Oct. 1, 1962 - It was so quiet in the Dodgers’ dressing room after tonight’s loss that you could have heard an expletive drop. And Manager Walter Alston let go with more than a few. Normally a mild-mannered gentleman farmer from Ohio, Alston was understandably perturbed after the Dodgers had lost the first game of the National League playoff to San Francisco. It was the third straight shutout for the stumbling Dodgers. “We haven’t scored in 30 innings,” said Alston, taking a sip of coffee and lighting a much-needed cigarette. “I don’t know whether it’s great pitching against us or whether we’re a little anemic.” “This club is due to go on a two-game winning streak,” manager observed. Alston lost his temper when one reporter asked if Dodger pitchers had deliberately thrown at Willie Mays after the Giant hero hit his first homer. Ed Roebuck and Larry Sherry both uncorked pitches that had a certain controlled wildness about them, or so it seemed. Willie responded by clouting a second homer off Sherry. The most woebegone Dodger was left-hander Sandy Koufax (pictured). The strikeout king had no alibis. The ailing index finger of his left hand has healed well — or so he claims. “It didn’t bother me at all,” said a stoic Sandy, who pitched the first inning and faced two batters in the second. “Let’s just say I was off form,” he added.
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