1961 - Sports

Sports

CBS signs a contract with the National Football League giving it exclusive rights to televise the NFL's 98 regular-season games for an annual fee of $4.65 million (see 1960). NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle initiates a revenue-sharing plan that will make team franchises enormously valuable as annual revenues from the three networks grow to exceed $400 million.

ABC's Wide World of Sports debuts on television Saturday afternoon, April 29, with Philadelphia-born announcer James Kenneth "Jim" McKay (originally McManus), 39, in a program developed by New York-born independent producer Edgar J. Scherick, 46, and Queens, N.Y.-born producer Roone (Pinckney) Arledge Jr., 30. Scherick joined an advertising agency in 1950, started Sports Programs Inc. 7 years later, and helps Arledge sell the idea to ABC. Arledge has directed the Shari Lewis puppet show at NBC and will make ABC dominant in sports coverage for the next 20 years, innovating such features as instant replay and boom microphones (see Monday Night Football, 1970).

Rodney George "Rod" Laver, 22, (Australia) wins in men's singles at Wimbledon, Angela Mortimer, 29, (Brit) in women's singles; Roy Emerson, 24, (Australia) wins in men's singles at Forest Hills, Darlene Hard in women's singles.

Wilma Rudolph sets a new women's record July 19 at Stuttgart, running the 100-meter dash in 11.2 seconds.

Golfer Arnold Palmer wins his first British Open.

The Minnesota Twins play their first season, Washington Senators co-owner Calvin Griffith having moved his team to the Minneapolis-St. Paul area (see 1978).

Former Detroit Tigers outfielder Ty Cobb dies at Atlanta July 17 at age 74.

Boston Braves pitcher Warren Spahn defeats the Chicago Cubs August 11 to post his 300th victory, becoming the seventh pitcher since 1900 to reach that mark. Now 40, Spahn won the Cy Young Award 4 years ago as the outstanding pitcher in both leagues and is the highest paid pitcher in baseball.

Roger Maris of the New York Yankees breaks Babe Ruth's home run record of 60 October 1 at Yankee Stadium, but purists maintain that the ball hit by Ruth was heavier and that Ruth set his record in a 154-game season while the October 1 game is the 162nd (and final) Yankee game for 1961. Maris's record will stand until 1998.

The New York Yankees win the World Series, defeating the Cincinnati Reds 4 games to 1.