1962 Los Angeles Dodgers

1962 Los Angeles Dodgers / Franchise: Los Angeles Dodgers / BR Team Page

Record: 102-63, Finished 2nd in National League (1962 NL)

Managed by Walter Alston

Coaches: Joe Becker, Leo Durocher, Greg Mulleavy and Pete Reiser

Ballpark: Dodger Stadium

History, Comments, Contributions

The 1962 Los Angeles Dodgers were a memorable team even though they did not win the three-game playoff against the San Francisco Giants. Playing in a strong pitcher's park, the newly-inaugurated Dodger Stadium, Tommy Davis won the batting championship and also drove in 153 runs, Maury Wills set a record with 104 steals (getting caught only 13 times), Frank Howard led the team with 31 home runs, young Willie Davis scored 103 runs, Jim Gilliam had 93 walks batting behind Wills, Sandy Koufax won his first ERA championship, Don Drysdale went 25-9 to win the Cy Young Award, and Ron Perranoski had 20 saves to finish second in the National League.

The youngest player on the team was 19-year-old Joe Moeller, and the oldest player was 35-year-old Duke Snider, who slugged a respectable .481 (the league average was .393).

The 1962 pitching staff gave up exactly the same number of runs as the 1961 pitching staff had, but the hitters scored more than 100 extra runs. The next year, in 1963, both the runs scored and runs allowed dropped sharply while the team won the 1963 World Series in four straight games.

The team was immortalized in the Danny Kaye song "D-O-D-G-E-R-S Song (Oh Really? No, O'Malley!)", recorded during the season.

Awards and Honors

• All-Stars: Tommy Davis, Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax, Johnny Podres, Johnny Roseboro and Maury Wills
• NL MVP: Maury Wills
• Cy Young Award: Don Drysdale
• NL Gold Glove: Maury Wills (SS)

Further Reading

• Brian M. Endsley: Finding the Left Arm of God: Sandy Koufax and the Los Angeles Dodgers, 1960–1963, McFarland, Jefferson, NC. ISBN 978-0-7864-7415-8