1961 Burlington Bees Roster
Team Record: 65-65
Finished 5th in the IIIL
Manager: Hardy Peterson (65-65)
Affiliation: Pittsburgh Pirates
Location: Burlington, Iowa
Ballpark: Community Field (Stadium)
Attendance: 36,798, Avg. 566
The Burlington Bees of the Illinois-Iowa-Indiana League ended the 1961 season with a record of 65 wins and 65 losses, finishing fifth in the IIIL.
The Bees scored 685 runs and allowed 672 runs. Bill Jackson paced Burlington with 20 home runs, while Tommy Rinks walloped 15 or more, too. Tommy Rinks drove in 79 runs. Ron Brand topped all qualifying hitters on the roster by hitting .316. Rodger Irvine led the squad with 11 wins, and Jim Dickson recorded a 3.02 ERA, tops among regularly-used pitchers.
Frank Bork, Jim Dickson, Fred Newman, Bob Priddy, Ron Brand, José Vidal, Hardy Peterson and Roberto Peña were all players from the 1961 Burlington Bees who played in the Majors during their careers.
Hardy Peterson served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gary Aldrich | L | L | January 2, 1938 | 6'4" | 198 | Sacramento, CA US |
| Arthur Blunt | L | R | 6'0" | 185 | ||
| Frank Bork | R | L | July 13, 1940 | 6'2" | 175 | Buffalo, NY US |
| Ron Brand | R | R | January 13, 1940 | 5'7" | 167 | Los Angeles, CA US |
| Jim Dickson | L | R | April 20, 1938 | 6'1" | 185 | Portland, OR US |
| Thomas Haake | R | R | October 24, 1937 | 6'2" | 200 | Germantown, IL US |
| Julio Imbert | L | L | December 3, 1938 | 5'10" | 168 | Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional DO |
| Rodger Irvine | R | R | September 1, 1940 | 6'3" | 182 | Toronto, ON CA |
| Bill Jackson | R | R | September 3, 1934 | 6'3" | 195 | Pocatello, ID US |
| Sandy Johnson | R | R | October 24, 1940 | 6'0" | 165 | |
| Don Kildoo | R | L | June 6, 1935 | 6'1" | 180 | Washington, DC US |
| Charles Kolakowski | R | R | December 22, 1932 | 6'1" | 205 | Sayreville, NJ US |
| James Little | L | L | 5'11" | 165 | ||
| LeRoy Luketich | R | R | 6'0" | 185 | ||
| John Massey | R | R | July 30, 1938 | 6'0" | 200 | Port Neches, TX US |
| Freed Messner | R | R | September 5, 1935 | 6'1" | 200 | |
| Russell Mueller | L | R | 6'0" | 175 | ||
| Ed Napoleon | R | R | September 13, 1937 | 5'9" | 170 | Baltimore, MD US |
| Fred Newman | R | R | February 21, 1942 | 6'3" | 180 | Boston, MA US |
| Don Nipp | R | R | February 7, 1938 | 6'0" | 194 | Blair, OK US |
| Roberto Peña | R | R | April 17, 1937 | 5'8" | 170 | Santo Domingo, Distrito Nacional DO |
| Hardy Peterson | R | R | October 17, 1929 | 6'0" | 205 | Perth Amboy, NJ US |
| Felix Pizarro | R | R | February 3, 1939 | 5'10" | 172 | |
| Bob Priddy | R | R | December 10, 1939 | 6'1" | 200 | Pittsburgh, PA US |
| Len Prout | S | L | February 14, 1939 | 6'1" | 198 | San Francisco, CA US |
| Vic Ramirez | R | R | August 26, 1940 | 5'9" | 170 | |
| Tommy Rinks | L | R | July 3, 1936 | 6'0" | 180 | San Diego, CA US |
| Peter Sala | L | L | 6'0" | 190 | ||
| Ronald Spring | R | L | January 27, 1940 | 6'1" | 170 | Rochester, NY US |
| José Vidal | R | R | April 3, 1940 | 6'0" | 190 | Batey Lechuga, El Seibo DO |
| Larry West | L | R | 6'0" | 160 | ||
| Kenneth Whitmore | R | R | 6'1" | 192 |
Average attendance is based upon the number of actual home dates where known (most leagues from 1992 and later). Where the number of home dates is not known, the average is calculated using half the team's total games.
