1961 Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides Roster
Team Record: 66-72
Finished 6th in the SAL
Manager: Granny Hamner (66-72)
Affiliation: Kansas City Athletics
Location: Norfolk, Virginia; Portsmouth, Virginia
Ballpark: High Rock Park, Frank Lawrence Stadium
Attendance: 87,158, Avg. 1,263
The Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides of the South Atlantic League ended the 1961 season with a record of 66 wins and 72 losses, finishing sixth in the SAL.
The Portsmouth- Tides scored 635 runs and conceded 687 runs, most in the circuit. Virgil Bernhardt paced Norfolk with 15 home runs Donald Brown drove in 80 runs. Salvador Betancourt topped hitters with significant playing time by hitting .297. Ken Sanders led the squad with 13 wins and a team-best 3.96 ERA, tops among regularly-used pitchers.
Weldon Bowlin, Dave Jolly, Solly Drake, Joe Shipley, Dave Hill, John O'Donoghue, John Wyatt, Ken Sanders, Aubrey Gatewood, Bill Kirk, Granny Hamner, Bunky Stewart, Charlie Shoemaker, John Romonosky, Gair Allie, Bert Hamric and Evans Killeen were all players from the 1961 Portsmouth-Norfolk Tides who played in the Majors during their careers.
Granny Hamner served as manager.Click on column headings to sort.
| Player | Bats | Throws | Birth Date | Height | Weight | Hometown |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gair Allie | R | R | October 28, 1931 | 6'1" | 190 | Statesville, NC US |
| Tony Alomar | R | R | December 11, 1933 | 5'11" | 172 | Santurce, PR |
| Charlie Bennett | R | R | March 4, 1938 | 6'1" | 190 | North Bend, OR US |
| Virgil Bernhardt | L | R | July 30, 1938 | 6'1" | 193 | Rowan County, NC US |
| Salvador Betancourt | R | R | April 27, 1938 | 6'0" | 174 | |
| Weldon Bowlin | R | R | December 10, 1940 | 5'9" | 155 | Paragould, AR US |
| Jack Bristol | R | L | April 1, 1936 | 6'1" | 185 | Sharon, CT US |
| Donald Brown | L | L | August 22, 1935 | 6'0" | 175 | |
| James Craig | L | L | May 13, 1940 | 6'2" | 190 | |
| Bobby Delgado | L | R | January 13, 1939 | 6'0" | 180 | |
| Alfred Diez | R | R | March 22, 1934 | 6'3" | 185 | , MX |
| Richard Donnelly | R | R | September 21, 1932 | 6'2" | 180 | |
| Solly Drake | S | R | October 23, 1930 | 6'0" | 170 | Little Rock, AR US |
| Jackie Ferrell | L | L | March 11, 1936 | 5'11" | 170 | |
| Milo Fuller | R | R | August 31, 1938 | 5'10" | 190 | |
| Aubrey Gatewood | R | R | November 17, 1938 | 6'1" | 170 | Little Rock, AR US |
| Waldo Gonzalez | R | R | April 30, 1935 | 6'0" | 165 | |
| Jim Grimm | L | L | February 28, 1935 | 5'11" | 170 | New Martinsville, WV US |
| Granny Hamner | R | R | April 26, 1927 | 5'10" | 163 | Richmond, VA US |
| Bert Hamric | L | R | March 1, 1928 | 6'0" | 165 | Clarksburg, WV US |
| John Hanes | L | L | December 27, 1939 | 5'7" | 150 | |
| Dave Hill | R | L | November 11, 1937 | 6'2" | 170 | New Orleans, LA US |
| Woody Huyke | R | R | September 28, 1937 | 5'11" | 185 | San Juan, PR |
| James Johnson | R | R | September 13, 1935 | 5'10" | 170 | |
| Dave Jolly | R | R | October 14, 1924 | 6'0" | 160 | Stony Point, NC US |
| Evans Killeen | R | R | February 27, 1936 | 6'0" | 190 | Brooklyn, NY US |
| Bill Kirk | L | L | July 19, 1934 | 6'0" | 165 | Coatesville, PA US |
| Ken Kraynak | L | R | August 8, 1935 | 6'2" | 210 | Plymouth, PA US |
| Ernest Lewis | L | R | 6'2" | 175 | ||
| Frank Mankovitch | R | R | March 12, 1937 | 6'2" | 175 | |
| Ron McCutcheon | R | R | June 21, 1936 | 6'0" | 190 | |
| Tom McDonald | L | R | December 6, 1931 | 5'11" | 180 | Dorchester, MA US |
| Jerry Mercer | R | R | January 30, 1939 | 6'2" | 195 | |
| John O'Donoghue | R | L | October 7, 1939 | 6'4" | 203 | Kansas City, MO US |
| Bernard Poupore | R | R | May 13, 1939 | 6'2" | 190 | Spalding, MI US |
| Benny Rich | R | R | 6'1" | 190 | ||
| John Romonosky | R | R | July 7, 1929 | 6'2" | 195 | Harrisburg, IL US |
| Ken Sanders | R | R | July 8, 1941 | 5'11" | 168 | St. Louis, MO US |
| Joe Shipley | R | R | May 9, 1935 | 6'4" | 210 | Morristown, TN US |
| Charlie Shoemaker | L | R | August 10, 1939 | 5'10" | 155 | Los Angeles, CA US |
| Bunky Stewart | L | L | January 7, 1931 | 6'0" | 154 | Jasper, NC US |
| Ben Swaringen | S | R | August 27, 1936 | 6'1" | 185 | |
| Ted Thiem | L | R | October 2, 1935 | 5'11" | 175 | Oakdale, NE US |
| Donald Thompson | R | L | 6'1" | 185 | ||
| Jack Tupper | R | R | August 29, 1937 | 5'10" | 175 | |
| Tony Washington | L | L | January 9, 1937 | 6'2" | 183 | Chicago, IL US |
| Kenneth Worley | R | R | July 11, 1930 | 5'10" | 180 | |
| John Wyatt | R | R | April 19, 1935 | 5'11" | 200 | Chicago, IL US |
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.
