Sept. 30, 1962 - Unable to halt one of the most amazing crackups by a front-runner in major league history, the Dodgers today plunged the National League pennant race into its fourth playoff series in 17 years. Minutes after the scoreboard in Los Angeles revealed that Willie Mays’s homer in San Francisco had resulted in a victory over Houston, Gene Oliver of the Cardinals belted a homer that jarred a gathering of 42,325 into stunned silence. The blow, coming in the top of the eighth, decided a blistering mound duel between Curt Simmons of the Redbirds and Johnny Podres, who was observing his 30th birthday, and gave the Cards a 1-0 triumph. As a result, the faltering Dodgers, who only last Saturday had led by four full games, finished the regular season tied with the Giants for first place with 101 victories against 61 defeats apiece. Tomorrow they begin a two-of-three-game playoff series in San Francisco.
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