The league changed so much in the 1950s with expansion and multiple teams relocating. As the 1960s began, we had a few more changes. The league implemented an All Star game and Home Run Derby beginning in 1962. A World Baseball Classic began to be played in 1963, and would occur every three years. And baseball began to be played in the Olympics starting in 1964.
The Orlando Seals started off 1961 strong and led their division at mid-season, but they fell back to earth as the New York Knights got hot, and New York wound up winning the division by 18 games, winning 101 games total. The defending champion Silverbacks held off the Kansas City Cyclones to capture the ABC West division. The defending NBC champion Detroit Ravens did not return to the playoffs, as they lost on the final day of the season to cede the division to the St. Louis Bears. The Washington Eagles ran away with the NBC East.
The Knights and Silverbacks played in the ABC Championship Series again, keeping their playoff rivalry going. This time, the Knights got the best of Cincinnati and won the series in four games. The former division rivals Eagles and Bears went the distance in the NBC Championship Series, with the Bears emerging victorious. Once again, the Bears would see the Knights in the World Series, although they no longer were neighbors. The Knights defeated them in 5 games to win the 1961 World Series.
Two teams changed their names for the 1962 season as well. Wanting to distinguish themselves from their past in Toledo, the Detroit Ravens announced that they were going to be known as the Detroit Red Barons. And the Houston Railmen--in honor of the new space program that was working to put a man on the moon and had deep connections to Houston--changed their name to the Houston Rockets. Both changes would be in place for the 1962 season.
The 1962 All Star game was held at Eisenhower Coloseum, the home of the Washington Eagles. The NBC won the game, with San Francisco's Willie Mays taking MVP honors. Mays also won the first ever Home Run Derby (which consisted of a couple players who were not on the All-Star teams), beating his teammate Willie McCovey in the final round.
As for the regular season, three of the four playoff teams from 1961 failed to make it back to the playoffs; the only one who did was the defending champion New York Knights. The Knights won the ABC East by a large margin, while the Indiana Fireflies barely held off the Pittsburgh Penguins to take the ABC West. In the NBC, the Yellow Jackets won the NBC East by 12 games, while the Los Angeles Lions won their first division title since moving out west by a margin of 11 games. The Knights and Lions both swept their respective playoff series to face off in the World Series. The Knights went on to win the World Series in six games, winning consecutive championships for the first time since 1938 & 1939.
The first ever All-Star teams
Results of the first ever Home Run Derby
