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Sandy Koufax

April 11, 2024

Sanford Koufax (/ˈkoʊfæks/; né Braun; born December 30, 1935), nicknamed "the Left Arm of God", is an American former baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn/Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966. Widely regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history, Koufax was the first three-time winner of the Cy Young Award, each time winning unanimously and the only pitcher to do so when a single award was given for both the leagues; he was also named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1963. Retiring at the age of 30 due to chronic pain in his pitching elbow, Koufax was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1972 at the age of 36, the youngest player ever elected.

Sandy Koufax
Koufax with the Los Angeles Dodgers, c. 1965
Pitcher
Born: (1935-12-30) December 30, 1935 (age 88)
Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Batted: Right
Threw: Left
MLB debut
June 24, 1955, for the Brooklyn Dodgers
Last MLB appearance
October 2, 1966, for the Los Angeles Dodgers
MLB statistics
Win–loss record165–87
Earned run average2.76
Strikeouts2,396
Teams
Career highlights and awards
Member of the National
Baseball Hall of Fame
Induction1972
Vote86.9% (first ballot)

Born in Brooklyn, New York, Koufax was primarily a basketball player in his youth and had only pitched a handful of games before signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers at age 19. Due to the bonus rule under which he was signed, Koufax never pitched a game in the minor leagues. As a result, the first half of his career was marred with inconsistency and control problems with flashes of brilliance in between. He set a modern record by striking out 18 batters in a game in 1959 and pitched brilliantly in the 1959 World Series. However, the lack of playing time frustrated Koufax and he almost quit after 1960. After making adjustments prior to the 1961 season to improve his control, Koufax quickly rose to become the most dominant pitcher in the major leagues. He was an All-Star in each of his last six seasons, leading the National League (NL) in earned run average each of his last five years, in strikeouts four times, and in wins and shutouts three times each. He was the first NL pitcher in 20 years to post an earned run average below 2.00, doing so three times, and the first to record a 300-strikeout season three times, including a then-major league record of 382 in 1965. Koufax tied his own record of 18 strikeouts in a game in 1962, and later became the first pitcher to record three immaculate innings.

Koufax won the Major League Triple Crown three times, leading the Dodgers to a pennant in each of those years. He was the first major league pitcher to throw four no-hitters, including a perfect game in 1965. He was named the World Series MVP twice, leading the weak-hitting Dodgers to titles in 1963 and 1965. At the time of his retirement, Koufax's career earned run average of 2.76 trailed only Whitey Ford among pitchers with at least 2,000 innings pitched since 1925. Despite his comparatively short career, his 2,396 career strikeouts ranked seventh in major league history at the time, trailing only Warren Spahn (2,583) among left-handers; his 40 shutouts were tied for ninth in modern NL history. He was the first pitcher in history to average more than nine strikeouts per nine innings pitched, and the first to allow fewer than seven hits per nine innings pitched. Koufax, along with teammate Don Drysdale, became a pivotal figure in baseball's labor movement when the two staged joint holdout and demanded a fairer contract from the Dodgers. He is also one of the outstanding Jewish athletes in American sports; Koufax's decision not to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur, like Hank Greenberg before him, garnered national attention and made him an icon in the American Jewish community.

Since retiring, Koufax has kept a low profile and makes public appearances on rare occasions. In December 1966, he signed a 10-year contract to work as a broadcaster for NBC; uncomfortable in front of television cameras and with public speaking, he resigned after six years. In 1979, Koufax returned to the Dodgers to work as a pitching coach in the Dodgers' farm system; he resigned from the position in 1990 but continues to make informal appearances during spring training. From 2013 to 2015, Koufax worked in an executive position for the Dodgers, as special advisor to chairman Mark Walter. In 1999, he was named to the Major League Baseball All-Century Team. His number 32 was retired by the Dodgers in 1972 and he was honored with a statue outside the centerfield plaza of Dodger Stadium in 2022. That same year, Koufax became the first player to mark the 50th anniversary of his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Early life edit

Koufax was born Sanford Braun on December 30, 1935, to Evelyn (née Lichtenstein) and Jack Braun in Borough Park, Brooklyn.[1] His parents divorced when he was three years old. The son of a single working parent, he spent most of his childhood with his maternal grandparents. Evelyn, an accountant, eventually remarried when her son was nine years old, to Irving Koufax, an attorney whose name Sandy took. Koufax also had a stepsister, Edie, Irving's daughter from a previous marriage.[2]

Shortly after his mother's remarriage, the family moved to the Long Island suburb of Rockville Centre. The day after Koufax graduated from ninth grade, in June 1949, they moved back to Brooklyn, settling in the neighborhood of Bensonhurst.[3]

Koufax attended Lafayette High School where he was better known for basketball than for baseball. He started playing basketball for the community center team at the Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst, winning a few local titles with them. After a teacher's strike, which had caused a blackout of all school athletics, Lafayette brought back their basketball team and Koufax went on to become team captain in his senior year; that year, he ranked second in his division in scoring, averaging 16.5 points per game.[2] He made newspaper headlines for the first time when, during a preseason exhibition game between the Lafayette basketball team and the New York Knicks, he dunked twice and showed up Knicks star Harry Gallatin.[4][5]

In 1951, at the age of 15, Koufax also joined a local youth baseball league known as the "Ice Cream League", playing for the Tomahawks. He started out as a left-handed catcher before moving to first base. He joined Lafayette's baseball team as a first baseman in his senior year at the urging of his friend Fred Wilpon.[6] While playing with the high school team, he was spotted by Milt Laurie, a newspaper deliveryman and a baseball coach who was the father of two Lafayette baseball players. Laurie noticed Koufax's strong throwing arm and recognized that he might be able to pitch. He recruited the 17-year-old to pitch for the Coney Island Sports League's Parkviews.[7]

 
 
Koufax with the 1954 University of Cincinnati baseball team (right; top row, 5th from the left) and freshman basketball team (left; standing, 2nd from the right)

Koufax attended the University of Cincinnati where he studied architecture.[8] He was a walk-on for the freshman basketball team, a complete unknown to coach Ed Jucker; he later earned a partial basketball scholarship. In his freshman year, Koufax averaged 9.7 points per game.[2]

In the spring of 1954, after the basketball season ended, he tried out for the college baseball team, which was also coached by Jucker, in part because the team was planning a last-minute road trip, starting with New Orleans.[9] In his only season of intercollegiate baseball, Koufax went 3–1 with a 2.81 earned run average, 51 strikeouts and 30 walks in 32 innings pitched.[10]

Major League tryouts edit

While with the college baseball team, Koufax began to attract the attention of baseball scouts. Bill Zinser, a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, sent the team's front office a glowing report that was filed away and forgotten.[11] Gene Bonnibeau, a scout for the New York Giants, found out about Koufax through a story in one of the Cincinnati newspapers and invited him to try out for the team at the Polo Grounds after the end of his freshman year. The workout did not go well for the nervous Koufax, who threw wildly over the catcher's head, and he never heard from the Giants again.[12]

In September, Ed McCarrick, a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates, showed interest in Koufax after seeing him in a few sandlot games with the Parkviews.[13] At McCarrick's behest, Branch Rickey, general manager of the Pirates at the time, sent his scout Clyde Sukeforth to see Koufax. Sukeforth was impressed with Koufax and invited him to Forbes Field for a tryout in front the Pirates front office. Upon seeing Koufax pitch in person, Rickey remarked to Sukeforth, "This is the greatest arm I've ever seen."[14] The Pirates, however, failed to offer Koufax a contract until after he was already committed to the Dodgers.[15]

Al Campanis, a Dodgers scout, heard about Koufax from Jimmy Murphy, a reporter from the Brooklyn Eagle who covered sandlot teams in Brooklyn and who had seen him pitch a few times for the Parkviews.[16][17] He was also urged by Pat Auletta, the owner of a sporting goods store and founder of the Coney Island Sports League in which the Parkviews played, to come and see Koufax pitch. Auletta arranged a workout at the Lafayette High baseball field; after watching Koufax throw, Campanis arranged a tryout for him at Ebbets Field.[18] With Dodgers manager Walter Alston and scouting director Fresco Thompson watching, Campanis assumed the hitter's stance while Koufax started throwing; he later said, "There are two times in my life the hair on my arms has stood up: The first time I saw the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the second time, I saw Sandy Koufax throw a fastball."[19][20]

Koufax also had a tryout with the Milwaukee Braves, to which he had previously committed, after returning to university. Afterwards, John Quinn, general manager of the Braves, made him an offer of $30,000.[21] Having already committed to signing with the Dodgers, Koufax declined. Irving Koufax negotiated a contract with the Dodgers on behalf of his son. Koufax signed with the Dodgers for $20,000 ($227,000 today) – $6,000 salary (league minimum at the time), with a $14,000 signing bonus; he had planned to use the money as tuition in order finish his college education had his baseball career failed.[2][22]

Professional career edit

At the time of Koufax's signing, the bonus rule implemented by Major League Baseball was still in effect. The rule stipulated that when a major league team signed a player to a contract with a signing bonus in excess of $4,000 ($55,000 today), the team was required to keep that player on their 25-man active roster for two full seasons; failure to comply with the rule would result in the team losing the rights to that player's contract, and the player would then be exposed to the waiver wire.[23]

Prior to Koufax, the Dodgers had signed Roberto Clemente to a contract with a signing bonus of $10,000 and placed him in their Triple-A affiliate, the Montreal Royals of the International League, subsequently losing him to the Pittsburgh Pirates.[24] Unlike with Clemente, the Dodgers decided to keep Koufax on their major league roster for at least the next two years. To make room for him on their 40-man roster, the Dodgers sold infielder Billy Cox and pitcher Preacher Roe to the Baltimore Orioles.[25]

During his first spring training, Koufax struggled with his new training regime and suffered from a sore arm most of the time.[26] Having only pitched twelve games in the sandlots and in college combined, he did not know much about pitching such as how to properly field a ball, how to hold a runner on base, or even pitching signs, later saying, "The only signs I knew were one finger for fastball and two for a curve, and here there were five or six signs." His lack of minor league experience meant Koufax never fully mastered all aspects of the game and took a lot longer to develop as a pitcher.[27]

Early years (1955–1960) edit

 
A ticket from the August 27, 1955 game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cincinnati Redlegs, where Koufax earned his first career win

Having injured his ankle in the last week of spring training, Koufax was placed on the disabled list for 30 days; he would be activated by the Dodgers on June 8. To make room for him, they optioned their future Hall of Fame manager, Tommy Lasorda, to the Montreal Royals. Lasorda would later joke that it took "one of the greatest left-handers in history" to keep him off the Dodgers major league roster.[28]

Koufax made his major league debut on June 24, 1955, against the Milwaukee Braves, with the Dodgers trailing 7–1 in the fifth inning. Johnny Logan, the first batter Koufax faced, hit a bloop single. Eddie Mathews bunted back to the mound, and Koufax threw the ball into center field. He then walked Henry Aaron on four pitches to load the bases, but struck out Bobby Thomson on a 3–2 fastball for his first career strikeout – an outcome Koufax later came to view as "probably the worst thing that could have happened to me", leading, as it did, to five seasons spent "trying to get out of trouble by throwing harder and harder and harder."[29] Koufax ended up pitching two scoreless innings, inducing a double play to end the bases-loaded threat and picking up another strikeout in a perfect sixth.[30]

Koufax's first start was on July 6, the second game of a doubleheader against the Pirates. He lasted only 4.2 innings, giving up eight walks.[31] He did not start again for almost two months.[32]

On August 27, Koufax threw a two-hit, 7–0 complete game shutout against the Cincinnati Redlegs for his first major league win. He struck out 14 batters, the most in a single game by an NL pitcher that season, and allowed only two hits.[33][34] His only other win in 1955, on September 3, was also a shutout, this time a five-hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates.[35]

In his rookie year, Koufax threw 41.2 innings in 12 appearances, striking out 30 batters and walking 28, with a record of 2–2 and 3.02 earned run average.[36] The Dodgers went on to win the National League pennant and the 1955 World Series over the New York Yankees, the first title in franchise history; however, Koufax did not appear in the series. During the fall, he had enrolled in the Columbia University School of General Studies, which offered night classes in architecture; after the final out of Game 7, Koufax went straight to Columbia to attend class.[37]

 
Koufax warming up at Wrigley Field, c. 1957

The 1956 season was not very different from 1955 for Koufax. Despite the blazing speed of his fastball, Koufax continued to struggle with his control. He saw little work, pitching only 58.2 innings with a 4.91 earned run average, 29 walks and 30 strikeouts.[38] When Koufax allowed baserunners, he was rarely permitted to finish the inning. Teammate Joe Pignatano remarked, years later, that as soon as Koufax threw a couple of balls in a row, Alston would signal for a replacement to start warming up in the bullpen. Jackie Robinson, in his final season, clashed with Alston on Koufax's usage. Robinson saw that Koufax was talented and had flashes of brilliance, and objected to him being benched for weeks at a time.[39]

To prepare him for the 1957 season, the Dodgers sent Koufax to Puerto Rico to play winter ball for the Criollos de Caguas.[40] For the Criollos, Koufax compiled a record of 3–6 with a 4.35 earned run average and 76 strikeouts in 64.2 innings pitched.[41] Two of his wins were shutouts, including a one-hitter and a two-hitter, with Roberto Clemente getting both hits against him in the latter.[42]

On May 15, the restriction on sending Koufax down to the minors was lifted. Alston gave him a chance to justify his place on the major league roster by giving him the next day's start. Facing the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field, Koufax struck out 13 while pitching his first complete game in almost two years. For the first time in his career, he was in the starting rotation, but only for two weeks. Despite winning three of his next five with a 2.90 earned run average, Koufax did not get another start for 45 days. In that start, he struck out 11 in seven innings, but got no decision. On September 29, he became the last man to pitch for the Brooklyn Dodgers before their move to Los Angeles, throwing an inning of relief in the final game of the season.[43]

 
Koufax and teammate Don Drysdale changing parts on a 2 1⁄2-ton truck at the U.S. Army Reserve Center in Van Nuys, California

Koufax and fellow Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale served six months in the United States Army Reserve in Fort Dix, New Jersey and Van Nuys, California after the end of the 1957 season and before spring training in 1958.[44]

Koufax began the 1958 season 7–3, but sprained his ankle in a collision at first base on July 5 against the Chicago Cubs, resulting in a long layoff. Throughout the season, he was also plagued with back pain which was the result of a benign tumor on his rib cage, necessitating him to undergo surgery in the off-season to have the growth removed.[27] As a result, he finished the season at 11–11 and leading the majors in wild pitches.[45]

In 1959, on June 22, he set the record for a night game with 16 strikeouts against Philadelphia Phillies.[46][47] On August 31, against the Giants, he set the NL single-game record and tied Bob Feller's modern Major League record of 18 strikeouts, and also scored on Wally Moon's walk-off home run for a 5–2 win.[48][49][50]

That season, the Dodgers won a tight pennant race against the Giants and the Milwaukee Braves, going on to beat the Chicago White Sox in the World Series. Koufax pitched two perfect relief innings in the Series opener, though they came after the Dodgers were already behind 11–0. Alston gave him the start in Game 5, at the Los Angeles Coliseum in front of 92,706 fans. In what would have been the series-clinching game, Koufax allowed only one run in seven innings but lost the game 1–0 when Nellie Fox scored on a double play and the Dodgers failed to score a run in support. Returning to Chicago, the Dodgers won Game 6 and the Series, their first in Los Angeles.[51][52]

In early 1960, Koufax asked Dodgers general manager Buzzie Bavasi to trade him because he believed he was not getting enough playing time, a request that was denied. On May 23, he pitched a one-hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates, allowing only a second-inning single by pitcher Bennie Daniels and striking out 10 batters in the process.[53] However, the game was a highlight in an otherwise bad year for Koufax in which he went 8–13 with a 3.97 earned run average.[36]

By the end of the year, frustrated with his lack of progress, Koufax was thinking about quitting baseball entirely. In his first six seasons, he had posted a record of 36–40 with a 4.10 earned run average. After the last game of the season, he threw his gloves and spikes into the trash, having decided to retire and devote himself to an electronics business in which he had invested. Nobe Kawano, the clubhouse supervisor, retrieved the equipment in case Koufax decided to return the following year.[54]

Domination (1961–1964) edit

 
Koufax in 1961

Koufax decided to try one more year to succeed in baseball; years later he recalled, "That winter was when I really started working out. I started running more. I decided I was really going to find out how good I can be."[55] During the offseason, Koufax underwent tonsillectomy due to recurring throat issues and, as a result, reported to spring training thirty pounds under his normal playing weight. Koufax later stated that it forced him to regain the lost muscle mass and weight through exercise and nutrition, allowing him to get into the "best shape" of his life. From then on, he made it a point to report to spring training under his playing weight.[2][56]

During spring training, Dodger scout Kenny Myers discovered a hitch in Koufax's windup, where he would rear back so far he would lose sight of the target.[57] As a result, Koufax tightened up his mechanics, believing that not only would it help better his control but would also help him disguise his pitches better.[58]

On March 23, Koufax was chosen to pitch in a B-squad game against the Minnesota Twins in Orlando, Florida, by teammate Gil Hodges who was acting manager for the day. As teammate Ed Palmquist had missed the flight, leaving the team short one pitcher, Hodges told Koufax he needed to pitch at least seven innings. Prior to the game, catcher Norm Sherry told him: "If you get behind the hitters, don't try to throw so hard." This was due to Koufax's tendency to lose control of his temper and throw hard when he got into trouble.[2] The strategy worked initially before Koufax temporarily reverted to throwing hard and walked the bases loaded with no out in the fifth. Sherry reminded Koufax of their discussion, advising him to settle down and throw to his glove and to throw more breaking pitches. The advice worked; Koufax struck out the side and then went on to pitch seven no-hit innings.[59][60]

Additionally, Dodgers statistician Allan Roth helped Koufax tweak his game in the early 1960s, particularly regarding the importance of first-pitch strikes and the benefits of off-speed pitches. Like Sherry, Roth also urged him to take a little speed off his pitches in order to improve his control.[2][61]

1961 season edit

All the improvements and changes made in the offseason and during spring training resulted in 1961 becoming Koufax's breakout season. He posted an 18–13 record and led the majors with 269 strikeouts, breaking Christy Mathewson's 58-year-old National League mark of 267, and doing so in 110 innings fewer than Mathewson had.[62]

That season also marked the first time in his career that Koufax started at least 30 games (35) and pitched at least 200 innings (255.2). He lowered his walks allowed per nine innings from 5.1 in 1960 to 3.4 in 1961 and led the NL with a strikeout-to-walk ratio of 2.80.[36]

On September 20, Koufax won a 13-inning contest against the Chicago Cubs for his 18th win of the year. He pitched a complete game, throwing 205 pitches, striking out fifteen batters.[63]

That year, he was named an All-Star for the first time and appeared in both All-Star Games.[a] In the first game, he faced only one batter, giving up a hit to Al Kaline in the ninth inning before being removed by NL manager Danny Murtaugh. In the second game, he pitched two scoreless innings.[65]

1962 season edit

In 1962, the Dodgers moved from the Los Angeles Coliseum – a football stadium which had a 250-foot (75 m) left-field line, an enormous disadvantage to left-handed pitchers – to Dodger Stadium. The new park was pitcher-friendly, with a large foul territory and a comparatively poor hitting background. Koufax was an immediate beneficiary of the move, lowering his earned run average at home from 4.22 to 1.75.[66] Subsequently, he recorded what would be his first great season, leading the NL in ERA and the majors in hits per nine innings and strikeouts per nine innings.[36]

 
Koufax at Dodger Stadium, c. 1962

On April 24, Koufax tied his own record of 18 strikeouts in a 10–2 win over the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field.[67] On June 13, against the Braves at Milwaukee County Stadium, he hit his first career home run off future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn, providing the winning margin in a 2–1 victory.[68]

On June 30, he threw his first career no-hitter against the expansion New York Mets. In the first inning of that game, he struck out all three batters on nine total pitches, becoming the sixth NL pitcher and the 11th pitcher overall to throw an immaculate inning; he remains the only one to do so in a no-hitter.[69][70] His no-hitter, along with a 4–2 record, 73 strikeouts and a 1.23 earned run average, earned him the Player of the Month Award for June. It would be the only time in his career he earned this distinction.[71]

Throughout the first half of the season, Koufax dealt with an injured pitching hand.[27] In April, while at bat, he had been jammed by a pitch from Earl Francis of the Pirates. A numbness soon developed in the index finger on his left hand, and the finger became cold and white. Due to his strong start to the season, Koufax ignored the problem, hoping that the condition would clear up. By July, however, his entire hand was becoming numb and, during a start against Cincinnati, his finger split open.[72] A vascular specialist determined that Koufax had a crushed artery in his palm. Ten days of experimental medicine successfully reopened the artery, preventing the possibility of amputation.[73]

Koufax was finally able to pitch again in September, when the team was locked in a tight pennant race with the Giants.[74] However, after the long layoff, he was rusty and ineffective in three appearances and, by the end of the regular season and in part due to Koufax's absence from the Dodgers rotation, the Giants caught up with the Dodgers and forced a three-game playoff.[75]

Before the playoffs began, manager Alston asked Koufax if he could start the first game. With an overworked pitching staff, Koufax obliged. However, still rusty from the long layoff, he was knocked out in the second inning, after giving up home runs to Willie Mays and Jim Davenport. After winning the second game of the series, the Dodgers blew a 4–2 lead in the ninth inning of the deciding third game, losing the pennant.[76]

1963 season edit

In 1963, Major League Baseball expanded the strike zone as a way to combat what they perceived as too much offense.[77] Compared to the previous season, walks in the NL fell 13%, strikeouts increased 6%, the league batting average fell from .261 to .245, and runs scored declined 15%.[78] Koufax, who had reduced his walks allowed per nine innings to 3.4 in 1961 and 2.8 in 1962, reduced it further to 1.7 in 1963, which ranked fifth in the league.[36]

 
Koufax and Whitey Ford prior to Game 4 of the 1963 World Series

On April 19, Koufax threw his second immaculate inning, this time in a two-hit shutout win against the Houston Colt .45s, becoming the first NL pitcher and the second pitcher ever (after Lefty Grove) to throw two immaculate innings.[70] However, on April 23, he left the game against the Braves after throwing seven scoreless innings due to injuring the posterior capsule of his left shoulder. Koufax subsequently missed two weeks, returning on May 7 against the Cardinals.[79]

Koufax threw his second career no-hitter against the San Francisco Giants on May 11, besting Giants ace Juan Marichal – himself a no-hit pitcher on June 15. Koufax carried a perfect game into the eighth inning against the powerful Giants lineup which included future Hall of Famers Willie Mays, Willie McCovey, and Orlando Cepeda. The perfect game ended when he walked catcher Ed Bailey on a 3-and-2 pitch. He closed out the game after walking pinch-hitter McCovey on four pitches with two out in the ninth.[80][81]

From July 3 to 16, he pitched 33 consecutive scoreless innings, pitching three shutouts to lower his earned run average to 1.65. On July 20, he hit the second and last home run of his career, coincidentally again in Milwaukee. He hit a three-run shot off Braves pitcher Denny Lemaster to propel the team to a 5–4 win; it was his only game with three runs batted in.[36]

In 1963, Koufax won the first of three pitching Triple Crowns, leading the league in wins (25), strikeouts (306) and earned run average (1.88).[82] He threw 11 shutouts, eclipsing Carl Hubbell's 30-year, post-1900 mark for a left-handed pitcher of 10 and setting a record that stands to this day. Only Bob Gibson, with 13 shutouts in his iconic 1968 season (known as "the year of the pitcher"), has thrown more since.[83]

Koufax won the National League Most Valuable Player Award,[84] and was the first-ever unanimous selection for the Cy Young Award, winning at a time when only one was awarded for both leagues.[b][85] He was also named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the first time, and was awarded the Hickok Belt as the athlete of the year.[86]

Clinching the pennant on September 27, the Dodgers went on to face the New York Yankees in the 1963 World Series who were heavily favored to win. In Game 1, Koufax beat Whitey Ford 5–2. He struck out the first five batters and 15 overall, breaking Carl Erskine's decade-old record of 14. The Dodgers won Games 2 and 3 behind the pitching of Johnny Podres, Ron Perranoski, and Don Drysdale. Koufax completed the Dodgers' series sweep in Game 4 with a 2–1 victory over Ford, the only run he allowed being a home run by Mickey Mantle.[87][88]

During the series, Koufax struck out 23 batters in 18 innings, a record for a four-game World Series, and had a 2–0 record with an earned run average of 1.50; for his performance, he was awarded the World Series Most Valuable Player Award.[89][90][91]

Salary dispute edit

After his successful 1963 season, Koufax decided to ask the Dodgers for a salary raise to $75,000, later writing in his autobiography: "I felt I was entitled to a healthy raise. Like double of the $35,000 I had received the year before, plus another $5,000 for good measure, good conduct, and good luck. They could hardly say I didn't deserve it."[92] However, during his meeting with Dodgers general manager Buzzie Bavasi, the latter stated Koufax had not earned such a big raise, using numerous excuses to justify his stance, including that he had not pitched enough innings the year before. Bavasi instead offered him $65,000.[93]

Angered at Bavasi's reasonings, Koufax held his ground. After tense negotiations, the pair finally agreed to $70,000 and Koufax signed just before the team was about to leave for spring training.[94] Soon after his signing, however, the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner published a story which incorrectly stated that Koufax had threatened to leave baseball if he did not get a salary of $90,000. Angered and shocked that the story had painted him as greedy, Koufax responded in an interview with Frank Finch of the Los Angeles Times that he did neither of those things, saying: "I've been hurt by people I thought were my friends."[95]

The story continued into spring training, with the usually quiet and reserved Koufax telling his side of the negotiations to sportswriters. He strongly suspected that somebody in the front office must have leaked the story. It took both Bavasi and Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley meeting with Koufax separately that finally led to him to dropping the matter. However, due to the bitter negotiation and what he felt was disrespect from the front office, Koufax's relationship with both men would never fully recover.[96]

1964 season edit

Koufax's 1964 season started with great expectations. On April 14, he made the only Opening Day start of his career, pitching a 4–0 shutout against the St. Louis Cardinals.[97] In his next start, he struck out three batters on nine pitches in the third inning of a 3–0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, becoming the first pitcher in Major League history to throw three immaculate innings.[70] On April 22, in St. Louis, however, Koufax "felt something let go" in his arm during the first inning, resulting in three cortisone shots in his sore left elbow and three missed starts.[98]

On June 4, against the Philadelphia Phillies in Connie Mack Stadium, Koufax threw his third career no-hitter, tying Bob Feller as the only modern-era pitchers to hurl three no-hitters. He only needed 97 pitches and faced the minimum 27 batters while striking out 13. The only full-count he allowed was to Dick Allen in the fourth inning; Allen walked and was thrown out trying to steal second base; he was the only baserunner for the Phillies that day.[99][100]

On August 8, during a game against the Milwaukee Braves, Koufax jammed his pitching arm while diving back to second base to beat a pick-off throw by Tony Cloninger. He managed to pitch and win two more games. However, the morning after his 19th win, a shutout in which he struck out 13 batters, Koufax woke up to find his elbow "as big as his knee" and found that he could no longer straighten his arm. He was diagnosed by Dodgers team physician Robert Kerlan with traumatic arthritis.[c][102] With the Dodgers out of the pennant race, Koufax did not pitch again that season, finishing with a 19–5 win-loss record and leading the National League with a 1.74 earned run average and 7 shutouts.[36]

Playing in pain (1965–66) edit

 
In his final seasons, Koufax iced his arm for hours after every game he pitched

After resting during the off-season, Koufax returned to spring training in 1965 and initially had no problems from pitching. On March 30, however, he woke up the morning after pitching a complete game against the Chicago White Sox to find his entire left arm swollen and black and blue from hemorrhaging. He returned to Los Angeles to consult with Kerlan who warned him that he would eventually lose the full use of his arm if he continued to pitch.[103]

Kerlan and Koufax came up with a schedule which he would follow for the last two seasons of his career. Koufax initially agreed to stop throwing between starts but, as it had been a part of his routine for a long time, he soon resumed it. Instead, he stopped throwing sidearm pitches (which he often did against left-handed batters) and removed his rarely-used slider from his repertoire.[104]

Before each start, Koufax would get a cortisone shot in his elbow and have capsaicin-based Capsolin ointment (nicknamed the "Atomic Balm" by players) rubbed over his shoulder and arm. Afterwards, he would soak his arm in a tub of ice to prevent swelling; during the ice treatments, he often wore a rubber sleeve fashioned from an inner tube to prevent frostbite. If his elbow swelled up after a game, the fluid needed to be drained with a syringe. For the pain, Koufax took Empirin with codeine every night and occasionally during a game. He also took Butazolidin, a drug used to treat inflammation caused by arthritis at the time but which was eventually taken off the market due to its toxic side-effects on the body's immunity.[105]

1965 season edit

Despite the constant pain in his pitching elbow, Koufax pitched a major league-leading 335.2 innings and 27 complete games, leading the Dodgers to another pennant. He won his second pitching Triple Crown, leading the Majors in wins (26), earned run average (2.04), and strikeouts (382).[82] Koufax captured his second unanimous Cy Young Award,[85] and was runner-up for the National League MVP Award, behind Willie Mays.[84]

Koufax's 382 strikeouts broke Bob Feller's modern record of 348 strikeouts in 1946, and was the highest modern-day total at the time.[d] He walked only 71 batters, the first time a pitcher struck out 300 more batters than he walked (311), a feat replicated only once since, by Randy Johnson (372 strikeouts to 71 walks in 2001). Additionally, he held batters to 5.79 hits per nine innings, and allowed the fewest baserunners per nine innings in any season ever: 7.83, breaking his own record (set two years earlier) of 7.96.[36]

Koufax was the pitcher for the Dodgers during the game on August 22, when Giants pitcher Juan Marichal clubbed Dodgers catcher John Roseboro in the head with a bat.[107] The game, which came in the middle of a heated pennant race, had been tense since it began, with Marichal brushing back Dodgers outfielder Ron Fairly and shortstop Maury Wills, and Koufax retaliating by throwing over the head of Willie Mays. After Koufax's retaliation, both benches were warned by umpire Shag Crawford; despite this, he asked Roseboro, "Who do you want me to get?" Not wanting to get Koufax ejected in the middle of a crucial game, Roseboro replied, "I'll handle it."[108]

After the clubbing occurred, Koufax rushed from the mound and attempted to grab the bat from Marichal. A fourteen-minute brawl ensued in which he and Mays attempted to restore peace, with Mays dragging the injured Roseboro away from the fight.[109] After the game resumed, a shaken up Koufax walked two batters before giving up a three-run home run to Mays. While he eventually settled down and pitched a complete game without allowing more runs, the Dodgers ended up losing the game 4–3.[110]

Perfection edit
Main article: Sandy Koufax's perfect game
 
Koufax holds four baseballs, signifying a then-record four career no-hitters, including his perfect game

On September 9, 1965, Koufax became the sixth pitcher of the modern era, and eighth overall, to throw a perfect game. The game, pitched against the Chicago Cubs, was Koufax's fourth no-hitter, setting a then-major league record, and the first by a left-hander in the modern era. He struck out 14 batters, the most recorded in a perfect game, and struck out at least one batter in each inning in the 1–0 win.[111]

The game also set a record for the fewest hits ever in a major league contest, as Cubs pitcher Bob Hendley pitched a one-hitter and allowed only two batters to reach base.[112] Both pitchers had no-hitters intact until the seventh inning. The winning run was unearned, scored in the fifth inning without a hit when Dodgers left fielder Lou Johnson walked, reached second on a sacrifice, stole third, and scored on a throwing error by Cubs catcher Chris Krug. The only hit came in the seventh inning, and was a bloop double hit by Johnson to shallow right.[113]

World Series and Yom Kippur edit

The Dodgers won the NL pennant on the second-to-last game of the season, against the Milwaukee Braves. Koufax started the game on two days' rest and pitched a complete game 3–1 win, striking out 13, to clinch the pennant for the Dodgers.[e][115]

Koufax declined to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series as it clashed with Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. His decision garnered national headlines, raising the conflict between professional pressures and personal religious beliefs to front-page news.[116] Instead, Drysdale pitched the opener, but was hit hard by the Minnesota Twins. When Dodgers manager Walter Alston came out to remove Drysdale from the game, the latter quipped: "I bet right now you wish I was Jewish, too."[117]

In Game 2, Koufax pitched six innings, giving up two runs (one unearned), and the Twins won 5–1 to take an early 2–0 lead in the series. The Dodgers fought back in Games 3 and 4, with wins by Claude Osteen and Drysdale. With the Series tied at 2–2, Koufax pitched a four-hit shutout in Game 5, striking out 10 batters, for a 3–2 Dodgers lead. The Series returned to Metropolitan Stadium for Game 6, which the Twins' Jim Grant won to force a seventh, decisive game.

For Game 7, Alston decided to start Koufax over the fully-rested Drysdale against the Twins' Jim Kaat; on just two days of rest, Koufax pitched through fatigue and arthritic pain. Despite giving up on his curveball early in the game after failing to throw strikes with it, and pitching the rest of the game relying almost entirely his fastball, Koufax threw a three-hit shutout, again striking out 10 batters, and clinched the Series for the Dodgers.[118][119]

For his performance, he won the World Series MVP Award, the first player to be awarded it multiple times. Koufax also won the Hickok Belt for a second time, also the first time anyone had won the belt more than once.[86] That year, he was named the Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated and also named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for a second time.[120]

Holdout edit

Main article: Koufax–Drysdale holdout

In the offseason, prior to the 1966 season, Koufax and Drysdale met separately with general manager Buzzie Bavasi to negotiate their contracts for the upcoming season. Koufax still harbored ill feelings towards Bavasi which dated back to the contract dispute prior to the 1964 season.[121] After his meeting, he met Drysdale and his wife Ginger for dinner, irritated that Bavasi was using his own teammate against him in the salary negotiations. Drysdale responded that Bavasi had done the same thing with him. The two compared notes on their separate negotiations, realizing that Bavasi had been playing one pitcher against the other.[122]

Ginger Drysdale, who had previously worked as a model and actress and was once a member of the Screen Actors Guild, suggested to the pair that they negotiate together in order to get what they wanted. Hence, in January 1966, the pair informed the Dodgers of their decision to hold out together.[123][124]

In a highly unusual move for the time, they were represented by entertainment lawyer J. William Hayes, Koufax's business manager. Also highly unusual was their demand of $1 million ($9.4 million today), divided equally over the next three years, or $167,000 ($1.57 million today) each for each of the next three seasons. They told Bavasi that they would negotiate their contracts as one unit and through their agent. The Dodgers refused to do so, stating it was against their policy, and a stalemate ensued. The front office began to wage a public relations campaign against the pair.[124]

 
Koufax and Drysdale, with Dodgers' GM Buzzie Bavasi and actor Chuck Connors, at the press conference announcing the signing of the pair to one-year contracts

Koufax and Drysdale did not report to spring training in February 1966. Instead, both signed to appear in the movie Warning Shot, starring David Janssen. Additionally, Koufax had signed a book deal to write his autobiography, Koufax, with author Ed Linn.[124] Meanwhile, Hayes unearthed a state law, the result of the De Havilland v. Warner Bros. Pictures case, that made it illegal to extend personal service contracts in California beyond seven years; he began to prepare a lawsuit which would have challenged the reserve clause. When Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley found out about this, the team's front office softened their stance towards the pair.[124]

Actor and former baseball player Chuck Connors helped arrange a meeting between Bavasi and the two pitchers. Koufax gave Drysdale the go-ahead to negotiate new deals on behalf of both of them. At the end of the thirty-two day holdout, Koufax signed for $125,000 ($1.17 million today) and Drysdale for $110,000 ($1,033,000 today).[124] The deal made Koufax the highest paid player in Major League Baseball for 1966.[125]

The holdout is noted to be the first significant event in baseball's labor movement and the first time major league players had challenged the absolute stronghold the owners held in baseball at the time. That same year, trade unionist Marvin Miller used the Koufax–Drysdale holdout as an argument for collective bargaining while campaigning for players' votes during spring training; he would be soon be elected by the players as first executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association.[126]

1966 season edit

In April 1966, Kerlan told Koufax it was time to retire and that his arm could not take another season. By this time, Koufax could no longer straighten his arm and it occasionally went numb, causing him to drop anything he was holding. Despite this, Koufax kept Kerlan's advice to himself, having decided the year before to make 1966 his last season. He went out to pitch every fourth day, accumulating 323 innings and not missing a single start.[127]

He posted a 27–9 win-loss record, with 317 strikeouts and a 1.73 earned run average, winning his third pitching Triple Crown.[82] Koufax won his third unanimous Cy Young Award, the first pitcher ever to win three,[85] and was again runner-up for the National League MVP Award, this time finishing behind Roberto Clemente of the Pirates.[f][84]

In the final game of the regular season, the Dodgers had to beat the Phillies in order to win the pennant. In the second game of a doubleheader, Koufax faced Jim Bunning for the second time that season.[128] On two days rest, Koufax pitched a 6–3 complete-game victory to clinch the pennant, the final win of his career.[129]

During the fifth inning, Koufax injured his back while pitching to Gary Sutherland who was pinch-hitting for Bunning. After the inning was over, he went straight to the trainer's room where the injury was diagnosed as likely being a slipped disc. Dodger trainers Bill Buehler and Wayne Anderson applied Capsolin on his back and, along with former Dodger Don Newcombe, pulled Koufax in opposite directions until the disc slipped back into place.[130]

The Dodgers went on to face the Baltimore Orioles in the 1966 World Series. As Koufax had pitched the pennant clincher just three days earlier, Walter Alston was reluctant to start him in Game 1 for what would have been two consecutive starts on two days' rest. Instead, Drysdale started in Koufax's place; he proved to be ineffective, however, recording only six outs and losing 5–2.[131]

Game 2 marked Koufax's third start in eight days. Despite being fatigued, Koufax shut out the Orioles for the first four innings. However, three errors by Dodgers centerfielder Willie Davis in the fifth inning produced three unearned runs. The only earned run allowed by Koufax was the result of Davis losing a fly ball hit by Frank Robinson which fell for a triple; Robinson subsequently scored on a single by Boog Powell. Koufax did not receive any run support either; Baltimore's 20-year-old future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer pitched a four-hit shutout, and the Orioles won 6–0.[132]

Alston lifted Koufax at the end of the sixth with the idea of getting him extra rest before a potential fifth game. Instead, the Dodgers were swept in four games. Claude Osteen and Drysdale both lost by a score of 1–0 in Games 3 and 4 respectively, with the offense failing to score a single run after having scored just two in Game 1.[133]

Retirement edit

On November 18, a few weeks after the 1966 World Series, Koufax announced his retirement from baseball in a press conference at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel.[134] He cited constant pain in his pitching arm and the treatments that were required to make it possible for him pitch regularly as the reason for ending his career at age 30, saying:

I've got a lot of years to live after baseball and I would like to live them with the complete use of my body. I don't regret one minute of the last twelve years, but I think I would regret one year that was too many.[135]

The announcement of his retirement came as a shock to baseball, particularly to his teammates. Soon afterwards, Koufax told an incredulous Dick Tracewski, his old Dodger roommate and close friend, that he could have continued to pitch but would have risked disability if he did so: "All my sport coats have two different arms in them. I can't go on doing this medication thing and pitching. It's going to kill me... Lots of bad things could happen. I just gotta retire." Years later, Koufax stated that he never regretted retiring when he did but did regret having to make the decision to retire.[136]

His retirement ended a five-year run in which Koufax went 111–34 with a 1.95 earned run average and 1,444 strikeouts. During that run, he led the Dodgers to three National League pennants and two World Series titles, in both of which he was named the series MVP. He won Cy Young Awards in each of the pennant-winning years, including the NL Most Valuable Player Award in 1963.[36]

Career overall edit

Statistics and achievements edit

In his 12-season major league career, Koufax had a 165–87 record with a 2.76 earned run average, 2,396 strikeouts, 137 complete games, and 40 shutouts. He was the first pitcher to average fewer than seven hits allowed per nine innings pitched (6.79) and to strike out more than nine batters (9.28) per nine innings pitched.[137][138] He remains, over half a century later, on the very short list of pitchers who retired with more career strikeouts than innings pitched.[36]

Koufax became the first pitcher in baseball history to have two games with 18 or more strikeouts, and the first to have eight games with at least 15 strikeouts (now fourth-most all-time). He also set a then-record of 97 games with at least 10 strikeouts (now sixth-most all-time).[139] In his last ten seasons, from 1957 to 1966, batters hit .203 against him, with a .271 on-base percentage and a .315 slugging average.[36] His run of five consecutive ERA titles is a Major League record.[140] Additionally, he also led the majors in WHIP four consecutive times and FIP six consecutive times, both also records.[141][142]

Since the start of the live-ball era, Koufax is one of only nine pitchers to record multiple 10+ WAR seasons. He is also the only one to record an ERA under 1.90 in three different qualifying seasons. In each of his last ten seasons, from 1957 to 1966, Koufax finished top ten in strikeouts, including top three finishes in seven; this was despite him being a part-time starter in three of those seasons and suffering a season-shortening injury in two.[143]

Due to a lack of run support, Koufax's postseason record over the course of four World Series is an unimpressive 4–3; however, his 0.95 earned run average and two World Series MVP Awards testify to how well he actually pitched.[144][145] In his three World Series losses, which were all starts, spread over three different Series, Koufax gave up one earned run in each; the Dodgers scored only one run in support across the three games, getting shut out twice.[36]

He was selected as an All-Star for six consecutive seasons and made seven out of eight possible All-Star Game appearances those seasons.[g] He pitched six innings across four All-Star games; Koufax was the winning pitcher in the 1965 All-Star Game, and was the starting pitcher in the 1966 All-Star Game, throwing three innings of one-run ball on two days' rest.[65]

Koufax was the first pitcher to win three Cy Young Awards, an especially impressive feat because it was during the era when only one was given out for both major leagues. He is also the first pitcher to win the award by a unanimous vote – a distinction which he received twice more.[85] Koufax and Juan Marichal are the only two pitchers to have more than one 25-win season in the post-World War II era, with each man recording three.[146]

Category W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP ERA+ FIP WHIP H/9 SO/9 Ref.
Total 165 87 2.76 397 314 137 40 9 2,324.1 1,754 806 713 204 817 48 2,396 18 131 2.69 1.106 6.8 9.3 [36]

Pitching style and repertoire edit

 
Koufax striding towards home plate

Koufax was a power pitcher and threw with a pronounced straight-over-the-top arm action. Most of his velocity came from his strong legs and back, combined with a high leg kick during his wind-up and long forward extension on his release point toward home plate. His unusually large hands also allowed him to put heavy spin on his pitches and control the direction in which they would break.[147]

Throughout his career, Koufax relied heavily on two pitches.[148] His four-seam fastball gave batters the impression of rising as it approached them, due to heavy backspin he created by pulling on the seams.[149] His overhand curveball, spun with the middle finger, dropped vertically 12 to 24 inches due to his arm action; sabermetrician Rob Neyer called it the best curve of all time.[150] Koufax also occasionally threw a changeup and, in his final years, added a forkball to his repertoire.[151]

At the beginning of his career, Koufax fought a tendency to "tip" pitches to the opposing team through variations in his wind-up, which included the position in which he held his hands at the top of the wind-up. When throwing a fastball with baserunners, his hand position in the stretch would be higher than when he threw a curveball. Once alerted, he made an effort to better disguise his deliveries.[2] Late in his career, perhaps because of his injured arm, his tendency to tip pitches became even more pronounced. Good hitters could often predict what pitch was coming, but were still unable to hit against him due to his precise control and the effectiveness of his pitches.[152]

Post-playing activities edit

 
Koufax (left) as a pitching coach for the Dodgers during spring training, 1979

Soon after his retirement, Koufax signed a 10-year contract with NBC for $1 million ($9.1 million today) to be a broadcaster on the Saturday Game of the Week.[153] During his tenure, he also served as the color commentator for the All-Star Game and as a pre-game analyst for the World Series.

A shy man, Koufax was never comfortable on the air; he had difficulty in talking baseball with people who had not played the game professionally. It was also challenging for him to describe pitchers whose repertoires and style of pitching differed from his, and to be critical of players he had played with and against. As a result, he quit after six years and his contract with NBC was terminated by mutual consent before the start of the 1973 season.[154][155]

In 1979, Koufax was hired by the Dodgers to be a minor league pitching coach in their farm system.[156] During his tenure, he worked with a number of pitchers, including Orel Hershiser, Dave Stewart, John Franco, Bob Welch, and fellow Hall of Famers Don Sutton and Pedro Martínez.[157][158] Koufax, with the help of former teammate Roger Craig, taught himself how to throw a split-finger fastball, a popular pitch in the 1980s, in order to be able to teach it to pitchers in the Dodgers' minor league system.[159]

He resigned from his position in 1990, saying he was not earning his keep as the Dodgers had cut back his workload; most observers, however, blamed it on his uneasy relationship with manager Tommy Lasorda who reportedly resented Koufax working with his pitchers. Despite this, Koufax continued to make informal visits to spring training.[160]

During this time, Koufax also began to make spring training visits with other teams, particularly with the New York Mets who were, at the time, owned by his childhood friend Fred Wilpon.[161] Notably, Mets pitcher Al Leiter credited Koufax in helping him become a better pitcher.[162][163]

In 2002, the New York Post published a false story about Koufax in connection to a biography on him by sportswriter Jane Leavy, titled Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy, incorrectly insinuating that he only agreed to the biography because Leavy had threatened to out him as gay if he did not cooperate.[164] Koufax cut ties with the Dodgers as both the team and the newspaper were, at the time, owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp and he did not want to help promote any of their subsidiaries.[165] He reconnected with the organization in 2004, when the News Corp sold the Dodgers to Frank McCourt.[166]

Prior to the 2013 season, the Dodgers again hired Koufax, this time in a front office role as a special advisor to team chairman Mark Walter, to work with the pitchers during spring training and consult during the season.[167][168] Koufax retired from the front office role prior to the 2016 season.[169]

Since its founding, Koufax has been closely involved with the activities of the Baseball Assistance Team (B.A.T.), a non-profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League, Minor League, and Negro league baseball players through financial and medical difficulties. He has served as a member of its advisory board in the past,[170] and has been a regular attendee at the annual B.A.T. dinner.[171]

Honors and recognition edit

 
Sandy Koufax's number 32 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1972.

Koufax was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972, his first year of eligibility. At 36 years and 20 days old, he is the youngest player ever elected, five months younger than Lou Gehrig had been at the time of his special election in December 1939.[h][173]

On June 4, 1972, the Dodgers retired Koufax's uniform number 32, alongside those of Dodger greats Roy Campanella (39) and Jackie Robinson (42).[174] On June 18, 2022, a statue of Koufax was unveiled at Dodger Stadium, next to that of Robinson, his former Brooklyn Dodger teammate.[175][176]

In 1999, The Sporting News placed Koufax at number 26 on its list of "Baseball's 100 Greatest Players".[177] That same year, he was also named one of the 30 players on the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.[178] In 2020, The Athletic ranked Koufax at number 70 on its "Baseball 100" list, complied by sportswriter Joe Posnanski.[179]

Koufax was voted as one of the four greatest living players by Major League Baseball fans, alongside Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, and Johnny Bench, as a part of the 2015 season's "Franchise Four" vote.[180] Before the 2015 All-Star Game in Cincinnati, he threw the ceremonial first pitch to Bench from in front of the base of the mound.[181]

In 2022, as part of their SN Rushmore project, The Sporting News named Koufax on their "Los Angeles Mount Rushmore of Sports", along with Los Angeles Lakers basketball players Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Kobe Bryant.[182] That same year, MLB.com writers voted Koufax as being the greatest player in Dodgers franchise history, just ahead of Jackie Robinson:

The greatest of the greats extend their on-field dominance and define the legacy of their franchise. Both Robinson and Koufax did for the Dodgers. Both are revered for their impact on the sport, but Jackie was a social icon and Sandy was a model for his franchise's pitching heritage. Robinson excelled despite the incomprehensible burden of breaking down racial barriers. Koufax compiled unapproachable statistics that obscured the toughness and unselfishness necessary to pitch in constant pain. In a photo finish, it's Koufax.[183]

In April 2007, as a tribute, he was the final player chosen in the inaugural Israel Baseball League draft, by the Modi'in Miracle. Former New York Mets player Art Shamsky, manager of the Miracle, said of the honorary pick, "His selection is a tribute to the esteem with which he is held by everyone associated with this league".[184]

 
U.S. President Barack Obama greets Koufax during the White House celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month, May 2010

Koufax was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1979,[185] and in the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1993.[186] In 1990, he was inducted in the inaugural class of the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.[187]

Koufax's likeness is a part of the mural outside Canter's Deli in Fairfax, Los Angeles which commemorates the history of the Jewish community in the city.[188]

On May 27, 2010, Koufax was included amongst the group of prominent Jewish Americans honored at the White House reception for Jewish American Heritage Month.[189] In his opening remarks, President Barack Obama directly acknowledged the high esteem in which Koufax is held within the Jewish community: "This is a pretty... distinguished group. We've got senators and representatives. We've got Supreme Court justices and successful entrepreneurs, rabbinical scholars, Olympic athletes – and Sandy Koufax." The mention of Koufax's name drew the loudest cheer in the room.[190]

That same year, he was one of the two main subjects of the film Jews and Baseball: An American Love Story, alongside Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers. Koufax agreed to sit down for a rare interview, remarking to Ira Berkow, the writer of the film: "It doesn't make sense if it's 'Jews and Baseball' and I'm not in it."[191]

In media culture edit

Television appearences edit

During his playing career, Koufax made a number of appearences in television programs. In 1959, he appeared as a character named Ben Cassidy in the western television series Shotgun Slade. The following year, he had brief cameos in three television series: in 77 Sunset Strip as a policeman, in Bourbon Street Beat as a doorman, and in Colt .45 as a character called Johnny.[192]

Twice, Koufax made appearences as himself on television series. In 1962, he appeared on Dennis the Menace in the episode "Dennis and the Dodger" in which he coached a little league team. In 1963, he had a non-speaking role on Mister Ed in the episode "Leo Durocher Meets Mister Ed." in which he gave up an inside-the-park home run to the title character, a talking horse.[192]

After the 1963 World Series, Koufax, along with teammates Don Drysdale and Tommy Davis, appeared on The Bob Hope Show where the three appeared a sketch with comedian Bob Hope before performing a dance routine.[193][194] After their joint holdout in 1966, Koufax and Drysdale appeared on The Hollywood Palace, with host Gene Barry and comedian Milton Berle.[195]

Cultural references edit

In 1965, as part of The Sound of the Dodgers, an album with songs dedicated to the team, comedian and singer Jimmy Durante recorded a song about Koufax called "Dandy Sandy".[196]

Koufax, along with Whitey Ford, is one of the central figures in Robert Pinsky's poem "The Night Game".[197] Though not named explicitly named, Pinsky alluded to Koufax in the final stanza as a "solution" to Ford whom he refers to in the poem as being "aristocratic" and "gentile":

Another time,
I devised a left-hander
Even more gifted
Than Whitey Ford: A Dodger.
People were amazed by him.
Once, when he was young,
He refused to pitch on Yom Kippur.

In the 1975 film, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, after not being allowed to watch it on television, Jack Nicholson's character Randle McMurphy narrates an imaginary account of the 1963 World Series in which Koufax gets knocked out of the game after surrendering a double and two home runs to Bobby Richardson, Tom Tresh, and Mickey Mantle, respectively.[198]

In the 1998 film, The Big Lebowski, John Goodman's character Walter Sobchak mentions Koufax in his response to being told he was "living in the fucking past": "Three thousand years of beautiful tradition from Moses to Sandy Koufax...You're goddamn right I'm living in the fucking past!"[199]

Personal life edit

 
Koufax at the 2014 Baseball Writers' Association of America dinner

Koufax has been described as being a secular Jew, with biographer Jane Leavy describing him as a "very Jewish being".[200] His refusal to pitch on Jewish holidays throughout his career, most notably not starting Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it coincided with Yom Kippur, was made out of respect for his heritage rather than religious devotion.[i][202]

Koufax married Anne Widmark, daughter of actor Richard Widmark, in 1969; they divorced in 1982. His second marriage, to personal trainer Kimberly Francis, lasted from 1985 to 1998. Neither marriage produced children.[203] He married his third wife, Jane Clarke (née Purucker), in 2008. Koufax is the stepfather of Clarke's daughter from her previous marriage to artist John Clem Clarke and has two step-grandchildren.[204]

After receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Harold Pump Foundation in 2012, Koufax revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer in 2010 during his acceptance speech: "Twenty-six months ago, I was a so-called cancer victim. Today, I'm a survivor."[205]

In 2009, Koufax was listed amongst the clients who had invested with financier Bernie Madoff and was one of the victims of his Ponzi scheme.[206] His close friend, Mets owner Fred Wilpon had recommended to Koufax that he invest with Madoff.[207] Despite this, Koufax supported Wilpon and offered to testify on behalf of the Mets' ownership before a settlement averted a civil trial.[208][209]

In 2014, during a spring training visit in Camelback Ranch, Koufax was hit on the head by a stray line drive, resulting in a cut on his head.[210][211] He underwent a precautionary CT scan which came out clear and returned to the spot where he had been hit the following day.[212]

He currently resides in Vero Beach, Florida.[213]

In his forties and fifties, Koufax became a marathon runner and exercise enthusiast, and also took up fly-fishing.[214] A lifelong golfer, he often entered amateur golf championships and participated in pro-am charity tournaments and still remains active in the sport. Koufax is also a college basketball fan and regularly attends the NCAA Final Four championships.[215]

See also edit

Notes edit

  1. ^ Major League Baseball held two All-Star Games for the years from 1959 to 1962.[64]
  2. ^ Separate Cy Young Awards for each league started being awarded in 1967, the year after Koufax retired.
  3. ^ Dr. Frank Jobe, inventor of the Tommy John surgery, later disagreed with Koufax's diagnosis. He believed that Koufax suffered from a torn ulnar collateral ligament but stated there were no means to diagnose or treat such an injury when Koufax was an active player.[101]
  4. ^ The record was broken by Nolan Ryan's 383 strikeouts in 1973, but remains the top mark for National League pitchers and left-handers.[106]
  5. ^ In his career, Koufax pitched in nine games on two days' rest, starting eight times. He never lasted less than seven innings, winning seven of those games and pitching a complete game six times.[114]
  6. ^ While Koufax received more first place votes than Clemente did in the 1966 MVP race, the latter had a higher vote share, edging out Koufax by 78% to 74%.
  7. ^ Koufax was not on the roster for the second All-Star Game in 1962.
  8. ^ In 2022, Koufax became the first person to mark the 50th anniversary of their election to the Baseball Hall of Fame.[172]
  9. ^ Other than Yom Kippur, other Jewish holidays Koufax would not pitch on included the first night of Passover and Rosh Hashanah, notably not attending workouts before Game 4 of the 1959 World Series.[201]

References edit

  1. ^ "Sandy Koufax (SABR BioProject)". Society for American Baseball Research. Sandy Koufax was born as Sanford Braun on December 30, 1935. His parents were Evelyn (née Lichtenstein) and Jack Braun, Sephardic Jews of Hungarian descent.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h Orfalea, Gregory (October 6, 2016). "The Incomparable Career of Sandy Koufax". The Atlantic.
  3. ^ Koufax and Linn, pp. 19–22; Leavy, p. 29.
  4. ^ Koufax and Linn, pp. 22–28; Leavy, pp. 37–40.
  5. ^ Sandomir, Richard (August 14, 2012). "Koufax's Roundball Once Trumped His Fastball". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "Sandy Koufax (SABR BioProject)". Society for American Baseball Research. At the urging of friends, Koufax did go out for baseball in his senior year at Lafayette. He played first base. The team captain was Fred Wilpon, a lefty with a "crackling" curveball, who decades later became the owner of the New York Mets.
  7. ^ Koufax and Linn, pp. 32–39.
  8. ^ Koufax and Linn, p. 30.
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  39. ^ Leavy, pp. 85–86.
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  133. ^ Schoor, pp. 293–295.
  134. ^ "Koufax, Dodger Pitching Star, Retires Because of Ailing Arm". The New York Times. Associated Press. November 19, 1966 – via TimesMachine.
  135. ^ "Video: Dodgers icon Sandy Koufax retires at the age of 30". ESPN. July 24, 2019.
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  148. ^ Neyer and James, pp. 270–271.
  149. ^ Leavy, pp. 7–8, 79.
  150. ^ Neyer and James, p. 34.
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  153. ^ "Koufax Makes Bow as Star with N.B.C.". The New York Times. Associated Press. January 27, 1967 – via TimesMachine.
  154. ^ Leavy, p. 251; Leahy, pp. 435–436.
  155. ^ "Sandy Koufax (SABR BioProject)". Society for American Baseball Research. Koufax's contract with NBC was terminated by mutual consent before the start of the 1973 season. From Koufax's side, the decision to leave the broadcast booth stemmed in part from difficulty in talking baseball to people who had not played the game professionally. Other challenges for him were describing pitchers whose repertoires differed from his, and being honest and critical of the men he played with and against. As a result, he was uncomfortable on the air.
  156. ^ Boswell, Thomas (March 21, 1979). "Koufax". The Washington Post.
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  158. ^ Mochari, Ilan. "How One of Baseball's Best Pitchers Became a Master Self-Motivator". Inc.
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  162. ^ Leavy, pp. 10, 256.
  163. ^ Diamos, Jason (February 27, 1999). "From One Late Bloomer to Another". The New York Times.
  164. ^ "Koufax severs ties with the Dodgers over gossip item". ESPN. Associated Press. February 21, 2003.
  165. ^ Leavy, p. 260.
  166. ^ Reid, Jason (March 6, 2004). "Koufax Ends Boycott, but He's Only Visiting". Los Angeles Times.
  167. ^ "Sandy Koufax To Join Dodgers As Special Adviser". CBS News. Associated Press. January 22, 2013.
  168. ^ "Dodgers welcome Sandy Koufax back to spring training". USA Today. Associated Press. February 24, 2013.
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  172. ^ Frommer, Frederic J. (August 5, 2022). "50 years later, here's how Sandy Koufax made it to the Hall of Fame". The Forward.
  173. ^ Murray, Janey. "Berra, Koufax inducted amid star-studded Class of 1972". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.
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  175. ^ "Los Angeles Dodgers unveil Sandy Koufax statue outside stadium". ESPN. Associated Press. June 18, 2022.
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  180. ^ Snyder, Matt (July 14, 2015). "Koufax, Mays, Aaron, Bench voted by fans as four greatest living players". CBS Sports.
  181. ^ Dyer, Mike (July 14, 2015). "Koufax tosses All-Star Game first pitch to Johnny Bench". The Cincinnati Enquirer.
  182. ^ Fagan, Ryan; DeCourcy, Mike (July 27, 2022). "Los Angeles Mount Rushmore of Sports: Magic Johnson, Sandy Koufax, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar named best of the best". The Sporting News.
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  203. ^ "Sandy Koufax (SABR BioProject)". Society for American Baseball Research. His first wife was Anne Widmark, daughter of actor Richard Widmark. Their wedding was on New Year's Day, 1969 ... Anne Widmark and Koufax divorced in 1982. In 1985 Koufax married his second wife, Kimberly Francis ... Their marriage ended in the winter of 1998–1999.
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  208. ^ "Sandy Koufax On Bernard Madoff-Mets Trial Witness List". CBS News. Associated Press. March 13, 2012.
  209. ^ "Sandy Koufax (SABR BioProject)". Society for American Baseball Research. ... even though Fred Wilpon got Sandy to become one of the investors in Bernard Madoff's notorious Ponzi scheme, Koufax publicly supported Wilpon. He would have testified on behalf of the Mets' ownership, had a settlement not averted a civil trial.
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  211. ^ Axisa, Mike (February 21, 2014). "Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax hit in the head by line drive at Dodgers' camp". CBS Sports.
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Book sources edit

  • Koufax, Sandy; Linn, Ed (1966). Koufax. Viking Press. ISBN 978-0-6704-1508-3.
  • Schoor, Gene (1990). The History of the World Series: The Complete Chronology of America's Greatest Sports Tradition. William Morrow and Company. ISBN 0-688-07995-4.
  • Leavy, Jane (2002). Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy. HarperCollins. ISBN 0-06-019533-9.
  • Neyer, Rob; James, Bill (2004). The Neyer/James Guide to Pitchers. Simon & Schuster. ISBN 0-7432-6158-5.
  • Leahy, Michael (2016). The Last Innocents: The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0-06-236056-4.

Further reading edit

Books edit

  • Gruver, Edward (2000). Koufax. Taylor Publishing. ISBN 978-1493049325.
  • Adelman, Tom (2007). Black and Blue: Sandy Koufax, the Robinson Boys, and the World Series That Stunned America. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 978-0316067157.
  • Leavy, Jane (2013). "Sandy Koufax: Best Bar Mitzvah Guest Ever". In Franklin Foer; Marc Tracy (eds.). Jewish Jocks: An Unorthodox Hall of Fame. Twelve Books. ISBN 978-1455-5161-31.
  • Ruttman, Larry (2013). "Sandy Koufax: Pitcher Nonpareil and Perfect Gentleman". American Jews and America's Game: Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-0-8032-6475-5.
  • Passan, Jeff (2016). The Arm: Inside the Billion-Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports. HarperCollins. ISBN 978-0062-4003-76.
  • Florio, John; Shapiro, Ousie (2017). "Chapter 11: Sandy Koufax, Don Drysdale & the 1966 Million-Dollar Contract Holdout". One Nation Under Baseball: How the 1960s Collided with the National Pastime. University of Nebraska Press. ISBN 978-1-4962-1406-5.

Interviews edit

  • "Koufax on Koufax". Sports Illustrated. December 20, 1965.
  • "Aaron, Mays, Koufax, & Bench – MLB's Franchise Four 'Greatest Living Players'". MLB.com. July 16, 2015.

Articles edit

  • Olsen, Jack (July 29, 1963). "The Very Best Act in Town". Sports Illustrated.
  • Berkow, Ira (July 3, 1985). "Koufax is No Garbo". The New York Times.
  • Verducci, Tom (July 12, 1999). "The Left Arm of God". Sports Illustrated.
  • Leavy, Jane (September 3, 2002). "In General, a Private Koufax". The Washington Post.
  • Lipman, Steve (March 12, 2014). "Where Have You Gone, Sandy Koufax?". The Jewish Week.
  • Coffey, Alex (May 13, 2020). "How Sandy Koufax unleashed Dave Stewart's stare on the Baseball World". The Athletic.

External links edit

 
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sandy Koufax.
 
Wikiquote has quotations related to Sandy Koufax.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day
Starting pitcher
1964 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Major League Player of the Month
June 1962 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Perfect game pitcher
September 9, 1965 		Succeeded by
Preceded by No-hitter pitcher
June 30, 1962
May 11, 1963
June 4, 1964
September 9, 1965 		Succeeded by

April 11, 2024
sandy, koufax, sanford, koufax, braun, born, december, 1935, nicknamed, left, american, former, baseball, pitcher, played, seasons, major, league, baseball, brooklyn, angeles, dodgers, from, 1955, 1966, widely, regarded, greatest, pitchers, baseball, history, . Sanford Koufax ˈ k oʊ f ae k s ne Braun born December 30 1935 nicknamed the Left Arm of God is an American former baseball pitcher who played 12 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Brooklyn Los Angeles Dodgers from 1955 to 1966 Widely regarded as one of the greatest pitchers in baseball history Koufax was the first three time winner of the Cy Young Award each time winning unanimously and the only pitcher to do so when a single award was given for both the leagues he was also named the National League Most Valuable Player in 1963 Retiring at the age of 30 due to chronic pain in his pitching elbow Koufax was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1972 at the age of 36 the youngest player ever elected Sandy KoufaxKoufax with the Los Angeles Dodgers c 1965PitcherBorn 1935 12 30 December 30 1935 age 88 Brooklyn New York U S Batted RightThrew LeftMLB debutJune 24 1955 for the Brooklyn DodgersLast MLB appearanceOctober 2 1966 for the Los Angeles DodgersMLB statisticsWin loss record165 87Earned run average2 76Strikeouts2 396TeamsBrooklyn Los Angeles Dodgers 1955 1966 Career highlights and awards7 All Star 1961 1962 1963 1966 4 World Series champion 1955 1959 1963 1965 NL MVP 1963 3 Cy Young Award 1963 1965 1966 2 World Series MVP 1963 1965 3 Triple Crown 1963 1965 1966 3 MLB wins leader 1963 1965 1966 5 NL ERA leader 1962 1966 4 MLB strikeout leader 1961 1963 1965 1966 Pitched a perfect game on September 9 1965 Pitched four no hitters Los Angeles Dodgers No 32 retired Major League Baseball All Century Team Major League Baseball All Time TeamMember of the NationalBaseball Hall of FameInduction1972Vote86 9 first ballot Born in Brooklyn New York Koufax was primarily a basketball player in his youth and had only pitched a handful of games before signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers at age 19 Due to the bonus rule under which he was signed Koufax never pitched a game in the minor leagues As a result the first half of his career was marred with inconsistency and control problems with flashes of brilliance in between He set a modern record by striking out 18 batters in a game in 1959 and pitched brilliantly in the 1959 World Series However the lack of playing time frustrated Koufax and he almost quit after 1960 After making adjustments prior to the 1961 season to improve his control Koufax quickly rose to become the most dominant pitcher in the major leagues He was an All Star in each of his last six seasons leading the National League NL in earned run average each of his last five years in strikeouts four times and in wins and shutouts three times each He was the first NL pitcher in 20 years to post an earned run average below 2 00 doing so three times and the first to record a 300 strikeout season three times including a then major league record of 382 in 1965 Koufax tied his own record of 18 strikeouts in a game in 1962 and later became the first pitcher to record three immaculate innings Koufax won the Major League Triple Crown three times leading the Dodgers to a pennant in each of those years He was the first major league pitcher to throw four no hitters including a perfect game in 1965 He was named the World Series MVP twice leading the weak hitting Dodgers to titles in 1963 and 1965 At the time of his retirement Koufax s career earned run average of 2 76 trailed only Whitey Ford among pitchers with at least 2 000 innings pitched since 1925 Despite his comparatively short career his 2 396 career strikeouts ranked seventh in major league history at the time trailing only Warren Spahn 2 583 among left handers his 40 shutouts were tied for ninth in modern NL history He was the first pitcher in history to average more than nine strikeouts per nine innings pitched and the first to allow fewer than seven hits per nine innings pitched Koufax along with teammate Don Drysdale became a pivotal figure in baseball s labor movement when the two staged joint holdout and demanded a fairer contract from the Dodgers He is also one of the outstanding Jewish athletes in American sports Koufax s decision not to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it fell on the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur like Hank Greenberg before him garnered national attention and made him an icon in the American Jewish community Since retiring Koufax has kept a low profile and makes public appearances on rare occasions In December 1966 he signed a 10 year contract to work as a broadcaster for NBC uncomfortable in front of television cameras and with public speaking he resigned after six years In 1979 Koufax returned to the Dodgers to work as a pitching coach in the Dodgers farm system he resigned from the position in 1990 but continues to make informal appearances during spring training From 2013 to 2015 Koufax worked in an executive position for the Dodgers as special advisor to chairman Mark Walter In 1999 he was named to the Major League Baseball All Century Team His number 32 was retired by the Dodgers in 1972 and he was honored with a statue outside the centerfield plaza of Dodger Stadium in 2022 That same year Koufax became the first player to mark the 50th anniversary of his election to the Baseball Hall of Fame Contents 1 Early life 1 1 Major League tryouts 2 Professional career 2 1 Early years 1955 1960 2 2 Domination 1961 1964 2 2 1 1961 season 2 2 2 1962 season 2 2 3 1963 season 2 3 Salary dispute 2 3 1 1964 season 2 4 Playing in pain 1965 66 2 4 1 1965 season 2 4 1 1 Perfection 2 4 1 2 World Series and Yom Kippur 2 5 Holdout 2 5 1 1966 season 2 6 Retirement 3 Career overall 3 1 Statistics and achievements 3 2 Pitching style and repertoire 4 Post playing activities 5 Honors and recognition 6 In media culture 6 1 Television appearences 6 2 Cultural references 7 Personal life 8 See also 9 Notes 10 References 10 1 Book sources 11 Further reading 11 1 Books 11 2 Interviews 11 3 Articles 12 External linksEarly life editKoufax was born Sanford Braun on December 30 1935 to Evelyn nee Lichtenstein and Jack Braun in Borough Park Brooklyn 1 His parents divorced when he was three years old The son of a single working parent he spent most of his childhood with his maternal grandparents Evelyn an accountant eventually remarried when her son was nine years old to Irving Koufax an attorney whose name Sandy took Koufax also had a stepsister Edie Irving s daughter from a previous marriage 2 Shortly after his mother s remarriage the family moved to the Long Island suburb of Rockville Centre The day after Koufax graduated from ninth grade in June 1949 they moved back to Brooklyn settling in the neighborhood of Bensonhurst 3 Koufax attended Lafayette High School where he was better known for basketball than for baseball He started playing basketball for the community center team at the Edith and Carl Marks Jewish Community House of Bensonhurst winning a few local titles with them After a teacher s strike which had caused a blackout of all school athletics Lafayette brought back their basketball team and Koufax went on to become team captain in his senior year that year he ranked second in his division in scoring averaging 16 5 points per game 2 He made newspaper headlines for the first time when during a preseason exhibition game between the Lafayette basketball team and the New York Knicks he dunked twice and showed up Knicks star Harry Gallatin 4 5 In 1951 at the age of 15 Koufax also joined a local youth baseball league known as the Ice Cream League playing for the Tomahawks He started out as a left handed catcher before moving to first base He joined Lafayette s baseball team as a first baseman in his senior year at the urging of his friend Fred Wilpon 6 While playing with the high school team he was spotted by Milt Laurie a newspaper deliveryman and a baseball coach who was the father of two Lafayette baseball players Laurie noticed Koufax s strong throwing arm and recognized that he might be able to pitch He recruited the 17 year old to pitch for the Coney Island Sports League s Parkviews 7 nbsp nbsp Koufax with the 1954 University of Cincinnati baseball team right top row 5th from the left and freshman basketball team left standing 2nd from the right Koufax attended the University of Cincinnati where he studied architecture 8 He was a walk on for the freshman basketball team a complete unknown to coach Ed Jucker he later earned a partial basketball scholarship In his freshman year Koufax averaged 9 7 points per game 2 In the spring of 1954 after the basketball season ended he tried out for the college baseball team which was also coached by Jucker in part because the team was planning a last minute road trip starting with New Orleans 9 In his only season of intercollegiate baseball Koufax went 3 1 with a 2 81 earned run average 51 strikeouts and 30 walks in 32 innings pitched 10 Major League tryouts edit While with the college baseball team Koufax began to attract the attention of baseball scouts Bill Zinser a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers sent the team s front office a glowing report that was filed away and forgotten 11 Gene Bonnibeau a scout for the New York Giants found out about Koufax through a story in one of the Cincinnati newspapers and invited him to try out for the team at the Polo Grounds after the end of his freshman year The workout did not go well for the nervous Koufax who threw wildly over the catcher s head and he never heard from the Giants again 12 In September Ed McCarrick a scout for the Pittsburgh Pirates showed interest in Koufax after seeing him in a few sandlot games with the Parkviews 13 At McCarrick s behest Branch Rickey general manager of the Pirates at the time sent his scout Clyde Sukeforth to see Koufax Sukeforth was impressed with Koufax and invited him to Forbes Field for a tryout in front the Pirates front office Upon seeing Koufax pitch in person Rickey remarked to Sukeforth This is the greatest arm I ve ever seen 14 The Pirates however failed to offer Koufax a contract until after he was already committed to the Dodgers 15 Al Campanis a Dodgers scout heard about Koufax from Jimmy Murphy a reporter from the Brooklyn Eagle who covered sandlot teams in Brooklyn and who had seen him pitch a few times for the Parkviews 16 17 He was also urged by Pat Auletta the owner of a sporting goods store and founder of the Coney Island Sports League in which the Parkviews played to come and see Koufax pitch Auletta arranged a workout at the Lafayette High baseball field after watching Koufax throw Campanis arranged a tryout for him at Ebbets Field 18 With Dodgers manager Walter Alston and scouting director Fresco Thompson watching Campanis assumed the hitter s stance while Koufax started throwing he later said There are two times in my life the hair on my arms has stood up The first time I saw the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and the second time I saw Sandy Koufax throw a fastball 19 20 Koufax also had a tryout with the Milwaukee Braves to which he had previously committed after returning to university Afterwards John Quinn general manager of the Braves made him an offer of 30 000 21 Having already committed to signing with the Dodgers Koufax declined Irving Koufax negotiated a contract with the Dodgers on behalf of his son Koufax signed with the Dodgers for 20 000 227 000 today 6 000 salary league minimum at the time with a 14 000 signing bonus he had planned to use the money as tuition in order finish his college education had his baseball career failed 2 22 Professional career editAt the time of Koufax s signing the bonus rule implemented by Major League Baseball was still in effect The rule stipulated that when a major league team signed a player to a contract with a signing bonus in excess of 4 000 55 000 today the team was required to keep that player on their 25 man active roster for two full seasons failure to comply with the rule would result in the team losing the rights to that player s contract and the player would then be exposed to the waiver wire 23 Prior to Koufax the Dodgers had signed Roberto Clemente to a contract with a signing bonus of 10 000 and placed him in their Triple A affiliate the Montreal Royals of the International League subsequently losing him to the Pittsburgh Pirates 24 Unlike with Clemente the Dodgers decided to keep Koufax on their major league roster for at least the next two years To make room for him on their 40 man roster the Dodgers sold infielder Billy Cox and pitcher Preacher Roe to the Baltimore Orioles 25 During his first spring training Koufax struggled with his new training regime and suffered from a sore arm most of the time 26 Having only pitched twelve games in the sandlots and in college combined he did not know much about pitching such as how to properly field a ball how to hold a runner on base or even pitching signs later saying The only signs I knew were one finger for fastball and two for a curve and here there were five or six signs His lack of minor league experience meant Koufax never fully mastered all aspects of the game and took a lot longer to develop as a pitcher 27 Early years 1955 1960 edit nbsp A ticket from the August 27 1955 game between the Brooklyn Dodgers and the Cincinnati Redlegs where Koufax earned his first career winHaving injured his ankle in the last week of spring training Koufax was placed on the disabled list for 30 days he would be activated by the Dodgers on June 8 To make room for him they optioned their future Hall of Fame manager Tommy Lasorda to the Montreal Royals Lasorda would later joke that it took one of the greatest left handers in history to keep him off the Dodgers major league roster 28 Koufax made his major league debut on June 24 1955 against the Milwaukee Braves with the Dodgers trailing 7 1 in the fifth inning Johnny Logan the first batter Koufax faced hit a bloop single Eddie Mathews bunted back to the mound and Koufax threw the ball into center field He then walked Henry Aaron on four pitches to load the bases but struck out Bobby Thomson on a 3 2 fastball for his first career strikeout an outcome Koufax later came to view as probably the worst thing that could have happened to me leading as it did to five seasons spent trying to get out of trouble by throwing harder and harder and harder 29 Koufax ended up pitching two scoreless innings inducing a double play to end the bases loaded threat and picking up another strikeout in a perfect sixth 30 Koufax s first start was on July 6 the second game of a doubleheader against the Pirates He lasted only 4 2 innings giving up eight walks 31 He did not start again for almost two months 32 On August 27 Koufax threw a two hit 7 0 complete game shutout against the Cincinnati Redlegs for his first major league win He struck out 14 batters the most in a single game by an NL pitcher that season and allowed only two hits 33 34 His only other win in 1955 on September 3 was also a shutout this time a five hitter against the Pittsburgh Pirates 35 In his rookie year Koufax threw 41 2 innings in 12 appearances striking out 30 batters and walking 28 with a record of 2 2 and 3 02 earned run average 36 The Dodgers went on to win the National League pennant and the 1955 World Series over the New York Yankees the first title in franchise history however Koufax did not appear in the series During the fall he had enrolled in the Columbia University School of General Studies which offered night classes in architecture after the final out of Game 7 Koufax went straight to Columbia to attend class 37 nbsp Koufax warming up at Wrigley Field c 1957The 1956 season was not very different from 1955 for Koufax Despite the blazing speed of his fastball Koufax continued to struggle with his control He saw little work pitching only 58 2 innings with a 4 91 earned run average 29 walks and 30 strikeouts 38 When Koufax allowed baserunners he was rarely permitted to finish the inning Teammate Joe Pignatano remarked years later that as soon as Koufax threw a couple of balls in a row Alston would signal for a replacement to start warming up in the bullpen Jackie Robinson in his final season clashed with Alston on Koufax s usage Robinson saw that Koufax was talented and had flashes of brilliance and objected to him being benched for weeks at a time 39 To prepare him for the 1957 season the Dodgers sent Koufax to Puerto Rico to play winter ball for the Criollos de Caguas 40 For the Criollos Koufax compiled a record of 3 6 with a 4 35 earned run average and 76 strikeouts in 64 2 innings pitched 41 Two of his wins were shutouts including a one hitter and a two hitter with Roberto Clemente getting both hits against him in the latter 42 On May 15 the restriction on sending Koufax down to the minors was lifted Alston gave him a chance to justify his place on the major league roster by giving him the next day s start Facing the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field Koufax struck out 13 while pitching his first complete game in almost two years For the first time in his career he was in the starting rotation but only for two weeks Despite winning three of his next five with a 2 90 earned run average Koufax did not get another start for 45 days In that start he struck out 11 in seven innings but got no decision On September 29 he became the last man to pitch for the Brooklyn Dodgers before their move to Los Angeles throwing an inning of relief in the final game of the season 43 nbsp Koufax and teammate Don Drysdale changing parts on a 2 1 2 ton truck at the U S Army Reserve Center in Van Nuys CaliforniaKoufax and fellow Dodgers pitcher Don Drysdale served six months in the United States Army Reserve in Fort Dix New Jersey and Van Nuys California after the end of the 1957 season and before spring training in 1958 44 Koufax began the 1958 season 7 3 but sprained his ankle in a collision at first base on July 5 against the Chicago Cubs resulting in a long layoff Throughout the season he was also plagued with back pain which was the result of a benign tumor on his rib cage necessitating him to undergo surgery in the off season to have the growth removed 27 As a result he finished the season at 11 11 and leading the majors in wild pitches 45 In 1959 on June 22 he set the record for a night game with 16 strikeouts against Philadelphia Phillies 46 47 On August 31 against the Giants he set the NL single game record and tied Bob Feller s modern Major League record of 18 strikeouts and also scored on Wally Moon s walk off home run for a 5 2 win 48 49 50 That season the Dodgers won a tight pennant race against the Giants and the Milwaukee Braves going on to beat the Chicago White Sox in the World Series Koufax pitched two perfect relief innings in the Series opener though they came after the Dodgers were already behind 11 0 Alston gave him the start in Game 5 at the Los Angeles Coliseum in front of 92 706 fans In what would have been the series clinching game Koufax allowed only one run in seven innings but lost the game 1 0 when Nellie Fox scored on a double play and the Dodgers failed to score a run in support Returning to Chicago the Dodgers won Game 6 and the Series their first in Los Angeles 51 52 In early 1960 Koufax asked Dodgers general manager Buzzie Bavasi to trade him because he believed he was not getting enough playing time a request that was denied On May 23 he pitched a one hit shutout against the Pittsburgh Pirates allowing only a second inning single by pitcher Bennie Daniels and striking out 10 batters in the process 53 However the game was a highlight in an otherwise bad year for Koufax in which he went 8 13 with a 3 97 earned run average 36 By the end of the year frustrated with his lack of progress Koufax was thinking about quitting baseball entirely In his first six seasons he had posted a record of 36 40 with a 4 10 earned run average After the last game of the season he threw his gloves and spikes into the trash having decided to retire and devote himself to an electronics business in which he had invested Nobe Kawano the clubhouse supervisor retrieved the equipment in case Koufax decided to return the following year 54 Domination 1961 1964 edit nbsp Koufax in 1961Koufax decided to try one more year to succeed in baseball years later he recalled That winter was when I really started working out I started running more I decided I was really going to find out how good I can be 55 During the offseason Koufax underwent tonsillectomy due to recurring throat issues and as a result reported to spring training thirty pounds under his normal playing weight Koufax later stated that it forced him to regain the lost muscle mass and weight through exercise and nutrition allowing him to get into the best shape of his life From then on he made it a point to report to spring training under his playing weight 2 56 During spring training Dodger scout Kenny Myers discovered a hitch in Koufax s windup where he would rear back so far he would lose sight of the target 57 As a result Koufax tightened up his mechanics believing that not only would it help better his control but would also help him disguise his pitches better 58 On March 23 Koufax was chosen to pitch in a B squad game against the Minnesota Twins in Orlando Florida by teammate Gil Hodges who was acting manager for the day As teammate Ed Palmquist had missed the flight leaving the team short one pitcher Hodges told Koufax he needed to pitch at least seven innings Prior to the game catcher Norm Sherry told him If you get behind the hitters don t try to throw so hard This was due to Koufax s tendency to lose control of his temper and throw hard when he got into trouble 2 The strategy worked initially before Koufax temporarily reverted to throwing hard and walked the bases loaded with no out in the fifth Sherry reminded Koufax of their discussion advising him to settle down and throw to his glove and to throw more breaking pitches The advice worked Koufax struck out the side and then went on to pitch seven no hit innings 59 60 Additionally Dodgers statistician Allan Roth helped Koufax tweak his game in the early 1960s particularly regarding the importance of first pitch strikes and the benefits of off speed pitches Like Sherry Roth also urged him to take a little speed off his pitches in order to improve his control 2 61 1961 season edit All the improvements and changes made in the offseason and during spring training resulted in 1961 becoming Koufax s breakout season He posted an 18 13 record and led the majors with 269 strikeouts breaking Christy Mathewson s 58 year old National League mark of 267 and doing so in 110 innings fewer than Mathewson had 62 That season also marked the first time in his career that Koufax started at least 30 games 35 and pitched at least 200 innings 255 2 He lowered his walks allowed per nine innings from 5 1 in 1960 to 3 4 in 1961 and led the NL with a strikeout to walk ratio of 2 80 36 On September 20 Koufax won a 13 inning contest against the Chicago Cubs for his 18th win of the year He pitched a complete game throwing 205 pitches striking out fifteen batters 63 That year he was named an All Star for the first time and appeared in both All Star Games a In the first game he faced only one batter giving up a hit to Al Kaline in the ninth inning before being removed by NL manager Danny Murtaugh In the second game he pitched two scoreless innings 65 1962 season edit In 1962 the Dodgers moved from the Los Angeles Coliseum a football stadium which had a 250 foot 75 m left field line an enormous disadvantage to left handed pitchers to Dodger Stadium The new park was pitcher friendly with a large foul territory and a comparatively poor hitting background Koufax was an immediate beneficiary of the move lowering his earned run average at home from 4 22 to 1 75 66 Subsequently he recorded what would be his first great season leading the NL in ERA and the majors in hits per nine innings and strikeouts per nine innings 36 nbsp Koufax at Dodger Stadium c 1962On April 24 Koufax tied his own record of 18 strikeouts in a 10 2 win over the Chicago Cubs in Wrigley Field 67 On June 13 against the Braves at Milwaukee County Stadium he hit his first career home run off future Hall of Famer Warren Spahn providing the winning margin in a 2 1 victory 68 On June 30 he threw his first career no hitter against the expansion New York Mets In the first inning of that game he struck out all three batters on nine total pitches becoming the sixth NL pitcher and the 11th pitcher overall to throw an immaculate inning he remains the only one to do so in a no hitter 69 70 His no hitter along with a 4 2 record 73 strikeouts and a 1 23 earned run average earned him the Player of the Month Award for June It would be the only time in his career he earned this distinction 71 Throughout the first half of the season Koufax dealt with an injured pitching hand 27 In April while at bat he had been jammed by a pitch from Earl Francis of the Pirates A numbness soon developed in the index finger on his left hand and the finger became cold and white Due to his strong start to the season Koufax ignored the problem hoping that the condition would clear up By July however his entire hand was becoming numb and during a start against Cincinnati his finger split open 72 A vascular specialist determined that Koufax had a crushed artery in his palm Ten days of experimental medicine successfully reopened the artery preventing the possibility of amputation 73 Koufax was finally able to pitch again in September when the team was locked in a tight pennant race with the Giants 74 However after the long layoff he was rusty and ineffective in three appearances and by the end of the regular season and in part due to Koufax s absence from the Dodgers rotation the Giants caught up with the Dodgers and forced a three game playoff 75 Before the playoffs began manager Alston asked Koufax if he could start the first game With an overworked pitching staff Koufax obliged However still rusty from the long layoff he was knocked out in the second inning after giving up home runs to Willie Mays and Jim Davenport After winning the second game of the series the Dodgers blew a 4 2 lead in the ninth inning of the deciding third game losing the pennant 76 1963 season edit In 1963 Major League Baseball expanded the strike zone as a way to combat what they perceived as too much offense 77 Compared to the previous season walks in the NL fell 13 strikeouts increased 6 the league batting average fell from 261 to 245 and runs scored declined 15 78 Koufax who had reduced his walks allowed per nine innings to 3 4 in 1961 and 2 8 in 1962 reduced it further to 1 7 in 1963 which ranked fifth in the league 36 nbsp Koufax and Whitey Ford prior to Game 4 of the 1963 World SeriesOn April 19 Koufax threw his second immaculate inning this time in a two hit shutout win against the Houston Colt 45s becoming the first NL pitcher and the second pitcher ever after Lefty Grove to throw two immaculate innings 70 However on April 23 he left the game against the Braves after throwing seven scoreless innings due to injuring the posterior capsule of his left shoulder Koufax subsequently missed two weeks returning on May 7 against the Cardinals 79 Koufax threw his second career no hitter against the San Francisco Giants on May 11 besting Giants ace Juan Marichal himself a no hit pitcher on June 15 Koufax carried a perfect game into the eighth inning against the powerful Giants lineup which included future Hall of Famers Willie Mays Willie McCovey and Orlando Cepeda The perfect game ended when he walked catcher Ed Bailey on a 3 and 2 pitch He closed out the game after walking pinch hitter McCovey on four pitches with two out in the ninth 80 81 From July 3 to 16 he pitched 33 consecutive scoreless innings pitching three shutouts to lower his earned run average to 1 65 On July 20 he hit the second and last home run of his career coincidentally again in Milwaukee He hit a three run shot off Braves pitcher Denny Lemaster to propel the team to a 5 4 win it was his only game with three runs batted in 36 In 1963 Koufax won the first of three pitching Triple Crowns leading the league in wins 25 strikeouts 306 and earned run average 1 88 82 He threw 11 shutouts eclipsing Carl Hubbell s 30 year post 1900 mark for a left handed pitcher of 10 and setting a record that stands to this day Only Bob Gibson with 13 shutouts in his iconic 1968 season known as the year of the pitcher has thrown more since 83 Koufax won the National League Most Valuable Player Award 84 and was the first ever unanimous selection for the Cy Young Award winning at a time when only one was awarded for both leagues b 85 He was also named the Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for the first time and was awarded the Hickok Belt as the athlete of the year 86 Clinching the pennant on September 27 the Dodgers went on to face the New York Yankees in the 1963 World Series who were heavily favored to win In Game 1 Koufax beat Whitey Ford 5 2 He struck out the first five batters and 15 overall breaking Carl Erskine s decade old record of 14 The Dodgers won Games 2 and 3 behind the pitching of Johnny Podres Ron Perranoski and Don Drysdale Koufax completed the Dodgers series sweep in Game 4 with a 2 1 victory over Ford the only run he allowed being a home run by Mickey Mantle 87 88 During the series Koufax struck out 23 batters in 18 innings a record for a four game World Series and had a 2 0 record with an earned run average of 1 50 for his performance he was awarded the World Series Most Valuable Player Award 89 90 91 Salary dispute edit After his successful 1963 season Koufax decided to ask the Dodgers for a salary raise to 75 000 later writing in his autobiography I felt I was entitled to a healthy raise Like double of the 35 000 I had received the year before plus another 5 000 for good measure good conduct and good luck They could hardly say I didn t deserve it 92 However during his meeting with Dodgers general manager Buzzie Bavasi the latter stated Koufax had not earned such a big raise using numerous excuses to justify his stance including that he had not pitched enough innings the year before Bavasi instead offered him 65 000 93 Angered at Bavasi s reasonings Koufax held his ground After tense negotiations the pair finally agreed to 70 000 and Koufax signed just before the team was about to leave for spring training 94 Soon after his signing however the Los Angeles Herald Examiner published a story which incorrectly stated that Koufax had threatened to leave baseball if he did not get a salary of 90 000 Angered and shocked that the story had painted him as greedy Koufax responded in an interview with Frank Finch of the Los Angeles Times that he did neither of those things saying I ve been hurt by people I thought were my friends 95 The story continued into spring training with the usually quiet and reserved Koufax telling his side of the negotiations to sportswriters He strongly suspected that somebody in the front office must have leaked the story It took both Bavasi and Dodgers owner Walter O Malley meeting with Koufax separately that finally led to him to dropping the matter However due to the bitter negotiation and what he felt was disrespect from the front office Koufax s relationship with both men would never fully recover 96 1964 season edit Koufax s 1964 season started with great expectations On April 14 he made the only Opening Day start of his career pitching a 4 0 shutout against the St Louis Cardinals 97 In his next start he struck out three batters on nine pitches in the third inning of a 3 0 loss to the Cincinnati Reds becoming the first pitcher in Major League history to throw three immaculate innings 70 On April 22 in St Louis however Koufax felt something let go in his arm during the first inning resulting in three cortisone shots in his sore left elbow and three missed starts 98 On June 4 against the Philadelphia Phillies in Connie Mack Stadium Koufax threw his third career no hitter tying Bob Feller as the only modern era pitchers to hurl three no hitters He only needed 97 pitches and faced the minimum 27 batters while striking out 13 The only full count he allowed was to Dick Allen in the fourth inning Allen walked and was thrown out trying to steal second base he was the only baserunner for the Phillies that day 99 100 On August 8 during a game against the Milwaukee Braves Koufax jammed his pitching arm while diving back to second base to beat a pick off throw by Tony Cloninger He managed to pitch and win two more games However the morning after his 19th win a shutout in which he struck out 13 batters Koufax woke up to find his elbow as big as his knee and found that he could no longer straighten his arm He was diagnosed by Dodgers team physician Robert Kerlan with traumatic arthritis c 102 With the Dodgers out of the pennant race Koufax did not pitch again that season finishing with a 19 5 win loss record and leading the National League with a 1 74 earned run average and 7 shutouts 36 Playing in pain 1965 66 edit nbsp In his final seasons Koufax iced his arm for hours after every game he pitchedAfter resting during the off season Koufax returned to spring training in 1965 and initially had no problems from pitching On March 30 however he woke up the morning after pitching a complete game against the Chicago White Sox to find his entire left arm swollen and black and blue from hemorrhaging He returned to Los Angeles to consult with Kerlan who warned him that he would eventually lose the full use of his arm if he continued to pitch 103 Kerlan and Koufax came up with a schedule which he would follow for the last two seasons of his career Koufax initially agreed to stop throwing between starts but as it had been a part of his routine for a long time he soon resumed it Instead he stopped throwing sidearm pitches which he often did against left handed batters and removed his rarely used slider from his repertoire 104 Before each start Koufax would get a cortisone shot in his elbow and have capsaicin based Capsolin ointment nicknamed the Atomic Balm by players rubbed over his shoulder and arm Afterwards he would soak his arm in a tub of ice to prevent swelling during the ice treatments he often wore a rubber sleeve fashioned from an inner tube to prevent frostbite If his elbow swelled up after a game the fluid needed to be drained with a syringe For the pain Koufax took Empirin with codeine every night and occasionally during a game He also took Butazolidin a drug used to treat inflammation caused by arthritis at the time but which was eventually taken off the market due to its toxic side effects on the body s immunity 105 1965 season edit Despite the constant pain in his pitching elbow Koufax pitched a major league leading 335 2 innings and 27 complete games leading the Dodgers to another pennant He won his second pitching Triple Crown leading the Majors in wins 26 earned run average 2 04 and strikeouts 382 82 Koufax captured his second unanimous Cy Young Award 85 and was runner up for the National League MVP Award behind Willie Mays 84 Koufax s 382 strikeouts broke Bob Feller s modern record of 348 strikeouts in 1946 and was the highest modern day total at the time d He walked only 71 batters the first time a pitcher struck out 300 more batters than he walked 311 a feat replicated only once since by Randy Johnson 372 strikeouts to 71 walks in 2001 Additionally he held batters to 5 79 hits per nine innings and allowed the fewest baserunners per nine innings in any season ever 7 83 breaking his own record set two years earlier of 7 96 36 Koufax was the pitcher for the Dodgers during the game on August 22 when Giants pitcher Juan Marichal clubbed Dodgers catcher John Roseboro in the head with a bat 107 The game which came in the middle of a heated pennant race had been tense since it began with Marichal brushing back Dodgers outfielder Ron Fairly and shortstop Maury Wills and Koufax retaliating by throwing over the head of Willie Mays After Koufax s retaliation both benches were warned by umpire Shag Crawford despite this he asked Roseboro Who do you want me to get Not wanting to get Koufax ejected in the middle of a crucial game Roseboro replied I ll handle it 108 After the clubbing occurred Koufax rushed from the mound and attempted to grab the bat from Marichal A fourteen minute brawl ensued in which he and Mays attempted to restore peace with Mays dragging the injured Roseboro away from the fight 109 After the game resumed a shaken up Koufax walked two batters before giving up a three run home run to Mays While he eventually settled down and pitched a complete game without allowing more runs the Dodgers ended up losing the game 4 3 110 Perfection edit Main article Sandy Koufax s perfect game nbsp Koufax holds four baseballs signifying a then record four career no hitters including his perfect gameOn September 9 1965 Koufax became the sixth pitcher of the modern era and eighth overall to throw a perfect game The game pitched against the Chicago Cubs was Koufax s fourth no hitter setting a then major league record and the first by a left hander in the modern era He struck out 14 batters the most recorded in a perfect game and struck out at least one batter in each inning in the 1 0 win 111 The game also set a record for the fewest hits ever in a major league contest as Cubs pitcher Bob Hendley pitched a one hitter and allowed only two batters to reach base 112 Both pitchers had no hitters intact until the seventh inning The winning run was unearned scored in the fifth inning without a hit when Dodgers left fielder Lou Johnson walked reached second on a sacrifice stole third and scored on a throwing error by Cubs catcher Chris Krug The only hit came in the seventh inning and was a bloop double hit by Johnson to shallow right 113 World Series and Yom Kippur edit The Dodgers won the NL pennant on the second to last game of the season against the Milwaukee Braves Koufax started the game on two days rest and pitched a complete game 3 1 win striking out 13 to clinch the pennant for the Dodgers e 115 Koufax declined to pitch Game 1 of the 1965 World Series as it clashed with Yom Kippur the holiest day in the Jewish calendar His decision garnered national headlines raising the conflict between professional pressures and personal religious beliefs to front page news 116 Instead Drysdale pitched the opener but was hit hard by the Minnesota Twins When Dodgers manager Walter Alston came out to remove Drysdale from the game the latter quipped I bet right now you wish I was Jewish too 117 In Game 2 Koufax pitched six innings giving up two runs one unearned and the Twins won 5 1 to take an early 2 0 lead in the series The Dodgers fought back in Games 3 and 4 with wins by Claude Osteen and Drysdale With the Series tied at 2 2 Koufax pitched a four hit shutout in Game 5 striking out 10 batters for a 3 2 Dodgers lead The Series returned to Metropolitan Stadium for Game 6 which the Twins Jim Grant won to force a seventh decisive game For Game 7 Alston decided to start Koufax over the fully rested Drysdale against the Twins Jim Kaat on just two days of rest Koufax pitched through fatigue and arthritic pain Despite giving up on his curveball early in the game after failing to throw strikes with it and pitching the rest of the game relying almost entirely his fastball Koufax threw a three hit shutout again striking out 10 batters and clinched the Series for the Dodgers 118 119 For his performance he won the World Series MVP Award the first player to be awarded it multiple times Koufax also won the Hickok Belt for a second time also the first time anyone had won the belt more than once 86 That year he was named the Sportsman of the Year by Sports Illustrated and also named Associated Press Male Athlete of the Year for a second time 120 Holdout edit Main article Koufax Drysdale holdout In the offseason prior to the 1966 season Koufax and Drysdale met separately with general manager Buzzie Bavasi to negotiate their contracts for the upcoming season Koufax still harbored ill feelings towards Bavasi which dated back to the contract dispute prior to the 1964 season 121 After his meeting he met Drysdale and his wife Ginger for dinner irritated that Bavasi was using his own teammate against him in the salary negotiations Drysdale responded that Bavasi had done the same thing with him The two compared notes on their separate negotiations realizing that Bavasi had been playing one pitcher against the other 122 Ginger Drysdale who had previously worked as a model and actress and was once a member of the Screen Actors Guild suggested to the pair that they negotiate together in order to get what they wanted Hence in January 1966 the pair informed the Dodgers of their decision to hold out together 123 124 In a highly unusual move for the time they were represented by entertainment lawyer J William Hayes Koufax s business manager Also highly unusual was their demand of 1 million 9 4 million today divided equally over the next three years or 167 000 1 57 million today each for each of the next three seasons They told Bavasi that they would negotiate their contracts as one unit and through their agent The Dodgers refused to do so stating it was against their policy and a stalemate ensued The front office began to wage a public relations campaign against the pair 124 nbsp Koufax and Drysdale with Dodgers GM Buzzie Bavasi and actor Chuck Connors at the press conference announcing the signing of the pair to one year contractsKoufax and Drysdale did not report to spring training in February 1966 Instead both signed to appear in the movie Warning Shot starring David Janssen Additionally Koufax had signed a book deal to write his autobiography Koufax with author Ed Linn 124 Meanwhile Hayes unearthed a state law the result of the De Havilland v Warner Bros Pictures case that made it illegal to extend personal service contracts in California beyond seven years he began to prepare a lawsuit which would have challenged the reserve clause When Dodgers owner Walter O Malley found out about this the team s front office softened their stance towards the pair 124 Actor and former baseball player Chuck Connors helped arrange a meeting between Bavasi and the two pitchers Koufax gave Drysdale the go ahead to negotiate new deals on behalf of both of them At the end of the thirty two day holdout Koufax signed for 125 000 1 17 million today and Drysdale for 110 000 1 033 000 today 124 The deal made Koufax the highest paid player in Major League Baseball for 1966 125 The holdout is noted to be the first significant event in baseball s labor movement and the first time major league players had challenged the absolute stronghold the owners held in baseball at the time That same year trade unionist Marvin Miller used the Koufax Drysdale holdout as an argument for collective bargaining while campaigning for players votes during spring training he would be soon be elected by the players as first executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association 126 1966 season edit In April 1966 Kerlan told Koufax it was time to retire and that his arm could not take another season By this time Koufax could no longer straighten his arm and it occasionally went numb causing him to drop anything he was holding Despite this Koufax kept Kerlan s advice to himself having decided the year before to make 1966 his last season He went out to pitch every fourth day accumulating 323 innings and not missing a single start 127 He posted a 27 9 win loss record with 317 strikeouts and a 1 73 earned run average winning his third pitching Triple Crown 82 Koufax won his third unanimous Cy Young Award the first pitcher ever to win three 85 and was again runner up for the National League MVP Award this time finishing behind Roberto Clemente of the Pirates f 84 In the final game of the regular season the Dodgers had to beat the Phillies in order to win the pennant In the second game of a doubleheader Koufax faced Jim Bunning for the second time that season 128 On two days rest Koufax pitched a 6 3 complete game victory to clinch the pennant the final win of his career 129 During the fifth inning Koufax injured his back while pitching to Gary Sutherland who was pinch hitting for Bunning After the inning was over he went straight to the trainer s room where the injury was diagnosed as likely being a slipped disc Dodger trainers Bill Buehler and Wayne Anderson applied Capsolin on his back and along with former Dodger Don Newcombe pulled Koufax in opposite directions until the disc slipped back into place 130 The Dodgers went on to face the Baltimore Orioles in the 1966 World Series As Koufax had pitched the pennant clincher just three days earlier Walter Alston was reluctant to start him in Game 1 for what would have been two consecutive starts on two days rest Instead Drysdale started in Koufax s place he proved to be ineffective however recording only six outs and losing 5 2 131 Game 2 marked Koufax s third start in eight days Despite being fatigued Koufax shut out the Orioles for the first four innings However three errors by Dodgers centerfielder Willie Davis in the fifth inning produced three unearned runs The only earned run allowed by Koufax was the result of Davis losing a fly ball hit by Frank Robinson which fell for a triple Robinson subsequently scored on a single by Boog Powell Koufax did not receive any run support either Baltimore s 20 year old future Hall of Famer Jim Palmer pitched a four hit shutout and the Orioles won 6 0 132 Alston lifted Koufax at the end of the sixth with the idea of getting him extra rest before a potential fifth game Instead the Dodgers were swept in four games Claude Osteen and Drysdale both lost by a score of 1 0 in Games 3 and 4 respectively with the offense failing to score a single run after having scored just two in Game 1 133 Retirement edit On November 18 a few weeks after the 1966 World Series Koufax announced his retirement from baseball in a press conference at the Beverly Wilshire Hotel 134 He cited constant pain in his pitching arm and the treatments that were required to make it possible for him pitch regularly as the reason for ending his career at age 30 saying I ve got a lot of years to live after baseball and I would like to live them with the complete use of my body I don t regret one minute of the last twelve years but I think I would regret one year that was too many 135 The announcement of his retirement came as a shock to baseball particularly to his teammates Soon afterwards Koufax told an incredulous Dick Tracewski his old Dodger roommate and close friend that he could have continued to pitch but would have risked disability if he did so All my sport coats have two different arms in them I can t go on doing this medication thing and pitching It s going to kill me Lots of bad things could happen I just gotta retire Years later Koufax stated that he never regretted retiring when he did but did regret having to make the decision to retire 136 His retirement ended a five year run in which Koufax went 111 34 with a 1 95 earned run average and 1 444 strikeouts During that run he led the Dodgers to three National League pennants and two World Series titles in both of which he was named the series MVP He won Cy Young Awards in each of the pennant winning years including the NL Most Valuable Player Award in 1963 36 Career overall editStatistics and achievements edit In his 12 season major league career Koufax had a 165 87 record with a 2 76 earned run average 2 396 strikeouts 137 complete games and 40 shutouts He was the first pitcher to average fewer than seven hits allowed per nine innings pitched 6 79 and to strike out more than nine batters 9 28 per nine innings pitched 137 138 He remains over half a century later on the very short list of pitchers who retired with more career strikeouts than innings pitched 36 Koufax became the first pitcher in baseball history to have two games with 18 or more strikeouts and the first to have eight games with at least 15 strikeouts now fourth most all time He also set a then record of 97 games with at least 10 strikeouts now sixth most all time 139 In his last ten seasons from 1957 to 1966 batters hit 203 against him with a 271 on base percentage and a 315 slugging average 36 His run of five consecutive ERA titles is a Major League record 140 Additionally he also led the majors in WHIP four consecutive times and FIP six consecutive times both also records 141 142 Since the start of the live ball era Koufax is one of only nine pitchers to record multiple 10 WAR seasons He is also the only one to record an ERA under 1 90 in three different qualifying seasons In each of his last ten seasons from 1957 to 1966 Koufax finished top ten in strikeouts including top three finishes in seven this was despite him being a part time starter in three of those seasons and suffering a season shortening injury in two 143 Due to a lack of run support Koufax s postseason record over the course of four World Series is an unimpressive 4 3 however his 0 95 earned run average and two World Series MVP Awards testify to how well he actually pitched 144 145 In his three World Series losses which were all starts spread over three different Series Koufax gave up one earned run in each the Dodgers scored only one run in support across the three games getting shut out twice 36 He was selected as an All Star for six consecutive seasons and made seven out of eight possible All Star Game appearances those seasons g He pitched six innings across four All Star games Koufax was the winning pitcher in the 1965 All Star Game and was the starting pitcher in the 1966 All Star Game throwing three innings of one run ball on two days rest 65 Koufax was the first pitcher to win three Cy Young Awards an especially impressive feat because it was during the era when only one was given out for both major leagues He is also the first pitcher to win the award by a unanimous vote a distinction which he received twice more 85 Koufax and Juan Marichal are the only two pitchers to have more than one 25 win season in the post World War II era with each man recording three 146 Category W L ERA G GS CG SHO SV IP H R ER HR BB IBB SO HBP ERA FIP WHIP H 9 SO 9 Ref Total 165 87 2 76 397 314 137 40 9 2 324 1 1 754 806 713 204 817 48 2 396 18 131 2 69 1 106 6 8 9 3 36 Pitching style and repertoire edit nbsp Koufax striding towards home plateKoufax was a power pitcher and threw with a pronounced straight over the top arm action Most of his velocity came from his strong legs and back combined with a high leg kick during his wind up and long forward extension on his release point toward home plate His unusually large hands also allowed him to put heavy spin on his pitches and control the direction in which they would break 147 Throughout his career Koufax relied heavily on two pitches 148 His four seam fastball gave batters the impression of rising as it approached them due to heavy backspin he created by pulling on the seams 149 His overhand curveball spun with the middle finger dropped vertically 12 to 24 inches due to his arm action sabermetrician Rob Neyer called it the best curve of all time 150 Koufax also occasionally threw a changeup and in his final years added a forkball to his repertoire 151 At the beginning of his career Koufax fought a tendency to tip pitches to the opposing team through variations in his wind up which included the position in which he held his hands at the top of the wind up When throwing a fastball with baserunners his hand position in the stretch would be higher than when he threw a curveball Once alerted he made an effort to better disguise his deliveries 2 Late in his career perhaps because of his injured arm his tendency to tip pitches became even more pronounced Good hitters could often predict what pitch was coming but were still unable to hit against him due to his precise control and the effectiveness of his pitches 152 Post playing activities edit nbsp Koufax left as a pitching coach for the Dodgers during spring training 1979Soon after his retirement Koufax signed a 10 year contract with NBC for 1 million 9 1 million today to be a broadcaster on the Saturday Game of the Week 153 During his tenure he also served as the color commentator for the All Star Game and as a pre game analyst for the World Series A shy man Koufax was never comfortable on the air he had difficulty in talking baseball with people who had not played the game professionally It was also challenging for him to describe pitchers whose repertoires and style of pitching differed from his and to be critical of players he had played with and against As a result he quit after six years and his contract with NBC was terminated by mutual consent before the start of the 1973 season 154 155 In 1979 Koufax was hired by the Dodgers to be a minor league pitching coach in their farm system 156 During his tenure he worked with a number of pitchers including Orel Hershiser Dave Stewart John Franco Bob Welch and fellow Hall of Famers Don Sutton and Pedro Martinez 157 158 Koufax with the help of former teammate Roger Craig taught himself how to throw a split finger fastball a popular pitch in the 1980s in order to be able to teach it to pitchers in the Dodgers minor league system 159 He resigned from his position in 1990 saying he was not earning his keep as the Dodgers had cut back his workload most observers however blamed it on his uneasy relationship with manager Tommy Lasorda who reportedly resented Koufax working with his pitchers Despite this Koufax continued to make informal visits to spring training 160 During this time Koufax also began to make spring training visits with other teams particularly with the New York Mets who were at the time owned by his childhood friend Fred Wilpon 161 Notably Mets pitcher Al Leiter credited Koufax in helping him become a better pitcher 162 163 In 2002 the New York Post published a false story about Koufax in connection to a biography on him by sportswriter Jane Leavy titled Sandy Koufax A Lefty s Legacy incorrectly insinuating that he only agreed to the biography because Leavy had threatened to out him as gay if he did not cooperate 164 Koufax cut ties with the Dodgers as both the team and the newspaper were at the time owned by Rupert Murdoch s News Corp and he did not want to help promote any of their subsidiaries 165 He reconnected with the organization in 2004 when the News Corp sold the Dodgers to Frank McCourt 166 Prior to the 2013 season the Dodgers again hired Koufax this time in a front office role as a special advisor to team chairman Mark Walter to work with the pitchers during spring training and consult during the season 167 168 Koufax retired from the front office role prior to the 2016 season 169 Since its founding Koufax has been closely involved with the activities of the Baseball Assistance Team B A T a non profit organization dedicated to helping former Major League Minor League and Negro league baseball players through financial and medical difficulties He has served as a member of its advisory board in the past 170 and has been a regular attendee at the annual B A T dinner 171 Honors and recognition edit nbsp Sandy Koufax s number 32 was retired by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1972 Koufax was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1972 his first year of eligibility At 36 years and 20 days old he is the youngest player ever elected five months younger than Lou Gehrig had been at the time of his special election in December 1939 h 173 On June 4 1972 the Dodgers retired Koufax s uniform number 32 alongside those of Dodger greats Roy Campanella 39 and Jackie Robinson 42 174 On June 18 2022 a statue of Koufax was unveiled at Dodger Stadium next to that of Robinson his former Brooklyn Dodger teammate 175 176 In 1999 The Sporting News placed Koufax at number 26 on its list of Baseball s 100 Greatest Players 177 That same year he was also named one of the 30 players on the Major League Baseball All Century Team 178 In 2020 The Athletic ranked Koufax at number 70 on its Baseball 100 list complied by sportswriter Joe Posnanski 179 Koufax was voted as one of the four greatest living players by Major League Baseball fans alongside Willie Mays Henry Aaron and Johnny Bench as a part of the 2015 season s Franchise Four vote 180 Before the 2015 All Star Game in Cincinnati he threw the ceremonial first pitch to Bench from in front of the base of the mound 181 In 2022 as part of their SN Rushmore project The Sporting News named Koufax on their Los Angeles Mount Rushmore of Sports along with Los Angeles Lakers basketball players Magic Johnson Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Kobe Bryant 182 That same year MLB com writers voted Koufax as being the greatest player in Dodgers franchise history just ahead of Jackie Robinson The greatest of the greats extend their on field dominance and define the legacy of their franchise Both Robinson and Koufax did for the Dodgers Both are revered for their impact on the sport but Jackie was a social icon and Sandy was a model for his franchise s pitching heritage Robinson excelled despite the incomprehensible burden of breaking down racial barriers Koufax compiled unapproachable statistics that obscured the toughness and unselfishness necessary to pitch in constant pain In a photo finish it s Koufax 183 In April 2007 as a tribute he was the final player chosen in the inaugural Israel Baseball League draft by the Modi in Miracle Former New York Mets player Art Shamsky manager of the Miracle said of the honorary pick His selection is a tribute to the esteem with which he is held by everyone associated with this league 184 nbsp U S President Barack Obama greets Koufax during the White House celebration of Jewish American Heritage Month May 2010Koufax was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1979 185 and in the National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1993 186 In 1990 he was inducted in the inaugural class of the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame 187 Koufax s likeness is a part of the mural outside Canter s Deli in Fairfax Los Angeles which commemorates the history of the Jewish community in the city 188 On May 27 2010 Koufax was included amongst the group of prominent Jewish Americans honored at the White House reception for Jewish American Heritage Month 189 In his opening remarks President Barack Obama directly acknowledged the high esteem in which Koufax is held within the Jewish community This is a pretty distinguished group We ve got senators and representatives We ve got Supreme Court justices and successful entrepreneurs rabbinical scholars Olympic athletes and Sandy Koufax The mention of Koufax s name drew the loudest cheer in the room 190 That same year he was one of the two main subjects of the film Jews and Baseball An American Love Story alongside Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg of the Detroit Tigers Koufax agreed to sit down for a rare interview remarking to Ira Berkow the writer of the film It doesn t make sense if it s Jews and Baseball and I m not in it 191 In media culture editTelevision appearences edit During his playing career Koufax made a number of appearences in television programs In 1959 he appeared as a character named Ben Cassidy in the western television series Shotgun Slade The following year he had brief cameos in three television series in 77 Sunset Strip as a policeman in Bourbon Street Beat as a doorman and in Colt 45 as a character called Johnny 192 Twice Koufax made appearences as himself on television series In 1962 he appeared on Dennis the Menace in the episode Dennis and the Dodger in which he coached a little league team In 1963 he had a non speaking role on Mister Ed in the episode Leo Durocher Meets Mister Ed in which he gave up an inside the park home run to the title character a talking horse 192 After the 1963 World Series Koufax along with teammates Don Drysdale and Tommy Davis appeared on The Bob Hope Show where the three appeared a sketch with comedian Bob Hope before performing a dance routine 193 194 After their joint holdout in 1966 Koufax and Drysdale appeared on The Hollywood Palace with host Gene Barry and comedian Milton Berle 195 Cultural references edit In 1965 as part of The Sound of the Dodgers an album with songs dedicated to the team comedian and singer Jimmy Durante recorded a song about Koufax called Dandy Sandy 196 Koufax along with Whitey Ford is one of the central figures in Robert Pinsky s poem The Night Game 197 Though not named explicitly named Pinsky alluded to Koufax in the final stanza as a solution to Ford whom he refers to in the poem as being aristocratic and gentile Another time I devised a left hander Even more gifted Than Whitey Ford A Dodger People were amazed by him Once when he was young He refused to pitch on Yom Kippur In the 1975 film One Flew Over the Cuckoo s Nest after not being allowed to watch it on television Jack Nicholson s character Randle McMurphy narrates an imaginary account of the 1963 World Series in which Koufax gets knocked out of the game after surrendering a double and two home runs to Bobby Richardson Tom Tresh and Mickey Mantle respectively 198 In the 1998 film The Big Lebowski John Goodman s character Walter Sobchak mentions Koufax in his response to being told he was living in the fucking past Three thousand years of beautiful tradition from Moses to Sandy Koufax You re goddamn right I m living in the fucking past 199 Personal life edit nbsp Koufax at the 2014 Baseball Writers Association of America dinnerKoufax has been described as being a secular Jew with biographer Jane Leavy describing him as a very Jewish being 200 His refusal to pitch on Jewish holidays throughout his career most notably not starting Game 1 of the 1965 World Series because it coincided with Yom Kippur was made out of respect for his heritage rather than religious devotion i 202 Koufax married Anne Widmark daughter of actor Richard Widmark in 1969 they divorced in 1982 His second marriage to personal trainer Kimberly Francis lasted from 1985 to 1998 Neither marriage produced children 203 He married his third wife Jane Clarke nee Purucker in 2008 Koufax is the stepfather of Clarke s daughter from her previous marriage to artist John Clem Clarke and has two step grandchildren 204 After receiving a lifetime achievement award from the Harold Pump Foundation in 2012 Koufax revealed that he had been diagnosed with cancer in 2010 during his acceptance speech Twenty six months ago I was a so called cancer victim Today I m a survivor 205 In 2009 Koufax was listed amongst the clients who had invested with financier Bernie Madoff and was one of the victims of his Ponzi scheme 206 His close friend Mets owner Fred Wilpon had recommended to Koufax that he invest with Madoff 207 Despite this Koufax supported Wilpon and offered to testify on behalf of the Mets ownership before a settlement averted a civil trial 208 209 In 2014 during a spring training visit in Camelback Ranch Koufax was hit on the head by a stray line drive resulting in a cut on his head 210 211 He underwent a precautionary CT scan which came out clear and returned to the spot where he had been hit the following day 212 He currently resides in Vero Beach Florida 213 In his forties and fifties Koufax became a marathon runner and exercise enthusiast and also took up fly fishing 214 A lifelong golfer he often entered amateur golf championships and participated in pro am charity tournaments and still remains active in the sport Koufax is also a college basketball fan and regularly attends the NCAA Final Four championships 215 See also editMajor League Baseball titles leaders Major League Baseball Triple Crown List of Major League Baseball annual ERA leaders List of Major League Baseball annual strikeout leaders List of Major League Baseball annual wins leaders List of Major League Baseball annual shutout leaders List of Major League Baseball career strikeout leaders List of Major League Baseball career WHIP leaders List of Major League Baseball career ERA leaders List of Major League Baseball career shutout leaders List of Major League Baseball individual streaks List of Major League Baseball no hitters List of Major League Baseball perfect games List of Major League Baseball single game strikeout leaders List of Major League Baseball pitchers who have thrown an immaculate inning List of Major League Baseball players who spent their entire career with one franchise List of Major League Baseball retired numbers List of baseball players who went directly to Major League Baseball List of select Jewish Major League Baseball players List of World Series starting pitchersNotes edit Major League Baseball held two All Star Games for the years from 1959 to 1962 64 Separate Cy Young Awards for each league started being awarded in 1967 the year after Koufax retired Dr Frank Jobe inventor of the Tommy John surgery later disagreed with Koufax s diagnosis He believed that Koufax suffered from a torn ulnar collateral ligament but stated there were no means to diagnose or treat such an injury when Koufax was an active player 101 The record was broken by Nolan Ryan s 383 strikeouts in 1973 but remains the top mark for National League pitchers and left handers 106 In his career Koufax pitched in nine games on two days rest starting eight times He never lasted less than seven innings winning seven of those games and pitching a complete game six times 114 While Koufax received more first place votes than Clemente did in the 1966 MVP race the latter had a higher vote share edging out Koufax by 78 to 74 Koufax was not on the roster for the second All Star Game in 1962 In 2022 Koufax became the first person to mark the 50th anniversary of their election to the Baseball Hall of Fame 172 Other than Yom Kippur other Jewish holidays Koufax would not pitch on included the first night of Passover and Rosh Hashanah notably not attending workouts before Game 4 of the 1959 World Series 201 References edit Sandy Koufax SABR BioProject Society for American Baseball Research Sandy Koufax was born as Sanford Braun on December 30 1935 His parents were Evelyn nee Lichtenstein and Jack Braun Sephardic Jews of Hungarian descent a b c d e f g h Orfalea Gregory October 6 2016 The Incomparable Career of Sandy Koufax The Atlantic Koufax and Linn pp 19 22 Leavy p 29 Koufax and Linn pp 22 28 Leavy pp 37 40 Sandomir Richard August 14 2012 Koufax s Roundball Once Trumped His Fastball The New York Times Sandy Koufax SABR BioProject Society for American Baseball Research At the urging of friends Koufax did go out for baseball in his senior year at Lafayette He played first base The team captain was Fred Wilpon a lefty with a crackling curveball who decades later became the owner of the New York Mets Koufax and Linn pp 32 39 Koufax and Linn p 30 Koufax and Linn pp 43 44 Dyer Mike May 4 2014 Sandy Koufax s season with UC Bearcats remembered The Cincinnati Enquirer Koufax and Linn pp 44 45 Leavy p 50 Koufax and Linn pp 46 48 Leavy p 52 Koufax and Linn pp 50 53 Leavy pp 53 54 Koufax and Linn pp 70 74 Koufax and Linn p 61 Jimmy Murphy August 17 1954 In Great Demand Brooklyn Eagle Leavy pp 54 55 Leavy p 55 Anderson Dave January 28 1979 Sandy Koufax and the Sistine Chapel The New York Times Koufax and Linn pp 67 69 Leavy p 57 Leavy pp 56 57 MLB Bonus Babies Baseball Almanac Schoenfield David September 16 2015 How the Pirates stole Roberto Clemente from the Dodgers ESPN Koufax and Linn pp 73 74 Koufax and Linn pp 75 94 a b c Koufax Sandy Gross Milton December 31 1963 I m Only Human Look Leavy pp 63 64 Koufax and Linn pp 95 97 Brooklyn Dodgers vs Milwaukee Braves Box Score June 24 1955 Baseball Reference com Biederman Lester J May 16 1966 Koufax Recalls His Wild Start At Forbes Field The Pittsburgh Press p 18 Archived from the original on September 11 2023 Leavy p 74 Cincinnati Redlegs vs Brooklyn Dodgers Box Score August 27 1955 Baseball Reference com McGowen Roscoe August 28 1955 Koufax Is Victor Dodger allows 2 hits Fans 14 in beating Redlegs 7 to 0 The New York Times via TimesMachine Pittsburgh Pirates vs Brooklyn Dodgers Box Score September 3 1955 Baseball Reference com a b c d e f g h i j k l m Sandy Koufax Career Statistics Baseball Reference com Koufax and Linn pp 3 105 107 Leavy pp xx 75 76 Sandy Koufax SABR BioProject Society for American Baseball Research During his first two years as a Dodger Koufax gained little experience just 28 appearances 15 starts and barely 100 innings pitched He was frustrated and quick to blame his wildness and unsteadiness on the lack of regular work It was a vicious cycle He couldn t pitch until his control improved but the less he pitched the worse his control became Leavy pp 85 86 Koufax and Linn pp 117 199 Sandy Koufax stats in Puerto Rico Beisbol 101 Liga de Beisbol Profesional de Puerto Rico Van Hyning Tom December 8 2020 A History of the Criollos de Caguas Part I Beisbol 101 Koufax and Linn pp 117 124 Leavy pp 87 90 Koufax and Linn pp 107 126 Leavy p 203 Koufax and Linn pp 130 132 Philadelphia Phillies vs Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score June 22 1959 Baseball Reference com Down Fred June 23 1959 Koufax Whiffs 16 Phils One Shy of NL Record The Sacramento Bee Koufax and Linn pp 125 138 Leavy pp 90 92 San Francisco Giants vs Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score August 31 1959 Baseball Reference com Down Fred September 1 1959 Koufax Ties Strikeout Mark of 18 in L A win The Sacramento Bee Koufax and Linn pp 139 141 Schoor pp 262 265 Los Angeles Dodgers vs Pittsburgh Pirates Box Score May 23 1960 Baseball Reference com Koufax and Linn pp 142 147 Leavy pp 93 95 Leavy p 101 Koufax and Linn pp 147 148 Leavy p 102 Koufax and Linn p 153 Koufax and Linn pp 153 155 Leavy pp 102 103 Whitmarsh Al March 24 1961 Koufax Credits Hitless Stint to Reliance on Fastball Orlando Sentinel Allan Roth SABR BioProject Society for American Baseball Research After the move to Los Angeles Roth started to attend spring training in Vero Beach something he hadn t done early in the Brooklyn years Now he met with each player along with one of the coaches and went over their performance the previous year emphasizing positives as well as negatives and suggesting changes that could improve the player s statistics Sandy Koufax would credit such sessions in the early 1960s with helping him learn to emphasize first pitch strikes and taking something off the ball Koufax and Linn pp 157 159 Leavy pp 115 116 Chicago Cubs vs Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score September 20 1961 Baseball Reference com Sandomir Richard July 15 2008 When Midsummer Had Two Classics The New York Times a b Sandy Koufax All Star Stats Baseball Almanac Koufax and Linn pp 127 128 Leavy p 116 Los Angeles Dodgers vs Chicago Cubs Box Score April 24 1962 Baseball Reference com Leavy p 116 Aaron Marc June 30 1962 Sandy Koufax hurls first career no hitter against Mets Society for American Baseball Research a b c Immaculate Innings Baseball Almanac Major League Baseball Players of the Month Baseball Reference com Finch Frank July 18 1962 Koufax to Return for Treatment Los Angeles Times Creamer Robert March 4 1963 An Urgent Matter of One Index Finger Sports Illustrated Koufax and Linn pp 165 176 Leavy pp 120 121 Plaut David 1994 Chasing October The Giants Dodgers Pennant Race of 1962 Diamond Communications pp 84 87 ISBN 978 0912083698 Koufax and Linn pp 176 177 Leahy pp 54 59 The Strike Zone A History of Official Strike Zone Rules Baseball Almanac Major League Batting Year by Year Averages Baseball Reference com Sandy Koufax SABR BioProject Society for American Baseball Research Going into the 1963 season there were some lingering doubts about Koufax s condition He missed three starts in late April and early May with a sore shoulder His first game back was a victory over the Cardinals Koufax and Linn pp 181 183 Leavy pp 122 123 Aaron Marc May 11 1963 Sandy Koufax throws second no hitter to beat Marichal Giants Society for American Baseball Research a b c Triple Crown of Pitching Baseball Almanac Single Season Leaders amp Records for Shutouts Baseball Reference com a b c MLB Most Valuable Player MVP Award Winners Baseball Reference com a b c d MLB Cy Young Award Winners Baseball Reference com a b Hickok Belt winner Sandy Koufax 1963 amp 1965 Hickok Belt Archived from the original on September 18 2012 Schoor pp 280 284 Zimmerman Paul October 7 1963 Dodgers Make Series History by Beating Yanks Four in Row Los Angeles Times World Series Pitching Records Baseball Almanac Koufax and Linn pp 184 216 Leavy pp 132 143 Leggett William October 14 1963 Koo Foo the Killer Sports Illustrated Koufax and Linn p 278 Leahy p 147 151 Koufax Signs 70 000 Contract As Dodgers Double His Salary The New York Times United Press International February 29 1964 Leahy p 173 175 Bavasi Says Koufax Still On Good Terms The New York Times United Press International March 6 1964 St Louis Cardinals vs Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score April 14 1964 Baseball Reference com Leavy p 150 Koufax and Linn pp 219 221 Leavy pp 151 153 Aaron Marc June 4 1964 Sandy Koufax puts everything together in third career no hitter Society for American Baseball Research Pouliot Matthew July 14 2012 Dr Frank Jobe It could have been Sandy Koufax surgery NBC Sports Koufax and Linn pp 222 228 Leavy pp 155 157 Leavy p 156 Baseball With Trauma Stress amp It Time July 30 1965 Koufax and Linn pp 228 239 Leavy pp 156 160 Single Season Leaders amp Records for Strikeouts Baseball Reference com Rosengren John 2014 The Fight of Their Lives How Juan Marichal And John Roseboro Turned Baseball s Ugliest Brawl Into A Story Of Forgiveness And Redemption Lyons Press pp 107 141 ISBN 978 0762787128 Leavy pp 179 180 Stone Kevin August 19 2015 Juan Marichal clubbed John Roseboro 50 years ago in ugly iconic incident ESPN Los Angeles Dodgers vs San Francisco Giants Box Score August 22 1965 Baseball Reference com Huber Mike September 9 1965 A million butterflies and one perfect game for Sandy Koufax Society for American Baseball Research Noble Marty September 9 2015 The Day Hendley Allowed Just One Hit Koufax Was Perfect MLB com Chicago Cubs vs Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score September 9 1965 Baseball Reference com Leavy pp 185 186 Milwaukee Braves vs Los Angeles Dodgers Box Score October 2 1965 Baseball Reference com Rosengren John September 23 2015 Sandy Koufax Yom Kippur and the 1965 World Series Sports Illustrated Stewart Larry November 4 2003 Drysdale Didn t Quite Have It This Day Los Angeles Times Schoor pp 290 292 Briere Tom October 15 1965 L A Wins 2 0 Take Series Minneapolis Tribune Koufax and Linn pp 256 268 Leavy pp 167 194 Leahy pp 146 151 173 175 Leavy p 204 Leavy p 205 Leahy p 344 a b c d e Book Excerpt Sandy Koufax Don Drysdale 1966 Million Dollar Contract Holdout Sports Illustrated March 18 2020 MLB s annual salary leaders since 1874 Society for American Baseball Research Leavy pp 205 210 Leahy pp 342 348 Leavy p 222 Los Angeles Dodgers vs Philadelphia Phillies Box Score October 2 1966 Baseball Reference com Wulf Steve September 30 2016 Sandy Koufax s final victory might have been his best ESPN Leavy pp 232 233 Skelton David E A Season Ending Doubleheader and its Impact on the 1966 World Series Society for American Baseball Research Baltimore makes it two straight as Dodgers defense comes apart The Spokesman Review Associated Press October 7 1966 p 18 Archived from the original on October 19 2021 Schoor pp 293 295 Koufax Dodger Pitching Star Retires Because of Ailing Arm The New York Times Associated Press November 19 1966 via TimesMachine Video Dodgers icon Sandy Koufax retires at the age of 30 ESPN July 24 2019 Leavy pp 236 239 Leahy pp 389 391 Career Leaders amp Records for Hits per 9 IP Baseball Reference com Career Leaders amp Records for Strikeouts per 9 IP Baseball Reference com Most Games with 10 or more Strikeouts All time StatMuse com Yearly League Leaders amp Records for Earned Run Average Baseball Reference com Yearly League Leaders amp Records for Walks amp Hits per IP Baseball Reference com Yearly League Leaders amp Records for Fielding Independent Pitching Baseball Reference com Simon Andrew December 30 2022 11 stats that show why Koufax is a legend MLB com All time and Single Season World Series Pitching Leaders Baseball Reference com MLB Postseason Willie Mays World Series MVP Awards Baseball Reference com Single Season Leaders amp Records for Wins Baseball Reference com Leavy pp 9 11 14 Neyer and James pp 270 271 Leavy pp 7 8 79 Neyer and James p 34 Leavy pp 6 9 Koufax and Linn p 153 Leavy p 24 Koufax Makes Bow as Star with N B C The New York Times Associated Press January 27 1967 via TimesMachine Leavy p 251 Leahy pp 435 436 Sandy Koufax SABR BioProject Society for American Baseball Research Koufax s contract with NBC was terminated by mutual consent before the start of the 1973 season From Koufax s side the decision to leave the broadcast booth stemmed in part from difficulty in talking baseball to people who had not played the game professionally Other challenges for him were describing pitchers whose repertoires differed from his and being honest and critical of the men he played with and against As a result he was uncomfortable on the air Boswell Thomas March 21 1979 Koufax The Washington Post Leavy pp 10 252 253 Mochari Ilan How One of Baseball s Best Pitchers Became a Master Self Motivator Inc Leavy p 254 Leavy pp 255 258 Sandy Koufax SABR BioProject Society for American Baseball Research For many years well into the 21st century he would also visit the Mets in spring training to catch up with old friend Fred Wilpon and offer sage advice to young pitchers Leavy pp 10 256 Diamos Jason February 27 1999 From One Late Bloomer to Another The New York Times Koufax severs ties with the Dodgers over gossip item ESPN Associated Press February 21 2003 Leavy p 260 Reid Jason March 6 2004 Koufax Ends Boycott but He s Only Visiting Los Angeles Times Sandy Koufax To Join Dodgers As Special Adviser CBS News Associated Press January 22 2013 Dodgers welcome Sandy Koufax back to spring training USA Today Associated Press February 24 2013 Gurnick Ken February 28 2016 Koufax retires but still part of Dodgers MLB com Baseball Assistance Team B A T MLB com Archived from the original on October 19 2021 Retrieved December 1 2020 Berkow Ira January 21 1998 When Old Ballplayers Are in Need of Help The New York Times Frommer Frederic J August 5 2022 50 years later here s how Sandy Koufax made it to the Hall of Fame The Forward Murray Janey Berra Koufax inducted amid star studded Class of 1972 National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Dodgers Retired Numbers MLB com Los Angeles Dodgers unveil Sandy Koufax statue outside stadium ESPN Associated Press June 18 2022 Ardaya Fabian June 19 2022 Dodgers unveil statue honoring Sandy Koufax One of the greatest honors of my life The Athletic Baseball s 100 Greatest Players No 26 Sandy Koufax The Sporting News April 26 1999 Archived from the original on April 16 2005 The All Century Team MLB com Archived from the original on January 19 2010 Retrieved February 15 2007 Posnanski Joe January 17 2020 The Baseball 100 No 70 Sandy Koufax The Athletic Snyder Matt July 14 2015 Koufax Mays Aaron Bench voted by fans as four greatest living players CBS Sports Dyer Mike July 14 2015 Koufax tosses All Star Game first pitch to Johnny Bench The Cincinnati Enquirer Fagan Ryan DeCourcy Mike July 27 2022 Los Angeles Mount Rushmore of Sports Magic Johnson Sandy Koufax Kobe Bryant Kareem Abdul Jabbar named best of the best The Sporting News Every MLB team s greatest player ever MLB com January 8 2022 Israeli league team drafts Koufax as tribute ESPN Associated Press April 27 2007 Sanford Sandy Koufax inductee Class of 1979 International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Sandy Koufax National Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Archived from the original on February 10 2007 Sandy Koufax Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame Archived from the original on June 18 2016 Fairfax Community Mural Mural Conservancy of Los Angeles Knoller Mark May 28 2010 Obama Honors Jewish Americans at White House Reception CBS News Remarks by the President at Reception in Honor of Jewish American Heritage Month The Obama White House May 27 2010 via National Archives and Records Administration Sandomir Richard October 31 2010 Reluctantly Koufax Steps Back Into the Light for a Film About Jewish Ballplayers The New York Times a b Cosman Ben December 30 2014 On Sandy Koufax s birthday let s look back at his illustrious television career MLB com Bob Hope Comedy Special The Bob Hope Show October 25 1963 NBC Leahy p 91 Cole Howard September 4 2013 Koufax on Mister Ed Big D with Greg Brady and Hollywood s love affair with the Dodgers LA Weekly Durante Jimmy 1965 Dandy Sandy Vinyl record Jaybar Records Poetry World Series PBS News Hour October 22 2002 Caple Jim October 22 2012 The World Series finds its way into the culture far beyond baseball ESPN Siegel Alan September 17 2010 God vs the World Series Sandy Koufax s Yom Kippur Sacrifice The Atlantic Leavy p 182 Rothenberg Matt Sandy Koufax Responded to a Higher Calling on Yom Kippur in 1965 National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Caple Jim October 9 2015 Sandy Koufax s refusal to pitch on Yom Kippur still resonates today ESPN Sandy Koufax SABR BioProject Society for American Baseball Research His first wife was Anne Widmark daughter of actor Richard Widmark Their wedding was on New Year s Day 1969 Anne Widmark and Koufax divorced in 1982 In 1985 Koufax married his second wife Kimberly Francis Their marriage ended in the winter of 1998 1999 Traub Alex June 28 2021 John Clem Clarke a Pop Art Perennial in SoHo Dies at 83 The New York Times 2012 Lifetime Achievement Honorees Harold amp Carol Pump Foundation Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax amongst those swindled by Bernie Madoff ESPN Associated Press February 5 2009 Rubin Adam February 19 2011 Sandy Koufax visits Mets offers support ESPN Sandy Koufax On Bernard Madoff Mets Trial Witness List CBS News Associated Press March 13 2012 Sandy Koufax SABR BioProject Society for American Baseball Research even though Fred Wilpon got Sandy to become one of the investors in Bernard Madoff s notorious Ponzi scheme Koufax publicly supported Wilpon He would have testified on behalf of the Mets ownership had a settlement not averted a civil trial Hernandez Dylan February 21 2014 Sandy Koufax struck in head by line drive in Dodgers camp Los Angeles Times Axisa Mike February 21 2014 Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax hit in the head by line drive at Dodgers camp CBS Sports Gurnick Ken February 22 2014 Koufax returns to spot where he was hit by liner MLB com Begley Janet March 14 2019 Centennial Vero Beach Indian River County had big share of famous sports celebrities over the years TCPalm Leavy pp 252 255 Auclair T J October 12 2017 How oversleeping led to golfer s lifelong friendship with Sandy Koufax PGA com Book sources edit Koufax Sandy Linn Ed 1966 Koufax Viking Press ISBN 978 0 6704 1508 3 Schoor Gene 1990 The History of the World Series The Complete Chronology of America s Greatest Sports Tradition William Morrow and Company ISBN 0 688 07995 4 Leavy Jane 2002 Sandy Koufax A Lefty s Legacy HarperCollins ISBN 0 06 019533 9 Neyer Rob James Bill 2004 The Neyer James Guide to Pitchers Simon amp Schuster ISBN 0 7432 6158 5 Leahy Michael 2016 The Last Innocents The Collision of the Turbulent Sixties and the Los Angeles Dodgers HarperCollins ISBN 978 0 06 236056 4 Further reading editBooks edit Gruver Edward 2000 Koufax Taylor Publishing ISBN 978 1493049325 Adelman Tom 2007 Black and Blue Sandy Koufax the Robinson Boys and the World Series That Stunned America Little Brown and Company ISBN 978 0316067157 Leavy Jane 2013 Sandy Koufax Best Bar Mitzvah Guest Ever In Franklin Foer Marc Tracy eds Jewish Jocks An Unorthodox Hall of Fame Twelve Books ISBN 978 1455 5161 31 Ruttman Larry 2013 Sandy Koufax Pitcher Nonpareil and Perfect Gentleman American Jews and America s Game Voices of a Growing Legacy in Baseball University of Nebraska Press ISBN 978 0 8032 6475 5 Passan Jeff 2016 The Arm Inside the Billion Dollar Mystery of the Most Valuable Commodity in Sports HarperCollins ISBN 978 0062 4003 76 Florio John Shapiro Ousie 2017 Chapter 11 Sandy Koufax Don Drysdale amp the 1966 Million Dollar Contract Holdout One Nation Under Baseball How the 1960s Collided with the National Pastime University of Nebraska Press ISBN 978 1 4962 1406 5 Interviews edit Koufax on Koufax Sports Illustrated December 20 1965 Aaron Mays Koufax amp Bench MLB s Franchise Four Greatest Living Players MLB com July 16 2015 Articles edit Olsen Jack July 29 1963 The Very Best Act in Town Sports Illustrated Berkow Ira July 3 1985 Koufax is No Garbo The New York Times Verducci Tom July 12 1999 The Left Arm of God Sports Illustrated Leavy Jane September 3 2002 In General a Private Koufax The Washington Post Lipman Steve March 12 2014 Where Have You Gone Sandy Koufax The Jewish Week Coffey Alex May 13 2020 How Sandy Koufax unleashed Dave Stewart s stare on the Baseball World The Athletic External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sandy Koufax nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Sandy Koufax Career statistics and player information from MLB or ESPN or Baseball Reference or Fangraphs or Retrosheet Sandy Koufax at the Baseball Hall of Fame Sandy Koufax at the SABR Baseball Biography Project Sandy Koufax at IMDbAwards and achievementsPreceded byDon Drysdale Los Angeles Dodgers Opening Day Starting pitcher1964 Succeeded byDon DrysdalePreceded byBob Purkey Major League Player of the MonthJune 1962 Succeeded byFrank HowardPreceded byJim Bunning Perfect game pitcherSeptember 9 1965 Succeeded byCatfish HunterPreceded byEarl WilsonJack KralickKen JohnsonJim Maloney No hitter pitcherJune 30 1962May 11 1963June 4 1964September 9 1965 Succeeded byBill MonbouquetteDon NottebartJim BunningDave Morehead Portals nbsp Biography nbsp Baseball nbsp New York City Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Sandy Koufax amp oldid 1217467922, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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