# 1961 Major League Baseball expansion draft

The 1961 MLB Expansion Draft was held by Major League Baseball on October 10, 1961, to fill the rosters of the New York Mets and the Houston Colt .45s, the new franchises which would enter the league in the 1962 season. The pool of players out of which they could select was limited to the existing National League ballclubs.
Due to the poor performance of the Mets and Colt .45s after two seasons, another draft was held for the teams. The other existing National League clubs made four players from their 40-man roster available at $30,000 apiece. Only eight players could be selected between the two clubs.

## 1961 Draft

* All-Star
Regular Phase, $75,000 per player :
| Pick | Player | Position | Selected by | Previous team |
| 1 | Eddie Bressoud | IF | Houston Colt .45s | San Francisco Giants |
| 2 | Hobie Landrith | C | New York Mets | San Francisco Giants |
| 3 | Bob Aspromonte | IF | Houston Colt .45s | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 4 | Elio Chacón | IF | New York Mets | Cincinnati Reds |
| 5 | Bob Lillis | IF | Houston Colt .45s | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 6 | Roger Craig | P | New York Mets | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 7 | Dick Drott | P | Houston Colt .45s | Chicago Cubs |
| 8 | Gus Bell* | OF | New York Mets | Cincinnati Reds |
| 9 | Al Heist | OF | Houston Colt .45s | Chicago Cubs |
| 10 | Joe Christopher | OF | New York Mets | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 11 | Román Mejías | OF | Houston Colt .45s | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 12 | Félix Mantilla | IF | New York Mets | Milwaukee Braves |
| 13 | George Williams | IF | Houston Colt .45s | Philadelphia Phillies |
| 14 | Gil Hodges* | 1B | New York Mets | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 15 | Jesse Hickman | P | Houston Colt .45s | Philadelphia Phillies |
| 16 | Craig Anderson | P | New York Mets | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 17 | Merritt Ranew | C | Houston Colt .45s | Milwaukee Braves |
| 18 | Ray Daviault | P | New York Mets | San Francisco Giants |
| 19 | Don Taussig | OF | Houston Colt .45s | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 20 | John DeMerit | OF | New York Mets | Milwaukee Braves |
| 21 | Bobby Shantz* | P | Houston Colt .45s | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 22 | Al Jackson | P | New York Mets | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 23 | Norm Larker* | 1B | Houston Colt .45s | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 24 | Sammy Drake | IF | New York Mets | Chicago Cubs |
| 25 | Sam Jones* | P | Houston Colt .45s | San Francisco Giants |
| 26 | Chris Cannizzaro | C | New York Mets | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 27 | Paul Roof | P | Houston Colt .45s | Milwaukee Braves |
| 28 | Choo-Choo Coleman | C | New York Mets | Philadelphia Phillies |
| 29 | Ken Johnson | P | Houston Colt .45s | Cincinnati Reds |
| 30 | Ed Bouchee | 1B | New York Mets | Chicago Cubs |
| 31 | Dick Gernert | 1B | Houston Colt .45s | Cincinnati Reds |
| 32 | Bob Smith | OF | New York Mets | Philadelphia Phillies |
Regular Phase, $50,000 per player :
| Pick | Player | Position | Selected by | Previous team |
| 33 | Ed Olivares | IF | Houston Colt .45s | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 34 | Sherman Jones | P | New York Mets | Cincinnati Reds |
| 35 | Jim Umbricht | P | Houston Colt .45s | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 36 | Jim Hickman | OF | New York Mets | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 37 | Jim Golden | P | Houston Colt .45s | Los Angeles Dodgers |
Premium Phase, $125,000 per player :
| Pick | Player | Position | Selected by | Previous team |
| 38 | Joe Amalfitano | IF | Houston Colt .45s | San Francisco Giants |
| 39 | Jay Hook | P | New York Mets | Cincinnati Reds |
| 40 | Turk Farrell | P | Houston Colt .45s | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| 41 | Bob Miller | P | New York Mets | St. Louis Cardinals |
| 42 | Hal Smith | C | Houston Colt .45s | Pittsburgh Pirates |
| 43 | Don Zimmer* | IF | New York Mets | Chicago Cubs |
| 44 | Al Spangler | OF | Houston Colt .45s | Milwaukee Braves |
| 45 | Lee Walls* | IF/OF | New York Mets | Philadelphia Phillies |
* All-Star only before 1961 Expansion Draft

## 1963 Draft

* All-Star
Regular Phase, $30,000 per player :
| Player | Position | Selected by | Previous team |
| Bill Haas | 1B/OF | New York Mets | Los Angeles Dodgers |
| Claude Raymond | P | Houston Colt. 45s | Milwaukee Braves |
| Jack Fisher | P | New York Mets | San Francisco Giants |