1961 Manager and Coaches

MANAGER:
Bill Rigney

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ANGELS MANAGERIAL RECORD:
1961-1969
In his Angels debut year he went 70-91-1 for 8th place.
Rigney's overall Angels record in 9 years: 1333 games, 625/707 .469
ML Manager of the Year Award (1962)

1961 Topps

wikipedia:
Rigney became the expansion Los Angeles Angels' first manager in 1961, moved with them to Anaheim, and remained until the 1969 season, winning the AL Manager of the Year Award in 1962. Along with Fred Haney, Rigney was instrumental in selecting the 28 players from the American League player pool to become the original Angels.
With a disappointing 11-28 record and mired in a ten-game losing streak, Rigney was fired by the Angels on May 27, 1969, and succeeded by Lefty Phillips. Also considered for that first managerial position were Leo Durocher and Casey Stengel.


COACHES:
Bob Elliott (1961)

1960 Topps

After his playing career ended, Bob Elliott was the manager of the San Diego Padres from 1955 until part way through the 1957 season and the Sacramento Solons in 1959. He then managed in the major leagues for one season with the Kansas City Athletics in 1960 and served as a coach for the expansion Los Angeles Angels in 1961.
Elliott was the cleanup hitter in the 1948 World Series for the 1948 Boston Braves. He slugged .691.
Elliott broke in with the 1939 Pittsburgh Pirates, at a time when Arky Vaughan and the Waner brothers were still on the team, and ended his career with the 1953 White Sox, playing alongside 25-year-old Nellie Fox and 27-year-old Minnie Minoso.
* 7-time NL All-Star (1941, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1947, 1948 & 1951)
* NL MVP (1947)


Marv Grissom (1961-1966, 1969, 1977-1978)

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Marv Grissom saw his major league career get off to a late start, as he missed four years while in the Army during World War II. After his playing career ended, he was the first pitching coach of the expansion Los Angeles Angels from 1961 to 1966. He was a member of the Chicago White Sox staff in 1967 and 1968 but returned to the Angels in 1969. He was then a Minnesota Twins coach in 1970 and 1971 and was with the Chicago Cubs in 1975 and 1976. Once again, he was a member of the Angels coaching staff in 1977 and 1978.
* NL All-Star (1954)
* Won a World Series with the New York Giants in 1954

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Red Kress (1961)

Throughout his major league career, Kress was known for his great disposition and perpetual motion. Although he played mostly at shortstop, he showed his versatility playing every position but catcher and center fielder. Kress broke in the majors with the St. Louis Browns in the 1927 season, and went on to play for the Browns, White Sox, Senators, and Tigers until retiring at the end of the 1946 season. In a 14-season career, Kress was a .286 hitter with 1454 hits, 298 doubles, 58 triples, 89 home runs, 691 runs, 799 RBI, and 47 stolen bases in 1391 games played. He became a coach for the expansion Los Angeles Angels in 1961. He loved baseball enough to quit after coaching for the hapless 1962 Mets. That November, his heart gave out.


Jack Paepke (1961-1966)

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Paepke began his baseball career with Santa Barbara in the California League during the 1941 season. He became a player-manager in 1953 and led his Brunswick Pirates to the Georgia-Florid League championship in his first year as skipper. He helped his own cause quite a bit by hitting .318 with 21 HRs and 109 RBI while compiling a 4-1 record on the mound. He was equally successful the following year when he led his Waco Pirates to Big State League crown. This Waco team won 105 games and has been named one of the top 25 minor league teams of all time by minor league baseball's official website. As he wound his way through the Pittsburgh Pirates farm system, Paepke saw no more postseasons as a manager. Along the way he made stops as skipper of the Billings Mustangs, the Salinas Packers, the Kinston Eagles, the Jamestown Falcons, the Grand Forks Chiefs, the San Jose Pirates, and the Las Vegas Wranglers. He ended his playing and managing career after the 1958 season.
Following his playing career, Paepke became a major league coach for the Angels from 1961 to 1966. He was later a scout for the Angels and eventually the Expos.

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