The First Ever Los Angeles Dodger Home Game
By Preston Wong, Ethan Wang, and Kurtis Tsai (SMHS ‘20)
In our Honors US History class, we learned much about the Golden Age of Baseball (1920–1950). When done with this learning, my teacher encouraged us to search the internet for evidence of baseball within 50 miles of the school. He then encouraged us to describe our findings in a 750–1000 word Local-History Blog Post.
In the Local-History Blog Post that appears below, we describe the first-ever Los Angeles Dodger home game. In that game, played on April 18, 1958, the Dodgers defeated the former New York and now San Francisco Giants, 6–5, before 78,672 fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum is located 15 miles from our school.
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The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American Major Leage Baseball team that competes as a ‘member club’ of the National League West Devision. Established in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York, the team moved to Los Angeles in 1958 with the Dodger playing their first game ever in LA on April 18, 1958.
This greatly anticipated opening day game was celebrated throughout the city of Los Angeles, with opening day ceremonies held at City Hall, followed by a lavish parade from downtown LA to the famed LA Coliseum.
With a packed Coliseum filled with over 78,000 spectators, Manager Walter Alston gave the opening day start to veteran star pitcher Carl Erskine who was elated to pitch on this historic day. Early in the first inning, he was not the only one excited about the game, as Erskine told his catcher, John Roseboro, that he was throwing harder than him.
As the game narrowed to 5–4 with the Dodgers leading in the 7th, 3rd baseman rookie Eic Gray hit the first dodger home run to give the Dodgers a 2 run lead. Gray later saved the game in the 9th inning when he noticed that the Giants infielder, Jim Davenport, had not touched third base when attempting to score off a triple. The Giants infielder was called out with an appeal sealing a dramatic 6–5 win over the Giants.
This historic game was also the first Los Angeles Dodger game called by Vin Scully, who is widely regarded as the greatest broadcaster in history. He would continue to call Los Angeles Dodger games for the next 58 years.
However the stars of opening day, Eric Gray and Carl Erskine, would struggle throughout the season with Gray only starting 20 more games and Erskine only starting in 2 more games in the season. Their win was the first of 88 on their season.
Our Attendance at a April 28, 2019 Dodger Game
The Dodger game that we attended started at 1:30. This April 28th game was the final game of a three game series against the visiting Pittsburgh Pirates. The game was sold out with about 52,000 attendees. The 39 year-old starting pitcher, Rich Hill, made his season debut that game. He was a little shaky at the beginning of the game, giving up 5 runs in the first two innings. After being down early, the Dodgers rallied in the 4th inning after a deep Cody Bellinger home run into right center field bleachers.
This homer tied Bellinger with Albert Pujols and Christian Yelich for the most home runs before the end of the first month of the baseball season (14). The Dodgers scored two more runs off a Corey Seager double into deep center and a Max Muncy single. The Dodgers then added two more runs in the 7th off another Max Muncy single and a single from Bellinger to bring the score to 5–7. Reliever Julio Urias then gave up a run in the 8th on a single to Josh Bell. After a scoreless 8th inning, closer Kenley Jansen earned his 10th save of the year after a nerve-wracking 9th inning that had left two baserunners in scoring position with two outs. The Dodgers swept the Pirates in this series with the 7–6 win and advanced to an overall of 19–11 record on their young season.
Our Reaction to the April 28, 2019 Dodger Game
“My experience at Dodger stadium was exciting. Watching baseball on a TV screen can be sometimes boring, but witnessing the game live was a whole different experience. I was surprised to see the whole stadium packed and always super amped up whenever the boys in blue ever made any type of play. I have been to several Dodger games in the past but this game was my first in 5 years. Also going to this game after all these years made me reminisce about my Little League baseball days and how I missed playing baseball.” -Kurtis Tsai
“This was my first baseball game ever and at first I was very confused about what was going on, but soon realized how the game worked. One word I would use to describe the game in its entirety, from front to finish — wild” -Ethan Wang
“I too had never before been to a baseball game and for sure I had never enjoyed watching baseball on TV. Just found the whole thing boring. And as to whether my attendance at the April 28 game changed my perception of baseball — it did not. However I really enjoyed the food, especially the nachos. But some of the cons of the baseball game was how crowded the stadium was and how confusing it was to find our seats. Throughout the game it was evident that there were many passionate Dodger fans at the game and as a sports fan I really enjoyed that experience of an intense home game. One of the highlights of the game for me was when early MVP candidate, Cody Bellinger, hit a home run. The stadium became immediately ecstatic and it was hard not to celebrate with the people standing next to you. Still, I don’t think I’ll ever go to another game. Just not my thing” -Preston Wong
SOURCES
Baseball Almanac, Inc. Polo Grounds Historical Analysis by Baseball Almanac, www.baseball-almanac.com/teamstats/schedule.php?y=1959&t=LAN.
“Franchise Timeline — 1890s.” MLB.com, www.mlb.com/dodgers/history/timeline-1890s.
Langill, Mark. “April 18, 1958: The Start of Something Big — Dodger Insider.” Dodger Insider, Dodger Insider, 18 Apr. 2014, dodgers.mlblogs.com/april-18–1958-the-start-of-something-big-bd0e1866ac44.
Perlmutter, Marty. “Giants Dodgers First West Coast Baseball Game 1958.” YouTube, YouTube, 25 Feb. 2009, www.youtube.com/watch?v=nk2LQz1kwnc.
ACADEMIC HONESTY STATEMENT
We declare that this work is our own work and that we have correctly acknowledged the work of others. This work is in accordance with the SMHS Academic Honesty Policy and its guidance on good academic conduct and how to avoid plagiarism and other assessment irregularities.
- Ethan Wang
- Kurtis Tsai
- Preston Wong
