Game Seven - 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers vs. 1975 Boston Red Sox

Game Seven in our series of classic baseball match-ups has the 1965 Los Angeles Dodgers traveling to Boston to take on the 1975 Red Sox.

Before listening to the broadcast, here are some things to know.

Fenway Park

Fenway Park has been the home of the Boston Red Sox since 1912. 

That's over one hundred years ago! 

It's famous for a huge 37 foot wall in left field that is known as the Green Monster. Visiting players like to go behind the wall before game time and sign their name on its back. 

There's quite a collection of famous autographs there!

Another cool feature about Fenway Park is the scoreboard. 

It's not electronic! 

There are a couple of workers who are located behind the wall. 

They change numbers whenever a team gets a hit, scores a run or makes an error. 

Just like the old days!!

In the right field bleachers, there's one lonely red seat that marks the spot where possibly the longest home run ever hit at Fenway Park finally landed. 

It was hit by Red Sox legend Ted Williams on June 9, 1946 and is estimated to have travelled 502 feet. 

That's close to two football fields long!

The Teams

The 1965 Los Angles Dodgers finished in first place in the National League by winning 15 out of their last 16 games. 

In the World Series, the Dodgers needed all seven games to beat the Minnesota Twins and capture the championship.

They were a team that did not score very many runs.

The '65 Dodgers relied upon great pitching and solid fielding to win ball games.

It was a strategy that worked.

Barely.

Meanwhile, the 1975 Boston Red Sox were a solid mix of young stars and proven veterans. They completed the regular season schedule winning 95 games and losing only 65 times. After advancing to the World Series, they lost in a heart-breaking seventh game to the eventual champion Cincinnati Reds.

It was a bitter pill to swallow for Red Sox fans because they hadn't won a World Series title since 1918.

In fact, Boston fans would have to wait until 2004 before their team finally won it all.

Key Players

Many baseball experts believe that Sandy Koufax was the greatest left-handed pitcher to ever play the game. 

He broke in with the Dodgers in 1955 while the team was still located in Brooklyn. 

For the first few years in his career, Koufax didn't get into many games. 

His manager, Walter Alston, didn't trust him and refused to use him regularly.

In 1960, Koufax was discouraged and thought about retiring from baseball.

Luckily, he didn't.

Something clicked during spring training in 1961 and, suddenly, Koufax began pitching like an all-star.

For the next six seasons, Sandy Koufax terrorized opposing teams.

He pitched four no-hitters during this time, including a perfect game on September 9, 1965 in a game against the Chicago Cubs.

In each of his final two seasons, the Dodger southpaw won 27 games and pitched over 320 innings. 

More than any other pitcher in the league.

What makes this all the more remarkable is that Koufax pitched through incredible pain and discomfort. His pitching elbow suffered from chronic arthritis and would swell up like a balloon after he had pitched in a game.

By the end of the 1966 season, Koufax knew that his time on the mound had come to an end.

The pain had become far too much to bear any longer and he was forced to retire from baseball at the age of 30 years old.

The Dodgers retired his uniform #32.

Sandy Koufax was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972.

Boston's Carl Yastrzemski (ya-strem-ski) played 23 seasons for the Red Sox.

He was a left fielder when he broke into the major leagues in 1961.

However, as the years passed, he spent a lot of playing time at first base and as a designated hitter.

Yastrzemski's best year occurred in 1967 when he won the Triple Crown.

That means he led the American league in batting average, home runs and runs batted in.

Only a handful of players have ever accomplished that feat.

By the time Yastrzemski retired at the end of the 1983, he had accumulated 3419 base hits.

Just eight other players in the history of baseball have collected more hits than the Red Sox superstar.

In other words, he was pretty darn good.

Carl Yastrzemski was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1989.

Other Nuggets to Know

• Rookie Fred Lynn played CF for Boston, led the league with 47 doubles & hit .331

• Right-hander Don Drysdale won 23 games for Los Angeles, hit 7 home runs and was the only player on the team to hit .300 or better for the season

• Boston left fielder Jim Rice also enjoyed a brilliant rookie year in 1975 hitting 22 home runs and driving in 102

• Tommy Davis, considered to have been the Dodger best hitter heading into 1965, broke his ankle early in the year and missed most of the season

By the Numbers

1, 748,587 - the number of fans who attended games at Fenway Park in 1975

2, 553,577 - the number of fans who attended games at Dodger Stadium in 1965

While You Listen

    See if you can find out:

1. How many bases Dodger shortstop Maury Wills stole during the '65 season
2. The team Boston starter Bill Lee was traded to after the 1978 season
3. What an "immaculate inning" is
4. What happened on September 9, 1965
5. Why Red Sox outfielder Tony Conigliaro was forced to retire from baseball

After You Listen:

• Find out more about how Sandy Koufax had to pitch through pain for the final few seasons of his major league career
• Search for some overhead photographs of Fenway Park and examine the unusual shape of the outfield
• Learn more about the Hall of Fame career of Red Sox catcher Carlton Fisk
• Discover where the Dodgers played their games when they first moved to Los Angeles in 1958 

Now, grab some popcorn, sit back and enjoy the game!