I remember it well. The date was October 5, 1963 and I was two months shy of my 10th birthday.

A few days earlier my dad had intentionally kept my 12-year-old brother Tom and me out of school so that we could stand in line – all day – at the advanced ticket sales booth located in what is now Lot-13 at Dodger Stadium to (hopefully) purchase tickets for Game-4 of the 1963 World Series between the Dodgers and the New York Yankees. It would be the first World Series ever held at two-year-old Dodger Stadium. (Hey, who was I to argue with my dad about missing Mrs. Kessler’s 4th grade class that day, right?).

Even though my dad had dropped us off early, around 8:00 am, the line was already enormous. In fact, it took us until 3:00 pm to finally get to the ticket window. Wouldn’t you know it, tickets to Game-4 – a potential final game of the series with the great Sandy Koufax scheduled to pitch – had just sold out. In fact, we were very fortunate that there were tickets left for Game-3 – but there were. We ended up with tickets in the Field Level in section 51 which, although out past the left field foul pole, would keep us in the shade for the entire Saturday afternoon game.

As every Dodger fan knows, the Dodgers went on to sweep the highly-favored Yankees in four games. And though we (my dad, my oldest brother Jerry, Tom and I) did not get to witness Koufax pitch and win Game-4, we did get to witness what many consider to be one of the best World Series games ever played in Game-3 – the first ever World Series game to be played at Dodger Stadium.

Why is Game-3 of the 1963 World Series considered to be one of the best World Series games ever played, you ask? Because aside from Don Larsen‘s perfect game in Game-5 of the 1956 World Series between the Yankees and the Brooklyn Dodgers, it was as close to a World Series no-hitter since. On that warm fall afternoon, Dodgers Hall of Fame right-hander Don Drysdale pitched a 1-0, complete game, three-hit shutout. And though the number of pitches thrown weren’t recorded in those days, Drysdale made every one of them to the 32 batters he faced that day. It was also the Dodgers only postseason 1-0 shutout win in their (then) 80-year franchise history.

Drysdale’s 1-0 / three-hit shutout in Game-3 of the 1963 World Series was the most dominant postseason pitching performance in Dodgers history … until Sunday night. (AP photo)

Fast forward to October 16, 2016.

In Game-2 of the 2016 National league Championship Series between the Dodgers and the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sunday night, Dodgers ace and three-time NL Cy Young award winner (and 2014 NL MVP) left-hander Clayton Kershaw pitched seven shutout innings in which he allowed only two hits (consecutive singles in the seventh inning) while striking out six and walking one. He did so while protecting a 1-0 lead on a second-inning leadoff solo home run by Dodgers first baseman Adrian Gonzalez off of (probable) 2016 NL Cy Young award winner right-hander Kyle Hendricks, who also pitched a gem, allowing only the one run on three hits while striking out five and walking four in his 5.1 innings of work.

But wait … There’s more!

Dodgers manager Dave Roberts removed Kershaw from the game after his seven brilliant innings of work during which he made a total of 84 pitches (55 for strikes) and replaced him with Dodgers right-handed closer Kenley Jansen for a potential six-out save. Not only did Jansen get the save, he did so by retiring all six batters he faced in order, four by strikeout, and did so on only 18 pitches, of which 16 were strikes.

Kershaw and Jansen threw a total of 102 total pitches in their combined 1-0 shutout on Sunday night – 71 of them were strikes. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo & Jonathan Daniel)

It was the Dodgers first 1-0 postseason shutout win since Drysdale’s near no-hitter in Game-3 of the 1963 World Series 53 years earlier and only the second one in the Dodgers (now) 133-year franchise history.

Thanks dad.

…and sorry about that Mrs. Kessler.