Davis, Koufax, pitcher Don Drysdale and shortstop Wills represented the Dodgers in the All-Star Game at Cleveland’s Municipal Stadium. Used as the Dodgers’ clean-up hitter in 112 games, Davis collected 13 of his 16 home runs and 66 of his 88 RBI in that lineup spot.

Wills was coming off a “Mr. Everything” season in 1962 – N.L. MVP, N.L. Gold Glove winning shortstop, Major League Player of the Year by The Sporting News, All-Star Game MVP and stolen base champion. Dodger fans’ chant “Go, Go, Go” to encourage Wills’ running game was stymied in 1963 as a leg injury in the first game of the season hampered him, but he still managed to swipe 40 bases, his fourth consecutive season atop the National League. The strong, but compact Wills, at 5’10”, added the Dodgers’ top streak for batting with a 17-straight game skein from June 4-21, as he hit .452 in that stretch.

Drysdale’s numbers were not entirely indicative of the success he had in 1963. He was 19-17 overall, led the league with 42 starts and pitched in 315 innings, striking out 251. He had a 2.63 ERA. What he lacked was run support from his teammates.

Even with all of the top performances, the Dodgers were challenged for the N.L. Pennant. In hot pursuit of the Dodgers from August 28 when they were 72-60, the St. Louis Cardinals won 19 of 20 games to bring them within a game of the league leaders. While the Dodgers won 13 of 19 in the same stretch, they could not fly away from the Cards.

With a riveting pennant race sizzling down the stretch, the Dodgers played a three-game series in St. Louis on September 16-18, a Monday through Wednesday. The Dodgers (91-59) entered the series leading the Cardinals (91-61) by one game, but equal in victories. It was to be a showdown of magnificent proportions.

Dodger President Walter O’Malley deemed the series so important that he arranged for the three games to be televised locally on KTTV Channel 11 in Los Angeles, with the station deriving all revenues from sponsor Union Oil. It was the first time since the Dodgers had arrived in Los Angeles in 1958 that any road games, other than from San Francisco, would be televised.

While the Dodgers were away from home, Dodger Stadium became the site of a September 16 Republican public rally as Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, running for U.S. President in 1964, spoke before 42,317, the largest crowd to attend a GOP rally “here since former Presidential candidate Thomas E. Dewey appeared in Memorial Coliseum during the 1944 White House race.”³ More than 46,000 tickets had been sold for the GOP rally at $1 apiece. In addition, approximately 400 individuals attended a $100-a-plate dinner at The Stadium Club prior to the formal speech.