In what is considered to be one of the most violent on-field brawls in sports history, pitcher Juan Marichal of the San Francisco Giants hit catcher John Roseboro of the Los Angeles Dodgers on the head with a bat, opening a gash on Roseboro's head and starting a fourteen-minute brawl between the teams in the middle of a heated pennant race.

The 1965 National League pennant chase was a close and heated contest between the Dodgers and the Giants, who had shared an intense rivalry dating back to their days in New York City that carried over after their move to the West Coast.

[2] The game took place in a tense atmosphere, as emotions were raw due to previous minor altercations between the teams.

[3] The game featured a pitching matchup between two aces and future Hall of Famers: Marichal for the Giants and Sandy Koufax for the Dodgers, both favorites to win the Cy Young Award that season.

Los Angeles shortstop Maury Wills led off the game with a bunt single off Marichal, and eventually scored a run when Ron Fairly hit a double.

[3] In the top of the third inning with two outs, Marichal threw a fastball that came close to hitting Fairly, prompting him to dive to the ground.

[3] Marichal's act angered the Dodgers sitting in the dugout, and home plate umpire Shag Crawford warned both teams that any further retaliation would not be tolerated.

Instead, he was startled when Roseboro's return throw to Koufax after the second pitch either brushed his ear or came close enough for him to feel the breeze off the ball.

Roseboro filed a lawsuit against Marichal seeking $110,000 in damages one week after the incident, but eventually settled out of court for $7,500.

[2] Many people thought Marichal's punishment was too lenient, since it would cost him only two starts,[2] and fans booed him for the rest of the season whenever he pitched a road game.

[5] Ironically, the Giants went on a fourteen-game winning streak that started during Marichal's absence, and by then it was a two-team race as Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and Milwaukee fell further behind.

In his telling, Roseboro took matters into his own hands as he did not want to risk Koufax being ejected and possibly being suspended for retaliating while the Dodgers were in the middle of a close pennant race.

[2] After years of bitterness, Roseboro and Marichal became close friends in the 1980s, getting together occasionally at old-timers' games, golf tournaments, and charity events.