On April 24, 1962, Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers strikes out 18 Chicago Cubs in a 10-2 win. The hard-throwing future Hall of Famer ties the record of 18 strikeouts in a single game, matching the mark of former Cleveland Indians great Bob Feller.
On April 12, 1962, Los Angeles Dodgers reliever Pete Richert makes his major league debut and strikes out the first six batters he faces. The rookie southpaw fans four in the third inning in LA’s 11-7 comeback victory over the Reds at Dodger Stadium. Richert ties a record originally set by Karl Spooner in…
Wally Post hits the first home run in Dodger Stadium history, a two-out, three-run shot in the seventh inning off Johnny Podres that proves to be the difference in the Cincinnati’s 6-3 victory. The left fielder’s round-tripper to center field is a fair ball, unlike some others hit in the ballpark where the foul poles are discovered to be positioned in foul territory, requiring special permission from the National League to be recognized as fair during the first year in the team’s new home in Chavez Ravine.
1961 – Sandy Koufax (18-13) fans seven Phils in the course of a 2 – 1 loss to set a National League record for strikeouts in a season: 269. This surpasses Christy Mathewson’s 267 in 1963, which was accomplished in 367 innings pitched, as opposed to Koufax’s remarkable 255. Both runs off Sandy are unearned.
In a 13-inning contest, Sandy Koufax goes the distance, beating the Cubs, 3-2, in the last regular season game played at the LA Memorial Coliseum, a venue originally built for the 1932 Olympics. The Dodgers are leaving the only home they have known since moving from Brooklyn four seasons ago to play in a brand new stadium in Chavez Ravine, located a few miles from downtown Los Angeles.
1961 – Roberto Clemente’s second career home run off Sandy Koufax comes, like the first, at the Los Angeles Coliseum, a 1st-inning, bases-empty blast which gets Pittsburgh off to a quick 1 – 0 lead. Unlike the earlier Coliseum clout (his opposite-field moon shot of August 30, 1960), this one is pulled over the Coliseum’s notoriously surmountable left-field barrier. However, unlike Dodger left fielder – and left-handed hitter – Wally Moon’s stock in trade, the strategically-served pop flies derisively dubbed ‘Moon Shots’, this moon shot needs no air quotes, landing some 35 rows beyond the screen.
1960 – Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Frank Howard is selected National League Rookie of the Year with 12 of 24 votes. The six-foot, nine-inch Howard batted 23 home runs during the regular season.
On September 3, 1960, Sandy Koufax of the Los Angeles Dodgers faces San Francisco Giants left-hander Mike McCormick in a classic pitching duel. Koufax surrenders a solo home run to Giants outfielder Felipe Alou, who accounts for the only run of the game in San Francisco’s 1-0 victory.
August 8, 1960 – At county Stadium Trailing the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers 6-3 in the eighth inning, with two out and nobody on base, the Braves staged a comeback. Joe Adcock, Red Schoendienst, and Johnny Logan, each with two strikes on him, each singled. Chasing future Hall of famer Don Drysdale. Facing deliver Ed…
San Francisco Giants first baseman Willie McCovey’s “invisible triple” causes umpire Frank Dascoli to call a twenty-four minute fog delay at Candlestick Park, but the Los Angeles Dodgers go on to win, 5 – 3.
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