Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax

Sandy Koufax was born in Brooklyn, New York. His parents, Evelyn and Jack Braun, divorced when Sandy was just three years old, and when his mother remarried six years later, the nine year old boy took the surname of her new husband, Irving Koufax.

Koufax attended Brooklyn's Lafayette High School, where he was better known for basketball than baseball. After graduation, he attended the University of Cincinnati on a basketball scholarship. In the spring of 1954, he made the baseball varsity team, and went 3-1 with 51 strikeouts and 30 walks in 31 innings.

Brooklyn Dodgers scout Al Campanis learned about Koufax from a local sporting goods store owner, and went to see him pitch. After seeing Koufax pitch, Campanis invited him to a try out at Ebbets Field, and 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 first time I saw Sandy Koufax throw a fastball." The Dodgers signed the nineteen year old Koufax to a $6,000 salary with a $14,000 signing bonus.

Koufax made his major league debut on June 24, 1955, in the fifth inning against the Milwaukee Braves and struck out Bobby Thomson. Koufax pitched in a eleven more games that year and finished 2-2 with a 3.02 ERA.

Early Career Disappointments and Injuries

From 1956 through 1960, Koufax was in and out of the starting rotation, occasionally showing flashes of brilliance but also struggling through injuries, and posted a five year record of 34-38 and had an ERA over 4.00.

By the end of 1960, Koufax was thinking about quitting baseball to devote himself to an electronics business that he'd invested in. But he decided to give it another year, and devoted himself to getting in the best shape of his life during the off-season. "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."

The hard work paid off. Koufax finished the year 18-13, with 269 strikeouts.

In 1962, the Dodgers moved to their new ballpark, Dodger Stadium, which was much more spacious and hitter-friendly than Los Angeles Coliseum, where Koufax had difficulty pitching due to the 250' left field line. On June 30 against the New York Mets, Koufax threw his first no-hitter; he would finish his career with a then-record four no-hitters. But he hurt his hand in early July and was sidelined for the next two months. He finished the year at 14-7 with 216 strikeouts ad just 47 walks in 184 innings.

Four Years of Dominance

Koufax came back in 1963. On May 11, he pitched his second career no-hitter, and dominated the National League all season, leading the league in wins (25), strikeouts (306) and ERA (1.88). He won the NL MVP Award and the Cy Young Award.

The Dodgers faced the New York Yankees in the 1963 World Series, where Koufax beat Whitey Ford 5 to 2 in Game 1 and struck out 15 batters. After the game, Yogi Berra was quoted as saying, "I can see how he won 25 games. What I don't understand is how he lost five." In Game 4, he completed the Dodgers' series sweep of the Yankees with a 2 to 1 victory over Ford, earning the World Series MVP Award for his performance.

Koufax had another great season in 1964. On June 4, he pitched his third no-hitter in three years, but on August 8, he jammed his pitching arm while diving back to second base to beat a pick-off throw. Two weeks later, the Dodgers' team physician diagnosed Koufax with traumatic arthritis, and he had to sit out the last two months of the year. He finished the year at 19-5 with an ERA of 1.74.

The pain in Koufax's arm never subsided. For the rest of his career, he relied on painkillers, anti-infammatory medicines and capsaicin-based ointment to get through every game. But he continued to pitch brilliantly.

In 1965, despite the constant pain, Koufax pitched 335 innings and led the Dodgers to another pennant. He finished the year by winning his second Triple Crown, leading the league in wins (26), ERA (2.04) and strikeouts (382). His strikeout total set a modern (post-1900) record that lasted until 1973, when Nolan Ryan struck out 383 batters. For his efforts, Koufax won his second Cy Young award.

Koufax and the Dodgers faced the Minnesota Twins in the 1965 World Series. Koufax made history when he declined to pitch Game 1 due to his observance of Yom Kippur. In Game 2, Koufax pitched six innings, giving up two runs, but the Twins won the game 5-1 and took an early 2-0 lead in the series. The Dodgers fought back, with Claude Osteen, Drysdale, and Koufax claiming vital wins to take a 3-2 lead back to Minnesota. In Game 5, Koufax pitched a complete game shutout, winning 7-0; however, the Twins won Game 6 to force a seventh game. Starting Game 7 on only two days of rest, Koufax pitched through fatigue and arthritic pain, throwing a three-hit shutout to clinch the Series. The performance was enough to win him his second World Series MVP award.

The Holdout

Before the 1966 season began, Koufax and Don Drysdale met separately with Dodger GM Buzzie Bavasi to negotiate their contracts for the upcoming year. After Koufax's meeting, he met Drysdale for dinner and complained that Bavasi was using Drysdale against him in the negotiations, asking, "How come you want that much when Drysdale only wants this much?" Drysdale responded that Bavasi did the same thing with him, using Koufax against him. Drysdale's first wife, Ginger Drysdale, suggested that they negotiate together to get what they wanted. They demanded $1 million dollars, divided equally over the next three years, or $167,000 each for the next three seasons.

The Final Season

In April 1966, the Dodgers team physician told Koufax it was time to retire, that his arm could not take another season. Koufax kept the doctor's advice to himself and went out every fourth day to pitch. He ended up pitching 323 innings and had a 27-9 record with a 1.73 ERA. Since then, no lefthander has had more wins, nor a lower ERA, in a season. In the final game of the regular season, the Dodgers had to beat the Phillies to win the pennant.

The Dodgers went on to face the Baltimore Orioles in the 1966 World Series. Game 2 marked Koufax's third start in eight days, and he pitched well. But three errors by Dodger center fielder Willie Davis in the fifth inning produced three unearned runs. Baltimore's Jim Palmer pitched a four-hitter and the Dodgers ended up losing the game 6-0. Alston lifted Koufax at the end of the sixth inning with the idea of getting him extra rest before pitching a potential fifth Series game. It never happened; the Dodgers were swept in four, not scoring a single run in the last three. After the World Series, Koufax announced his retirement due to his arthritic condition.

Sandy Koufax's Career Record

In a 12-season career, Koufax had a 165-87 record with a 2.76 ERA, 2,396 strikeouts, 137 complete games, and 40 shutouts. In his last ten seasons, from 1957 to 1966, batters hit .203 against Koufax, with a .271 on base percentage and a .315 slugging average.

Koufax was the first pitcher to win multiple Cy Young Awards, and he won all three of his awards by a unanimous vote. Even more impressive, Koufax won all of his Cy Youngs when only one award was given out annually.

Sandy Koufax was inducted into the Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 1972.

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