55 years ago today, perhaps my favorite non-WS game I ever watched or listened to played out on my transistor radio. It was a Thursday evening. School had just started, and we had just completed our third day of my 9th grade year. I was forbidden to be listening to my transistor radio, but I chose to ignore the rules and listen anyway. Of course that is another story that will stay between my therapist and myself.
Lineups for the game between the Dodgers and Cubs are listed below . The Cubs had three HOF players in the lineup (Billy Williams, Ron Santo, Ernie Banks), while the Dodgers only had a HOF left handed starting pitcher…Sandy Koufax.
Don Young CF Maury Wills SS
Glenn Beckert 2B Jim Gilliam 3B
Billy Williams RF Willie Davis CF
Ron Santo 3B Lou Johnson LF
Ernie Banks 1B Ron Fairly RF
Byron Browne LF Jim Lefebvre 2B
Chris Krug C Wes Parker 1B
Don Kessinger SS Jeff Torborg C
Bob Hendley P Sandy Koufax P
Unlike the several hundred thousand who said they were at that game; I simply was listening. Actually there were only 29,139 at the Stadium that night. The Dodgers were playing the Cubs. Pitching for the Cubs was Bob Hendley. Hendley came over to the Cubs earlier in the year in a trade with SF Giants. On March 29, 1965, SF Giants traded Hendley, C Ed Bailey, and OF/PH Harvey Kuenn to the Cubs for C Dick Bertell and 1B/PH Len Gabrielson.
Entering the game, Hendley was 2-2 with an 8.22 ERA. Thusly, Hendley was not considered a threat to throw a perfect game, and yet for four innings, that is exactly what he did. However, in the 5th, Sweet Lou Johnson walked on a 3-2 pitch. Ron Fairly sacrificed Johnson to 2nd. Johnson then stole third and scored on the errant throw from catcher Chris Krug. Dodgers up 1-0. An offense, certainly unlike the 2020 Dodgers.
In the 7th, Sweet Lou doubled for the only hit in the game, but was left stranded. The 1-0 score held up over nine full innings. Koufax pitched a perfect game, and Hendley pitched a 1-hitter. He allowed only two base runners, and surrendered one unearned run. It was undoubtedly the best pitched game of his career. The 1965 Dodgers were not an offensive juggernaut. For the year they batted .245/.312/.335/.647. Out of 10 NL teams, those stats were ranked 7th, 6th, 9th, and 8th respectively. Hendley was not finished with Koufax and the Dodgers in 1965. Five nights later, Hendley bested Koufax 2-1 on a 4 hit complete game victory.
Through seven innings, Koufax had allowed:
3 Pop Fly Outs
1 Line Out
4 Fly Outs
5 Ground Outs
4 Strike Outs Looking
4 Strike Outs Swinging
But that was just a precursor as to what Koufax was about to do in the final two innings. Ron Santo led off the 8th and was struck out looking. Sandy followed that up with swinging strikeouts of Ernie Banks and Byron Browne.
Now comes the 9th. Catcher Chris Krug led off and struck out swinging on a 2-2 pitch. Joe Amalfitano pinch hit for Don Kessinger and struck out swinging on an 0-2 pitch. That left PH Harvey Kuenn who came over to the Cubs with Hendley earlier in the season. Kuenn worked the count to 2-2 and as Vin Scully said, Swung On and Missed.
Koufax struck out the final six batters he faced, the last five by swinging. A lot of swing and miss on that night, especially the last two innings. Koufax threw 113 pitches., and had three 3-ball counts.
The game ended at 9:46 PM and unfortunately for me, I let out a loud cheer. My parents came running in to my room, grabbed my transistor radio and smashed it in front of me. Lucky for me I had good friends (and their parents) who looked out for me and got me a new one, which I was able to hide for the last 4 years I was in the house.
Like most of us here believe, Sandy Koufax was larger than life. Before the perfecto, Sandy had three previous no-hitters:
- June 30, 1962 – 5-0 against NYM at Dodger Stadium
- May 11, 1963 – 8-0 against San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium
- June 4, 1964 – 3-0 against Philadelphia at Connie Mack Stadium
The umpires for the game were Ed Vargo (HP), Chris Pelekoudas (1B), Bill Jackowski (2B), Paul Pryor (3B). Vargo is the only Major League umpire to call a no hitter and a perfect game for the same pitcher. He was behind home plate for Sandy Koufax’s no-hitter on June 4, 1964, and his perfect game on September 9, 1965.
Vargo wore the same jacket when he worked Koufax’s perfect game, the first World Series night game in 1971 and Hank Aaron’s 714th home run in 1974. It was donated to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
September 9, 1965 will always be a special day for this Dodgers fan.
Vin Scully to me was perfection. He has made some very memorable calls, but for me, his final inning of Koufax’s perfect game is my favorite. So instead of me continuing, I will let Vin call the final three outs of my favorite non World Series game.
Discussion (106)
Disagree, not disagreeable
Bellinger once again looks lost. Seager is not the best fielding SS in the league, we all know that. But I doubt he moves to third and it would not happen next year anyway. They have to decide what they are going to do with Turner. Rios looks like he can handle the 3rd base job if he hits enough. Right now he still strikes out too much. If the NL keeps the DH, as most think it will, then Turner is a natural to fill that spot most of the time, and I think they will bring him back on at least a 2 year deal. To keep Muncy’s bat in the lineup, they will keep him at first. It is where he can do the least damage defensively. This year is an anomaly. I do not think you can take any players performance in this atmosphere and compare it to what they have done before. I think Jeff is totally wrong about Mookie. He has one of the strongest and most accurate arms in the outfield. So he has one bad inning out there. I have seen a lot of great fielders have bad days, but they usually make up for it. Jeff seems to forget the throw Mookie made earlier in the season to throw out a runner at third. Us older guys remember Willie Davis making 3 errors in a world series game. Treinen did a great job tonight, and Ferguson, after giving up a double, did not let it bother him, and did his job. Will the Dodgers be better in the playoffs? No one here, or anywhere else knows how they will do. What they are on paper, and what they do in reality are two totally different things. The Giants are on a roll. They are the 8 seed right now. The Rockies have lost 3 straight to SD, and play them again tomorrow. Then on Friday when the Dodgers are off, SD plays the Giants. If both SD and LA win tomorrow, SD will have a chance to cut the lead to 4 on Friday while the Dodgers are off. Then we play Houston twice before heading to SD for the last 3 against them in the regular season this year. Then off to Colorado for 4 with the Rocks. The next 7 games should give us some idea how LA plays against better competition. And that string of consecutive division titles might be on the line. One thing is painfully obvious to me though. They need Justin Turner back, and the sooner the better.
Another win against a very average team that was harder than it should have been.
I like Treinan Closing things out.
Pete – hope you’re ok.
Bums & Vegas – hope you guys are enjoying this version of the Baseball Season and are keeping well.
Last season, I got a lot of flak for saying that Seager was not a first rate SS in fielding. I love his offense, but his throwing has me wondering if he will be moved off SS next season. He has bobbled too many and so many throws in the dirt to 1B. You don’t want this from the SS.
What is more surprising to me is the poor fielding we’ve seen from Mookie. His arm looks very mediocre to me and his accuracy is subpar. He is a GG but looks nothing like one. Maybe he is still getting used to playing in the National league. I hope he improves. Bellinger was far better in RF, GG quality.
Muncy is doing an admirable job at 3B. His defense has improved a lot but I still don’t think he is a natural at 1B. He doesn’t have the height of a Bellinger for those long stretches.
The last two games have been very sloppy. I agree that the C is important to a SP. The connection is probably more psychological than actual. I’m surprised that Doc started Smith with CK. You always go with strength when possible. I do like Smith and it would be great if CK adjusted to him.
Dodgers win!!
Who is the guy wearing Bellinger’s jersey? Those last two ab’s belong in Tulsa!
Because of our ridiculously easy schedule our record is way better than this team actually is! I don’t see a World championship team right now!
Seager’s D has definitely cost Kershaw a W and a more extended outing. It’s been pretty sloppy lately.
the last 5 games have been painful to watch. the padres are just behind
Did you kids see the Braves scored 29 runs tonight??
They beat Miami 29-9. No that’s not a Falcons Dolphins score
Why Kershaw just 5 innings??! This team looks like a kids league pitch counter
The catcher can definitely affect the pitchers performance. Why do you think the Dodgers kept AJ Ellis around for all those years? He certainly was not a great hitter, but he was Kershaw’s personal catcher his entire time with the team.
Seager and Muncy are a defensive nightmare together on left side!
Dodgers aré playing garbage
The catcher has nothing to do with Kershaw’s stat line tonight. Kersh has given up squibbers, had a ball hit the bag, and had horrible defense by his shortstop and now right fielder.
Smith is doing just fine. Kersh is doing just fine. The rest of the guys behind them look like 3rd graders.
I absolutely love Corey’s offensive game, but that is a play easily made by a superior defensive SS. He loves the backhand but it seems to me if he charged and threw on the run as opposed to playing the backhand he would have made the play a lot easier.
D-Backs should have never scored their 4th run if Corey makes that play.
Got to think the move to 3B discussion will grow some legs in the off season.
Eric,
The catcher and pitcher have to be in sync about how to attack different batters, which of the pitcher’s pitches are and aren’t working that day, how to control the running game, and so on. Sometimes, over time, a pitcher comes to feel like a particular catcher has better rapport with them on those decisions.
As former Atlanta Braves’ pitcher John Smoltz puts it, “you just don’t want to be out there shaking your head 20 times.” It can be very disruptive to a pitcher’s rhythm and concentration to have to wave off pitches (or worse, take extra mound visits) because he and his catcher are out of sync about how to manage the game.
Maybe you have more experience at catching or pitching, but if not, I suggest you do not have a clue!
If you still don’t think it’s a thing, read this:
https://dashboard.mlblogs.com/behind-the-mask-how-catchers-influence-every-pitch-c7a25a5da82e
It doesn’t look like CK isn’t confortable with Smith behind the plate. Not sure why
I like Joe Davis and like Bear, I would like to see a one-man booth.
I wish Doc would consider Smith batting third with that great plate discipline and great OBP.
Reds got 3 off of Darvish in the first on a Moustakas homer. His ERA up to 1.86.
Tonights line up.
1. Betts RF
2. Seager SS
3. Taylor DH
4. Bellinger 1B
5. Muncy 3B
6. Pollock CF
7. Smith C
8. Lux 2B
9. Hernandez LF
P Kershaw.
Marte to the 10 day IL for the D-Backs. Phil, you are probably right about Davis, but I can honestly say, I enjoy Steiner more. And Monday too. Guess us old farts like the veteran guys. I would rather listen to Uecker. As for Orel, I loved him as a player. As an analyst, I just have a tough time listening to his horse manure
In the midst of post op blues… To tell people how important the last months LADT are to me, is/would be impossible to convey… (Hell, I don’t know if I pulled those last two sentences off, so I’ll blame it on the opiates )…
1965 had me in Millington Naval Air Station, Tenn. for boot camp and A school…
My first experience in the South… Good food and music in or around Beale St., Memphis and I’ll leave it at that… Played ball for the Navy base and damn it had it’s perks for sure!!! I yearned for the Manhattan Beach, Ca. and the Pacific…
Sandy is and will be the greatest pitcher to ever toe the rubber for the Blue IMO…
Yips always remind me of Sax and how painful it was to watch before he worked out of it…
Garvey at 3rd. a close second…
A commentator here, much wiser than me, (i honestly can’t remember who), said a while back, that the Bullpen would suffer as the season went on, if the Starters continued to throw short games. Well here we are.
If any other Pitcher was throwing the innings that KJ was last night, Doc would’ve had him outta there fast.
It will be interesting to see if the two Puerto Ricans on the team opt to wear 21 tonight on Roberto Clemente day. MLB allowing all players of that nationality to wear Roberto’s # 21. There has also been some push to retire 21 all across baseball for Clemente. Will see if that happens down the road. In case you wonder, MLB would allow players already assigned that number to wear it as long as they play. Same thing they did for 42.
Really like Joe Davis, great announcer. A poor man’s Joe Buck? Wow, everybody’s a critic. Too funny. Hard to judge batting averages, just a weird time — Look at Christian Yelich for one. The bullpen has hit a speed bump. Reason for concern or just a bump in the road? We’ll see.
I say bring back Strip, and let him and Joe Kelly take over for Davis and Orel and call the games! They’d be a lot funnier, more interesting, and profane (especially Kelly, whose every other word would need to be censored!).
Very funny STB. Had me laughing even if I know it is all in fun. Maybe Joe might do better alone in the booth?
Glad to see Lux hit well. Must have felt good to him and a relief. Now to get him over those so-called yips?
Phil, is aiming the ball instead of throwing it trying to compensate from throwing from a longer shortstop position ?
Also congrats to Joc and wife on the birth of their son.
I didn’t want to say this in the first half of the season when the bullpen was basically untouchable because I knew I would get blow-back, but the bullpen might be the Dodgers weakness especially if Bellinger, Muncy, Pederson start to produce like we know they can.
All those guys are putting up horrible numbers against a schedule of BAD teams with mediocre to bad pitching. What happens when we get to the playoffs and face good teams with good pitching? I know we don’t want to face the Mets in the first round!
I didn’t know, maybe some of you already knew:
Congratulations to Joc Pederson, his wife Kelsey, and big sisters Poppy and Blue on their newest arrival! Joc and Kelsey welcomed their second child, a boy, over the weekend. #BabyBoyPederson
https://twitter.com/DodgersLowDown/status/1303390474011471873
Ugly wins work but this one takes the cake. It was like 2 or 3 games in one.
* KJ is a concern obviously. It seems the progress he was making and the trust he was trying to build has gone south. Many posters here are back to that old feeling that he can’t be trusted in a big situation. I hope he finds himself and quickly. Otherwise, he has to be demoted, especially when we face a tough line up. KJ hasn’t looked good since the 3 blown saves loss the the Giants. 90 – 91, up and center cut all day just isn’t going to cut it. Pun intended. Last year, Doc made some bullpen decisions because he couldn’t trust KJ. I see us heading that way again.
* Singingthe Blue made an interesting comment about Doc having to man up to take the ball out of KJ’s hand. I know KJ makes a lot of money and he’s been the closer for awhile. But for some reason he casts a presence where folks seem scared of him. Afraid to take him out. Afraid to go to another closer. Afraid to piss him off. It’s a production and if you’re not getting it done changes have to be made. Doc’s probably not there yet but that decision is a few blown saves or failing to hold big leads away.
* Nice to see Lux hit. Defensively he plays tight. He aims throws. Confident throwers at second flip the ball from any angle accurately. Robbie Cano is the best example. Lux lacks that.
* No offense to the DBacks. They are a Major League team but we are making a very mediocre staff look like Cy Young. We should be blowing Ginkel and that Mantiply kid off the mound.
*;We need JT back badly in more ways than 1.
* I need a vacation from Orel and Joe again. I’ll watch Brendley and Berthuane (?) tonite. Orel just goes on and on and on. Joe had the capper quoting Winston Churchill “never stand when you can sit. Never sit when you can lay down”. Huh?
*
Last year in the first half Belly barreled up everything in the zone. This year he just fouls off so many of those same pitches. Don’t have much confidence in him, Muncy, Joc and Kike headed into the playoffs. We can’t win it with another year of the playoffs offensive yips again!
I am not worried about Getting Seager more AB’s. I am all about what is best for the team. I really, really think Cody needs to change his approach to that of a #2 or #3 hitter which is “make more contact – get on base – go the other way – pick your power moments.” I also like the L – R -L -R type lineup.
Please Doc, just one time do this and I’ll never ask again:
1. Betts RF
2. Bellinger CF
3. Pollock LF
4. Muncy 1B
5. Turner DH
6. Seager SS
7. Smith C
8. Lux 2B
9. Rios 3B
You could flip Turner and Pollock.
As bad of a year as it seems Belli is having, that is the case for many stars. Yelich is hitting .209 with 9 homers, 18 ribbies and a .811 OPS. Bellis is a tick higher in BA, 1 up in HR’s, and 4 in RBI’s. But his OPS is .741. I am hoping that Belli just makes more consistent hard contact. He has been just missing pitches. So it seems his timing is somewhat off. Just a week ago, he was barreling up more pitches. Muncy has played 42 of the 43 games. If anyone needs a day off, it is Max. He has been down around the Mendoza line most of the year. I would love to see the lefty’s just poke the ball the other way. Some of the shifts they put on these guys are extreme and just taking an outside pitch the other way would be an instant hit. Seager had his hitting streak broke because he pulled everything, even though they were pitching him mostly on the outer half. Hell, even a bunt would work.
Edwin Rios has 9 hits….7 of them for extra bases. Dodgers have 6 players above .250, 2 hitting over .300. All the rest are in the low .200’s. Dodgers, courtesy of Lux, now have 81 homers, which leads the majors. I am very comfortable with Rios at 3rd, but they NEED Turner. Whether he DH’s or whatever, he needs to be in that lineup.
I would love to see Kersh throw one more no hitter in his career. I would think Buehler could accomplish that also. But not a priority on this team. Pitcher to keep an eye on, Sixto Sanchez of the Marlins. Kid threw 6 shutout innings against Atlanta yesterday. Gave up 3 hits, walked one and struck out 6. ERA at 1.80. Even without Albies, that is a tough bunch to shut down. Astros split their DH with the A’s. Right now they are close to being knocked out of the playoffs. I really dislike the later start times. I know it is 6:40 in LA almost 8 here.
Hanley had a beautiful swing. So much so it made it easy to forgive his sloppy play at SS. That is aside from one error throw he made to 1st with plenty of time to take to get it right. But he didn’t and thus Kershaw pitched the most perfect no hitter. No walks with 15 K’s. Dammit Hanley!
Good write-up, AC. Brought back a lot of memories. I, too, listened on my radio, laying on the carpet in the dining room beside the wall socket the radio was plugged into. I let out a whoop of delight and pride for my number 32 when the game ended. This was right after I had moved to SoCal from Canada so was happy to be in the Dodger area rooting for them.
4 more unearned runs. 3 early. Game should have never gone into extras.
100 mph looks impressive. But if that’s all you got you’re gonna get hit. Can’t spin it? Better develop a change up and fast.
We will continue to score. But we’d better figure this pitching and defense thing out or we are vulnerable in a short series, especially against a motivated team.
Oh yeah, we got about 4 inches of snow last night, and it is colder than a witches……yep. Hope it all melts in Denver before the boys get here next week.
One of my favorite memory’s. I too listened on my transistor, but since I was heading into my senior year, and living in a new foster home, they did not mind. I remember thinking Sandy was throwing an awful lot of fastballs. I did not find out why until years later when Torborg gave an interview about the game. He said that Koufax never got a feel for the pitch the entire game, and it wasn’t working in the pen either. So they went with the heater. There also was the story that it took him until the 4th or 5th inning before he felt really loose out there. Hendley pitched a great game too. On any other day he would have had some ink as the players used to say. One of the quotes from the Cubs I also heard about later came from Banks, who was said to have quoted, Sore arm my eye……toned down for you kiddies. As to last night’s hard to watch contest. How does a guy lose it so fast. Seems to me, they should have pulled Buehler when they noticed him checking his finger earlier in the inning. And when they went out there to check, they ended up leaving him in. But after the inning, on the bench, you could see him pulling something off of that finger. Just so you know why, the book on the D-Backs says they are the worst fastball hitting team in the league, and especially susceptible to the pitch high in the zone. All of their homers came on pitches low in the zone. Lux does look to have some throwing issues, but in his defense, that throw to first when he spun after catching the ball, would not have been easy for anyone, he just threw it wide and Muncy was on the wrong side of the base to get to it. Rios looked a lot better at 3rd than the kid I first saw there a couple of years ago in spring. And he looked like he just flicked that double off of the wall. Too many men left on base. Too many innings out of a bullpen that has been overused as it is. They miss Turner a lot. I would not have brought Kenley back after they scored 4 to take the lead, McGee was available as was Ferguson. Hell, even Sborz could hold a 4 run lead. Kersh vs Clarke tonight.
Cody didn’t necessarily have a bad game, but I’m starting to worry there’s not enough time in this abbreviated season for him to come around to playing at last year’s level. Or even near it. Maybe it’s too harsh, but he looks like he’s hacking up there and not being very judicious with the pitch selection. Last year, I thought he was fairly patient, and the downturn reads as frustration to me. That once enviable swing that announcers would gush over, doesn’t look as resplendent now. Mechanics, eye, contact are all off, but I bet it’s largely a mental thing. He seems better when he’s engaged, either running bases or being active on defense. I wonder if getting more time at first base might be a good thing, as he’d be more physically involved each game seeing more defensive action. I’d like to see him run pretty much anytime he gets on base. If the hitting component isn’t working, maximize his other 5 tools. Maybe the more things he feels good about will trickle down to his hitting.
It seems to me that our most consistent reliever these days is V-Gon. Maybe he’s our future closer. I love Bazooka but he’s still a work in progress.
You never know which Kenley you’re going to get when he enters a game. It’s time that Doc manned up and pulled him early on games like last night’s. If it’s obvious he doesn’t have it that night, yank him. His ego will survive it and Doc needs to let both Kenley and CK know that he makes the final decision. After all, he’s the one that takes the blame when it goes bad. It somehow seems as though Dave treats those two differently than he does the rest of the staff. He shouldn’t. Decisions should be made based on results for that game, not on reputations.
I don’t think we fully realize how much we miss JT when he’s out. He, along with Mookie and Corey are the three guys I most want up when the game is on the line.
Talk about winning ugly! Yuk! Serious question: Does Gavin Lux have a case of the yips? Yes, it’s Steve Sax deja vu all over again! Thankfully, he finally showed that he can hit. The solution: Lux at DH, Taylor at 2B.
Dodgerrick, I’m not getting nervous when I see Jansen, I’m getting terrified.
Buhler is clearly bothered by the blister, but also seemed to get rattled by Lux’s error.
Fortunately, they didn’t give up, but still, they’re not going to beat SD this way!
Clean up your acts, folks!
Thank you for the trip back in time Jeff! I too listened to that game on my transistor radio and was so excited when Kuehn struck out. I woke up this morning at 4:00 a.m., I couldn’t get back to sleep and saw that you had posted this article. I listened to Vin’s call of the last inning and was immediately transported back to my 15 year old self, laying on the living room floor, listening to the game. I didn’t realize then, as I do now, that I was listening to the greatest sports announcing voice of all time, describe the greatest left handed pitcher of all-time and both were on the top of the their craft. Scully kept everything so simple, yet masterfully conveyed the drama and tension of the moment like none other. Who else takes time to let you know that Koufax is tugging on his belt or running his fingers through his black hair? It let’s you “see” at that moment, that the pitching mound in Dodger Stadium was truly the loneliest place in the stadium. Then, on the other side, you have Koufax, throwing one majestic fastball after another to strike out the side. Priceless!! Thank you.
That was one of the sloppiest games that I have ever seen; to wit:
1 – Buehler throwing 100 MPH but giving up loud contact over and over. No curve balls either – I know, the blister, but if he can’t throw breaking stuff due to the blister they shouldn’t have run him out there.
2 – Jansen – doesn’t he make you nervous every time he’s out there?
3 – Treinen – for a guy who makes a living throwing sinkers, are you troubled that almost everything last night was up in the zone?
4 – Wood was aggressive out there last night but didn’t have good command of his pitches yet.
5 – Lux doesn’t look like a major league 2B to me. But Rios has improved greatly at 3B.
6- The Dodgers had 10 hits and 12 walks. They were 5 for 17 RISP. They left 10 on base in the 1st 4 innings. They left 15 on base.
7 – The Dodgers should have lost that game a number of times. The Dbacks gifted it to them. What’s with Locastro running home in the 9th?
As an aside I hadn’t heard that much of Joe Davis. He is utterly generic – he sounds like any number of young generic play by play guys that you can hear on ESPN or Fox. There is nothing interesting or outstanding about him at all. I know that you really can’t replace Vinnie, but geez – I have never liked Jon Miller and he’s way better. Krukow and Kuiper of the Giants are a million times better. The Dodgers have to be able to find a more distinctive play by play guy than Davis.
I mentioned it at the end of the last thread – but I woulda got Kenley outta there double quick last night. He wasn’t missing bats. No heat, and no velocity.
Plus, his confidence will have taken a huge hit.
Having Treinan gives Doc options, but I’m not sure he will be brave enough to use them.
Joe keeps repeating that “the Dodgers will go as far as Kenley will take them in the Playoffs”
He knows.
Wouldn’t it be awesome if he could actually do that consistently?
I would love to see him lead off and put Betts between him and Bellinger.
Cody can go the other way and moving him to the #3 spot might make his less pull inclined.
Is Lux a reincarnation of Steve Sax’s
I listened to that game too, but not Vin’s call. I think it was Lou Boudreau who called it for the Cubs. I lived in Ohio at the time and if the weather was right I could get Chicago, St. Louis, and Pittsburgh on my transistor radio, as well as Cincinnati. A couple of years later, my dad bought me a short-wave radio and I could frequently get Vin’s call on a number of stations, sometimes on the Voice of America.
A few days ago, my son and I were talking about how the internet has changed things. In 1974 and 1975, I lived in Brooklyn, NY where I worked on construction. We had a long-term job in Spanish Harlem and if the Dodgers played on the West Coast, you could not get the scores from the night before. The East Coast sports departments simply would not mention those scores on the radio. The early edition of the NY Post would not have the scores either, so on my break, I would walk through Spanish Harlem trying to find an English version of the Post, which was not easy. Sometimes I had to walk 8 to 10 blocks to just read the box score. Spanish Harlem was also not a very safe place then. but back then I could whip 5 men and a wild monkey… and I didn’t care, which is probably why I never had a problem: “This white boy is crazy!”
Now, we instantly know everything, pitch-by-pitch. Times have certainly changed!
One story from Vero Beach: Probably 20-25 years ago, I was there for Spring Training for a week. This was long before I got Press Access, but I had seen Koufax come and go… like a ghost all week long. One evening after a Spring Game at Holman Stadium, I was driving to Bobbys, which was right on the beach at Ocean Drive. “Bobbys” was known for great steaks and the Dodgers. Dogers memorabilia was all over the walls and Lasorda, Orel, Sax, Mota and others were often seen there. I never saw Koufax there and it was understood that you did not approach the Dodger players or manager if they were in Bobbys. In fact, there was a sign, saying that.
At any rate, I am driving my rental car to Bobby’s and a white convertible pulls up to my right with the top down. Immediately, I could see it was Sandy Koufax. He turned his head my way, a thin smile came to his lips and he nodded politely at me. Then he sped off. I had always carried a ball for him to sign if I ever had the chance, but never got the chance. I gave most of my balls away, but I still have three: Steve Garvey, Clayton Kershaw and Vin Scully!