Oct. 2, 1959: A carnival mood prevailed throughout the night and early morning as the ticket line — which stretched around the Coliseum — waited patiently for the windows to open. But the holiday spirit changed to dismay and then to dejection as the crowd, watching and listening to the first series game in Chicago on hundreds of portable television and radio sets, heard how the White Sox were slowly mauling their heroes.

Frankly, I'm intrigued by the idea of anybody hauling one of those big, clunky black and white "portable" TVs down to the Coliseum. I wonder where they got the electricity to run them. — lrh. 

Can a team suffer a letdown in the first game of the World Series?

After their dramatic playoff victory over the Braves, the Dodgers
certainly came out flat against the White Sox, losing 11-0. The Times'
Frank Finch said, "The Sox simply batted the Dodgers' brains out."

Ted Kluszewski hit two home runs and Chicago scored seven times in
the third inning. The only Dodger highlight was there would be a Game
2.

"It was just one of those games where you get the hell knocked out
of you," Manager Walt Alston said. "But that kind of defeat doesn't
count any different than one that goes 13 innings and 2-1."

Alston said his relief pitching—including Sandy Koufax—was a bright
spot. "It might be that Sandy will get a start in this series
someplace."

The Times reported that all Coliseum tickets were sold out and L.A.
hotel space was filling up, in part because of an already scheduled
real estate brokers' convention. "Happy fans snapped them up as if they
were passports to paradise," the paper gushed about the ticket sales.
Jeane Hoffman reported that more than 277,000 fans would attend if all
three L.A. games were played and the Dodgers would definitely come out
a winner. They would be able to use the Coliseum technically rent free
for the series and because of the team's lease the Coliseum would
actually owe the team $18,499 for concessions.

–Keith Thursby