Cheap 1963 World Series - Los Angeles vs New York (Video) (Mlb) Price

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Customer Reviews of 1963 World Series - Los Angeles vs New York

Sandy Koufax and the L.A. Dodgers sweep the N.Y. Yankees
I did not become a New York Yankee fan until 1965, after they stopped winning all those pennants with Mickey Mantle and Whitey Ford, so I missed the devastating performance of the Los Angeles Dodger pitching staff when they swept the Bronx Bombers in the 1963 World Series. The Dodgers had Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale, and Johnny Podres, which would be two Hall of Fame pitchers and the man who the deciding game for the only World Series championship ever won by the Brooklyn Dodgers. The Yankees countered with Whitey Ford, Al Downing, and Jim Bouton, which would be one Hall of Famer, the guy famous for giving up Hank Aaron's 715th home run breaking Babe Ruth's record, and the author of the most famous sports expose in the history of the known universe. Hardly seems fair, does it?

Ford won 26 games that year and Koufax 24 when they squared off in Game 1 (think of how far back you have to go in baseball history to find a higher combined win total for two starting pitchers). The difference was Dodger catcher Johnny Roseboro's three run blast, but the head line was Koufax's record setting 15 strikeouts. The Dodgers again won by three runs behind Podres in the next contest. The series ended with a pair of one run games as Drysdale outdueled Bouton in the first game ever played in Dodger Stadium. The only run in the game was scored in the bottom of the first on a single, wild pitch, and RBI single by Tommy Davis. Koufax and Ford matched up again in Game 4. Frank Howard and Mickey Mantle exchanged home runs and then the deciding run was scored when Yankee first baseman Joe Pepitone lost a throw in the white shirts in the stand to set up the winning run (there is a problem that the baseball player of today does not have to contend with any more).

This was the second time the Yankees were ever swept in the World Series (it has happened one more time since then). The Yankees scored four runs in four games and Koufax was named series MVP for his 2 complete game victories, 1.50 E.R.A. and 23 strikeouts. The Yankees made it back to the Fall Classic the following year, where they lost to the Cardinals in seven games. The Dodgers would win the series again in 1965 but in Koufax's final year, 1966, they would find out what it was like to be swept when they went up against the young arms of the Baltimore Orioles. That time around the Dodgers would score only two runs in the entire series, both in Game 1. What goes around apparently does come around. Fans of the Dodgers and admirers of Koufax as the greatest pitcher of the modern era (i.e., my lifetime) will enjoy this black & white 43 minute walk down memory lane (that works out to over 10 minutes per victory).