1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft Sport Baseball Date(s) October 10, 1961 45 (plus three selections in 1963) total selectionsFirst selection Eddie Bressoud (Houston Colt .45s )
The 1961 MLB 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 , the new franchises which would enter the league in the 1962 season. The pool of players out of which they could select was limited to the existing National League ballclubs.[1]
Due to the poor performance of the Mets and Colt .45s after two seasons, another draft was held for the teams. The other existing National League clubs made four players from their 40-man roster available at $30,000 apiece. Only eight players could be selected between the two clubs.[2]
1961 Draft [ ]
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
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 [ ]
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
References [ ]
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