Ironically, Drysdale's last full season was also one of his best. The ironman pitcher dished out six straight shutout games, amounting to a record-breaking 58 consecutive scoreless innings. However, he left baseball in 1969, forced to retire early at age 33 because of a torn rotator cuff. "A torn rotator cuff is a cancer for a pitcher," Drysdale said regrettably. "And if a pitcher gets a badly torn one, he has to face the facts, it's all over baby."

Drysdale was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1984. Later that year on July 1, the Dodgers retired his jersey No. 53. He continued to be involved in sports, namely baseball, throughout his life. Drysdale eventually went on to become a sports broadcaster, and had the bittersweet privilege of announcing the night a new shutout record was created. Twenty years after Drysdale set the bar, Orel Hershiser surpassed his Dodger alum in the record books.

On July 3, 1993, while working in Montreal, 56-year-old Don Drysdale suffered a heart attack and died. Per his wishes, Drysdale was taken to Forest Lawn Cemetery in Glendale, California, where his body was cremated.

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