Episode: “Dennis and the Dodger” (1962)
REVIEWED BY MARK A. LARSON
Editor & Publisher
Dennis really isn’t much of a menace in this episode that features future Hall-of-Famer Sandy Koufax in a prominent role as himself.
The season before this installment of CBS’s “Dennis the Menace” hit the airwaves was Koufax’s breakout year. The southpaw made his first All-Star game appearance en route to an 18-13 record and led the National League with 269 strikeouts.
In fact, Koufax’s 12-year major league career can basically be broken down into two distinct halves. From 1955-60, he was just 36-40, with a 4.10 ERA in parts of a half-dozen seasons. From 1961-66, he posted an impeccable 2.19 ERA to go along with a record of 129-47 (.733 winning percentage).
ran for four seasons
from 1959-63 on CBS
Unfortunately, Koufax’s pitching career ended prematurely at age 30 due to arthritis in his pitching arm. In his last season, he was at the peak of his game … winning 27 games and leading the league for the fifth straight year with a 1.73 ERA. (Both were personal bests.)
In this episode, Dennis is looking for someone to coach his baseball team. Mr. Quigley, a local grocer, convinces Dennis he’s the one for the job. (As it turns out, Quigley’s baseball knowledge is pretty sketchy, but he wants to make sure a rival grocer doesn’t get the position. Plus, he can advertise on the uniforms.)
Meanwhile, the Mayor gets wind of the fact that Koufax will be visiting their city for a few days. When Quigley approaches His Honor about new uniforms for the team, the Mayor suggests a quid pro quo. If Quigley heads up the Sandy Koufax welcoming committee and convinces the star pitcher to get the Dodgers to play an exhibition game in the city, new uniforms will be provided. A puzzled Quigley asks “Sandy who?”
When Koufax happens to show up at practice and innocently offers to help, Quigley is taken aback that a “stranger” would interfere. When the boys recognize the fireballer, they ask him to stay. Quigley feels he got the brush-off and sort of mildly insults Koufax.
Later, with the help of the Dodgers’ lefty, Quigley regains the confidence of the team and continues coaching. He apologizes to Koufax for “balling him out.” And Koufax replies “After being balled out by Walter Alston, you seemed almost friendly.”
Koufax’s easy-going, soft-spoken, affable manner fits in well with the story … especially in contrast to the somewhat uptight Mr. Quigley character.
EXTRA NOTES ABOUT THE SHOW:
• This was the first episode without the original Mr. Wilson – Dennis’s neighbor and sometime nemesis. (Actor Joseph Kearns had died suddenly.) Early in the show, Mrs. Wilson is in the grocery store at the same time as Dennis and comments about her husband leaving on a trip. In fact, Dennis states: “We sure are going to miss good old Mr. Wilson, we were counting on him to coach our baseball team again this year.”
• Just a month after Koufax appeared on “Dennis and the Dodger,” his teammate and fellow future Hall-of-Fame hurler Don Drysdale was on rival network ABC’s “Leave it to Beaver.”
• When Dennis’s team acts like they want Koufax to be their coach, Mr. Quigley utters the best line of the show: “Now I know how Casey Stengel felt.” (A year and a half earlier, Stengel had been given an unceremonious heave-ho as manager of the Yankees because of his age – to which he quipped “I’ll never make the mistake of being 70 again.”)
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NOTE: To find out if this show is available in your area, use a search engine and type in: “Where to watch DENNIS THE MENACE” … In general, know that some television programs are currently only available on DVD, so check your local library … Others may not be available at all at this time.
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