It's World Serious time again, and in honor of the Fall Classic, let's play some old-school Lego ball with Maury Wills, Orlando Cepeda and Danny Kaye:
When I worked at a radio station in Eugene in the late '80s, there was a tape of the last section of "The Dodgers Song" that was in the studio archives of one of the announcers. During a late-night shift I dubbed it onto a cassette, and it's been a favorite ever since, but I'd never heard the entire song until I saw the above video.
The song is based on the 1962 LA Dodgers, the subject of one of the first sports stories my dad shared with me when I was a kid. He remembered following the team when we lived in SoCal at the time (me being born during that season) and seeing the Dodgers choke away a big lead at the end of the year, before losing a three-game playoff to the SF Giants for the National League pennant. A game-by-game record of the final two weeks of the season (courtesy of baseballlibrary.com) seems to confirm this:
Sunday, September 16: Lost to Cubs
Monday, September 17: Lost to Braves
Tuesday, September 18: Lost to Braves
Wednesday, September 19: Defeated Braves
Friday, September 21: Lost to Cardinals
Saturday, September 22: Defeated Cardinals
Sunday, September 23: Lost to Cardinals
Tuesday, September 25: Lost to Astros
Wednesday, September 26: Defeated Astros
Thursday, September 27: Lost to Astros
Friday, September 28: Lost to Cardinals
Saturday, September 29: Lost to Cardinals
Sunday, September 30: Lost to Cardinals
Losing 10 of the last 13 to blow the NL pennant. Maybe not quite at the level of the 2007 Mets or 1964 Phillies. But a mighty disappointing way to end an otherwise stellar 102-win season.
