1965 World Series | |||||||||||||
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Teams | |||||||||||||
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Dates | October 6–14 | ||||||||||||
MVP | Sandy Koufax (Los Angeles, the 2nd time) | ||||||||||||
Umpires | Eddie Hurley (AL), Tony Venzon (NL), Red Flaherty (AL), Ed Sudol (NL), Bob Stewart (AL), Ed Vargo (NL) | ||||||||||||
Hall of Famers |
Dodgers: Walt Alston (mgr.), Don Drysdale, Sandy Koufax. Twins: Harmon Killebrew. |
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Broadcast | |||||||||||||
Television | NBC | ||||||||||||
TV announcers | Ray Scott and Vin Scully | ||||||||||||
Radio | NBC | ||||||||||||
Radio announcers | By Saam and Joe Garagiola | ||||||||||||
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Team (Wins) | Manager | Season | |
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Los Angeles Dodgers (4) | Walter Alston | 97–65, .599, GA: 2 | |
Minnesota Twins (3) | Sam Mele | 102–60, .630, GA: 7 |
The 1965 World Series featured the National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers against the American League champion Minnesota Twins. It is best remembered for the heroics of Sandy Koufax, who was named the series MVP. Koufax would not pitch in Game 1, as it fell on the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, but did pitch in Game 2 and then tossed complete-game shutouts in Games 5 and 7 (with only two days of rest in between) to win the championship.
The Twins had won their first pennant since 1933 when the team was known as the Washington Senators. The Dodgers, prevailing in seven games, captured their second title in three years, and their third since moving to Los Angeles in 1958.
Both teams improved from sixth-place finishes in 1964; the Twins won the A.L. pennant with relative ease while the Dodgers were locked in a season long five-way battle in the N.L. between themselves, the Giants, Pirates, Reds, and Braves. After the Giants won their 14th consecutive game to take a 4 1⁄2 game lead on September 16, the Dodgers went on a 13-game winning streak over the final two weeks of the season to clinch the pennant on the next to last day of the season over the second place rival Giants.
During the 1965 Season, the Dodgers relied heavily on the arms of Sandy Koufax and Don Drysdale, and would rely on them even more in the World Series, as the Dodgers only used seven pitchers. The Dodgers' strong core of pitchers, which also included Claude Osteen and Ron Perranoski, kept them in the pennant race and into the Series. Koufax, surviving on a steady diet of Cortisone and pain killers for his arthritic left elbow, pitched five times in 15 days down the stretch, winning four (three shutouts), including 13 strikeouts in the pennant winner against Milwaukee.