1961 International League season

BR minors page

The 1961 International League season was the 76th in the league's history, and ended with the Buffalo Bisons winning their first Governors' Cup since 1957. The Bisons would go on to win their first Junior World Series.

Changes abounded in the IL this year. The Syracuse Chiefs reentered the league as the Minnesota Twins' Triple-A affiliate to replace the departed Montreal Royals. The Rochester Red Wings switched affiliations from the St. Louis Cardinals to the Baltimore Orioles, while the Miami Marlins moved to San Juan, PR and became the Cardinals' new Triple-A affiliate. The move was unsuccessful, and on May 19th, the league moved the team to Charleston, WV while retaining the Marlins name.

Toronto and Rochester finished the season tied for fourth, so a one-game playoff was held on September 11 in Rochester, NY for the last playoff spot. The Red Wings won 12-11 in 10 innings. Red Wing Jim Finigan was the hero, tying the game with a two-out, two-run homer in the ninth and winning the game with a single in the 10th. This result is reflected in the standings below.

Final standings

Playoff teams in bold.

	W	L	Pct.	GB	Manager	Affiliation
Columbus Jets	92	62	.597	—	Larry Shepard	Pittsburgh Pirates
San Juan/Charleston Marlins	88	66	.571	4	Joe Schultz	St. Louis Cardinals
Buffalo Bisons	85	67	.559	6	Kerby Farrell	Philadelphia Phillies
Rochester Red Wings	77	78	.497	15½	Clyde King	Baltimore Orioles
Toronto Maple Leafs	76	79	.490	16½	Johnny Lipon/Tim Thompson	None
Richmond Virginians	71	83	.461	21	Cal Ermer	New York Yankees
Jersey City Jerseys	70	82	.461	21	Nap Reyes	Cincinnati Reds
Syracuse Chiefs	56	98	.364	36	Gene Verble/Frank Verdi	Minnesota Twins

Playoffs

	First Round					Governors' Cup Finals
	1	Columbus Jets	1
	4	Rochester Red Wings	4
						4	Rochester Red Wings	1
						3	Buffalo Bisons	4
	2	Charleston Marlins	0
	3	Buffalo Bisons	4

First Round

Columbus vs. Rochester Date Away Home September 12 Rochester 1 Columbus 4 September 13 Rochester 2 Columbus 1 September 15 Columbus 3 Rochester 5 September 16 Columbus 3 Rochester 10 September 17 Columbus 0 Rochester 1 Rochester wins series 4-1

Charleston vs. Buffalo Date Away Home September 12 Buffalo 3 Charleston 2 September 13 Buffalo 7 Charleston 4 September 15 Charleston 2 Buffalo 7 September 16 Charleston 2 Buffalo 4 Buffalo wins series 4-0

Governors' Cup Finals

Buffalo vs. Rochester Date Away Home September 18 Rochester 5 Buffalo 4 11 innings September 19 Rochester 2 Buffalo 9 September 20 Buffalo 4 Rochester 2 September 21 Buffalo 17 Rochester 6 September 22 Buffalo 4 Rochester 1 Buffalo wins series 4-1 and advances to Junior World Series

References

Jim Mandelaro and Scott Pitoniak, Silver Seasons. Syracuse University Press, 1995.

Brian Bennett, On A Silver Diamond: The Story Of Rochester Community Baseball from 1956-1996. Triphammer Publishing, 1997.

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

External Links

1961 Rochester Red Wings review – On A Silver Diamond