Don Drysdale Arrested for Drunk Driving

Hall of Fame pitcher and Dodgers broadcaster Don Drysdale was arrested for investigation of felony drunk driving after a traffic accident near Universal City that injured a woman, police said today.

Drysdale’s car collided with another vehicle as he made a left turn about 8:30 p.m. Monday, Los Angeles Police Officer Tom Ohmer said.

Drysdale was not injured in the crash. The driver of the other vehicle, a 24-year-old woman whose name was not released, suffered numerous bruises and abrasions in the collision, Ohmer said. She was treated at St. Joseph Medical Center in Burbank.

“Investigation disclosed Mr. Drysdale was under the influence of alcohol,” Ohmer said. “He was taken to Hollywood Station where he was given a breathalizer test and had a reading of .19%.”

The blood alcohol level of .19% is more than double the .08% level at which the law presumes a driver to be under the influence and legally considered drunk.

Drysdale, 54, was booked on suspicion of felony drunk driving. He posted $5,000 bail and was released later Monday night. Drysdale is scheduled to be arraigned on the charge Feb. 11 in Division 50 of Los Angeles Municipal Court.

Drysdale pitched for the Dodgers from 1956 to 1969, compiling a 209-167 record and 2.95 ERA.

The 1962 Cy Young winner, he pitched 58 consecutive scoreless innings in 1968, a record that stood until 1988, when Dodger Orel Hershiser surpassed it by one.

Drysdale, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1984, worked for ABC-TV and other major-league clubs as an announcer before taking the Dodgers’ announcing job.