May 7, 1963 - “Walter Alston is my manager, and I have no intention of making a change.” Thus did Walter O’Malley, president of the Los Angeles Dodgers, put an end today to the rumor that Alston (right) would be fired before the season’s end and replaced by his coach, Leo Durocher (right). “Naturally, like everybody connected with the team, I’m disappointed in our poor showing,” O’Malley said. “But you certainly can’t blame that on the manager. If there is any blame to be placed, maybe it should be hung on the general manager and myself. After all, we are the ones who supply Alston with the players.” O’Malley attributed the Dodgers’ seventh-place position to injuries to key players. “The season is just one month old, and already we’ve had injuries to Tommy Davis, Maury Wills, Bill Skowron, Sandy Koufax, and Johnny Podres. You can’t blame that on the manager. Neither could you blame Alston for Koufax’s injury last year. I’m sure we would have won the pennant had Sandy not been hurt.”
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