley Lightning Bolts defeated the Wilmington

Hornets 6 to 2 at Wrigley Field.

Pizarro(1-0) put on a good performance. He allowed only 5 hits and 1 walk in

8 innings and served up 2 'big flies'. Hill Valley had 13 hits for the game

and Wilmington had 5.

Dick Donovan(0-1) was charged with the loss. 'Everything felt great' Pizarro

said. 'I had a good fastball, I felt I could throw it by everybody today.'

Game 4

BOXSCORE: 1961 Hill Valley Lightning Bolts At 1961 Wilmington Horne 11/2/1961

BOXSCORE: 1961 Hill Valley Lightning Bolts At 1961 Wilmington Horne 11/2/1961

Lightning Bolts    AB R H RBI AVG     Hornets            AB R H RBI AVG

V.Pinson LF         4 0 1 0 .375     D.Howser SS         2 0 0 0 .267

K.Boyer 3B          4 0 0 0 .267     B.Richardson 2B     4 0 0 0 .000

M.Mantle CF         4 0 0 0 .250     E.Mathews 3B        3 1 1 0 .385

R.Maris RF          4 0 0 0 .176     D.Stuart LF         4 0 1 0 .375

B-L.Wagner RF         0 0 0 01.000     W.McCovey 1B        4 0 0 1 .333

J.Blanchard C       4 0 1 0 .250     A.Smith CF          3 0 1 0 .214

E.Bouchee 1B        3 0 1 0 .571     J.Rivera RF         2 1 0 0 .000

C-T.Davis PR          0 0 0 0 ----     J.Roseboro C        3 0 1 1 .100

S.Jones P           0 0 0 0 ----     F.Lary P            2 0 1 0 .500

C.Schilling 2B      3 1 1 0 .071   A-B.Skinner PH        1 0 1 0 .667

L.Aparicio SS       4 0 2 1 .250     C.Nichols P         0 0 0 0 .000

E.Wynn P            3 0 0 0 .000     S.Miller P          0 0 0 0 .000

D-V.Wertz PH,1B       1 0 0 0 .000

                     -- -- -- ---                            -- -- -- ---

         Totals      34 1 6 1                 Totals      28 2 6 2

A-Pinch Hit For Lary In 8th Inning

B-Subbed Defensively (RF) For Maris In 9th Inning

C-Pinch Ran For Bouchee In 10th Inning

D-Pinch Hit For Wynn In 10th Inning

INJURY: Roger Maris INJURED (for 2 more games) in 9th inning

Lightning Bolts. 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 - 1 6 0

Hornets......... 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 - 2 6 0

Lightning Bolts (3-1)    IP       H   R ER BB SO HR PC    ERA SCORESHEET

E.Wynn                    9       5   1   1   4   5   0 124   1.00 A1 D6

S.Jones LOSS(0-1)         0       1   1   1   1   0   0   9   ---- D7

Totals                    9       6   2   2   5   5