Viewers at home pushed the ratings to the highest on record, reflecting the enormous interest in the Dodgers and the race. On Monday, the Dodgers scored a 35 rating and a 65 share of the L.A. market during the first half hour of the telecast. The rating tracks the percentage of every TV set in the Southern California area, whether turned on or off, while the share figure represents the percentage of all sets that are turned on. The next closest competitor was the CBS Big News which had a 7 rating and 13 share.

Writing in his TV column in the Los Angeles Times, Cecil Smith said, “If you were one of the three people in Los Angeles who turned away from the Dodgers-Cardinals game Monday, you might have seen a new monster show called ‘Outer Limits.’ It was awful.”⁴

As famous and popular as king Koufax was in baseball circles, it still would take a virtual unknown Dodger to lift the team to the N.L. Pennant. Dick Nen, making his major league debut in a critical game against the second-place Cardinals in St. Louis, got an opportunity to bat, pinch-hitting and leading off the eighth inning. He lined out to center field. But, he remained in the game and in the ninth inning with the Cards leading 5-4, Nen hit a dramatic Dodger home run to tie the score. Eventually, the Dodgers won the game in 13 innings, 6-5, to sweep the series. With the Cards’ chasing, it was a difference for the Dodgers of being either four games ahead or two games up with nine to play. Nen’s name was a rare palindrome in baseball history, having been preceded by Truck Hannah, Johnny Reder and Eddie Kazak.

While Nen’s mother Wilma was unaware of her son’s heroics at the time, as she attended a weekly Wednesday evening testimony meeting at the 33rd Church of Christ, Scientist in Los Angeles, Nen’s father was glued to the TV set. “I had a hunch that Dick would hit for the pitcher in the eighth inning,” said proud papa Sam Nen.⁵

Coincidentally, it was Nen’s only hit as a Dodger and he had just eight at-bats in seven games in 1963. But, what a memorable at-bat that turned out to be for him and his teammates. On the spot, it earned him consideration for a World Series share, as voted by the Dodger players, even though he was ineligible for the postseason for the late-season call-up. He did not collect another hit until 1965 when he was playing for the Washington Senators against the Angels at Dodger Stadium.

The Dodgers, with their 99-63 record, eventually held off the Cards to win the N.L. Pennant by six games. In 51 one-run games, the Dodgers were 33-18.

Although time had marched on, two old rivals were to face each other once again. This time, though, they were separated by a few thousand miles. But, the long World Series history between the Dodgers and the New York Yankees, from their first meeting in 1941 to 1963 certainly invoked memories of the struggles involving these two titans. The Yankees dominated in 1941, 1947, 1949, 1952, 1953, while the Dodgers captured their first World Championship in 1955. In 1956, the Yankees won the World Series, Game 7, a 9-0 shutout at Ebbets Field. Overall, the Yankees had won 20 World Series.