Expansion of 1962
From BR Bullpen
On July 18, 1960, in response to the threat of the formation of a new Continental League, the National League agreed to add two clubs, one in New York and one in Houston.
The New York franchise to be named the Mets, was owned by Joan Payson. The Houston franchise, which took the name the Colt .45s, was awarded to Judge Roy Hofheinz. On October 10, 1961, an expansion draft was held for the Houston Colt .45's and the New York Mets, expansion clubs that would begin play in 1962.
Draft rules were similar to those used by the American League the previous year. However after two players were drafted from each existing NL club at $75,000 each and one more at $50,000, the existing clubs had to make two more players available at $125,000 apiece. The Mets and Astros were not required to draft those extra players; they were only mandated to take between 20 and 28 players.
After two years, due to the new clubs' lack of competitiveness, they were allowed to draft an additional player. They had a choice of four players from each of the older clubs' 40 man rosters, paying $30,000 apiece and only eight players in total could be taken between the two clubs. The draft took place on October 10, 1963 with only two players drafted.
The Colt .45's picked San Francisco Giants shortstop Eddie Bressoud with their first pick. The Mets took catcher Hobie Landrith of the Giants as their first selection.
Contents |
[edit] Houston Colt .45's
[edit] New York Mets
[edit] 1963 Special Draft
- New York Mets: Jack Fisher (San Francisco Giants)
- Houston Colt .45's: Claude Raymond (Milwaukee Braves)
[edit] Further Reading
- Michael Shapiro: Bottom of the Ninth: Branch Rickey, Casey Stengel and daring scheme to save baseball from itself, Times Books, Macmillan, New York, NY, 2009.
