On June 4, 1972, the Dodgers’ franchise honors three of its all-time greats by retiring their uniform numbers. Sandy Koufax’s No. 32, Roy Campanella’s No. 39 and Jackie Robinson’s No. 42 are all retired during pre-game ceremonies at Dodger Stadium.
1970 – In this first (and last?) “Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial All-Star Baseball Classic”, solo home runs by Ron Fairly of Montreal and Ron Santo of the Chicago Cubs, plus a three-run 8th-inning brings the East a 5 – 1 victory over the West. A crowd of 31,694 watches the charity game in Dodger Stadium. Proceeds go to the late Dr. King’s Southern Christian Leadership Conference and a memorial center planned for Atlanta. For this initial charity game, former New York Yankees great Joe DiMaggio manages the East, and ex-Dodger Roy Campanella, confined to a wheelchair since a 1958 auto accident, directs the fortunes of the West. Jim “Mudcat” Grant of Oakland sings the National Anthem in the pre-game program, and then becomes the victim of a four-hit uprising in the 8th inning that insures the outcome. Al Kaline of Detroit beats out an infield hit to open the frame and moves to second as Tommie Agee drives Hank Aaron to the left field wall. Kaline races home on Lou Brock’s double to left. Brock scores on Roberto Clemente’s double and Clemente comes home on Ken McMullen’s single.
On July 28, 1969, Roy Campanella and Stan Musial join the legends of the Hall of Fame when they are inducted during a ceremony in Cooperstown. Catcher Campanella starred for the Brooklyn Dodgers, winning three Most Valuable Player Awards. Musial colleted 3,630 hits in a stellar career that included seven batting titles. Pitchers Stan Coveleski…
1969 – Roy Campanella and Stan Musial are elected by the BBWAA to join the elite group of players enshrined in the Hall of Fame.
Twenty-eight months after the Dodgers play their last game in Brooklyn, the demolition of Ebbets Field finally begins when a wrecking ball, painted with red and white stitches, begins its work on the ballpark Brooklyn called home for 44 years. Before the demolition wheel-chair bound Roy Campanella, the team’s former All-Star catcher and three-time National League MVP is given an urn of dirt from behind home plate in front of a crowd of 200 faithful fans.
On May 7, 1959, the largest crowd in major league history turns out for “Roy Campanella Night” at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Campanella was paralyzed in an auto accident prior to the team moving to the West Coast in 1958. The game, which draws the largest crowd ever for a baseball game, 93,103 fans with…
1958 – Duke Snider, Johnny Podres, and Don Zimmer suffer minor injuries in an auto accident in Vero Beach, Florida, as they try to beat a 12:30 A.M. curfew. This is the third accident involving Dodgers players in the last two months; Jim Gilliam and his family had an accident shortly after Roy Campanella’s.
On January 28, 1958, Brooklyn Dodgers star Roy Campanella is paralyzed after suffering a broken neck and a damaged spinal cord when his rented 1957 Chevrolet sedan hit a telephone pole in an early morning auto accident on Long Island. Campanella suffers permanent paralysis of his legs, ending his career. In 10 seasons with the…
August 17, 1957 – At Ebbets Field, the field was full of future Hall of Famers as Sandy Koufax will start vs. the Pittsburgh Pirates and Roberto Clemente. Don Drysdale will finish the game Roy Campanella will go 4-4 in today’s game. The Pirates came into the game with 42 wins vs. 73 losses…
Full Radio Broadcast of the July 14 1957 – Milwaukee Braves at Brooklyn Dodgers . . .The stars are out in this game Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews, Lew Burdette, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Roy Campanella, Sal Maglie, and so many more for this Ebbets Field Classic. Lew Burdette pinch runs for Frank Torre, and scores…
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