1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft

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The 1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft was held by Major League Baseball on December 14, 1960, to fill the rosters of the Los Angeles Angels and the Washington Senators.[b]

1960 Major League Baseball expansion draft
General information
SportBaseball
DateDecember 14, 1960
LocationBoston, Massachusetts
Overview
61 total selections
LeagueAmerican League[a]
Expansion teams
Expansion season1961
First selectionEli Grba (Los Angeles Angels)
1961 

The Angels and Senators were new franchises due to enter the American League (AL) the following season as part of the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion. The Angels became the AL's first team to be based on the West Coast of the United States, while the Senators took the place of the league's original Washington Senators franchise, which had moved to Minneapolis–Saint Paul as the Minnesota Twins after the 1960 season.

The draft, held in Boston,[2] site of AL headquarters, had been scheduled for Tuesday, December 13, 1960, but had to be postponed one day due to a heavy snowstorm that struck the New England region.[3]

Ground rules

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As with all major-league expansion drafts prior to 1992, only players from the admitting league were eligible for selection. Each existing American League club had to make available for the draft seven players on their active rosters on August 31, 1960, and eight others from their 40-man rosters. The expansion clubs paid $75,000 ($816,226 in 2025) for each of 28 players they drafted with a maximum of seven players drafted from each existing club, not including minor-league selections. They were required to take at least ten pitchers, two catchers, six infielders, and four outfielders. The clubs also had the option of drafting one non-roster player for $25,000 ($272,075 in 2025) from each established franchise.

Hasty expansion sowed draft confusion

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1961 American League expansion teams

Reacting belatedly to the National League's July 1960 announcement that it would expand to New York and Houston to begin play in April 1962 (twenty months later), the American League suddenly declared in October 1960 it would add two new teams as well—and that the AL's expansion teams would take the field in only six months, in time for the 1961 season.

Playing catch-up to the National League, under a much tighter deadline with no ownership groups, management or stadia yet in place, the American League was forced to wait until November 17, 1960, to officially award an expansion franchise to Washington, D.C., to replace the recently relocated Twins.[4] Because it also intended to enter the Los Angeles metropolitan market, then controlled by Walter O'Malley, principal owner of the Dodgers, the American League was compelled to negotiate an indemnification agreement with O'Malley before the Los Angeles franchise could be granted. Finally, on December 6, 1960—one week before the expansion draft was expected to be held—the Angels franchise was officially created and awarded to a group led by Gene Autry.[4]

Because the new teams had not had the time to assemble a scouting department, they were forced to lean on scouting reports from National League franchises to select their full complement of new players. The Angels were aided by the San Francisco Giants, and the Senators by the Pittsburgh Pirates.[3] The league's chaotic, eleventh-hour approach to expansion resulted, on the day of the draft, in the new teams' noncompliance with rules that governed the maximum number of players each new club could select from each of the eight established teams. As a result, several post-draft trades, ordered by American League president Joe Cronin, were necessary to rectify the problem.[3][4]

Results

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Key
All-Star
Eli Grba, selected by the Los Angeles Angels, was the first overall pick.
Bobby Shantz, the second overall selection, was the top pick of the Washington Senators.
Pick Player Position Selected from Selected by
1 Eli Grba PitcherNew York YankeesLos Angeles Angels
2 Bobby Shantz PitcherNew York YankeesWashington Senators
3 Duke Maas PitcherNew York YankeesLos Angeles Angels
4 Dave Sisler PitcherDetroit TigersWashington Senators
5 Jerry Casale PitcherBoston Red SoxLos Angeles Angels
6 Johnny Klippstein PitcherCleveland IndiansWashington Senators
7 Tex Clevenger PitcherMinnesota TwinsLos Angeles Angels
8 Pete Burnside PitcherDetroit TigersWashington Senators
9 Bob Sprout PitcherDetroit TigersLos Angeles Angels
10 Carl Mathias PitcherCleveland IndiansWashington Senators
11 Aubrey Gatewood PitcherDetroit TigersLos Angeles Angels
12 Ed Hobaugh PitcherChicago White SoxWashington Senators
13 Ken McBride PitcherChicago White SoxLos Angeles Angels
14 Hal Woodeshick PitcherMinnesota TwinsWashington Senators
15 Ned Garver PitcherKansas City AthleticsLos Angeles Angels
16 Tom Sturdivant PitcherBoston Red SoxWashington Senators
17 Ron Moeller PitcherBaltimore OriolesLos Angeles Angels
18 Héctor Maestri PitcherMinnesota TwinsWashington Senators
19 Bob Davis PitcherKansas City AthleticsLos Angeles Angels
20 Rudy Hernández PitcherMinnesota TwinsWashington Senators
21 Ed Sadowski CatcherBoston Red SoxLos Angeles Angels
22 Pete Daley CatcherKansas City AthleticsWashington Senators
23 Buck Rodgers CatcherDetroit TigersLos Angeles Angels
24 Dutch Dotterer CatcherKansas City AthleticsWashington Senators
25 Eddie Yost Third basemanDetroit TigersLos Angeles Angels
26 Coot Veal ShortstopDetroit TigersWashington Senators
27 Ken Aspromonte Second basemanCleveland IndiansLos Angeles Angels
28 Dale Long First basemanNew York YankeesWashington Senators
29 Ken Hamlin ShortstopKansas City AthleticsLos Angeles Angels
30 Jim Mahoney ShortstopBoston Red SoxWashington Senators
31 Gene Leek Third basemanCleveland IndiansLos Angeles Angels
32 Bob Johnson ShortstopKansas City AthleticsWashington Senators
33 Jim Fregosi ShortstopBoston Red SoxLos Angeles Angels
34 Billy Klaus Second basemanBaltimore OriolesWashington Senators
35 Bob Cerv First baseman/OutfielderNew York YankeesLos Angeles Angels
36 Johnny Schaive Second basemanMinnesota TwinsWashington Senators
37 Ken Hunt OutfielderNew York YankeesLos Angeles Angels
38 Willie Tasby OutfielderBoston Red SoxWashington Senators
39 Jim McAnany OutfielderChicago White SoxLos Angeles Angels
40 Gene Woodling OutfielderBaltimore OriolesWashington Senators
41 Earl Averill Jr. Outfielder/CatcherChicago White SoxLos Angeles Angels
42 Marty Keough OutfielderCleveland IndiansWashington Senators
43 Faye Throneberry OutfielderMinnesota TwinsLos Angeles Angels
44 Chuck Hinton OutfielderBaltimore OriolesWashington Senators
45 Ted Kluszewski First basemanChicago White SoxLos Angeles Angels
46 Gene Green CatcherBaltimore OriolesWashington Senators
47 Donald Ross[c] InfielderBaltimore OriolesLos Angeles Angels
48 Bud Zipfel First basemanNew York YankeesWashington Senators
49 Julio Bécquer First basemanMinnesota TwinsLos Angeles Angels
50 Jim King OutfielderCleveland IndiansWashington Senators
51 Dean Chance PitcherBaltimore OriolesLos Angeles Angels
52 Joe Hicks OutfielderChicago White SoxWashington Senators
53 Fred Newman PitcherBoston Red SoxLos Angeles Angels
54 Chet Boak Second basemanKansas City AthleticsWashington Senators
55 Red Wilson CatcherCleveland IndiansLos Angeles Angels
56 Dick Donovan PitcherChicago White SoxWashington Senators
57 Steve Bilko First basemanDetroit TigersLos Angeles Angels
58 Leo Burke Third basemanBaltimore OriolesWashington Senators
59 Albie Pearson OutfielderBaltimore OriolesLos Angeles Angels
60 Haywood Sullivan CatcherBoston Red SoxWashington Senators
61 Joe McClain PitcherMinnesota TwinsWashington Senators

See also

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  • Continental League, a proposed third major league that had planned to begin play in the 1961 season

Notes

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  1. This draft was limited to American League teams; while the American League and National League are commonly referred to collectively as Major League Baseball, across many decades, Major League Baseball has only existed as a legal entity since 2000.[1]
  2. The Washington Senators competed in the American League through the 1971 season, then relocated to the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex and were renamed the Texas Rangers.
  3. Donald Ross selected by the Angels, born in 1938,[5] only played in the minor leagues and should not be confused with Don Ross (1914–1996) who played in the major leagues between 1938 and 1946.

References

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  1. Nowlin, Bill. "Did MLB Exist Before the Year 2000?". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  2. "To Pick 20: Senators, Angels To Pick 20 Each In Boston Draft". Holyoke Transcript-Telegram. Holyoke, Massachusetts. AP. December 14, 1960. p. 44. Retrieved December 2, 2025 via newspapers.com.
  3. 1 2 3 Ringolsby, Tracy (November 8, 1992). "First Expansion Draft a Slap-Dash Affair". chicagotribune.com. Scripps Howard News Service. Retrieved February 20, 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 Thompson, Eric; McCue, Andy (2011). "Mis-Management 101: The American League Expansion for 1961". Society for American Baseball Research. Retrieved December 5, 2025.
  5. "Donald Ross". Baseball Reference. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
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