Don Drysdale
Game 1 was set to be a pitching duel between Dodgers' Don Drysdale and the Twins' Mudcat Grant (21–7, 3.30 ERA on the year). Drysdale was starting because the game fell on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year in the Jewish calendar. Dodger ace Sandy Koufax, who is Jewish, stated he would not pitch that day.