Marichal’s Action Marred the Giant-Dodger Rivalry

On a Sunday afternoon at San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, Dodger catcher John Roseboro was hit by Giant pitcher Juan Marichal.

No, not hit by Marichal’s fastball or curve. He was hit with his bat. On the head.

The incident touched off a wild fracas, but when it was over the only one shedding blood was Roseboro, from a two-inch gash Marichal’s bat had opened.

It’s probably still the ugliest incident in the 41-year history of West Coast major league baseball. The aftermath lasted for weeks. No one sat this one out. Even if you didn’t follow baseball, you had an opinion.

Marichal needed police escorts everywhere. He got threatening phone calls and mail. Roseboro sued him for $110,000.

It happened in the heat of a Dodger-Giant pennant race, in the third inning of a game in which Marichal had already decked Ron Fairly and Maury Wills with brushback pitches.

Marichal was batting against Sandy Koufax and looked at an inside pitch. Later, Marichal claimed that when Roseboro returned the ball to Koufax, the throw nicked Marichal’s ear.

Suddenly, Marichal, in front of 42,807, was swinging his bat at Roseboro’s head.

Some of the blow was absorbed by Roseboro’s forearms, but trainer Bill Buhler said later that by the time Roseboro reached the clubhouse “you couldn’t cover the lump on his head with your hand.”

One writer asked Roseboro what kind of penalty he would like to see meted out to Marichal.

“He and I alone in a locked room, for about 10 minutes,” he said.

Marichal was suspended for eight days and fined. As for his lawsuit, Roseboro settled for $7,500.

Also on this date: In 1989, Nolan Ryan, 42, struck out Oakland’s Rickey Henderson with a 96-mph fastball for his 5,000th strikeout. . . . In 1966, heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali announced he would seek deferment from the Army draft as a Black Muslim minister.