Koufax was born Sanford Braun on December 30, 1935, in Brooklyn, New York. The hard-throwing left-hander was the most dominant pitcher in baseball until elbow arthritis forced an early retirement at age 30. [83], In Game 2 Koufax pitched six innings, giving up two runs, and the Twins won 51 to take an early 20 lead in the series. With the Series tied at 22, Koufax pitched a complete-game shutout in Game 5 for a 32 Dodgers lead as the Series returned to Metropolitan Stadium for Game 6, which the Twins won to force a seventh game. A history of the Sports Reference Sponsorship System, Every Sports Reference Social Media Account, Site Last Updated: Tuesday, January 17, 11:08PM. [57], In 1963 Major League Baseball expanded the strike zone. He was the greatest pitcher of his time in baseball, said writer Jimmy Cannon. The real name of this Former baseball player is Sanford Braun. Eddie Mathews bunted, and Koufax threw the ball into center field. Sandy Koufax. Koufax finally gained control of his overpowering fastball and knee-buckling curveball in the early 1960s, and embarked on one of the most dominant pitching runs in baseball history. Former professional baseball player Sandy Koufax began his career in 1955 when he was signed by his hometown Brooklyn Dodgers. What I don't understand is how he lost five, said Hall of Famer Yogi Berra in 1963. Sandy Koufax has a net worth of $10 million and earns $167,000 per year, according to the website Celebrity Net Worth. Eddie Mathews bunted, and Koufax threw the ball into center field. (National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum), Claude Osteen (center) celebrates with Don Drysdale (right) and Sandy Koufax (left) after Sandy leads the Dodgers to a 7-0 victory over the Minnesota Twins in Game 5 of the 1965 World Series. A trailblazing player in the Negro Leagues, baseball pitcher Satchel Paige also became the oldest rookie in Major League history and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1971. Along with Randy Johnson, Pedro Martnez, and Nolan Ryan, Koufax is one of only four pitchers elected to the Hall of Fame who had more strikeouts . The man never refused to give up and is now living his last few days in privacy with his family, away from the cameras. When Sandy Koufax was awarded a basketball scholarship to the University of Cincinnati in 1953, his plans included a career in architecture. Bid on Sandy Koufax Autographed Baseball at MLB Auctions. He was one of six pitchers who's fastball velocities were measured. ". Koufax agreed not to throw at all between gamesa resolution that lasted only one start. Koufax played 12 years at the MLB level, all with the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers. He also became the second pitcher in baseball Koufax later said, "I had nothing at all." Save 15% on 2 select item(s) FREE delivery Dec 13 - 15 . [15] In his only season, Koufax went 31 with a 2.81 ERA, 51 strikeouts and 30 walks in 32 innings. This forced the Dodgers to keep him on the major league roster for at least two years before he could be sent to the minors. Win Expectancy, Run Expectancy, and Leverage Index calculations provided by Tom Tango of InsideTheBook.com, and co-author of The Book: Playing the Percentages in Baseball. His parents were Evelyn (ne Lichtenstein) and Jack Braun, Sephardic Jews of Hungarian descent.6The family lived in the Bensonhurst section of Brooklyn. He was 36-40 with a 4.10 ERA and allowed close to 13 base runners per nine innings, including over five walks per game. Koufax was the supreme pitcher of his generation and the greatest Jewish hurler ever, and his taking a stand occurred at baseball's centerpiece event. By JOE REEDY June 18, 2022. In spring 1954, he made the college baseball varsity team, which was coached by Jucker at that time. It's also available for football, basketball and hockey. Career statistics and player information from, This page was last edited on 11 January 2023, at 01:19. Award by a unanimous vote . Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy. He led the Miami Heat to NBA titles in 2012 and 2013 and won another championship with Cleveland in 2016, before joining the Los Angeles Lakers in 2018. Johnny Logan, the first batter Koufax faced, hit a bloop single. [16][17] Bill Zinser, a scout for the Brooklyn Dodgers, sent the Dodgers front office a glowing report that apparently was filed and forgotten. On April 18, he struck out three batters on nine pitches in the third inning of a 30 loss to the Cincinnati Reds, becoming the only NL pitcher to have two "immaculate innings". consecutive All-Star Games from 1961-66 . in Psychology, West Chester University of Pennsylvania (Graduated 2020) 1 y The only time anyone ever tried to measure how fast Sandy Koufax could throw was during spring training of 1960 as part of a test set up by This Week magazine. Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy by Jane Leavy 6,337 ratings, 4.06 average rating, 276 reviews Open Preview Sandy Koufax Quotes Showing 1-6 of 6 "In the immortal words of Willie Stargell, trying to hit Koufax was like "trying to drink coffee with a fork." Jane Leavy, Sandy Koufax: A Lefty's Legacy 3 likes Like We will offer fans the opportunity to buy signed and unsigned items. was a member of Dodgers' world championship teams in 1955, '59, '63 and '65, earning MVP honors in 1963 and Jewish American baseball pitcher Sandy Koufax was a star player for the Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers before elbow arthritis forced him into early retirement. Copyright 2000-2023 Sports Reference LLC. You don't have to ask anyone or play politics. When he did play college baseball the scouts came in droves. He is married to Jane Purucker Clarke. [105], 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. Why Sandy Koufax is an important figure in baseball history. Though Koufax had a much shorter career than contemporary stars such as Willie Mays and Hank Aaron, he easily earned enough votes from the Baseball Writers Association of America in 1972 to become the youngest player inducted into the Hall of Fame. Koufax had an older stepsister, Edith, who died in November 1997. The mention of his name brought the biggest cheer at the event. But this past summer, almost 60 years after the Hall of Fame pitcher sat out a World Series game to observe . Family (1) Spouse Kimberly Francis (1985 - 9 December 1998) (divorced) If not, then nothing to worry about this. You don't have to wait for the reviews. strikeouts . history to have two games with 18 or more strikeouts, and the first to have eight games with 15 or more Sandy Koufax The famous, amazingly talented Sandy Koufax has led a life filled with hardships, swarmed his way up with his talent, and has faced heartbreaks too. League seasons, he had a career record of 165-87, a 2 .76 ERA, 2,396 strikeouts, 137 complete games and 40 I started running more. $1,895.00. Teammate Joe Pignatano said 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. Relive your cherished baseball memories and favorite moments from your team with your personalized membership card. Koufax was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Evelyn and Jack Braun. https://www.biography.com/athlete/sandy-koufax. [98] He also became the second pitcher in baseball history to have two games with 18 or more strikeouts, and the first to have eight games with 15 or more strikeouts. After winning the second game of the series, the Dodgers blew a 42 lead in the ninth inning of the deciding third game, losing the pennant. HarperCollins. Full-year historical Major League statistics provided by Pete Palmer and Gary Gillette of Hidden Game Sports. He was a seven-time All-Star and four-time World Series champion. [59] Koufax, who had reduced his walks allowed per nine innings to 3.4 in 1961 and 2.8 in 1962, reduced his walk rate further to 1.7 in 1963, which ranked fifth in the league. Koufax briefly held the Dodgers records for career strikeouts and shutouts until longtime teammate Don Drysdale passed him in 1968. But after the long layoff, Koufax was ineffective in three appearances as the Giants caught the Dodgers at the end of the regular season, forcing a three-game playoff. Koufax gets Dodger Stadium statue next to Jackie Robinson. On Sept. 25, 1966, at Wrigley Field, Sandy Koufax, the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar who soon would retire, faced off against Ken Holtzman, the promising 20-year-old rookie for the Chicago Cubs.. He was previously married to Kimberly Francis and Anne Heath Widmark. [86][87] At the time, Willie Mays was the highest paid player in the major leagues at $125,000 (equivalent to $1.04million in 2021) per year, and multi-year contracts were extremely unusual. Question, Comment, Feedback, or Correction? 3 Sandy Koufax Quotes About Life "There is among us a far closer relationship than the purely social one of a fraternal organization because we are bound together not only by a single interest but by a common goal. In 1954, he signed a contract with the Brooklyn Dodgers that contained a bonus which required at the time for Koufax to report to the major league team for two years. Sandy Koufax. $44.99 $ 44. Tired of constantly taking medication and concerned about his future health, Koufax stunned the baseball world by announcing his retirement on November 18, 1966. It was Yom Kippur, 6 October 1965, the day Sandy Koufax's choice to forgo work and observe the Jewish Day of Atonement, rather than pitch in the Series opener, instantly became the bible-esque . In 1959, Koufax struck out 18 Giants in nine innings and set a major league record for strikeouts in two games with 31. throughout the year . Use without license or authorization is expressly prohibited. in Brooklyn, NY Less than six weeks after the series, on Friday, November 18,[96][97] Koufax announced his retirement due to an arthritic elbow. Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier when he became the first Black athlete to play Major League Baseball after joining the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1947. We have tools and resources that can help you use sports data. Our reasoning for presenting offensive logos. [107] He also occasionally threw a changeup and a forkball.
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