The footballiest Dodger games of all time

Jamey Wright celebrates a Dodger touchdown in their 17-0 victory over San Francisco in September. (Jon SooHoo/Los Angeles Dodgers)

By Jon Weisman

I’m not the world’s biggest football fan anymore, but it still amuses me when the Dodgers go up by a touchdown, so to speak. (Less so when they’re losing by a touchdown.)

With football playoffs in gear and the Dodgers offseason having one of its quieter weeks — though Jimmy Rollins will be making an appearance at Dodger Stadium at 4 p.m. today, airing live on SportsNet LA and Dodgers.com — I thought it’d be fun to check out the Dodger games that looked the most like football scores. (The NFL and AAFC Brooklyn Dodgers not included.)

If one other person finds pleasure out of this, it will have been worth my while. (I’m counting on you, Eric Stephen.)

• Dodgers 21, Pirates 12 (June 24, 1950): This was the only time the Dodgers have scored exactly 21 runs in a game — and though I was hoping it would have taken place at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, it did at least have Pittsburgh come within a two-point conversion of some real football goodness. Bonus: the Dodgers scored a touchdown and extra point in the bottom of the eighth inning to put a 14-12 game out of reach. Jackie Robinson and Roy Campanella each went 4 for 6, and Carl Furillo and Jim Russell reached base five times. Preacher Roe allowed two inherited runs to score but pitched four shutout innings in relief for the win, after entering with the Dodgers trailing.
• Dodgers 14, Cubs 13 (July 22, 1935): It took an extra point in overtime (the 11th inning) for the Dodgers to edge the Cubs at Wrigley Field. Brooklyn might have staved off extra baseball had it made the conversion after scoring a touchdown in the top of the third.
• Robins 14, Phillies 13 (May 17, 1929): Philadelphia kicked a field goal just before the clock ticked away in the bottom of the ninth, but it wasn’t enough. Babe Herman had four hits for Brooklyn.
• Dodgers 14, Pirates 10 (May 30, 1945): Augie Galan accounted for a touchdown by driving in six runs, while pitcher Hal Gregg made a defensive stand with four shutout innings for the save.
• Giants 17, Dodgers 10 (April 15, 1922): In an Oregon-style blitzkrieg, New York scored 11 in the first period, then added a field goal in the second. A touchdown by the Dodgers in the fifth inning helped mitigate the slaughter, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
• Cardinals 17, Dodgers 10 (July 21, 1930): St. Louis’ second-inning touchdown and extra point were the difference in this one. Hal Lee had a pinch-hit field goal for Brooklyn.
• Dodgers 13, Rockies 10 (June 29, 1996): Thanks to an eighth-inning touchdown (not to mention three Mike Piazza home runs), the Dodgers were cruising with a 13-0 lead and time running out on Colorado. But the Rockies scored a touchdown and two-point conversion in the bottom of the eighth, then added a ninth-inning safety to put a scare in Los Angeles. You could say Todd Worrell recovered Colorado’s last-ditch onside kick, striking out the final two batters of the game.
• Giants 14, Dodgers 10 (September 23, 1970): Leading 8-0 after six innings, the Dodgers allowed a touchdown and field goal in the seventh. The game eventually went into overtime, at which point the Giants put a field goal and a rouge on the scoreboard to win.
• Giants 14, Dodgers 13 (July 17, 1969): A year earlier, the circumstances were reversed but the result much the same. A seventh-inning touchdown and extra point gave the Dodgers a 13-11 lead, but San Francisco came back with a Bob Burda field goal to win it.
• Dodgers 13, Pirates 6 (April 16, 1961): This is probably the best of the Dodger football scores in the Coliseum. A fifth-inning field goal gave Los Angeles the lead for good.
• Dodgers 17, Giants 0 (September 13, 2014): The top football-style shutout in Dodger history came just last year and featured a phenomenal two-way performance by Zack Greinke, who had a walk, double, home run and six shutout innings. A safety in the seventh inning sealed the final margin.