1961 American Association season

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The 1961 American Association season was the 60th in the league's history, and ended with the Louisville Colonels winning their second straight league championship. The Colonels would go on to lose the Junior World Series.

With the loss of longtime cities Minneapolis and St. Paul due to the creation of the Minnesota Twins, and the failure of the Charleston Senators, the AA was down to five teams. The Dodgers put their Triple-A team in Omaha to fill out the league.

This was the final season for the Houston Buffs, as the Houston Colt .45s would join the National League for the 1962 season.

Final standings[edit]

Playoff teams in bold.

W L Pct. GB Manager Affiliation
Indianapolis Indians 86 64 .573 -- Cot Deal Cincinnati Reds
Louisville Colonels 80 70 .533 6 Ben Geraghty Milwaukee Braves
Denver Bears 75 73 .507 10 Charlie Metro Detroit Tigers
Houston Buffs 73 77 .487 13 Grady Hatton/Fred Martin Chicago Cubs
Dallas-Ft. Worth Rangers 72 77 .483 13½ Walker Cooper Los Angeles Angels
Omaha Dodgers 62 87 .416 23½ Danny Ozark Los Angeles Dodgers

Playoffs[edit]

  First Round Championship Finals
                 
1  Indianapolis Indians 1  
4  Houston Buffs 4  
    4  Houston Buffs 2
  2  Louisville Colonels 4
2  Louisville Colonels 4
3  Denver Bears 3  

First Round[edit]

Indianapolis vs. Houston
Date Away Home
September 9 Houston 9 Indianapolis 7
September 10 Houston 3 Indianapolis 10
September 11 Houston 5 Indianapolis 4
September 12 Houston 9 Indianapolis 7
September 13 Indianapolis 0 Houston 6
Houston wins series 4-1
Louisville vs. Denver
Date Away Home
September 9 Denver 1 Louisville 5
September 10 Denver 2 Louisville 4
September 11 Denver 2 Louisville 4
September 12 Louisville 3 Denver 10
September 13 Louisville 3 Denver 5
September 14 Louisville 7 Denver 10
September 15 Louisville 1 Denver 0
Louisville wins series 4-3

Championship Finals[edit]

Louisville vs. Houston
Date Away Home
September 16 Houston 3 Louisville 4
September 17 Houston 0 Louisville 2
September 18 Houston 3 Louisville 4
September 19 Louisville 2 Houston 3
September 20 Louisville 5 Houston 10
September 21 Louisville 11 Houston 4
Louisville wins series 4-2 and
advances to Junior World Series

References[edit]

The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball. Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors. Baseball America, 1993.