1961 Amateur World Series

The 1961 Amateur World Series was the 15th Amateur World Series. It was the only one held in Costa Rica, taking place in San Jose. It was held from April 7 through April 21, 1961. It was the first international tournament to feature a Cuban entry since the Cuban revolution.

 Cuba won Gold, going 9-0, despite all the upheaval since their last title in 1953. They conducted mass tryouts in Havana to build the club, as the Cuban Serie Nacional had not yet been started and the Cuban Winter League had ended. They were managed by Sungo Carrera. Key performers were Mario Gonzalez (16 for 32, led the Series in average), Jorge Trigoura (.478), Pedro Chavez (.459, the tourney leader with 19 RBI and co-leader with 17 hits), José Fernández (.415, the leader with 20 runs and 5 steals and co-leader with 17 hits), José Miguel Pineda (2-0, 0.50, tourney leader in ERA) and Alfredo Street (3-0, 1.15).

 Mexico won Silver at 7-2, including a 4-1 record in the final round. Jose Parcero led the Series with 5 doubles while Luis Garcia won the most games (4).

 Venezuela took home Bronze, going 3-1 in the first round and 3-2 in the final round.

 Panama was 4-0 in the preliminary round but 2-3 in the finals and went home without a Medal. Williams Proutt led the Series with 6 home runs, though.

 Costa Rica did a better job than usual, perhaps benefiting from home field advantage. They were 3-1 in the preliminary round before a 1-4 finals.

 Guatemala went 0-5 in the finals after a 1-3 preliminary round.

 Honduras,  Netherlands Antilles and  Nicaragua each went 1-3.

 El Salvador was last at 0-4.

Also see 1961 Amateur World Series (Rosters)

Source: A History of Cuban Baseball by Peter Bjarkman