Apr. 23, 1963 - Frank Howard (pictured) hit a towering home run at Dodger Stadium with two out in the bottom of the ninth today, giving Los Angeles a 2-1 victory over the Milwaukee Braves, who played the game under protest. The blow by Howard came after Hank Aaron of the Braves had tied the score in the top of the ninth with a 420-foot homer to dead-center field. Milwaukee manager Bobby Bragan protested the game after the plate umpire, Augie Donatelli, called two successive balks on the Braves’ starter, Bob Shaw. Sandy Koufax started for the Dodgers and pitched two-hit ball for 6 and 2/3 innings. He suffered a muscle spasm in his left shoulder while pitching to Dennis Menke and was taken out. A preliminary examination by Dr. Robert Kerlan indicated Koufax may have to miss his next pitching turn. “Koufax occasionally was bothered by a muscle spasm during spring training, and he was bothered again in the early stages of the game,” said Dr. Kerlan. Although he’d allowed only the two hits and fanned five, Koufax appeared to be laboring. His pitches frequently bounced in front of the plate. Howard, wearing glasses for the first time in a game, was beginning to wonder whether the specs would be any help. Twice he was fanned by Shaw, and he grounded out meekly on his third trip. Hondo’s adversary in the ninth was Claude Raymond, who relieved after Shaw bowed out for a pinch hitter in the eighth. Pitching to Howard ever so carefully with two out, Raymond had a 3-1 count on the huge Dodger when he made contact with a vicious swing that sent the ball sailing high into the left-field stands. Ron Perranoski, who pitched in relief, was credited with the victory.
