Oh, but none of them did anything useful in the game.........
On this day in 1965 the Cubs didn't have Jake Arrieta. Neither did the Dodgers, but they did have Sandy Koufax. Koufax pitched a perfect game against the Cubs in L.A.
Lots of times no-hitters happen in September when the teams are letting veterans take some days off. That wasn't the case in this game. Koufax struck out 14 in his fourth no-hitter.
The infield was Santo, Kessinger, Beckert and Banks. Williams was in the outfield.
Harvey Kuenn made the last out as a pinch-hitter. Joey Amalfitano also made an out as a pinch-hitter. Along with Kessinger and Banks (1 game) that's four managers in this game. Other future managers in the game included Maury Wills, Jim Lefebvre and Jeff Torborg.
Here's the part that I didn't know. The Cub pitcher, Bob Hendley, threw a one-hitter giving up one run.
The game had no base runners until the fifth inning. In the Dodger fifth, a walk, a sacrifice bunt, a stolen base with an error by the catcher allowed the run to score without a hit. The Cub catcher was Chris Krug, who only played in 79 career games. Randy Hundley was still a Giant in 1965.
The only other base runner for the Dodgers was on a double in the seventh inning. That's two base runners for the entire game.
Hendley had a career record of 48-52. He finished his career with 6 shut-outs. This was close to another one.
That's a lot of managers and HoFers in one game....I read an essay about this game once (I searched and cannot seem to find it), but it sounds like it was a heck of a game, if you like pitching. The '69 Cubs had four Hall of Famers, right? Anyway, a Cubs catcher--Jimmy Qualls?--ruined a Tom Seaver perfect game in the 9th inning that season, too.
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