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In the opening month of the 1965 season, the Dodgers started well. On April 30, they defeated the Giants to win their 10th game in 15 starts. Koufax, Drysdale, and Osteen pitched well and Podres was showing previous form. Wills was ahead of his record pace of stealing 104 bases in 1962. Rookie second baseman Lefebvre made contributions and consummate pro Fairly was driving in timely runs. Outfielder Tommy Davis was off to a slow start, but was starting to feel comfortable at the plate. The club looked to have no problem scoring runs. And then, in an instant, the offense changed for the worse.
The night of May 1st had the Dodgers playing the Giants in front of a large crowd in Dodger Stadium. In the fourth inning, Tommy Davis singled. A grounder was hit to Giant pitcher Gaylord Perry. The Giant pitcher threw to first to retire the hitter but as Davis hustled down to second to avoid a force play, he slid, catching his spikes and severely injured his ankle. As Davis said later, “It felt like my ankle went into right field.1 The capacity crowd went silent as Davis, in obvious discomfort, was removed from the field on a stretcher. Dodger players and fans knew the loss of Davis would be significant. Without him, the Dodger offense would be sorely tested. Frank Finch, beat writer for the Los Angeles Times said, “(Tommy) Davis was removed to Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital and the Dodgers were removed from the board in Las Vegas as pennant favorites.”2
Even though the Dodgers won the game that night with three runs in the eighth inning, the club morale was very down on the loss of the hard hitting outfielder. Koufax wrote in his autobiography, “It was a somber mood in the clubhouse.”3
The Dodgers ended their homestand and traveled to Cincinnati without their regular left fielder and waited to see who would be Tommy Davis’ replacement. General Manager Bavasi called Spokane, Washington where Peter O’Malley, the future President and Chairman of the Board of the Dodgers, was the current president of the Spokane Indians and told O’Malley the Dodgers wanted to promote outfielder Lou Johnson. O’Malley then called Johnson, also known as “Sweet Lou”. O’Malley thought he had good news for Johnson and informed him he was to report to Cincinnati. “Sweet Lou” didn’t feel so sweet then, because he mis-interpreted the remarks from O’Malley. Johnson mistakenly thought he had been traded to the Cincinnati organization and he knew a team with an outfield of great offensive players as Tommy Harper, Vada Pinson, and Frank Robinson, would give him little chance to play in the major leagues. Johnson told O’Malley he would refuse to report.4 “I thought he was just kidding around,”5 said Johnson. O’Malley clarified his comment. Johnson was reporting TO the Los Angeles Dodgers IN Cincinnati. That was very different and Lou Johnson reported to Cincinnati, now a very happy big league player again.
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Dodger Stadium is the centerpiece of the cover of the 1965 Los Angeles Dodger Yearbook. |
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Dodger outfielder Tommy Davis |
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