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Before the Machine: The Story of the 1961 Pennant-Winning Reds
The Big Red Machine dominated major league baseball in the 1970s, but the Cincinnati franchise began its climb to that pinnacle in 1961, when an unlikely collection of cast-offs and wannabes stunned the baseball world by winning the National League pennant. Led by revered manager Fred Hutchinson, the team featured rising stars like Frank Robinson, Jim O’Toole, and Vada Pinson, fading stars like Gus Bell and Wally Post, and a few castoffs who suddenly came into their own, like Gene Freese and 20-game-winner Joey Jay.
In time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their pennant-winning season, the amazing story of the “Ragamuffin Reds” is told from start to finish in Before the Machine. Written by long-time Reds Report editor Mark J. Schmetzer and featuring dozens of photos by award-winning photographer Jerry Klumpe of the Cincinnati Post & Times Star, this book surely will be a winner with every fan in Reds country and coincides with an anniversary exhibit at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.
Through interviews and research, Before the Machine captures the excitement of a pennant race for a team that had suffered losing seasons in 14 of the past 16 years. Schmetzer also beautifully evokes the time and place—a muggy Midwestern summer during which, as the new song of the season boasts, “the whole town’s batty for that team in Cincinnati.” Led by regional talk-show star Ruth Lyons (the Midwest’s “Oprah”) fans rallied around the Reds as never before.
The year didn’t begin well for the team. Budding superstar Frank Robinson was arrested right before spring training for carrying a concealed weapon, and long-time owner Powel Crosley Jr., died suddenly just days before the start of the season. Few experts—or fans—gave the Reds much of a chance at first place anyway. With powerhouse teams in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Milwaukee, the National League pennant was unlikely to fly over Cincinnati’s Crosley Field.
But manager Hutchinson somehow galvanized his motley crew and led them to victory after victory. Joey Jay, who had languished with the Braves, mowed down hitters while his rotation mates O’Toole and knuckleballer Bob Purkey did the same. The team also featured a dynamic duo in the bullpen in Bill Henry and Jim Brosnan, whose book about the season, Pennant Race, became a national bestseller the following year. As the rest of the league kept waiting for the Reds to fade, Hutch’s boys kept winning—and finally grabbed the pennant.
Though they couldn’t continue their magic in the World Series against the Yankees, the previously moribund Reds franchise did continue to their success throughout the decade, winning 98 games in 1962 and falling just short of another pennant in 1964. They established a recipe for success that would lead, a few years later, to the emergence of the Big Red Machine.
In time to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their pennant-winning season, the amazing story of the “Ragamuffin Reds” is told from start to finish in Before the Machine. Written by long-time Reds Report editor Mark J. Schmetzer and featuring dozens of photos by award-winning photographer Jerry Klumpe of the Cincinnati Post & Times Star, this book surely will be a winner with every fan in Reds country and coincides with an anniversary exhibit at the Cincinnati Reds Hall of Fame and Museum.
Through interviews and research, Before the Machine captures the excitement of a pennant race for a team that had suffered losing seasons in 14 of the past 16 years. Schmetzer also beautifully evokes the time and place—a muggy Midwestern summer during which, as the new song of the season boasts, “the whole town’s batty for that team in Cincinnati.” Led by regional talk-show star Ruth Lyons (the Midwest’s “Oprah”) fans rallied around the Reds as never before.
The year didn’t begin well for the team. Budding superstar Frank Robinson was arrested right before spring training for carrying a concealed weapon, and long-time owner Powel Crosley Jr., died suddenly just days before the start of the season. Few experts—or fans—gave the Reds much of a chance at first place anyway. With powerhouse teams in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Milwaukee, the National League pennant was unlikely to fly over Cincinnati’s Crosley Field.
But manager Hutchinson somehow galvanized his motley crew and led them to victory after victory. Joey Jay, who had languished with the Braves, mowed down hitters while his rotation mates O’Toole and knuckleballer Bob Purkey did the same. The team also featured a dynamic duo in the bullpen in Bill Henry and Jim Brosnan, whose book about the season, Pennant Race, became a national bestseller the following year. As the rest of the league kept waiting for the Reds to fade, Hutch’s boys kept winning—and finally grabbed the pennant.
Though they couldn’t continue their magic in the World Series against the Yankees, the previously moribund Reds franchise did continue to their success throughout the decade, winning 98 games in 1962 and falling just short of another pennant in 1964. They established a recipe for success that would lead, a few years later, to the emergence of the Big Red Machine.
- GenresBaseballSportsNonfiction
288 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 2011
6 people are currently reading
25 people want to read
About the author
Mark J. Schmetzer
3 booksMark J. Schmetzer is the author of "Before the Machine: The Story of the 1961 Pennant-Winning Reds" (Clerisy Press, 2011) and co-author of "The Comeback Kids: Cincinnati Reds 2010 Championship Season. He was the editor of RedsVue, the official newspaper of the Reds, from 1983 through 1987, and has edited RedsVues replacement, Reds Report, since 1991. He also covers the Reds for the Associated Press. The 2010 season was the twenty-fifth out of the last twenty-seven in which he covered the Reds on a daily basis. He lives in Cincinnati, Ohio."
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
July 15, 2011
The most significant problem I had with the book is that it lacks a cohesive story. There are endless details about backroom staff, transportation and local businesses that are simply catalogued without connection. There is very little drama in the book and very little insight into the important actors that you can't get by reading books by Frank Robinson and Jim Brosnan.
January 16, 2025
3.5 stars. The first of three sports books my son gave me for Christmas. (He had a "theme" for the three which will be come clearer).
A really good read. Certainly not the best sports book, or even the best baseball book, but I found it enjoyable. All I remember of the 1961 Reds (I was an 8-year old diehard Cubs fan then) is that they had Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson who I thought were both awesome. So reading this not only took me back to my younger Cubs days (due to my father) but presented a lot of interesting information about the team (the owner, GM, manager and players); about old Crosley Field; and the city where I have now lived for 15+ years. So I have "adopted" the Reds since they are on TV so much here.
Both an above-average read and above-average look at one team's unexpectedly successful season (short of winning the World Series), at times I wished the author had included descriptions for more of the games that season, but of course that would probably result in an unreadable book.
I am glad I read it. And I learned that I really enjoy reading about baseball in the cold and snow of January!
A really good read. Certainly not the best sports book, or even the best baseball book, but I found it enjoyable. All I remember of the 1961 Reds (I was an 8-year old diehard Cubs fan then) is that they had Frank Robinson and Vada Pinson who I thought were both awesome. So reading this not only took me back to my younger Cubs days (due to my father) but presented a lot of interesting information about the team (the owner, GM, manager and players); about old Crosley Field; and the city where I have now lived for 15+ years. So I have "adopted" the Reds since they are on TV so much here.
Both an above-average read and above-average look at one team's unexpectedly successful season (short of winning the World Series), at times I wished the author had included descriptions for more of the games that season, but of course that would probably result in an unreadable book.
I am glad I read it. And I learned that I really enjoy reading about baseball in the cold and snow of January!
March 28, 2023
This account of the unheralded 1961 Cincinnati Reds pennant-winning season isn't bad, but it falls well short of the kind of baseball writing found in similar books by David Halberstam, Robert Creamer, Buster Olney et al. It's a little too heavy, in my view, on game-by-game rehashes of who did exactly what, and too light on telling us who these men were. Oh, it has some of that, to be sure. I enjoyed reading about Gene Freese's jocular humor, Frank Robinson's toughness in the face of nagging injuries and the burden of being the team's star player, and rookie Jim Maloney's youthful wonder at appearing in a World Series game. However, by and large, I learned nothing about most of the players on the team beyond what reading the backs of their bubble gum cards could have told me.
Maybe it's of interest to diehard long-time super Reds fanatics of the nth degree, but I groaned inwardly at the pages about who the groundskeepers were, who ran the concessions, who the scouts were, the names of their wives and children, and on and on. That said, I got a real feel for Crosley Field from reading this book. I never saw a game there, though I did see it from the highway the year after the team stopped playing there. All in all, this book isn't terrible, but could have been a lot better.
Maybe it's of interest to diehard long-time super Reds fanatics of the nth degree, but I groaned inwardly at the pages about who the groundskeepers were, who ran the concessions, who the scouts were, the names of their wives and children, and on and on. That said, I got a real feel for Crosley Field from reading this book. I never saw a game there, though I did see it from the highway the year after the team stopped playing there. All in all, this book isn't terrible, but could have been a lot better.
August 28, 2024
A very well written and researched book about a team that seems to be overlooked. The 1961 Reds were improbable pennant winners but had a well built team. This book went through the season giving enough details without overloading the narrative. Also sprinkles in remembrances from the players, other Reds personnel, and fans.
Highly recommended if you are at all interested in this era of Cincy baseball, doubt there is a better written account of it anywhere.
Highly recommended if you are at all interested in this era of Cincy baseball, doubt there is a better written account of it anywhere.
October 23, 2011
I grew up in the Kanawha Valley of WV and remember listening the the Reds' broadcast as I came of age and the Reds are still my team. I remember my Grandfather leaning in close to the radio fiddling with the tuning knob to get the best reception. BEFORE THE MACHINE is a work that all Reds' fans need in their library. Reading this book brought back memories of the 1961 season and the run for the pennant. It was a thrill to once again read the names of the stars of the team that year. Also is the mentioning of the players from the other teams that they played that year. It is a wonderful walk down memory lane for any baseball fan. It is interesting to see how various people crossed the path of players at the time and the future players that were around close to the games.
Through this book the reader gets a look at some of the personalities that made up this team that most experts picked to finish fifth in the league in 1961. Many of the players are hidden in the deep history of baseball and it is refreshing to see their contributions to this team. It also gives baseball fans realization of how far baseball has come and makes one wonder if expansion, salaries, and free agency has added and distracted from the game.
I highly recommend this book to any baseball fan and especially those who remember the 1961 season. I found the book to be interesting. Thank you Mr. Schmetzer for the bringing back the 1961 Reds.
Through this book the reader gets a look at some of the personalities that made up this team that most experts picked to finish fifth in the league in 1961. Many of the players are hidden in the deep history of baseball and it is refreshing to see their contributions to this team. It also gives baseball fans realization of how far baseball has come and makes one wonder if expansion, salaries, and free agency has added and distracted from the game.
I highly recommend this book to any baseball fan and especially those who remember the 1961 season. I found the book to be interesting. Thank you Mr. Schmetzer for the bringing back the 1961 Reds.
September 7, 2012
I cant recommend this book emough if you are a REDS fan. It places you right there in the clubhouse taking advantage of what back then was much better team coverage with more quotes from beat writer daily game stories, no doubt it helped so many more papers back then covered the team daily. Better inside info than you will get today. I enjoyed learning more about O'toole, jay,coleman, kasko, edwards, cardenas, F. robby and vada....i am a big red machine baby, the 70s teams are my guys, so the 61 guys were slightly before my time, but that didnt matter,i enjoyed this as much as the BRM books and the 1990 books. It was also good to have recollections from unexpected sources like dave parker as a child and joe nuxhall, who was traded and missed 1961. This gave the book differentiation from similar REDS tomes.....
May 29, 2011
Only for fans of Cincinnati baseball. Interesting if you remember Crosley Field, Frank Robinson, and the city itself in 1961.
May 6, 2018
Outstanding retelling of the Cincinnati Reds pennant winning 1961 season. The "Ragamuffins" surprise everyone by making it to the World Series where they fell to the Yankees in five games.
March 16, 2017
Great book to read as we wait for the baseball season to start. It gives me hope for this year's Reds.
July 20, 2014
Great description of a great team.
March 23, 2016
Enjoyable recap of the 1961 Cincinnati Reds
March 29, 2022
Before the awesome Big Red Machine there was the '61 Ragmuffins. A well chronicled account of the oldest franchise in Major League Baseball the Cincinnati Reds.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews