A TALE OF THREE CITIES: NEW YORK, L.A. AND SAN FRANCISCO IN OCTOBER OF ‘62 (71 page)

Maury Wills had a star-struck Dodger career. He
batted .302 in 1963; stole 94 base in 1965 and 38 in 1966, leading
the National League in that category for six straight seasons.
After the 1966 season, he made outspoken contract demands of
Bavasi. Walter O'Malley developed an open dislike of him and
ordered him dealt to Pittsburgh. He went to the expansion Montreal
Expos in 1969, but returned a "prodigal son" after playing 47 games
for the Expos.

In that 1969 season, the first year of divisional
play, the veteran Wills helped lead
The Mod Squad
into
contention in
The Wild, Wild West
(the name of another
popular TV series). Wills played through the 1972 campaign, until
Bill Russell was able to assume the mantel. He finished with 586
stolen bases and a .281 lifetime average, and later managed the
Seattle Mariners (1980-81). His son, Bump played at Arizona State
University and made it to the big leagues. In the 1970s, Wills
lived in the swingin' singles community of Marina Del Rey, where he
fell into the cocaine habit that marked the disco era. He managed
to overcome his demons and, like many Dodger icons, had a long
career as a special instructor, naturally focusing his specialty on
the art of baserunning.

Ron Fairly felt that the 1962 loss spurred the
Dodgers to future successes.

"The disappointment in '62 was definitely a
springboard for the success we had in '63," he said. "We were just
about the same ballclub, but we had greater resolve during the
course of the '63 season. We swore we wouldn't let 1962 happen
again."

Fairly was a reliable Dodger, at first base or the
outfield, until 1969. With Wes Parker fixed at first base, he was
traded to the Expos in 1969 and was a mainstay under manager Gene
Mauch at Montreal, then went to the St. Louis Cardinals in 1975,
then the Oakland A's and Toronto Blue Jays. He retired in 1978 with
215 career homers and a .266 average. Fairly became a broadcaster
for the Angels and, of all teams, the Giants, then the Mariners in
1993.

Willie "Three Dog" Davis played with Dodgers until
the end of the 1973 season. He made two of the worst defensive
plays ever in the same inning of a 1966 World Series game at Dodger
Stadium, then followed that up with one of the best. In 1969, Davis
went on a 31-game hitting streak. Overall, he was considered one of
the finest defensive center fielders of his era, but was generally
an underrated player. He played at the same time as Willie Mays and
Mickey Mantle. Davis retired in 1979 with 182 career homers, 398
stolen bases and a .279 batting average.

Jim "Junior" Gilliam played through the 1964 season
and became one of Walt Alston's most trusted colleagues. He was
re-activated in 1965 and again in 1966, helping the club win
pennants down the stretch both years. His lifetime batting average
was .265 with 203 stolen bases. He mastered the art of the
sacrifice bunt, the sacrifice fly, and moved countless runners
along with ground balls to the right side. When Jackie Robinson
publicly asked for a black coach in 1972, it was Gilliam who first
fulfilled that wish. Junior, 49, tragically died too soon died in
1978 of a brain hemorrhage. Alston cried while giving his
eulogy.

Frank "Hondo" Howard was traded to the Washington
Senators after the 1964 season. Over the next seven years he was
considered one of the most dangerous sluggers in the game, winning
two American League home run crowns. He was constantly considered a
threat to break Roger Maris's record. Howard slammed 10 home runs
in one week in 1968 and 48 in 1969 under new manager Ted Williams.
He went to Texas when the Senators moved there in 1972, and
finished with Detroit in 1973. He had 382 lifetime home runs and a
.273 batting average. He played briefly in Japan, managed the
Padres in 1981 and the Mets in 1983. Hondo also coached for several
teams.

In 1965, Juan Marichal clubbed John Roseboro over the
head with a bat at Candlestick Park. Marichal claimed that Roseboro
"buzzed" his ear with his throws back to the mound while he was at
the plate, a highly possible event that was part of the intense
rivalry between the two teams. Willie Mays came to his rescue,
murmuring, "John, oh John!" while holding his bloody head in his
hands, and preventing a riot from breaking out. Sandy Koufax,
nursing a shutout until that point, was so shaken up he delivered a
home run pitch to Mays, who helped San Francisco win the game on
the strength of that clout.

Roseboro recovered from his injuries and helped the
Dodgers win the pennant and World Series. Roseboro was the Dodgers'
catcher through 1967 before a trade to the Twins along with Ron
Perranoski. He starred under manager Billy Martin on their 1969
division champions, then went to the Senators, where he played for
Ted Williams in 1970. "Gabby" finished with 104 career home runs
and a .249 average. He coached for the Senators, and with the
Angels from 1972-74. Roseboro founded a public relations firm,
Fouch-Roseboro in Beverly Hills, which dedicated itself to
black-owned businesses and causes.

Marichal was deeply sorrowful over what he had had
done. Eventually, he asked Roseboro for forgiveness, and it was
granted. They became close friends, regularly seen at old-timers
games and charity events. Roseboro was gracious with Marichal's
family, and Juan became emotional when the former catcher passed
away in 2002.

Duke Snider went to the Mets in 1963, then the Giants
in 1964. He retired with 407 career homers, a .295 career average,
and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1980. Duke was a broadcaster
for the Dodgers and wrote a book called
Few and Chosen: Defining
Dodgers Greatness Across the Eras
(2006).

Doug Camilli was a Dodger catcher through the 1964
campaign and was traded to Washington, where he played until 1969.
His career average was .199. He coached for the Red Sox in the
early 1970s.

Wally Moon stayed on the L.A. bench though 1965. He
retired with 142 homers and a .289 batting average. Moon coached
for two decades at the college, minor league and big league
levels.

A headline in
The Sporting News
after the
1962 season ended read, "Dodger Yelpers to Face Bavasi's Pruning
Shears." It referred to outspoken players, particularly those who
had ranted and raved in the post-game meltdown in the Dodger
Stadium clubhouse after the last play-off game. Norm Sherry,
exposed as one of the "yelpers," was sold by his hometown team to
the New York Mets. He retired at the end of the 1963 season and
managed the California Angels from 1976-77. Later he became the
pitching coach for the Expos, Padres and Giants.

Larry Burright was traded with Tim Harkness to the
Mets. His big league career ended in 1964 with a .204 average.

Andy Carey was released and retired. Daryl Spencer
was released in May of 1963, finishing with Cincinnati, then eight
years in the Far East. He hit 152 home runs in Japan. Lee Walls was
a bench player for two more seasons, then went to Japan. He coached
for several teams through 1983, but died at the age of 60 in
1993.

Stan Williams was traded to the New York Yankees in
1963.

"I felt very badly about that trade," he said. "I
thought I was being used as a whipping boy for the '62 season, for
the play-off loss. I resented their making an example of me. Sure,
I was part of it, but I'd have liked the chance to redeem
myself."

Williams was a member of the 1963 American League
pennant-winning Yankees who lost to Los Angeles in the World
Series. Williams went to the Cleveland Indians in 1965, staying in
that organization until 1970. He was 10-1 pitching for manager Bill
Rigney's 1970 American League West champion Minnesota Twins.
Williams pitched for St. Louis and Cincinnati before retirement in
1972 with a 109-94 mark, and a 3.48 earned run average. He moved
back to the Long Beach area where he had lived on the same block
with several teammates from 1962. His son Stan was a star under
legendary coach John Herbold at Lakewood High School, which in the
1970s was one of the all-time great prep baseball dynasties in
history. He earned a scholarship to the University of Southern
California, where he pitched for another legend, Rod Dedeaux, then
played in the minor leagues.

Ron Perranoski was named Fireman of the Year in 1963,
and was a Dodger bullpen ace through 1967, when he left as part of
the club's "youth movement" in the post-Koufax era. Perranoski was
a star at Minnesota, the team that lost to L.A. in the 1965 Series
and, after a downturn, revived themselves in large measure with
players obtained from Los Angeles. He was the best closer in the
American League on Minnesota's 1969-70 division champions, then
returned to Los Angeles in 1972. He was with the California Angels
in 1973, then retired with a 79-74 record, 179 saves and a 2.79
ERA. Perranoski was the Dodgers' pitching coach under Alston and
Tom Lasorda until 1981, and later worked for the hated Giants.

Johnny Podres pitched for Los Angeles until 1966,
then went to the Tigers, and eventually joined the expansion San
Diego Padres in 1969 before retirement with a 148-116 record and a
3.67 earned run average. He later became a highly respected
pitching coached for San Diego, Boston and Minnesota; perhaps
getting his best recognition for the work he did with the Phillies'
staff.

Ed Roebuck was sent to Washington in the middle of
the 1963 season, then was part of the infamous Phillies' squad that
blew the 1964 pennant. He finished his career in 1966 with a 52-31
record, 62 saves, and a 3.35 ERA.

Joe Moeller pitched parts of seven years in Los
Angeles, living in his idyllic South Bay during The Beach Boys era
of the 1960s. He left the club after the 1971 season..

Pete Richert was traded to Washington after the 1964
season, then went to the Baltimore Orioles in 1967. He became one
of the top relievers in the league, but in the 1969 World Series
his throw up the first base line hit Mets' pinch-hitter J.C.
Martin, who was running inside the base line, on the arm, skirting
into foul territory and allowing New York to win game four, 2-1 in
extra innings. Richert came to back to Los Angeles in 1972, and
retired in 1974 with an 80-73 mark to go with a 3.19 ERA.

Larry Sherry went to Detroit in 1963, Houston in
1967, then the Angels before retiring with a 53-44 record and a
3.67 earned run average. He was a coach with the Pirates and was on
his brother Norm's staff at Anaheim in late 1970s.

Batboy Rene Lachemann graduated from Dorsey High in
Los Angeles. 1962 was his last year as the Dodgers' batboy. He
joined his brother Marcel at the University of Southern California,
and later signed as a catcher with the A's organization, reaching
the big leagues in Kansas City and Oakland. He managed at Seattle
in the early 1980s, and was a coach under Tony LaRussa during the
"Bash Brothers" era at Oakland in the late 1980s. He managed with
the Florida Marlins in the 1990s, and returned as a coach in
Oakland. His brother, Marcel played in the big leagues with
Oakland, was Rod Dedeaux's pitching coach at USC, and managed the
California Angels (1994-95).

Vin Scully was already a legend; the finest baseball
broadcaster and likely the best all-around sportscaster in the
business by 1962. His description of Koufax's perfect game against
the Chicago Cubs in 1965 is considered less announcing and more
poetry, but it is not a singular moment in his career. He is simply
the very best who has ever done what he does, and long, long ago
was recognized as the "most valuable Dodger," responsible for the
team's image, its great attendance, and its joyous relationship
with the fans of Los Angeles. Scully may be the greatest ambassador
baseball has ever known; as respected a sports figure as can be
conceived, and an icon in Los Angeles matched by none
(
possibly
John Wooden).

"1962 was a crucible year for a lot of the players,"
Scully recalled. "They added a healthy Sandy Koufax and that '63
team was off and running. To win the pennant and then sweep the
lordly Yankees in four straight - that's probably the greatest
moment in the history of the Dodger organization."

Walter O'Malley, the most powerful man in baseball by
1962, continued to be one of
The Lords of Baseball
, the
title of a book describing the impact he and a handful of
visionaries had on baseball. Despite his hated status in Brooklyn,
he goes down as a hero in Los Angeles and one of the most
remarkable executives in baseball history. By the end of the 1960s,
O'Malley was ceding authority to his son, Peter, who was cut out of
a different mold. A graduate of Penn's Wharton School of Business,
Peter O'Malley successfully husbanded the Dodgers into the
succeeding decades with no bumps in the road. Walter O'Malley
passed away in 1979, but Peter sold the family interest to Rupert
Murdoch and News Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, in
the late 1990s. In 2008 Walter O'Malley was inducted into the Hall
of Fame.

Buzzie Bavasi left the Dodgers to run the fledgling
San Diego Padres in 1969, and later was involved with Gene Autry
and the California Angels. His son, Peter Bavasi, became a
respected baseball executive.

Fresco Thompson ran the Dodgers' farm system through
1968, and in 1969 was slated to take over from Bavasi when he died
of a heart attack.

Al Campanis ascended to the position instead, and
was extremely successful running the Dodgers when they captured
five pennants and a World Championship in the 1970s until the
mid-1980s. In 1987, he was a guest of Ted Koppel on the ABC
national news show,
Nightline
. The subject of Jackie
Robinson and the question as to why there were so few blacks
managers was posed. Campanis may have been intoxicated, having been
imbibing in his Astrodome suite. He told Koppel blacks lacked the
"necessities" to manage. The hue and cry was far-reaching and
resulted in his immediate dismissal. His grandson was an
All-American catcher at USC.