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What Really Happened
in
1963
Includes summary, standings, rosters, chronology and leaderboards
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SUMMARY
The year of 1963 included the expansion of the batter's strike zone, 43-year-old Early Wynn finally winning his 300th game, and the Mets' Roger Craig losing 18 games in a row. More important, though, was the coming of baseball's finest southpaw since Lefty Grove. Putting the talent and experience of nine major league campaigns together, the Dodgers' Sandy Koufax became the premier pitcher and gate attraction of the game. By using a dazzling fastball and a curve graceful enough to rival a prima ballerina, Koufax struck his way to 25 victories, a 1.88 ERA, and both the MVP and Cy Young Awards.
Koufax's performance was further intensified by his recovery from the 1962 finger ailment which had placed his career in doubt. While pitching the Dodgers steadily along the pennant road with the aid of Don Drysdale, a 19-game winner, and Ron Perranoski, the brilliant relief specialist who saved 21 games while winning 16 with a 1.67 ERA, the only real offensive help came from Tommy Davis, Frank Howard, and Maury Wills. Davis again won the batting title, while Howard provided the sole long-ball threat. Wills, although a good distance off from his 1962 stolen base mark, managed enough thefts and a .302 batting average to hamper the opposition.
Yet, before the Dodgers could claim the National League flag, they had to contend with the likes of Bill White, Dick Groat, Ken Boyer and Stan Musial, the kingpins of the St. Louis Cardinals. Bouncing back from an eight-game losing streak before the All-Star break, the Cards burned up the league in early September, winning 19 of 20 games to pull within one game of the Dodgers on September 16, when both clubs squared off for a three-game series at St. Louis.
Lefty Johnny Podres cooled off the Cards with a three-hitter for a 3-1 Dodgers win in the first game. Then Koufax took the stage and shut out the Cards on four hits for a 4-0 second-game triumph. In the final match, St. Louis led 5-1 after seven innings but a tired Bob Gibson gave up three runs in the eighth and a home run to rookie Dick Nen in the ninth to send the game into extra innings. The Dodgers finally won 6-5 in 13 innings, sweeping the series and avoiding the embarrassment of a second straight late-season fold-up. The triple loss ended the Cards' dream of giving Stan Musial a World Series in his final year in uniform.
The Giants' strong bats kept them in the race until late August, but their pitching staff, weak outside of Juan Marichal, sabotaged any pennant hopes. The surprising Phillies came on strong at the end to capture fourth place, while the disappointing Reds finished fifth despite a fine rookie season by Pete Rose. At the bottom of the heap was the New York Mets, a horrendous team which drew 1,000,000 enthusiastic fans into the Polo Grounds. Managed by Casey Stengel, the Mets showcased fading stars like Duke Snider and Jimmy Piersall, and supported ace pitcher Roger Craig so sparingly that he lost 18 games in a row before he switched his uniform number to 13 and promptly won his first game in three months.
Despite serious injuries to Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris, the Yankees still managed the power to support a good pitching staff and win the American League flag by 10-and-1/2 games over the Chicago White Sox. Mantle fractured his foot and then hurt his knee, and a bad back plagued Maris during the campaign, with the two sluggers appearing together in the starting lineup only 30 times all year. Manager Ralph Houk used Johnny Blanchard and Hector Lopez to take up the slack, and the duo responded with 30 combined home runs. While Joe Pepitone won the first base job in the spring and proceeded to confirm Houk's choice by batting 27 home runs, backstop Elston Howard won the MVP Award with a .287 performance spiced by 28 circuit blasts. The sound Yankee infield of Pepitone, Bobby Richardson, Tony Kubek and Clete Boyer stayed healthy and supported the pitchers with air-tight defense. Veteran Whitey Ford paced the hurlers with 24 victories, surprising sophomore Jim Bouton won 21 games, and Ralph Terry captured 17 wins. Al Downing, recalled in June, also helped to bolster the starting staff.
The Yankees' team batting effort was underscored by the absence of any pinstriper from the league leaders, as Boston's Carl Yastrzemski and Dick Stuart, respectively, won the batting and RBI titles, and the Twins Harmon Killebrew the home run crown. Yankee pitcher ace Ford did lead the league in wins and winning percentage, and Chicago's Gary Peters, a failure in three previous big league trials, pleasantly surprised the White Sox by posting a league-low 2.33 ERA.
When the World Series dawned, it marked the eighth time the Yankees and Dodgers were getting together. In all but one previous attempt, the Dodgers had come up second best. Only the presence of Koufax, and the fact that the rematch was now a transcontinental affair, gave the Dodger rooters any hope that the jinx would finally be broken.
Game one in New York saw Koufax blow the Yankees apart with a record 15 strikeouts as ex-Yankee Moose Skowron made up for his poor season in the National League by driving in two runs. Johnny Podres continued the silencing of Bronx bats in the next game with a 4-1 victory finished by Perranoski and marked by a Skowron home run. Drysdale faced Bouton in a magnificent pitchers' battle in the opening of the Series in Los Angeles and came up on top of a 1-0 score. With their backs to the wall, the Yankees again faced Koufax in the fourth game and lost on a Frank Howard homer and a Pepitone error, 2-1.
It was all over, and the fans rejoiced in Brooklyn as well as Los Angeles. After the fanfare subsided, the Yankees promoted Houk to general manager and Yogi Berra to field boss, a move that would register its repercussions soon after one melodic tune would be played on a harmonica.*
-- David S. Neft, Richard M. Cohen & Michael L. Neft
The Sports Encyclopedia: Baseball
 * I believe this refers to an incident that occurred on the Yankees team bus on 20 August 1964, when Phil Linz played Mary Had A Little Lamb on a harmonica after New York had lost a doubleheader to the Chicago White Sox. When an irritated Yogi Berra told Linz where he could stick the harmonica, Linz threw the instrument, which hit Joe Pepitone rather than Berra. This relatively minor incident was seized by the media as evidence that the club lacked a certain esprit de corps, even though the Yankees won the AL pennant that year. -- ed.
 The New York Yankees won their fourth straight AL pennant.The Dodgers' sweep of the Yankees in the World Series is the first time since 1922 that New York has been swept. The four runs scored by New York in the Fall Classic was the lowest of any team since the 1905 Philadelphia Athletics.Sandy Koufax becomes the first unanimous choice for the Cy Young Award. Also the NL MVP, Koufax sets a modern NL record with 306 strikeouts and the modern record for southpaws with 11 shutouts. He leads the majors with a 1.88 ERA.Carl Yastrzemski (.321) wins his first AL batting crown. Yaz leads the AL in hits (183), doubles (40), walks (95) and OBP (.419).Roger Craig of the Mets ties the NL single-season record with 18 consecutive losses.The New York Mets lose a record 22 straight games on the road.The Minnesota Twins hit 225 home runs, the most homers by a non-pennant winner.Warren Spahn collects his 328th victory, breaking Eddie Plank's record for most career wins by a lefty. At 42, Spahn became the oldest 20-game winner in history. (He went 23-7 on the year.) He will also lead the NL in complete games (22). Dave Nicholson of the White Sox strikes out 175 times, handily breaking the previous ML record of 142.Elston Howard (.287, 28, 85) is voted AL Most Valuable Player, becoming the first black player to be so honored.Cincinnati's Pete Rose wins NL Rookie of the Year. Gary Peters of the White Sox is named AL Rookie of the Year. (Peters' 2.33 ERA is best in the AL.)Stan Musial retires with the NL record for hits (3,630), games (3,026), runs (1,949) and doubles (725). He is the first player to play 1,000 or more games at two different positions (1B, OF). Hank Aaron leads the majors in runs (121), RBI (130), total bases (370), SA (.586), and runs produced (207). His 44 homers ties Willie McCovey for the NL home run crown.Harmon Killebrew leads the AL in homers with 45.Luis Aparicio and Maury Wills lead the majors with 40 stolen bases apiece.Curt Flood (STL) wins the first of his seven consecutive Gold Gloves. Minnesota's Zoilo Versalles wins the AL shortstop Gold Glove, previously won by Luis Aparicio for five consecutive years. Versalles tops the AL in triples with 13.Dick Stuart tops the AL in RBI (118) and total bases (319), while Al Kaline leads the AL in runs produced with 163. Cardinals shortstop Dick Groat tops the majors with 43 doubles.Baltimore's Stu Miller tops the majors with 27 saves. Dodgers reliever Ron Perranoski leads the majors in winning percentage (.842) and has 21 saves on the year.Lindy McDaniel of the Cubs tops the NL with 22 saves.Whitey Ford of the Yankees leads the AL in wins (24), winning percentage (.774) and innings (269), while Camilo Pascual tops the AL in strikeouts (202). Chicago White Sox hurler Ray Herbert leads the AL with 7 shutouts. The White Sox lead the AL in ERA with a 2.97 mark. The Dodgers lead the NL in ERA, as well as strikeouts (1,095) and shutouts (24).CHRONOLOGY
1.5--Hall of Famer Rogers Hornsby (66) dies.
1.14--The White Sox trade Luis Aparicio (SS) and Al Smith (OF) to the Orioles for Ron Hansen (SS), Hoyt Wilhelm (P), Dave Nicholson (OF) and Pete Ward (3B).
1.26--The ML Rules Committee expands the strike zone to pre-1950 dimensions: from top of the shoulders to bottom of the knees.
1.27--John Clarkson, Elmer Flick, Sam Rice and Eppa Rixey are elected to the Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee.
1.29--James M. Johnson, James H. Lemon and George M. Bunker buy out five of the original owners of the Washington Senators, giving them 80 percent ownership of the franchise.
2.20--Bob Kennedy becomes manager of the Chicago Cubs.
3.10--In a Tampa, FL exhibition game, Pete Rose makes his first appearance as a Cincinnati Red. Entering the game in the 9th inning, Rose hits two doubles in two at-bats (in the 11th and 14th), scoring the game's only run.
3.22--Carl Willey (P) is purchased from the Braves by the Mets.
3.25--Johnny Klippstein is purchased from the Reds by the Phillies.
4.1--Duke Snider (CF) is purchased from the Dodgers by the Mets.
4.2--The Houston Colt 45's trade Manny Mota (OF) to the Pirates in exchange for Howie Goss (OF) and cash.
4.7--A public stock offering of 115,000 shares in the Milwaukee Braves is withdrawn when only 13,000 shares are purchased.
4.8--President John F. Kennedy attends Opening Day in Washington, DC, a game in which the Orioles beat the Senators 3-1 with Jim Gentile and Boog Powell homering and Steve Barber pitching for the O's.
----The Detroit Tigers acquire Denny McLain (P) from the White Sox for the $25,000 waiver price.
4.9--Joe Pepitone hits two homers and a double in the Yankees 8-2 Opening Day winner over the Athletics.
4.11--Warren Spahn surpasses Eddie Plank as the lefthander with most wins as he leads the Braves to a 6-1 win over the Mets. It is Spahn's 328th career win.
4.13--In his 12th at-bat of the season, Cincinnati's Pete Rose (2B) gets his first hit, a triple against Pittsburgh's Bob Friend, who is called for four balks in the Pirates' 12-4 win over the Reds.
----Rookie Dave Morehead pitches a shutout in Boston's 3-0 win over the Senators, making him the first Red Sox pitcher since Boo Ferriss in 1945 to debut with a shutout.
4.14--Philadelphia reliever Jack Baldschun picks up two wins in a doubleheader with the Cardinals, pitching one inning in the 4-3 opener and two in the 5-4 nitecap victory.
4.16--In a 11-10 loss to the Twins that goes 13 innings, the Angels tie a ML record by using nine pitchers in an extra-innings game.
4.21--Rico Carty, playing for Yakima in the Northwest League, hits a home run only to have it nullified because time had been called. Carty hits another home run in the same at-bat. (The second one counts.)
----Cincinnati's Jim Owens sets an NL record by becoming the first pitcher to be charged with three balks in one inning.
4.27--Two former pro basketball players -- Gene Conley of the Red Sox and Dave DeBusschere of the White Sox oppose each other on the mound in a game Boston wins
9-5.
----In the Athletics' 7-3 win over the Senators, KC catcher Billy Bryan is issued three intentional walks, tying a ML record for intentional walks to one batter in a single game. Bryan batted .149 last year, and will bat .169 this year.
5.3--Pitcher Buster Narum hits a home run in what will be his only plate appearance for the Baltimore Orioles. A week later he is farmed out and never plays for the O's again. Narum is the first pitcher to have more homers than wins in a season. Ed Hobaugh joins him this year (Sept. 2), and Dave Eiland will, too, in 1992.
5.8--Pirates outfielder Willie Stargell records his first ML home run, but Pittsburgh loses to the Chicago Cubs 9-5.
----Stan Musial's home run against the Dodgers gives him 1,357 extra-base hits, breaking Babe Ruth's record.
----The Braves trade Lou Johnson (OF) and cash to the Tigers for Chico Fernandez (SS), then trade Fernandez to the Mets for Larry Foss (P).
5.9--Ernie Banks becomes the first NL first baseman to record 22 putouts in a single games during a 3-1 Cubs victory over the Pirates.
5.11--Sandy Koufax (LAD) no-hits the first-place Giants. It is the second of his four career no-hitters.
-- Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris homer in the same game for the first time this year as the Yankees defeat the Orioles 13-1.
5.12--The Boston Red Sox defeat the Washington Senators 2-1 on the strength of Dan Morehead's one-hitter.
--The Mets and the Reds combine for 26 hits in a 13-12 decision that goes to New York. Leo Cardenas, Vada Pinson, Jim Hickman and Duke Snider hit home runs.
5.13--Umpires are informed that they no longer must enforce the pitcher's one-second stop from a stretch position, signaling that the NL crackdown on balks is coming to an end.
5.17--Houston's Don Nottebart no-hits the Phillies. It's the first no-hitter in the franchise's history.
-- Minnesota's Bob Allison hits three consecutive home runs to lead the Twins to a 11-4 victory over the Indians.
5.19--Detroit's Bill Bruton ties a major league record by hitting four doubles in a game as his Tigers defeat Washington 5-1.
5.21--Cincinnati's Jim Maloney ties a major league record with eight consecutive strikeouts against the Milwaukee Braves. Maloney registers 16 k's in all as the Reds defeat the Braves 2-0.
5.22--Eddie Yost, who has replaced Mickey Vernon as manager of the Washington Senators, is himself replaced after piloting the Senators in just one game, a 9-3 loss to the Chicago White Sox. It is the all-time shortest managerial stint in history.
--A home run struck by Mickey Mantle in the 11th inning of a contest between the Yankees and the Kansas City Athletics is, according to the Mick, the "hardest ball I ever hit." The ball is still on the rise when it strikes the facade of the right field roof. It is estimated that the ball would have traveled 620 feet had it not struck the roof.
5.26--Baltimore reliever Wes Stock collects two wins today with five innings of work in a doubleheader in which the O's defeat Cleveland 10-6 and 6-1.
5.28--Roberto Clemente is suspended for five days after accidentally striking umpire Bill Jackowski when he gets the short end of a close call at first.
5.31--Chicago's Dick Ellsworth pitches a one-hitter as the Cubs defeat the Phillies 2-0.
6.3--White Sox first baseman Joe Cunningham breaks his collarbone in a collision with Angels first sacker Charlie Days. Cunningham will not return until Labor Day.
--The Braves play in Boston for the first time since the franchise left in 1953, in a charity exhibition game with the Red Sox (which they lose 5-3).
6.5--Chasing a long fly ball off the bat of Frank Robinson, Mickey Mantle runs into the chain link fence at Baltimore, breaking a bone in his left foot and damaging the cartilage in his left knee. He will be out for 61 days. The Yankees beat the Orioles for first place in the AL.
6.6--With an extra-innings victory over the Giants, the Chicago Cubs enter first place for the first time since 1958 -- albeit a first place tie with San Francisco and St. Louis.
6.8--Baltimore loses pitcher Chuck Estrada, who has a spur and bone chips in his right elbow, for the season.
6.9--Houston and San Francisco clash in the first Sunday night game in ML history. (The Colt 45's win 3-0.)
--The Phillies tie the Reds 7-7 in the 9th thanks to homers by Johnny Callison, Don Demeter and Jim Lemon, then go on to win the game in the 10th.
--Even though Ernie Banks gets a pair of solo homers off Dodgers ace Sandy Koufax, the Cubs lose to Los Angeles 11-8.
6.12--With a .304 BA for the season, Cleveland rookie outfielder Vic Davalillo's arm is broken when he's hit by a Hank Aguirre pitch. The Indians beat the Tigers 12-6.
--Dave Nicholson of the Chicago White Sox ties a major league record when he strikes out seven times in a doubleheader with the Angels.
6.14--Cleveland wins a 19-inning marathon with Washington by a score of 3-2. It's the longest game ever played in Cleveland. Cleveland's Willie Kirkland becomes the second ML player to hit two extra-inning homers.
6.15--Juan Marichal no-hits the Houston Colt 45's. He is the first Giants pitcher since Carl Hubbell (May 8, 1929) to throw a no-hitter.
--Ernie Banks is diagnosed with subclinical mumps, which will afflict him for the rest of the season. He has hit 15 homers so far, but will end the season with just 18.
6.17--Bob Scheffing is fired as manager of the 24-36 Detroit Tigers, and is replaced by Charlie Dressen.
6.19--Detroit's Gates Brown hits a home run off Boston's Bob Heffner in his first at-bat. He becomes the eleventh AL player to accomplish this feat.
6.22--Philadelphia center fielder Tony Gonzalez plays his 200th consecutive error-free game.
6.23--The Houston Colt 45's suffer their fourth straight shutout loss in the first game of a doubleheader in Cincinnati. After forty scoreless innings, Houston finally gets a run in the 2nd inning of the nightcap, going on to lose 8-1.
--Jimmy Piersall (NYM) hits his 100th homer -- and celebrates by running backwards around the bases. The Mets get rid of Piersall a few days later.
--Boston pitcher Bob Heffner becomes the second hurler with three putouts in a single inning. Boston's Jim Bagby was the first (in 1940).
6.27--In a 13-4 win over the Pirates, Philadelphia's center fielder Tony Gonzalez sees his 205-game streak of errorless baseball come to an end as he commits an error in the 7th. His teammate Johnny Callison hits for the cycle -- the only time in his career that he will do so.
6.28--Milwaukee's Warren Spahn ends a streak of fourteen straight losses against the Dodgers on their home turf, holding Los Angeles to a three-hitter in a 1-0 win. Spahn had last won on Dodger ground fifteen years ago, on August 21, 1948.
7.3--Warren Spahn (Milwaukee Braves) and Juan Marichal (San Francisco Giants) clash in a 16-inning marathon that ends 1-0 in favor of the Giants on a Willie Mays homer. Both pitchers go the distance.
--Minnesota's Zoilo Versalles ties an AL mark with five errors in a doubleheader. The Twins win the first game 7-5, lose the second 4-3.
7.7--Third baseman Jim Ray Hart debuts with a double and single in a 15-inning win by his Giants over the Cardinals -- then suffers a broken collarbone when hit by a Bob Gibson pitch in the second game.
7.8--The word is out that Charles Finley wants to move the Kansas City Athletics to Oakland.
7.9-- Stan Musial makes his record-setting 24th appearance. Willie Mays is the star of the 5-3 NL victory, with two stolen bases, two RBIs, two runs scored, and a memorable catch.
7.11--Cincinnati's Jim Maloney strikes out thirteen Cubs in a 7-3 Cubs win.
7.13--43-year-old pitcher Early Wynn collects his 300th career win. He will retire after this season with a 3.54 career ERA, the highest by a 300-game winner. This will be his last career win.
7.19--Roy Sievers hits his 300th career home run, a game-winning, 9th inning shot that gives Philadelphia a 2-1 win over the Mets. Mets pitcher Roger Craig suffers his 13th consecutive loss.
7.21--Pittsburgh's Jerry Lynch hits his 14th pinch-hit home run, tying an ML record. The 9th inning blast ties the game, which the Pirates go on to win 6-5 over the Cubs.
7.22--Though his exact age is unknown, Diomedes Olivo becomes (probably) the oldest pitcher in organized baseball to toss a no-hitter in a 1-0 International League victory by Atlanta over Toronto.
7.27--Frank Thomas pulls the hidden ball trick on Jimmy Wynn in a 1-0 Houston victory over the Mets. Tomorrow the Mets will lose again to Houston, their 22nd straight loss away from home, matching a ML record set in 1890 by the Pirates.
7.28--Chicago's Dick Ellsworth strikes out ten as the Cubs beat the Cards 5-1. Stan Musial goes down swinging three times.
7.31--The Cleveland Indians become the first AL team to hit four consecutive homers -- all off Angel pitcher Paul Foytack, the first pitcher to give up four straight round-trippers. The hitters: Woodie Held, Pedro Ramos, Tito Francona, and Larry Brown (his first in the majors.)
8.1--In an 8-2 Chicago Cubs win over the Milwaukee Braves, Ellis Burton becomes just the eighth player to hit home runs from both sides of the plate in a single game.
8.4--After missing 61 games due to injury, Mickey Mantle returns as a pinch hitter in a game between the Yankees and the Orioles. Mantle ties the game in the 7th, and the Yankees go on to win.
8.7--Aces Sandy Koufax and Dick Ellsworth pitch to a 1-1 tie after 10 innings in a game which the Dodgers eventually win over the Cubs.
--Jim Hickman becomes the first New York Mets player to hit for the cycle; the Mets beat the Cardinals 7-3.
8-8--For only the second time in history, pinch hitters account for back-to-back homers. This time it's Frank Howard and Bill Skowron for the Dodgers -- in a game Los Angeles loses to the Cubs.
8-9--Jim Hickman's 9th inning grand slam ends Roger Craig's 18-game losing streak (which ties a NL record) as the Mets beat the Cubs 7-3.
--The Colt 45's beat the Pirates 7-6 in a 15-inning contest at Forbes Fields, which turns out to be the longest game in twelve years. It's the first game of a doubleheader -- and the nitecap goes eleven innings.
8.12--Stan Musial (STL) announces his plans to retire at the end of the season.
--Jim Ray Hart (SFG) plays for the first time since being hit in the head by a Bob Gibson pitch. He is beaned by a Curt Simmons pitch and hospitalized.
8.17--Orioles reliever Dick Hall retires his 28th consecutive batter.
8.20--Rookie Grover Powell pitches shutout ball for the Mets in his first ML start. Struck by a Donn Clendenon line drive during his next start, he will not win another game.
8.21--Jerry Lynch sets a ML record with his 15th pinch-hit home run as he leads the Pirates to victory over the Cubs.
--Orioles shortstop Luis Aparicio becomes the first player since 1945 (George Case) to record his 300th stolen base.
8.23--Lee Thomas, first baseman for the Los Angeles Angels, ties a ML record by participating in six double plays, four of which are started by third sacker Felix Torres, which ties another ML record. The Angels beat the Senators 17-0.
8.25--The Indians and Red Sox set an AL record with 44 strikeouts in a doubleheader. The 27 suffered by Cleveland is another AL record.
8.27--Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda and Willie McCovey hit consecutive homers in the 3rd inning of a San Francisco win over St. Louis.
8.29--Minnesota ties an AL record with eight homers in a 14-2 rout of the Senators.
8.30--Minnesota batters have recorded 19 home runs in five consecutive games, which ties a ML record set by the Giants in 1954.
9.1--Tom Tresh (NYY) becomes the ninth player to hit homers from both sides of the plate in one game. (His teammate, Mickey Mantle, is one of the previous eight.)
--Cardinals pitcher Curt Simmons steals home, the last time a pitcher does so until 1983, and only the fourth time in the NL in the past forty years. The last AL pitcher to accomplish this feat was Harry Dorish, in 1950.
9.2--Washington pitcher Ed Hobaugh hits his only career home run in his last plate appearance. Hobaugh and Buster Narum are the only pitchers to have more homers than wins in a season until 1992, when Dave Eiland earns the dubious distinction.
--Jim Maloney strikes out thirteen Mets in a 1-0 Cincinnati victory.
9.3--Ron Santo, Cubs third baseman, ties a NL record with three errors in the same inning.
9.6--According to one baseball historian, the Cleveland-Washington game today is the 100,000th in ML history.
9.8--Warren Spahn (20-5) has his thirteenth 20-win season, tying Christy Mathewson's NL record. At 42, Spahn is the oldest hurler to achieve this mark.
9.13--The three Alou brothers (Felipe, Matty and Jesus) briefly play together in the outfield for the Giants in the same game. (On the 10th the three brothers came up to bat one after the other -- and produced three outs.)
--The Yankees clinch the AL pennant as Jim Bouton wins his 20th game of the season.
9.17--Sandy Koufax sets a modern ML record for a lefty with his 11th shutout, and his 306 strikeouts on the year sets a NL record.
9.18--The Mets lose to Philadelphia 5-1 in the last ML game played in the Polo Grounds.
--The Dodgers sweep St. Louis, crushing the Cards' pennant hopes, with a 6-5, 13-inning win of the third game.
9.19--A grand total of 476 fans attend an Angels-Orioles contest at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles.
9.21--Harmon Killebrew (MIN) ties a AL record by hitting four home runs in a doubleheader.
9.24--The Dodgers clinch the NL pennant when the Cubs beat the Cardinals.
--Jim Maloney wins his 23rd game of the season with 14 K's in a 4-2 Cincinnati win over the Braves.
9.25--The St. Louis Cardinals retire Stan Musial's # 6. Musial is named VP of the Cardinals franchise.
9.27--The Colt 45's field nine rookies in a 10-3 loss to the Mets. The rookies include future Hall of Famer Joe Morgan, Jerry Grote, Rusty Staub, and Aaron Pointer (brother of the Pointer Sisters).
9.28--Dick Ellsworth (CHC) wins his 22nd game of the season.
9.29--Stan Musial gets his last two hits, for a total of 3,620. Exactly half of the hits were collected in road games, half at home.
--In his only ML appearance, John Paciorek (HOU) goes 3-for-3 with two walks, three RBI and four runs.
--Dave Nicholson (CHW) sets a ML record with his 175th strikeout as the White Sox lose to Washington 9-2.
10.2--Sandy Koufax strikes out fifteen, a World Series record, in the first game of the Fall Classic, which Los Angeles wins 5-2.
10.3--The Dodgers go up by two games in the World Series, beating the Yankees 4-1.
10.5--In the first World Series game played in Dodger Stadium, Los Angeles goes up by three after defeating the Yankees 3-0, with Don Drysdale matched against Jim Bouton.
10-6--With Sandy Koufax on the mound the Dodgers win Game 4 of the World Series, sweeping the Yankees, who manage just four runs in the Fall Classic, the second-lowest total in history.
10.12--The first and only Latino major league all-star game is played at the Polo Grounds, featuring such players as Roberto Clemente, Juan Marichal and Luis Aparicio. The NL beats the AL 5-2.
10.22--Ralph Houk replaces a retiring Roy Harney as GM of the Yankees. Houk's record as manager of the Yankees is 309-176, with three pennants won in three years.
10.24--Yogi Berra is named manager of the Yankees.
10.30--Sandy Koufax (LAD) wins the NL MVP award.
11.7--Elston Howard (NYY) becomes the first black to be named AL MVP.
11.19--Hank Bauer replaces Billy Hitchcock as manager of the Baltimore Orioles.
11.26--Pete Rose (CIN) is named NL Rookie of the Year. Tomorrow, Gary Peters (CHW) is named AL Rookie of the Year. Peters has the AL's best ERA -- 2.33.
12.1--Major League owners allow the expansion clubs to have four protected first-year players who are not subject to the draft is optioned to the minors.
 Sandy Koufax
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