Fans packed Seals Stadium from the first day of big-league ball on the West Coast. On April 15th, in that historic opener, Ruben Gomez shut out the Los Angeles Dodgers, 8-0, and rookie first baseman Orlando Cepeda hit a home run in his second Major League at-bat.

Cepeda, "the Baby Bull," went on to win Rookie of the Year honors and overshadowed the astounding Willie Mays, whom many Bay Area fans viewed as New York's star, and not their own. Although the Giants finished 12 games out, and in third place, they still tallied a respectable 80-74 record.

More importantly, they beat the transplanted Dodgers 16-out-of-22 times, keeping alive a 75-year-old rivalry.