Drysdale Didn’t Have a Prayer or an Excuse

Minnesota made its only other World Series appearance in 1965, losing to the Dodgers in seven games after winning the first two.

Sandy Koufax normally would have pitched the first game for the Dodgers, but he scratched himself because it fell on Yom Kippur. Don Drysdale got the assignment and lasted only 2 innings as the Twins won, 8-2.

Said Manager Walter Alston as he removed Drysdale from the game: “Why couldn’t you be Jewish, too?”

Add Twins: The 1965 team was managed by Sam Mele, who says the player he’d love to have today is Gary Gaetti.

“I said that on Harmon Killebrew’s program one day,” said Mele, now a scout for the Boston Red Sox. “He said, ‘But you got Wade Boggs.’ And I told him Boggs could play first for me, and I’d still have Gaetti.”

Trivia Time: Was Muhammad Ali ever involved in a draw? (Answer to follow.)

Add Forgettable Quotes: Joe Dudek, Denver’s leading ground gainer against the Raiders Monday night, had this to say after rejecting the club’s request to cross the picket line two weeks ago: “I can’t believe a guy would go against his teammates and expect to be respected later on.”

Department of Irony: Jeff Kemp, who crossed the line in Seattle, is the son of presidential hopeful Jack Kemp, who, as a quarterback for the Buffalo Bills, helped organize the first American Football League players’ union in 1965 and served as its president.

With the New York Giants (0-4) facing the Buffalo Bills (1-3) Sunday, Giant General Manager George Young asked Peter King of Newsday: “So, is this the Tim Brown Bowl?”

Translation: Whoever finishes last in the NFL will have first shot at the Heisman Trophy hopeful from Notre Dame.

Add Giants: Said Coach Bill Parcells of the 38-12 loss to Washington: “We did do well running kickoffs back. Of course, we had ample opportunities.”

John Madden told USA Today that what upsets him most about the strike is that nobody is saying, “What’s good for the game?”

“I’ve never heard that as the goal or objective,” he said. “No one’s risen up above it all and said, ‘OK, for the good of the game, let’s do this.’ Instead, it’s like, the hell with the game.”

Of Pete Rozelle, he said: “Years ago, I expect he wouldn’t let this happen. I’m not blaming him, but if his role was going to be anything, it would have been to not let this happen. Maybe the lawsuits, the situation, the game, whatever, have diminished his power.”

From New York Giants guard Billy Ard, conceding the owners are in the driver’s seat: “If this was a fight, the referee would have stopped it already. You can’t get knocked down once every round and expect to win.”

Trivia Answer: Yes. In a 1976 exhibition at Tokyo, Ali and Japanese wrestler Antonio Inoki “fought” to a 15-round drew.

Quotebook

Jeffrey Leonard of the San Francisco Giants, on the money St. Louis fans were throwing at him Tuesday night: “There was so much change, I thought they were expecting me to tap dance.”