Sept. 21, 1962 - Maury Wills (pictured) of Los Angeles stole his 95th base tonight, but the Cardinals crushed the Dodgers, 11-2, in St. Louis. Charlie James hit a grand-slam homer off Sandy Koufax, as the Redbirds backed Curt Simmons with four-run and seven-run innings. Koufax, who had been sidelined more than two months with a circulatory ailment in his left hand, failed to last one full inning, walking four. When he reached the dugout after having been relieved by Ed Roebuck, Sandy flung his glove to the floor in frustration and then pitched it to the other end of the dugout. The defeat cut the Dodgers’ lead in the National League to three games over the second-place Giants, who beat Houston. Wills stole a base in the sixth inning, increasing his season total to 95 in 154 games. Ty Cobb set the modern major league mark of 96 in 1915. After the game, Wills said beating Cobb’s record would mean $25,000 in endorsements and appearances this winter. “I’m going to do all right as it is, but the record would mean that much more,” he remarked.
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