The Great Sandy Koufax

 

Sandy Koufax Photo Gallery:

The Great Hall-of Famer, Sandy Koufax!

“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. -Dodger scout Al Campanis

“Sandy only had two pitches. Both unhittable!”- Steve Stone

Sandy Koufax was born Sanford Braun on December 30, 1935. His story is really the tale of two pitchers. Koufax started his career in 1955 and struggled through six mediocre seasons, never topping 11 wins and once leading the league in wild pitches. And then something inexpiable happened: Somehow the serious-minded fire-balling lefty found his touch. Some say the turnaround occurred when coach Norm Sherry suggested he take a little velocity off his fastball, helping him evolve from just a hard thrower into a truly great pitcher. Whatever the reason, for the next six seasons he was as close to unhitable as a pitcher can be.

Koufax was born in Brooklyn, New York and raised in Borough Park. His parents, Evelyn and Jack Braun, divorced when he was three years old. His mother remarried when he was nine to Irving Koufax. Shortly after his mother’s remarriage, the family moved to the Long Island suburb of Rockville Centre. Before tenth grade, Koufax’s family moved back to the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn.

Koufax attended the University of Cincinnati and was a walk-on on the freshman basketball team.  In spring 1954, he made the college baseball varsity team, going went 3–1 with 51 strikeouts and 30 walks, in 31 innings. Bill Zinser, a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, sent the Dodgers front office a glowing report that apparently was filed and forgotten [see photos of Sandy’s scouting report included in the photo gallery].

After trying out with the New York Giants at the Polo Grounds, Koufax did the same for the Pittsburgh Pirates at Forbes Field. During his Pirates tryout, Koufax’s fastball broke the thumb of Sam Narron, the team’s bullpen coach. Branch Rickey, then the general manager of the Pirates, told his scout Clyde Sukeforth that Koufax had the “greatest arm [he had] ever seen.” The Pirates, however, failed to offer Koufax a contract until after he was already committed to the Dodgers.

Dodgers scout Al Campanis heard about Koufax from a local sporting goods store owner. After seeing Koufax pitch, Campanis invited him to an Ebbets Field tryout. With Dodgers manager Walter Alston and scouting director Fresco Thompson watching, Campanis assumed the hitter’s stance while Kufax pitched. The Dodgers signed Koufax for a $6,000 salary, with a $14,000 signing bonus.

In his 12-season career, the seven-time All-Star had a 165–87 record (.654 winning percentage) with a 2.76 ERA, 2,396 strikeouts, 137 complete games, and 40 shutouts. Koufax’s 2,396 career strikeouts ranked 7th in history as of his retirement, trailing only Warren Spahn (2,583) among left-handers. Sandy Koufax and Nolan Ryan are the only two pitchers inducted into the Hall of Fame who had more strikeouts than innings pitched. He was the first pitcher to average fewer than seven hits allowed per nine innings pitched (6.79). He also became the second pitcher in history to have two games with 18 or more strikeouts; and the first to have eight games with 15 or more strikeouts. Over his last ten seasons, from 1957 to 1966, batters hit an anemic .203 against him, with an incredibly low .271 on-base-percentage and a .315 slugging average. Koufax is also remembered as one of the outstanding Jewish athletes in American sports. His decision not to pitch Game One of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur garnered national attention as an example of conflict between professional pressures and personal beliefs.

Koufax’s amazing run from 1961 to 1966 remains a period of brilliance almost unmatched in baseball history. During this time Koufax won five straight ERA titles; four strikeout crowns; three Cy Young awards; a National League MVP award; three seasons with 25-plus wins; and four no-hitters, the last in 1965 being a perfect game against the Cubs.

Koufax’s postseason record is also impressive: a 4–3 won-lost record with a 0.95 earned run average in four World Series, leading the Dodgers to World Series championships in 1963 and 1965. Koufax was selected for seven consecutive All-Star games, twice in 1961—the last season with two All-Star Games—then 1962 to 1966.

…And then, suddenly, the great run ended as quickly as it had begun. The pain from ongoing arthritis, pain he had managed for several years with ice, guts, and shots was too much. At age 30 – seemingly at the top of his game – Sandy Koufax was done, retired due to injury. In 1972, he became the youngest man ever elected to the Hall of Fame. In 1999, The Sporting News placed Koufax at number 26 on its list of “Baseball’s 100 Greatest Players.” That same year he was named as one of the 30 players on the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Although he rarely makes public appearances and strives to maintain his privacy, Koufax went to Turner Field in Atlanta for the introduction ceremony before Game Two of the 1999 World Series. Koufax also threw out a ceremonial first pitch at opening day 2008 at Dodger Stadium to help commemorate the Dodgers’ 50th Anniversary in Los Angeles.

Join me now in a photographic tribute, as we celebrate the career of one of the all-time greats – Sandy Koufax! [see photo gallery above!]

-Gary Livacari

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Photo Credits: Thanks to my Twitter friend Mike for sending the great photo of Sandy Koufax on the cover of Life Magazine. Visit Mike’s Twitter page: Picture, Cather, Bat https://twitter.com/PictureCatcherB; Other photos from “Classic Baseball, the Photographs of Walter Iooss, Jr.;” “The Brooklyn Dodgers Photographs of Barney Stein;” “The George Brace Baseball Photograph Collection;” Public Domain.

Biographical Information: Taken from the Sandy Koufax Wikipedia page.