Sixty-One: The Team, the Record, the Men

by Tony Kubek, Terry Pluto

A sports columnist and the former shortstop for the 1961 Yankees present a nostalgic look at the Yankee's legendary 1961 season, Roger Maris's record-breaking sixty-one home runs, and the lives of the players since 1961

Genres: Baseball, Sports

269 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Tony Kubek played with the New York Yankees for just over eight years. Those teams won seven American League pennants and three world championships. Tony was selected for several all-star teams. After retiring as a player, he worked 24 years for NBC TV as an analyst. In addition, he spent 13 seasons telecasting Toronto Blue Jay games on a Canadian television network. His last five years broadcasting were spent working for the Madison Square Garden TV Network doing Yankee games. Tony was elected to the broadcaster wing (Ford Frick Award) of the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, the National Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and the National Polish-American Sports Hall of Fame, where a media award is given annually in his name. Tony and his wife Margaret have been active as volunteers in their community. They participated in a program that assists Hmong to assimilate into the community and currently serve on the board of directors for the Alternative Center for Education (ACE), a non-profit that evaluates and treats individuals with learning disabilities. Tony is certified to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) and taught Latino men. He also helped start a Consumer Supported Agriculture (CSA) with a farmer friend. Margaret and Tony reside in Wisconsin with their children and grandchildren.

Reviews

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a treat.
Most folks don't know Roger Maris' rookie seaso was 1957, playing in 116 games for the Cleveland Indians. Roger batted .235 and hit his first 14 major league career home runs. Then wectraded him to Kansas City.

[Josh Hitch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read quite a few books that are either about the 1961 season or talk a lot about it, from every perspective. In this we get the view of the starting shortstop of the Yankees Tony Kubek. A pivotal part of one of the greatest teams in history, who also had a great view at the HR contest between Mantle and Maris. He gives a nice overview of the season and really dives into Maris, the man and player. He also has a nice section about a lot of the players he talked to 25 years later and what they did after baseball.

Highly recommended, there are better books about the season but Kubek's definitely dives more into the players and men who made up the legendary team.

[edward ewing · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read if old time Yankee fan. Tony has delivered some thoughts and stories that have never seen or heard.. and I am a long time Yankee fan...

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tony Kubek was the starting shortstop for the New York Yankees from 1957 to 1965, and in Sixty-One: The Team, the Record, and the Men, he and Terry Pluto tell the story of that magical year, 1961, when Maris and Mantle competed to beat the Babe's home run record, Whitey Ford won 25 games, and the Yankees beat the Cincinnati Reds in the World Series.

The book really revolves around Maris, starting out with an in-depth look at his character and career and how the home run race affected him and Mantle. Then Kubek provides a more detailed description of the 1961 season, the pennant race with Detroit and the Series with the Reds, before finishing with brief accounts of the lives of his teammates after baseball.

It's unpretentiously written, with a nicely personal and direct tone. This is certainly good reading for any Yankee fan, but also for baseball fans interested in an insider's illuminating account of a historic year in baseball.