L.A.’s greatest sports moments No. 12: Dodgers’ first game in L.A.
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
We asked you to send in your picks for the greatest sports moments in L.A. history, and 1,181 ballots later we are unveiling the top 20 vote-getters. Each weekday we will unveil a new moment until we reach No. 1.
No. 12: The Dodgers’ first game in L.A. (26 first-place votes, 2,840 points)
April 18, 1958 is a date many Dodgers fans should know: It was the Dodgers’ first regular-season game in Los Angeles. The Dodgers began their L.A. tenure at the Coliseum, with Dodger Stadium still four years away.
The Hollywood elite was out in force to support the Dodgers, with Jimmy Stewart, Danny Kaye, Edward G. Robinson, Billy Wilder, Bing Crosby, Lana Turner, Ray Bolger, Gregory Peck, Alfred Hitchcock, Lauren Bacall, Chuck Connors, Burt Lancaster, Jack Lemmon, Nat King Cole, Danny Thomas, Dinah Shore, Ralph Edwards, Tennessee Ernie Ford, Groucho Marx and Gene Autry all in the stands to watch the Dodgers take on the San Francisco Giants.
But even with so many stars in the stands, the fans came out to see the stars on the field, as the Dodgers presented the following lineup: Jim Gilliam, LF; Pee Wee Reese, SS; Duke Snider, CF; Carl Furillo, RF; Gil Hodges, 1B; Charlie Neal, 2B; Dick Gray, 3B; John Roseboro, C; and Carl Erskine, P.
Ticket prices: 75 cents for a children’s ticket and box seats ranging from $1.50 to a maximum of $3.50. And get this: The Dodgers did not raise those ticket prices until 1976.
Oh, the game? An announced crowd of 78,672 watched the Dodgers defeat the Giants, 6-5.
-- Houston Mitchell
RELATED:
No. 13: Marcus Allen’s Super Bowl run
No. 14: Lakers win 33 in a row
No. 15: Robert Horry’s game-winner
No. 16: Honoring Roy Campanella
No. 19: Rick Monday saves the flag
No. 20: Kobe to Shaq alley-oop