John Roseboro Talks About Don Drysdale

DON DRYSDALE

Excerpt from

"Glory Days with the Dodgers"

by John Roseboro with Bill Libby

Chapter 17, Page 166

Our other pitching star of that time, Don Drysdale, was a different type. He didn't mind the spotlight. He didn't look for it, but it didn't bother him. He's still in it, as one of the better broadcasters......

Driz, as I called him, was, however, a very volatile guy. He had a hair-trigger temper. He was a good guy, but he could be as mean as Sandy was clean. Drize could drink like no man I've ever known. My wife and I used to go out to dinner with Driz and Perranoski and their wives and long after the rest of us were done drinking, Driz was still going strong. He could hold it, too. He could drink most men under the table.

I do remember him drunk one time coming home from a winning World Series. We were playing cards on the plane and he wanted into the game. We let him in figuring he was so drunk he was easy money. It turned out he took us for everything we had. His legs might have been wobbly, but his head was still straight......

There are screened box seats behind home plate and between the dugouts at Dodger Stadium that are built at field level. The people that sit in them actually sit below field level, with the upper part of their bodies above. A lot of stars sit in these seats. One time Liz Taylor was sitting in one in an especially low-cut dress. Driz didn't miss much. He was pitching and his first pitch went way wide, wild, and right up to the screen in front of her box. I went back to pick it up and when I looked down there was Liz, both of them. It took me a long time to pick up the ball. When I did, I didn't throw it, but took it back to the mound. When I handed it to Driz, I asked him what kind of pitch that was supposed to be. He smiled and said, "I just like to take care of my catcher."